C26 Chapter 26

As soon as they entered the competition venue, they were swallowed by the crowd.

Protected by Huo Zhou, the little boy didn’t hurry out after using the restroom. Instead, he wandered around the venue, his eyes searching for his dad.

As he passed backstage, he caught sight of a crowd of busy designers and suddenly remembered that Xia Yanyou had once said his mom had recently been competing in some kind of fashion design contest.

His eyes lit up, and for once, Saang Yuxin felt a surge of excitement. Could this be the very competition?

If that was true, then Xia Yanyou’s mom was here?

Saang Yuxin’s little heart immediately started pounding.

He changed direction without hesitation and headed straight into the thick of the crowd.

“Hey, young master Saang.” Huo Zhou grabbed him and kindly reminded him, “That’s not the way out.”

Saang Yuxin kept his face calm. “I know. I just want to take a look at the drawings they’ve made on the clothes. I’ll be right back out. You don’t need to come with me. Just wait here.”

“Well...”

Huo Zhou knew Saang Yuxin loved drawing. No matter where he went, he always carried a sketchpad in his bag. He also knew the child was quiet and distant by nature; if someone followed him after he had clearly said not to, it would only annoy him.

He looked around.

There was only one entrance and exit to this backstage area. If he stayed here, there was little chance the boy would get lost. So he nodded and said, “All right. Be careful.”

The moment Huo Zhou let go, Saang Yuxin immediately disappeared into the crowd, searching for Xia Yanyou’s mother.

He was short, and people streamed all around him. Surrounded by a sea of long legs, he looked especially small and fragile, but his dark eyes shone brightly.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before he spotted Xia Yanyou’s mother.

She had her eyes lowered as she pressed the wrinkles out of a garment, fully absorbed in what she was doing. Two loose curls fell naturally across her forehead, softly framing the gentle lines of her face and giving her an air that was both warm and graceful.

Without a moment’s hesitation, his short legs carried him quickly toward her. He was so excited that his steps turned unsteady, and he nearly stumbled.

Saang Yuxin walked over to Xia Bing. She was still carefully ironing clothes and hadn’t noticed him.

The little boy reached out, gripped the edge of the ironing board, rested his chin on it, and in an unusually sweet voice called out, “Hi, ma’am.”

Xia Bing froze for a moment. She turned her gaze and saw an adorable little head looking up at her, blinking a pair of bright black eyes as he studied her closely.

For some reason, her heart skipped a beat. She felt an instinctive warmth toward this child.

That feeling made her want to get close to him, care for him, protect him, and even learn everything about him...

Xia Bing steadied herself, and it took her a while to calm down.

She thought it was probably because this child was about the same age as Xia Yanyou, so the motherly love she felt for her son had naturally spilled over onto him as well.

She lifted her eyes and glanced around, then lowered her head and leaned closer to Saang Yuxin. “Were you talking to me?”

“Mm-hmm! I know you. You’re Xia Yanyou’s mom.”

“Oh?” Xia Bing raised a brow slightly. “You know Xia Yanyou?”

“I do. We’re classmates. We both go to Sunshine Kindergarten.”

Her eyes curved with a smile. So that was it. No wonder this little boy had come up and called her ma’am even though she didn’t know him.

He must have remembered her from when she’d gone to pick up Xia Yanyou from kindergarten before.

That said, this little boy really was adorable. Dressed like a tiny British gentleman, he had the same naturally wavy hair as hers, big eyes, and long curled lashes that fluttered like butterfly wings whenever he blinked.