The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)
Chapter 1262

"Can I withhold the answer for the time being?"

Wisdom's tone was a little low. He sounded a little irritated if one listened to him carefully.

Wisdom had said in the ancestral temple that he was living under someone else's roof. He felt that Nathaniel's words were quite harsh.

Why did he say that at that time?

In the Ye family, no matter it was Mango, Rita, or even Nathaniel, all of them treated him as if he was their own family. How would he feel like he was living under someone else's roof?

However, he couldn't take his words back now that he had said it out loud.

Wisdom had also been frustrated and regretful to himself. He was even more irritated now that Nathaniel was pushing him.

When Nathaniel saw that Wisdom finally acted like a five-year-old child, he smiled and said, "Sure, you can tell me when we come back from your father's grave."

"Can't we wait for a few years?"

Wisdom felt that it was too rushed.

Nathaniel was forcing him to make a decision!

"That's impossible!"

Nathaniel answered curtly.

Wisdom was suddenly a little crestfallen.

The two of them jogged again, but this time, neither of them spoke.

When they returned to the residence, Mango and Rita were already awake.

Rita curled up in Mango's arms and grinned sweetly. She had said something funny that made Mango laugh over and over again.

Nathaniel's steel heart softened when he saw such a scene.

"What are you chatting about? You seem so happy."

Nathaniel caressed Rita's head gently.

Rita jumped out of Mango's lap and said with a smile, "It's a secret between mom and me. I'm not going to tell you anything. Wow, Wisdom, you're actually out jogging with dad! How is it? Is the air good here?" "Well, the air is pretty fresh here."

Wisdom was always gentle when speaking to Rita.

"Wisdom, mom just said that she would go to uncle's tomb for prayers. Are you feeling sad today? If you are, I can lend you my shoulder to cry on. My shoulder is available even though it's small." Wisdom's mood suddenly lifted a lot when he heard Rita's words.

"Alright."

"I'll hold you to your word. We'll make a pinky swear."

Rita stretched her little finger out towards him.

The two children locked their little fingers together and formed a pact. Mango was touched by their solemn attitude.

"We were once children too, but I felt as if I had travelled back in time when I saw them."

As Mango spoke of this, she remembered her parents in the Shen family. Soon after, she immediately shook her head and whispered, "Let's have breakfast. I'm starving."

"Alright, you guys go ahead. I'll take a shower with Wisdom. I'm sweaty now and it's pretty uncomfortable."

"Okay-dokey."

Mango nodded in reply.

Nathaniel went for a shower with Wisdom.

Rita shook her braids and said lazily, "Mom, I heard that one of the roads here has plenty of stalls selling delicious street food. Why don't we go out and explore when we're free?" "Okay." Mango readily agreed, so Rita was dumbfounded instead.

"Mom, are you sure? Didn't you and dad come here for some other business?"

"Well, those matters are secondary. Our main aim is to bring you two around to have fun. Tell me and dad where you want to go. I'll grant your wish as long as I'm able to."

Rita was instantly overjoyed when she heard Mango's words.

"Really? That would be great. I wish I can have some street food from this road right now."

"That's not a problem at all."

Mango let out a smile.

She had always known that her daughter was a foodie, so she was not surprised at all by her request.

"Oh yeah! My mom is the best!"

Rita sprang on her feet, causing Mango to worry about her.

"Slow down. Don't you know the state of your health? Look at you, what if you hurt your head?"

To Mango, Rita was still the same old Rita. Even though the surgery was successful, she was still concerned about the latter's physical condition.

However, Rita said nonchalantly, "It's okay. Bjorn taught me a lot of movements that can help strengthen my body. Mom, please don't treat me like a patient anymore."

Mango smiled and said softly, "You'll always be my sweetie pie. How can I ever stand you getting hurt?"

"Hehe, my mom is the best."

Rita was brown-nosing Mango.

Mango asked with a smile, "I've noticed that you and Bjorn get along pretty well. What's up? Do you like him very much?"

"Well, yes. I think I do like him."

Rita tilted her head and thought for a moment before replying, "There are a lot of things that I can learn from Bjorn. Wisdom is too boring. Although he is also a genius, his expertise is different from that of Bjorn's. Mom, I'm able to learn a lot when I'm with Bjorn."

"Is that all?"

"What else?"

Rita looked at Mango with her clear, innocent eyes. She didn't understand what the latter meant by that.

Mango suddenly realized that her daughter was only five years old. Furthermore, she was a foodie. How could she possibly think of anything other than eating, not to mention romance?

Mango felt that she was reading too much into this.

"It's okay. I'm just asking for the sake of it."

"Oh, Lonnie is also very nice. Mom, let me tell you a secret. Lonnie likes her uncle very much."

Rita spoke as if she had uncovered a big secret. She whispered, "You can't tell anyone else about this, okay? This is her privacy."

