“If we let these people affect us, we lose,” Sylvia said with a smile as she picked up the menu. “Have you ordered yet?”
Evie, scrolling through her phone, replied, “Not yet! I was waiting for you.”
Jaime took a gift box from beside his seat and handed it to Alex. “I’m older than you, so I’m your big brother. This is a gift for you.”
“What’s inside?” Alex asked curiously, looking at the gift box wrapped in Ultraman paper, which looked very cute.
“Why don’t you open it and see?” Evie said with a smile.
Alex looked at Sylvia with wide eyes. “Godmother, can I open it?”
“Of course. There are no strangers here,” Sylvia said, patting his little head.
“Great!” Alex said as he eagerly began to unwrap the gift. When he opened it, his mouth dropped open. “Wow! Amazing!”
Inside was a well-packaged toy box containing a complete set of Ultraman figurines.
“These are genuine Ultraman figurines, with all the members of the Ultraman family,” Jaime said nonchalantly. “My dad gave them to me when I was younger, but now that I’m older, I’m giving them to you.”
“Wow! Thank you, big brother! I love them!” Alex exclaimed excitedly, looking at the figurines. “Tiga Ultraman, Leo Ultraman… so many!”
He pursed his pink lips and said, “Since you gave me a gift, I should give you one too.”
Remembering a gift he had received earlier that day, he said, “I’ll give you a jade pendant.”
He took off the safety pendant from around his neck and handed it to Jaime. “Here, it’s for you.”
Sylvia chuckled and patiently explained, “This was a welcome gift from another aunt. If you give it to your brother, it might seem insincere.”
“When giving gifts, you should choose something heartfelt. Your brother gave you his cherished figurines because he’s grown up and decided to pass them on to you. Shouldn’t you also carefully choose a gift that your brother would like?”
Alex nodded earnestly. “Godmother, you’re right. Jaime, what do you like?”
To Alex, Jaime was now a tall and close big brother. He was determined to make Jaime happy.
“I like many things,” Jaime said, tilting his head slightly as he listed his favorite martial arts, space models, and car models-things most boys loved.
Alex listened intently but couldn’t understand much. Although he was over two years old, Jaime was over six years old, making him four years older.
Jaime knew things Alex didn’t understand at all.
Alex looked at Jaime with admiration. “Jaime, you’re amazing! I want to be like you when I grow up.”
“You’re still young. When you grow up a bit more, you’ll be just like me,” Jaime said with a grin, enjoying the feeling of being admired by his little brother.
The satisfaction of being admired felt wonderful.
Sylvia and Evie watched the two children chatting animatedly and couldn’t help but smile at each other.
Just then, the waiter arrived with their food: a double-flavored hotpot and various dishes like beef rolls, lamb rolls, duck blood, and vegetables.
In no time, the table was filled with delicious food.
The aroma of the broth was enticing, and the table was laden with an abundance of dishes.
Sylvia tossed fresh shrimp into the broth. The shrimp curled up instantly, turning a vibrant red color that made Alex’s mouth water.
“Godmother, I want to eat shrimp.”
Sylvia used her chopsticks to fish out the cooked shrimp and placed it in his small bowl. “It’s hot right now; wait for it to cool down before eating.”
“Okay,” Alex nodded eagerly like a pecking chick.
“Hotpot is best enjoyed with everyone together,” Evie said as she placed mushrooms on Jaime’s plate. “With just Jaime and me at home, it’s not as fun. We usually invite my parents over for hotpot.”
“Unfortunately, Dad is still in the hospital. He told me the other day that he’s tired of hospital food,” Jaime said while eating mushrooms. He then asked Sylvia anxiously, “Aunt Sylvia, when will Dad be discharged?”
He remembered clearly that Aunt Sylvia had saved his father as a doctor. So he cared deeply for Alex and gave him his favorite Ultraman figurines.
“He’ll probably be discharged in about a week,” Sylvia replied, seeing how much Jaime cared for Jasper. In just over six months, Jaime had felt enough warmth from Jasper to understand that Jasper was now the one who loved him the most.
“Jasper has been in the hospital for so long…” Evie sighed. “I hope everything goes smoothly once he’s home!”
