"Damn, lost again."
Hu Fan couldn't help but exit the game in frustration, closing his phone. It seemed his luck today was poor; it was not a good day for gaming.
Reclining halfway on the sofa, he figured his mom and the others must be done talking by now. They had been out for more than two hours.
He looked up at Liu Xing, who was still having a great time nearby, and felt baffled. What was so fun about a dance machine? The kid had been jumping on it for two solid hours. He had to hand it to him—children really had boundless energy.
*Ring, ring.*
Hu Fan glanced at his phone. It was a call from his mom. They were probably finished and calling them to head back. With that thought, he quickly answered.
"Hello, Mom."
"Oh, we're at a newly opened mall nearby? Alright, we'll be right back."
After hanging up, Hu Fan walked over to Liu Xing. It was too loud; if you didn't speak up, nobody could hear you. Rather than shouting, he simply reached out and yanked Liu Xing down from the machine.
Liu Xing was a bit dazed, dragged along for several steps before he finally snapped out of it. He looked at his older brother with a wronged expression. "Bro, what are you doing? I was having so much fun dancing, and you suddenly pull me down." Complaint delivered, he didn't forget to fix his messed-up clothes.
Seeing that his brother's forehead was covered in sweat from jumping around so happily, Hu Fan was speechless. "Mom's calling us back," he said offhandedly. "You can play again next time."
"Fine." Liu Xing knew when to pick his battles; since neither of them was someone he could afford to mess with, he obediently followed his older brother toward home.
"Bro, did you see how cool I looked dancing just now? A bunch of people around us were watching me," Liu Xing hopped along, full of excitement.
Hu Fan didn't want to crush a kid's self-confidence—after all, having some confidence was better than none. "Yeah, cool, really cool," he replied in a lazy, perfunctory tone.
Fortunately, Liu Xing was thick-skinned, or perhaps just a bit too short to notice his brother's lack of sincerity. Believing that his brother actually enjoyed it just as much, the grin on his face widened even further.
When the brothers arrived home, Hu Yitong was nowhere to be seen. Neither of them asked about it; regardless of whether they divorced or not, the number of times he actually came home could be counted on one hand.
"Mom, we're back," Hu Fan called into the house upon seeing that his mother wasn't in sight.
Liu Mei was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing her eldest son's voice, she poked her head out with a spatula in hand. "Mom's cooking in the kitchen. It'll be ready soon, you two get yourselves ready to eat."
"Got it."
Hu Fan replied and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. Coming out with dry hands, he saw Liu Xing sitting on the living room floor playing a game.
He watched the Tetris blocks piling up on the TV screen, unable to drop a single line no matter what. *How utterly stupid,* he cursed inwardly. What kind of pro gameplay was this? A single round couldn't even survive a minute.
Whatever. He was his biological brother after all; couldn't just throw him away.
Walking over to the sofa, he saw another round end and reached out to pat the boy on the head. "Alright, game over. Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
On the dining table were Liu Mei's specialty—meatballs and vermicelli pot. Appealing in color, aroma, and taste, Liu Xing ate with exceptional enthusiasm.
"Fanfan, eat more," Liu Mei said, placing a large meatball into Hu Fan's bowl. Seeing her eldest son's noticeably more refined table manners, she couldn't help but urge him on.
Hu Fan didn't stand on ceremony; he picked it up and ate. Though he ate with refined grace, as if he weren't eating much at all, he actually put away quite a lot. He really loved the dishes his mother made.
When they were almost finished, Hu Fan noticed his mother wearing a hesitant expression, her face practically broadcasting her inner conflict.
He simply set down his chopsticks and turned to look at her. "Mom, if you have something to say, just say it. We aren't little kids anymore, we can understand. You don't need to walk on eggshells around us."
Hearing his brother's words, Liu Xing also raised his head from fierce eating and looked toward their mother at the head of the table.
Meeting the trusting gazes of her two sons, Liu Mei stopped hesitating. "Well... I might be getting married soon." She glanced at her sons again, and seeing no particular reaction, she continued, "You're going to have a new father. His name is Xia Donghai. He wants to have dinner with us tonight."
Spewing it all out in one breath, Liu Mei finally let out a sigh of relief and waited to see how her sons would react, her slightly worried gaze darting back and forth between them.
Mainly, she had just divorced their biological father, and finding them a new father so soon was bound to feel a bit rushed.
Hu Fan had actually known about this for a while, so he had no real reaction. Besides, Xia Donghai treated Liu Mei quite well, and he had accepted it long ago.
As for Liu Xing, as long as he followed his brother's lead, he was fine. The whole "new father" thing only caused a tiny ripple in his heart, but that was about it—truly living up to his reputation for being thick-skinned.
"Sure."
Hu Fan nodded indifferently, while Liu Xing indifferently lowered his head to gnaw on a chicken foot.
Seeing that both sons reacted this way, Liu Mei was momentarily caught off guard. Still, it was fine as long as they weren't opposed to it. She had high hopes for Xia Donghai; he could put in the effort himself to build a relationship with the boys.
"Alright, then tonight I'll take you to meet him. We'll be living together from now on," Liu Mei said, then threw a worried glance at Liu Xing. "Just behave yourself and don't pull any weird stunts."
Liu Xing was already used to his mother's lack of trust in him. Geniuses were simply misunderstood, he figured. Facing his mother's gaze, he could only nod obediently.
***
Old Beijing style mutton hot pot. It seemed this new father had indeed asked their mother about the brothers' preferences.
Hu Fan and Liu Xing sat opposite Xia Donghai, while Liu Mei sat on the other side, taking a hands-off approach. Men's affairs should be settled by men themselves.
He looked much like he did on television; his belly wasn't quite as prominent yet, but he still had a sturdy build. Wearing glasses, he looked very refined—fitting right in with his image as a newspaper office worker.
Seeing the two half-grown boys sitting across from him—who would soon become his sons—Xia Donghai couldn't help feeling a bit nervous. He wanted a good life with Meimei, so he naturally wanted to get on good terms with her two stepsons.
Wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead, Xia Donghai nervously cleared his throat. "Ahem, ahem," and began his self-introduction.
"Well, hello there. First time meeting, my name is Xia Donghai. I work at a newspaper office. My salary is decent enough to support a family. I'm going to marry your mother and live with you all, so you could also say I'm your new father."
He paused for a moment, then started again.
"Of course, you don't have to accept me right away. I'll work hard to improve myself and hope to meet your expectations."
With that, he looked at Hu Fan and his brother sitting before him, and Liu Mei looked somewhat nervous as well.
Hu Fan didn't waste any words. Since he had already accepted the man, they needed to get along well.
He smiled and began, "Hello, my name is Hu Fan, and this is my younger brother Liu Xing. We don't have any aversion to you, and we approve of you being together with our mom." He then looked toward his mother. "We just hope you treat our mom well. It hasn't been easy for her raising us all these years."
Liu Xing nodded in agreement from the side. "I'm with my bro."
With a pang of heartache, Xia Donghai glanced at Liu Mei beside him and quickly assured the brothers, "Don't worry, I will definitely treat Meimei well."
Looking at her beloved partner and her considerate sons, Liu Mei covertly wiped at her eyes and happily dropped some mutton slices into the hot pot for them.
With the matter settled, everyone relaxed significantly, and the family began their meal in a warm and joyful atmosphere.