"Then why did you tell me about it?"

The corner of Mango's lips was curling upward slightly.

"You're different. You're my mom, so you won't betray me. Mom, you can never tell Aunt Esther, okay?"

Something occurred to Rita all of a sudden and she seemed remorseful.

When Mango saw that her daughter was toying with her braids in frustration, she smiled hurriedly and said, "Alright, alright. I won't say a thing. You girls are so young. Do you even know what it means to like someone?" "Of course I do."

"You naughty rascal."

As both of them were in the middle of the conversation, Nathaniel and Wisdom came outside.

"What are you two talking about?"

"I'm not telling you."

Rita made a face at Nathaniel before she walked around and shook her legs leisurely.

Nathaniel was taken aback momentarily. Then he said lovingly, "It's fine if you don't tell me. I don't want to know either."

"Humph."

Rita lifted her chin proudly. When she saw Wisdom, she waved her hand in a hurry.

"Wisdom, over here. Have a drumstick."

The drumstick was one of Rita's favorite food. Wisdom knew Rita cared about him very much because she was actually willing to share her drumstick with him.

He couldn't help but think of the question Nathaniel had asked him earlier

Would he fight for it or would he give up?

If he fought for the quota, Rita would probably feel sad for Zion since both of them were twins, wouldn't she? Would she blame him when the time came? However, if he gave up, his father's dream would end right here.

His father had sacrificed himself for the sake of honor. Although he was praised as a martyr, he never served the army for even one single day, nor had he experienced the life of a real soldier.

No even a single soul knew what his true identity was.

Wisdom felt that this was really unfair to his father.

He wanted to join the army and take part in military school. He wanted everyone to know that he was Nick's son. His father was once a hero who had put in blood, sweat, and tears for the people! He didn't want to be known as Nathaniel's son.

Wisdom had some pretty mixed feelings.

"Wisdom, what are you thinking about? Do you dislike drumsticks? It's okay. There are shrimp dumplings too. I can give my dad's dumplings to you."

Rita thought that Wisdom was considering this, so she quickly offered.

Wisdom came to his senses as he looked at Rita. He said sulkily, "You can have it to yourself. I'll just have some porridge. My appetite is bad today." "What's the matter? Are you sick?"

Mango hurriedly asked when she heard that he had a lack of appetite.

Wisdom shook his head hurriedly and said, "It's okay. Maybe I can't get used to staying in a new place. I'll take some medicine later."

Only now did Mango realize that Wisdom seemed to have an aversion toward their concern.

It was an unpleasant feeling.

Mango truly regarded Wisdom as her own son, but she didn't expect that their relationship would become so awkward and strained when they arrived at Longford County. Nathaniel glanced at Wisdom and saw Mango's miserable expression. He spoke in a cold tone immediately.

"Finish every food in front of you. I don't care if you can't get used to this new place or if you're feeling upset. It's your bad if you let your mom worry about you."

Something suddenly dawned on Wisdom when he heard this.

He said hurriedly, "Mom, don't worry about me. I'm really fine."

"That's good to hear. Now let's dig in."

Mango knew that Wisdom needed to resolve some of his dilemmas himself.

After all, Nick was his biological father. This was something that could never be changed.

Wisdom still wanted to say something, but he didn't say it in the end.

The mealtime was rather depressing.

After Mango finished her meal, she cleaned up the table and left. Nathaniel glanced at Wisdom with a calm but cold look in his eyes.

Wisdom ran to the kitchen hurriedly and told Mango, "Mom, let me help you."

"It's okay. There's no need for that. I'll do it myself."

How could Mango allow Wisdom to clean the plates?

Wisdom felt really upset as he looked at Mango.

"Mom, I didn't mean it. Don't be angry at me."

"Huh? Why would I be angry with you?"

Mango looked at Wisdom, who seemed upset, and felt sorrowful as well.

Wisdom hesitated for a moment before he said, "When I was in the ancestral temple, I was influenced by the incense and said something upsetting, which might upset dad. I'm not going against you or daddy, I'm just... just..."

"It's alright, I understand. Wisdom, no matter what you think, Nathan and I have always treated you as our own son. This alone will never change."

Mango caressed Wisdom's head gently.

Wisdom thought of Macy, the mother who gave birth to him but never took care of him, out of the blue.

He was thinking about one thing. What would it be like if he was raised by Macy?

He used to be a simple person. He knew nothing out of ordinary. Every day, Macy would force him to use his illness or discomfort as an excuse to attract Nathaniel's attention. He wouldn't learn anything useful.

If he hadn't met Mango and the others, he wouldn't know what he would be right now.

It could be said that Zion and Mango were his saviors, so why was he hesitating right now?

Wisdom was crestfallen in an instant.

His mouth moved as he was about to say something. All of a sudden, there was a gunshot from outside the house. Mango immediately held him in her arms as both of them tensed up at the same time.