NOVPUBSanwang didn’t care about washing his feet and instead, wanted to eavesdrop on what his mother and eldest brother were going to talk about.
When Erwang saw his younger brother do so, he brought the kid back and said, “Be careful of the knots on mom’s broomstick.”
Sanwang was so anxious that he started to scratch his head after getting caught, but there was nothing else he could do.
Xiaowang laughed at him, “Little Third Brother, you can’t be childish, alright?”
Sanwang, “…”
A while later, Dawang came back with a strange look on his face. When he saw them all looking at him, he immediately became stern.
Sanwang, was there something going on? Did mom actually criticise Eldest Brother? Why did Eldest Brother have such a dark expression on?
“Hey, Eldest Brother~~” He chuckled, with an expression that practically screams ‘you know what I’m saying’.
Dawang glanced at him and ignored him before he went into the house to get ready for bed.
Sanwang didn’t care about wiping his feet that much as he ran over, jumped on the kang and knelt on the edge, “Eldest Brother?”
Dawang rubbed his face and carried the child down, “Go and wash your feet.”
Xiaowang, “Where’s mom?”
Dawang, “She went to pick up father.”
Erwang looked at Dawang and felt strange— what on earth did their mom say?
***
Lin Lan felt that she had really done it now. She felt that it was not awkward at all to tell the other children, but telling Dawang made her feel weird instead.
It was as if she was transmitting radio waves, but there was no receiver.
Was he actually going through puberty, like, starting to fancy girls maybe? Perhaps his body is going through something that he doesn’t know?
Dawang, “Mom, what do you want to say to me?”
“I wanted to ask if it’s just…If you have…Like, thoughts about the opposite sex or other girls. It’s normal to like girls, by the way. Also, is your body reacting strangely? Don’t be afraid if there are things you don’t know; mom will explain everything to you.”
Dawang, who had always been quiet, suddenly started talking like he was taking out a barrage of words from a bag, “Girls? What kind of girls would I like? Who likes a girl? What is there to like about girls? What sort of strange reaction am I supposed to have from my body? There’s nothing!”
Lin Lan, “…Then why do you suddenly want to study?”
Was it not because he started to like some random girl, so he started to study in order to appear compatible with her? Although he is still 12, maturing early is a thing.
Dawang, “…Is it odd for me to study?”
Lin Lan, haha, hahaha. I’m just a hallucination, there is no need to be awkward. “Son, your mom…isn’t trying to overthink. You’re a big boy now, so when boys get to this age at around 13 or 14 years old, it’s easy to have those kinds of thoughts.”
Dawang, “What sort of thoughts?”
Lin Lan, “…Okay, it’s great if you don’t have any thoughts. When you do, come find me anytime to talk about it.”
She raised her feet and walked out the door.
Dawang, “Where are you going?”
Lin Lan, “I’m going to pick up your father,” She was so embarrassed. She wanted to give her son some guidance and talk about the problems that adolescent boys would start facing, but he didn’t understand anything at all.
