“Huh,” Enrico laughed, “people are kind to be taken advantage of.”
“…
That makes a lot of sense.”
Paige had nothing to say, so she just sulked.
The host’s voice came over the speakers, ‘The competition will begin soon. All contestants please gather in the backstage area and bring all your identification documents.’
Upon hearing this, many parents took their children’s hands and walked inside.
Sheryl’s family was no exception. The young couple tried to take their child with them, but Sheryl pulled the child over. “You guys stay here, I’ll go. I’m familiar with one of the leaders inside, so I’ll take the child backstage and say hello to that leader again.”
Paige watched as many people walked forward, with each parent saying, “Come on, you can’t just get admitted to this school without getting first place. The tension and seriousness of the atmosphere was no less than that of taking the university entrance exam.
She looked down at her son beside her and saw that he was staring at the stage in front of him, lost in thought.
Suddenly, Gabriel raised his little face to look at her, a rare seriousness, “Mommy, do you also think that Grandma Sheryl’s grandson is very smart?”
Is he being provoked?
Paige also became serious, cupped his little face in her hands, and said earnestly, “Mommy’s Gabriel is one and only, unique. Gabriel is Gabriel, and there is no need to impose any labels.”
Gabriel sat there, staring at her intently, and a hint of complexity shone in his beautiful eyes.
After a long while, as if he had figured something out, he took a deep breath, smiled at her, and then looked at Enrico, “Daddy, I want to go to the bathroom.”
“Let’s go,” said Enrico, getting up directly.
Gabriel jumped off the seat and followed Enrico as he left. Enrico was bundled up in a warm coat, but he had a powerful aura about him. Gabriel had a pale, good-looking face, and just walking like that made people look at them curiously.
Both father and son were used to it, and they walked on with calm steps.
Paige sat there watching them, and she heard whispers behind her.
“Is that Gabriel’s father, the big tycoon?”
“I’m sure it’s not. A wealthy man wouldn’t cover himself up like that. Maybe it’s that man who lives in our neighborhood.”
“No way, she dares to bring a man into public?”
“This is the border, besides us, who knows?”
Paige couldn’t bear to listen anymore, and turned her head, her gaze coldly fixed on them, ‘If you like spreading rumors so much, I can let you experience the power of rumors for yourselves. You know, I have the ability to do that.’
“…”
The two whispering women didn’t expect her to have such good hearing, and they were suddenly stunned.
“What kind of rumors do you like, cheating or infidelity? Or maybe the child you’ve raised for years isn’t your biological child?” Paige said.
Everyone in the community sat together. Seeing Paige’s cold face, everyone fell silent, not daring to breathe. The two people in particular looked pale. “I’m sorry, Mama Gabriel, we were mean, we were mean,”
One of them even slapped himself, looking very apologetic.
“…”
Paige ignored them and sat up straight again.
She was so angry.
If it had been someone else, like those plutocrats, she could have gone up there and confronted them, but these were just a bunch of old ladies who wanted to brag and were afraid of offending her.
Luckily, the competition started soon after.
The host took to the stage and spoke at length about the long history of his elementary school before inviting the young contestants to enter the stage.
Two giant robots danced to the music under the stage, and a group of energetic children were led onto the stage by the staff. They all walked with a spring in their step and a sense of purpose, taking extra-large strides. A few of them even started to dance along with the robots, which made the whole audience laugh.
The staff hurriedly told everyone to stand in line, forming several rows.
Paige looked over and froze.
She saw Gabriel standing in the center of the first row of the team.
Because of his outstanding appearance, the camera was directly pointed at his face, giving a big close-up. Gabriel stood very calmly at the front, put his two small hands behind him, blinked his big grape-like eyes, pursed his lips, tilted his chin slightly, and exuded a full-fledged boss style.
As soon as the big close-up appeared on the screen, it caused a burst of gasps from the audience.
“What a beautiful child, with gray eyes. Is he mixed-race?”
Before anyone knew who Gabriel had inherited his eyes from, they would have thought he was a mixed-race child, even if he didn’t look anything like anyone else except for his eyes.
Paige was shocked. Why was Gabriel standing on the competition team?
What was going on?
“Hey, Gabriel’s mum, so Gabriel is here for the competition too?”
Someone behind her asked.
“…”
She was confused too.
Those who are good-looking have privileges, not to mention that the competition will be broadcast live on the Internet. In order to attract more viewers, the host decisively pulled Gabriel out first and asked him to introduce himself, so as to attract a wave of fans.
Gabriel is not a stage-fright child. He stood up confidently and said, “Hello everyone, my name is Gabriel, I am four years old, and I like to enjoy life the most.”
The words “enjoy life” were said by a child in a serious manner, and the audience burst into laughter.
The host couldn’t hold back his laughter either, and half-squatted next to him and asked, “Do you know what it means to enjoy life?”
“Eating well, drinking well, not using your brain much and sleeping a lot,” Gabriel replied seriously.
The audience burst out laughing again.
Paige put her hand on her forehead, unable to look away.
The host restrained his laughter, took the microphone and said, “I see that the information says you should be three years old, and you are the youngest contestant here. Why did you want to come to the competition?”
Paige also wanted to know if her son had wandered in by mistake.
Hearing this, Gabriel glanced at the host and said into the microphone, “Some people say I’m a little idiot, that I can’t do anything, and that my mommy can’t teach me well. I want to tell them that my mommy teaches me very well, and I’m not a little idiot.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell silent, and no one laughed anymore.
The people in the community were so embarrassed that they wanted to leave immediately. How did everyone know what they had said behind everyone’s back?
Paige was stunned, looking at Gabriel on stage in disbelief. He came to the competition because of her?
This kid…
A shadow fell beside her.
Paige turned her head and saw Enrico sitting down next to her, his deep eyes looking in the direction of the stage.
She grabbed his sleeve and said, “You’ve been keeping me away these past few days to give Gabriel special training, haven’t you?”
“Mm,” Enrico nodded his head without denying it.
Paige was a little anxious, “You can’t just train someone for two days for a competition like this. You might be causing Gabriel to lose confidence.”
She didn’t want Gabriel to doubt himself after just one competition.
Enrico gave her a sideways glance, his eyes under his cap staring at her intently, “Paige, do you not believe in my abilities, or in our genetic heritage?”
“…”
Paige was speechless.
The host on the stage was touched by Gabriel’s words and spoke softly, “Gabriel, no matter if you can get a good ranking today or not, you have to know that you are very good, and the one who has a problem is the one saying these words.”
Gabriel shook his head and puffed out his tiny chest, “I either don’t come, or if I do, I will come in first.”