Chapter 208 Father-Son Interaction, Mr. Zackary was somewhat warm

"No!"

Aliya was a proud little princess, she would never allow anyone to associate her with a cripple! She shook her head vigorously, fearing that if she shook her head a bit lighter, she would really have to marry a cripple when she grew up.

To prove that she really couldn't marry a cripple, Aliya pouted and glanced at Ethan, "I would never marry a cripple! My mom said, marrying a cripple is like having eight generations of bad luck! I want to marry a prince!"

"Marrying a cripple is like having eight generations of bad luck! Hahaha!" Upon hearing Aliya's words, Patrick couldn't help but burst into exaggerated laughter.

"The cripple can't get a wife! The cripple is just like the beggar on the street, destined to be a bachelor for life! Hahaha!"

Hearing Patrick's laughter, Riley and Clayton also started laughing heartily, clutching their stomachs.

The two of them didn't want to end up without wives in the future, but they found Ethan's walking really amusing. So, behind Patrick's back, they quietly limped a few more steps.

Riley and Clayton were both particularly mischievous. As they walked, they found it too boring to just pretend to limp. They couldn't help but want to tease Ethan.

Taking advantage of Ethan's unpreparedness, Clayton mischievously stretched out his foot and tripped Ethan hard onto the ground.

Ethan had taken a serious fall this time. Even though he was indeed much stronger than other children his age, he was, after all, only three and a half years old. He couldn't help but shed involuntary tears.

"Look, the cripple is crying!" Clayton was completely unaware of his mistake, instead, he took pride in it. He puffed out his round belly and looked at Ethan, "Cripple, are you afraid that you won't be able to find a wife when you grow up, and that's why you're crying?!"

"Hahaha, stupid cripple, can't get a wife, stupid cripple, just knows how to cry, hahaha..."

Children actually didn't have such a strong sense of right and wrong yet. They mimicked Ethan's walk, calling him a cripple, probably without much malice. They simply found it amusing to make fun of him.

But they didn't know, their actions, were truly hurtful.

The person who was mocked and made fun of by them would feel very upset, and even, might be left with lifelong psychological trauma.

Listening to the exaggerated laughter of those children and watching Ethan's silent tears roll down, Zackary's heart was about to break.

His son, subjected to the ridicule and bullying of others, and he, was the culprit who pushed him into such a predicament.

To be fair, Ethan really was much more handsome than the other children around him.

Regardless of whether Zackary inherited the genes of Penelope, he was bound to stand out from the crowd.

But because of his leg, everyone overlooked his perfect little face, only seeing his imperfections and embarrassment.

Zackary, stiffly and step by step, walked up to Ethan. He crouched down, extending his hand, wanting to pull Ethan up.

However, before he could touch Ethan's hand, Ethan recoiled as if he had seen a ghost.

After becoming crippled, Ethan had already gotten used to the ridicule of others.

However, seeing Zackary, the little him, he felt an indescribable embarrassment.

He despised his own weakness. He had clearly told himself that he no longer had a father, that he wouldn't care about that man anymore, but he still didn't want that man to see such a disgraceful side of him.

He thought, "I want to crawl into a hole."

But there were no burrows around, and what's more tragic was, he fell so hard that he couldn't even get up.

After Ethan fell, the nanny also noticed the commotion here. She didn't care about continuing to chat with her friends, she hurriedly ran over and picked Ethan up from the ground.

"Ethan, how are you? Did you fall?"

Ethan's leg was throbbing with pain, but seeing Zackary looking at him, he still forced himself to shake his head.

Ethan didn't want to stay here for even a minute longer, he wanted to find a place to hide.

He broke free from the nanny's embrace and ran forward. However, he was already lame and his leg was in severe pain. Running so fast, he once again fell awkwardly to the ground.

The face hit the ground first, harder than the previous fall.

The tears that had been so hard to stop, silently rolled down again. Seeing Ethan fall flat on his face, Clayton burst into laughter on the spot.

He turned his face to look at Aliya, "The cripple is so stupid! Always falling down! A young girl really shouldn't marry a cripple! It would bring such bad luck!"

"Only a fool would marry a cripple! I'm not a fool!" Aliya arrogantly rolled her eyes, turning her face away to show her utter disdain for this cripple.

Actually, children had a sense of gender when they were three or four years old.

Such young children, still ignorant of emotions and love, yet by human instinct, they cared more about the opinions of the opposite sex than those of the same sex.

Aliya's disdain for him made Ethan couldn't help but feel that he must really be a bad cripple who couldn't get a wife.

Ethan stubbornly sniffed, just as he was about to struggle to get up from the ground, Zackary scooped him up into his arms.

"Let me go!" Ethan bit his lip hard. He wanted to say that Zackary was a bad guy, but he just couldn't get the words out.

This was that person, the first time I held him.

Although that person was truly wicked, his embrace was really so warm, so warm.

His father hugged him.

Ethan awkwardly twisted his tiny body, but ultimately failed to break free from Zackary's arms.

"What does one plus one equal?" Zackary asked, holding Ethan tightly and speaking softly to Clayton on the side.

Clayton was usually quite arrogant, but for some reason, upon seeing the impeccably dressed Zackary in front of him, he inexplicably backed down.

Although he was already four and a half years old, all he knew was to eat all day long. He really didn't know what one plus one equals.

As a little tyrant, being questioned like this Clayton was a bit embarrassing. He scratched his head, "I don't know."

Seemingly wanting to prove he wasn't stupid, he quickly pointed at Ethan and said, "That dumb cripple surely knows even less! Hey, cripple, do you know what one plus one equals? Such a profound question, you as a cripple surely wouldn't know!"

Ethan was not a child who loved to show off, but under Zackary's expectant gaze, he inexplicably spoke up, "One plus one equals two."

Zackary smiled contentedly, not even realizing himself how much his smile resembled the heartfelt pride of an old father.

"What is fifteen plus one hundred?" Zackary continued to quiz Clayton.

"What did fifty plus one hundred and eight equal?"

***

"What did six hundred plus nine hundred and nine equal?"

Without any suspense, the chubby kid Clayton didn't know anything, but Ethan could answer everything accurately.

In the end, Zackary was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Ethan, still so young, could already do slightly complex addition and subtraction.

Immediately, he felt a surge of pride. Truly, he was Zackary's son.

Listening to Ethan's confident and firm answer, Aliya was somewhat in awe of him. She handed her small handkerchief to Ethan, "Ethan, you're so amazing! You're the most amazing boy I've ever met! This handkerchief is for you!"

"Aliya, didn't you say you hated cripples the most? Are you telling me you want to marry a cripple when you grow up?!" Clayton still seemed unconvinced, hands on her hips as she spoke.