Maria asked the boys whether they wanted to have a brother or a sister. The boys exchanged glances and gave tacit answers. They both said that either was fine.
During Maria's pregnancy, the entire Xi family made her their top priority.
James accompanied her to sleep every single night. Whenever he needed to go on a business trip, he would delegate that task to Cooper instead.
And if his presence was required during the trip, he would always take Maria with him. It seemed as though they were inseparable.
This kind of life, inseparable from each other, was getting on her nerves.
Due to her strong warnings and protests, James finally agreed to give her some space. From then on, when he had to go to work or on a business trip, he would go alone.
At last, Maria was able to catch her breath. She could have get-togethers with friends, eat hotpot, attend parties, and go shopping whenever she wanted.
On her third month of pregnancy, whenever James was at home, he would tell their unborn child stories every night before going to bed. He had probably read about fetal education somewhere, so he was trying it out.
By then, Coy had begun to go to kindergarten. All the teachers were fond of him, but they couldn't deny the fact that he was a handful.
His politeness and adorable demeanor was quite a sight to behold, but his impish nature brought them endless headaches.
One day, Coy seemed upset about something.
James had stopped telling him stories ever since Maria became pregnant with another baby.
James had promised to tell him a story last night, but he ended up going home late. By the time he had arrived, Coy was already asleep.
And as a result, the boy's mood had been sour all day long.
Knowing that he shouldn't have broken his promise, James went to the kindergarten to pick up his two sons in the afternoon.
Coy was the first one to come out. James got out of his car and waved at his son.
"Coyle, someone is here to pick you up! Look who it is!" said the teacher.
Unexpectedly, when Coy glanced at James, he shook his head and replied, "I don't know him." He even hid himself in the teacher's arms.
James fell silent.
At this point, the teacher didn't know how to react. "Have you forgotten you once said that you look exactly like your father?"
Coy pouted and continue to deny his relation the man. "I didn't say that."
James walked over and greeted the teacher with a nod. "Thank you, Miss Feng. You can carry on with your work. I'll take care of my boy."
She nodded back. "Alright. Coyle was behaving well today, but it seems like he's not in the mood. You should talk to him."
"Thanks for the advice," he replied.
When the teacher left, Coy wanted to go with her.
"Bob is about to come out, so I'm going there to pick him up. If you leave this spot, I'll leave you here alone to fend for yourself," James remarked.
"Whatever!" It seemed as though Coy was adamantly against going home.
James' temples started to ache as he stared at his kid. He suddenly thought of what Maria told him before. 'Coy cannot be cowed by force, but he can be persuaded with reason. Try to coax him into agreeing with you.'
James stepped forward and bent down at eye level with his son. "Coy, I didn't mean to come home late last night. I got off work early today to pick you and Bob up."
Coy scoffed at him. "You only care about Maria now! It doesn't seem like Bob and I are as important as her. You should just ask your father to pick me up; or maybe your grandfather. Anyone is okay, as long as it's not you!"
Patiently, James tried his best to appease him. "If you come over, I'll tell you a secret."
"What secret?" Sure enough, his statement aroused Coy's curiosity.
"Come closer by five steps and I'll tell you."
Coy counted each step that he took. And after five paces, he was standing in front of James.
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