“Daddy…” Hua Jin looked awkwardly at Gong Jie, then at Youyou, and complained bitterly, “Isn’t that a difference in seniority?”
That made sense to Youyou. He racked his brain, but before he could say anything, Natalia said, “Then I’ll call you Mommy!”
“Mommy…” The actor almost choked and clutched his chest in disbelief.
How did this lass come up with that address?!
Youyou was greatly amused when he heard this. He covered his mouth and burst out laughing. “Hahaha!” Mommy…”
Gong Jie turned ashen. He should have been angry, but he actually felt helpless. More than that, he questioned Natalia’s logic.
The actor immediately explained to the girl solemnly, “You can’t call me Mommy. I’m not a woman.”
“Eh?” Natalia cocked her head to one side, then said something that nearly caused the actor to keel over. “Aren’t you a woman? I thought … you and Daddy were a couple!”
The painful blow hit Hua Jin’s like an avalanche! He was furious! “What!? You thought…”
This child actually thought he was a woman?!
Hua Jin rubbed a hand over his face, feeling terribly aggrieved! He admitted that he had a rather pretty face, but surely not to the extent of being mistaken as a woman by a child! And even worse, Natalia had assumed they were an item! The actor was livid and on the verge of spewing blood! He felt an urge to run for the door!
Natalia hid behind the boy when she saw Hua Jin’s ashen face. “Did I say something wrong?” she whispered.
Fighting the urge to burst out laughing, the boy said with a wave of his hand, “No… no! It’s just that Hua Jin is a man, not a woman.”
The actor grumbled irritably. “The first thing I said when we met was that I was an uncle…”
“Uncle? That’s a good way to address you.”
The boy snapped his fingers at Natalia. “Or you can just address him as ‘Uncle’!”
The actor agreed. “Well, address me as ‘uncle’, then!”
Gong Jie nodded as well, clearly agreeing with the sentiment. “From now on,” he said to Natalia, “you will address him as ‘Uncle’, hmm?”
The actor shuddered at that. It was for no reason other than the fact that he realized… Gong Jie was unexpectedly gentle whenever he was speaking to Natalia! His voice was so gentle that it could drown someone.
Fortunately, it was Natalia he was talking to. If it had been any other woman, it would likely result in a cardiac arrest! Even he himself could not help feeling a momentary tingle in his heart listening to that gentle voice.
Natalia simply nodded at that, when a thought occurred to her. Releasing her hold on Youyou’s arm, she clattered over to Gong Jie and grabbed the corner of his shirt, asking wistfully, “So… where are you going, Daddy?” She felt a little lost.
The man frowned. Although he’d become accustomed to being pestered by a little girl with no blood ties calling him “Daddy”, he still seemed not to have fully accepted his role as being a “newbie dad”.
After all, the sudden change from a single man to a single father… Mentally, he found it difficult to accept it so quickly.