Sylvia comforted her by placing lamb on her plate. “Don’t be so pessimistic. The rehabilitation doctors are excellent. He’ll recover after some time in rehab.”
The two adults fell silent as they ate. Alex focused on filling his stomach. He stood on his baby chair with both hands supporting himself.
“I want to eat beef balls,” he said as he tried to poke at the rolling balls in the broth with his chopsticks.
Seeing that Godmother and Aunt seemed unhappy, he decided to help himself.
The slippery balls rolled around in the pot, and despite his efforts, he couldn’t catch one.
Determined to get his prize, he gritted his teeth and kept trying.
“Oh dear, use a spoon instead!” Jaime handed him a spoon.
“No! I want to use chopsticks! I just learned how to use them; I can do it,” Alex pouted as his small body leaned closer to the hotpot’s edge.
Sylvia was startled. “Alex, be careful! Don’t lean on the table; be careful…”
She reached out to hold Alex back from doing something so dangerous.
But Alex’s entire body leaned onto the table, causing it to tilt under his weight. The entire pot of broth tipped over!
Without thinking, Sylvia dropped her chopsticks and lunged to grab Alex.
On the other side, Evie quickly pulled Jaime away.
The boiling broth spilled everywhere; its temperature was extremely high-how could such delicate skin withstand it?
In the chaos that ensued, Sylvia closed her eyes, bracing for the scalding pain.
First came a wave of intense heat followed by the sound of liquid splashing onto someone-an alarming noise that made nearby customers gasp in shock.
Sylvia tensed up but didn’t feel the expected burning pain.
Puzzled, she opened her eyes and found herself covered by a shadow.
She looked up into familiar deep black eyes.
The heat surrounding her wasn’t from scalding broth but Franklin’s body warmth.
He had just entered the hotpot restaurant when he saw Alex nearly leaning into the pot. Without thinking twice, he rushed over-just in time!
The table tilted; the entire pot of broth spilled out.
Franklin used his tall and broad body as a shield to block all the hot broth.
He protected Sylvia and Alex.
“Are you and the child okay?” Franklin asked as he stood up and helped Sylvia up.
Sylvia nodded and slowly stood up with some vegetable leaves still clinging to her clothes. Alex in her arms almost became a hot dog scalded by hot broth.
Terrified by what had just happened, Alex started crying uncontrollably.
Jaime also looked pale with fear.
The restaurant staff and manager rushed over with wet towels and cold water.
“Oh dear! How did this happen? It’s terrifying!”
Without saying anything else, Sylvia grabbed a wet towel from a waiter and placed it on Franklin’s back. “How are you? Does it hurt?”
She anxiously tried to examine him by pulling off his dark shirt.
The hot broth had left red marks on Franklin’s broad back-an alarming sight.
If Franklin hadn’t arrived in time to shield her from the hot broth’s consequences would have been unimaginable.
“Wet towels won’t help much; we need to go to the restroom and rinse with cold water immediately,” Sylvia said as she put down the still-crying Alex and pulled Franklin toward the restaurant’s restroom.
His entire broad back had been scalded-it must hurt terribly!
Evie took care of both children. “Alex, never eat hotpot like this again; understand?”
“I understand…” Alex sniffled while hiding in Evie’s arms.
Jaime checked Alex carefully. “Are you hurt?”
Alex shook his head; Sylvia had held him tightly-it felt so warm.
But he hadn’t expected that Godfather would come too-to protect Godmother and him.
Is this what having a father feels like?
With tear-filled eyes, he watched the couple hurry toward the restroom; tears fell even more freely.
It was all his fault… causing Godfather to get hurt.
The manager ran ahead to open the restroom door and turn on the cold water faucet.
“Mr. Maskelyne, please rinse with cold water.”
Sylvia closed the restroom door behind them. “Please don’t use this restroom for now.”
The manager nodded quickly. “Don’t worry; we have another restroom available.”
Sylvia nodded as she began removing Franklin’s clothes. Seeing the extensive burns made her frown deeply. “Does it hurt?”
Franklin shook his head while letting Sylvia hurriedly undress him; her small hands even pulled down his belt and pants.
“You aren’t made of iron; if it hurts, tell me-we’re husband and wife! Are you crazy? Rushing over here to shield me.”