"Pfft, you talk as if your dad isnât an old man himself," Mu Shaoling said, rolling his eyes.
"My handsome dad certainly isnât!" Yangyang protested, hands on hips.
"Handsome dad? How childish. Is your handsome dad even as good-looking as me?" Mu Shaoling teased, deliberately bringing his face closer to Yangyang, so he could see clearly who was the more beautiful one.
Looking at the face suddenly approaching him, Yangyang gave a weird smile and suddenly planted a kiss on it. While Mu Shaoling was still in shock, Yangyang burst into wild laughter.
Mu Shaoling didnât understand what he was laughing about when he saw Yangyang pointing at him and laughing, "My handsome dad said that men shouldnât kiss each other, otherwise itâs the sign of an improper relationship between men. Since youâve been kissed by me, that means you like men!"
"..." Mu Shaoling tried to hold back his laughter, saying, "So dumb. Hurt yourself trying to hurt others. You kissed me, so doesnât that mean you like men too? Such an idiot. The smart move wouldâve been to find someone else to kiss me, not do it yourself!"
Yangyangâs laughter stopped abruptly.
He scratched his head contemplatively, seeming to think there was some sense to that.
Seeing him deep in thought, Mu Shaoling patted his head lightly, "What are you still dazed for, you dunce? Get off the carriage."
"Wah! I am not a dunce!" Yangyang retorted, then jumped off the carriage.
Mu Shaoling ignored his remark and walked alone towards another carriage. Commandery Princess Dongyang and Yang Chuxia got off their carriage shortly after.
Just then, they suddenly heard Yangyang crying loudly!
"Mommy, mommy!"
Hearing her sonâs cries, Yang Chuxia rushed over to see him crying so hard he was gasping for breath, his cheeks red with the effort.
Yang Chuxia soothed him while asking Mingcui, who was following her, "What happened to him?"
Mingcui shook her head blankly, "The young master just started crying out of nowhere." She had no idea what was going on.
"Really?" Yang Chuxia looked at her son, who was burying his face in her chest, and felt sorry for him. "Yangyang, be good, stop crying, mommy is here."
"Mommy, it was so scary, so scary!" Yangyang said, hugging Yang Chuxia after finally stopping his tears.
"Whatâs so scary? Tell mommy what happened?" Yang Chuxia looked around and couldnât see anything particularly frighteningâit was the entrance to an inn, bustling with people.
"Whatâs wrong, Xiaxia?" Commandery Princess Dongyang and Mu Shaoling came over as well.
Mu Shaoling looked at Yangyang in confusion; the boy had just been laughing arrogantly in the carriage, so why was he crying like this now?
"Mommy, I saw a ghost, I saw a ghost!"
"A ghost?" Yang Chuxia was about to say that there couldnât be ghosts in broad daylight but, seeing her son still softly sobbing, she swallowed her words, "Itâs alright, no more crying. Even if thereâs a ghost, donât be afraid, mommy is here, I will chase the ghost away. Yangyang is a boy, how can you cry when you see a ghost? Itâs not brave."
"But mommy, Iâm really scared."
"What a lack of guts!" Mu Shaoling blurted out, "Where are there ghosts in daylight? Thatâs just something made up to scare people in plays."
"Did you hear what uncle said? No more crying," she said, carrying her son into the inn and asking someone to bring water to wash his face.
After that scare, the little guy didnât run or jump around anymore, and he clung tightly to Yang Chuxia even during dinner.
At bedtime, Yang Chuxia was extra watchful. Sure enough, during the night, he started to have nightmares and cried loudly.
Yang Chuxia couldnât help but wonder, what on earth had he seen during the day?