"What should we do?" Isabella placed particular importance on birthdays, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of unhappiness. "I would have rushed back to celebrate Jojo's birthday if I had known that day was his birthday."Forget about Nick and other playmates; Jojo's birthday was the most important."We can make it up to Jojo another time. We can celebrate next year," Isaiah, who did not particularly care about birthdays, responded casually."It's not the same. Next year, Jojo will be six. This year, he turned five." Isabella felt increasingly guilty the more she thought about it and began to pout, turning to Isaiah. "Can you come with me, please?"Isaiah watched her, his lips pressed together.Isabella continued to pout and pleaded, "Isaiah...""Mommy and Daddy are coming back in two days. Daddy assigned you some tasks you haven't finished yet. If you go to play with Jojo and Daddy finds out, you'll be in trouble," Isaiah kindly reminded her.Isabella hesitated. While Matthew wa
"What is it?" Cynthia asked patiently, always gentle with her child."I met a little boy, Jojo. Mommy, he's super nice. He can cook and bake cakes, and he's really amazing." Isabella's eyes sparkled with excitement."Is that so?" Matthew chimed in.Isabella, without a hint of suspicion, nodded happily. "Mmhmm!""So, will he help you bear the punishment later?" Matthew had already guessed that she had not finished her assignments.Isabella exclaimed, "Daddy!"Why was Matthew so mean?Isabella promptly sought refuge in Cynthia's embrace, but Matthew gently took her back. "If your homework isn't done, even Mommy can't save you.""Mommy!" Isabella tried to pull Cynthia back.Cynthia held Isabella in her arms again. "Don't scare her."Matthew smiled. His gaze hinted at Cynthia as he moved closer to her, his warm breath brushing against her ear as he spoke in a low voice, "You can't spoil her. Are you willing to take her punishment this time?"The word 'punishment' was deliberatel
Isaiah had supervised Isabella's homework diligently every day, but as he saw how she enjoyed playing with her new friends, he allowed her some leeway. After all, it was rare for her to be so enthusiastic about someone she wanted to play with every day."If you don't punish Isabella, I'll sleep by myself from now on. I won't disturb you anymore," Isaiah proposed, laying out his conditions.Matthew glanced at Isaiah. Was he admitting that he had done it on purpose before?Seeing Matthew's silence, Isaiah asked, "What do you think?""Go stand in the corner over there and think about your mistakes for three hours," Matthew responded firmly. When it came to matters of discipline, he would not entertain negotiations. "You can go out to play once you've completed your homework."Isaiah was surprised that Matthew would not agree to his offer."Why are you not moving? Do you want to double the punishment?" Matthew's tone rose slightly, displaying his firmness.The twins went to face t
"Are you thirsty?" Isabella dared not sneak away, so she had to find an excuse. "I'll go get you a glass of water.""No need." Matthew knew exactly what she was up to."Oh," Isabella replied and stood still.Time passed by slowly, and Isabella still did not dare to move. Thinking he had punished her enough, Matthew began asking her about Jojo."Uncle Kendrick told me that you and Jojo played house and even had a wedding?" Matthew inquired."No! Uncle Kendrick is making things up," Isabella quickly denied it, sounding a bit timid. "Do you still want to skip your homework to play?""No.""What if you misbehave again?""I won't be allowed to play with Jojo."With that, Matthew decided to let her be, instructing her to complete her unfinished homework."Okay!" Isabella said and obediently went to catch up on her homework.For the remaining days of the holiday, Isabella immersed herself in her studies. She subtly declined Jojo's invitations to play whenever he asked. Before th
This statement successfully caught Ash's attention. He looked at Cynthia, clearly pondering whether she would teach Jojo hacking skills."Come on," Isabella coaxed him, her attractive eyes blinking at him.Jojo remained silent, staring at Isabella's little hand clutching Ash's arm, a hint of annoyance stirring within him.Neither Isabella nor Ash noticed this.After a brief silence, Ash agreed.With that, Isabella clapped her hands in delight and invited Lydia. In her mind, securing the little buddies first made more sense before dealing with the adults. Lydia, who had already become acquainted with Isabella and Isaiah through her children, readily agreed.Then, both families rode in separate cars as they could not all fit in one. Once inside the car, Isabella could not contain her excitement and remained ecstatic throughout the ride.Observing her like this, Isaiah did not hesitate to throw a bucket of cold water on her enthusiasm. "Didn't you notice he's not very happy?""W
Cynthia noticed that Isabella and the two boys were playing outside and approached Isaiah. She asked, "Aren't you going to play with them?"Isaiah shook his head. He simply was not interested in these activities. "Isabella can entertain them herself."Not even a group of silent, introverted kids could match Isabella's ability to liven up the atmosphere. Her enthusiasm could ignite any gathering, no matter how quiet or reserved."I'm going to read upstairs. Just call me if you need anything," Isaiah added as the birthday celebration had ended.Cynthia extended her arms and said, "Give me a hug."Isaiah's eyes brightened, and he happily embraced Cynthia. It was in her arms that he could truly be a four-year-old child.After the hug, Isaiah headed upstairs.Seeing how mature Isaiah seemed for his age, Cynthia expressed some concern. "Isaiah seems a bit too mature. Will he find his childhood boring as he grows up?"Childhood is the most carefree period in a person's life. It is a t
"That's because you wanted to graduate with a master's degree at the age of 21," Isaiah calmly reminded her. Achieving a master's degree at that age would require skipping grades during the nine-year compulsory education and high school. Otherwise, it would be quite challenging."I know. That's why I asked Ash to help me, right?" Isabella replied, showing her commitment to academics. Ash hesitated but eventually joined Isabella for the tutoring session.With Ash occupied, Jojo had nothing to do. Following the etiquette of a gracious host, Isaiah handed him a few storybooks, saying, "These are Isabella's storybooks. You can flip through them if you're bored.""Can I go find Auntie Cynthia?" Jojo wanted to learn to hack from Cynthia. Isaiah hesitated for a moment before deciding to take Jojo to Cynthia.Cynthia, aware of Jojo's interest, had prepared a few challenges for him to break through as part of his lesson. It turned out that he was truly a genius in this field. Among al
Ash responded," Mmhmm."Isabella's eyes widened, and she immediately exchanged a glance with Isaiah. She was signaling him not to disrupt her with Ash. Isaiah, however, did not give in to her silent plea. "Take a closer look at the previous question and remember how I explained this part to you.""I can't remember." Isabella decided to stall for more time."Are you sure?" Isaiah questioned her.Isabella hesitated. "Well..."She dared not to respond to that… "Apply the method from the previous question." Isaiah maintained a stern expression and assumed a big brother's authority. "If you can't solve it, think harder. If you still can't figure it out, you won't have dinner tonight.""Isaiah!" Isabella was angry. Isaiah remained unfazed. He knew she was pretending she did not know how to solve the question, and he would not let her get away with it. "You have five more minutes. If you can't solve it within that time, I'll tell Mommy that you're skipping dinner tonight.""You'r