Melon held the phone against his ear, listening attentively, as the man on the other end spoke. When
the man finally finished speaking, the boy seized his chance.
“I’m sorry, sir, but my mother can’t come to the phone right now,” he piped up politely in his young
voice.
“May I ask who’s calling?”
Only silence greeted his query. Melon waited several long moments, but the man didn’t say anything.
Thinking that the call had been dropped, he said in a tentative tone, “Hello?”
Just as he was about to take the phone away from his ear, the man spoke again, his voice
unexpectedly soft, “Is. is that you, Max?”
Melon’s brows furrowed, his confusion evident.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Who are you? Why do you know my name?” As he said that, he quickly glanced down at the phone’s
screen to see whether he knew the digits or not. But it offered no identifying details.
Once again, silence was the sole reply.
The boy’s patience started waning, and Melon stated matter-of-factly,
“Well, sir, if there’s nothing more, I’ll be going. Then, bye-bye.”
Hearing that, just a second before the boy ended the call, the man found his voice and said, “It is me.
your father.”
Melon caught the word “father” clearly and stopped his movement midway. Now, it was he who was
stunned and couldn’t find words to respond.
As the shock washed over him, the boy subconsciously turned away and cried out, “Mommy, some
scoundrel is on the phone!”
Having heard her son’s distress, Ariana swiftly closed the door and rushed over. She took the phone
from his hand and asked, “What scoundrel, dear?”
ninja.com
Melon looked at her blankly.
“He says he’s my father. But I won’t be fooled!” He gave a nonchalant shrug before scratching his
head, clearly baffled.
“It is strange, the number of men claiming to be my father lately.”
At her son’s charming comment, Ariana couldn’t help laughing at him.
Over the years, she had met a lot of men who tried to approach her, trying to gain her affection. But she
had refused all of them politely, without wavering even the slightest.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhen they couldn’t win Ariana over, they often tried cozying up to Melon instead, saying, “Let me be
your father!”
But her son, as intelligent as he had ever been, would politely and yet firmly decline each time. Even if
the men used tricks, such as buying toys and snacks for Melon, the boy would insist on saying,
“I already have a father even though he’s not here now.”
Thinking little of it, Ariana promptly redialed the mysterious number, assuming that it was her online
friend.
The phone was soon connected.