Zhang Xiaojun felt little sadness. When he thought back on those things, his first reaction was nervousness. He simply didn't like the tense atmosphere between his parents. He didn't mind what hobbies his mother, Lü Qiaolan, had, or whether she cared more about some teddy bears or about him, her son, as long as his parents could talk things over calmly. He, too, preferred the toy planes and toy cars his parents had put away to parents he could see every day, nagging him to study.
That was how a child thought.
He naively believed that if his mother found her toy, she'd be happy. He'd be happy, too, as long as he had his little plane and car.
Zhang Xiaojun's thoughts were so simple and innocent that he quickly understood what his father had said.
"Then let's go buy Mom's bear!" Zhang Xiaojun said, looking up at his father. He swung the hand his father was holding twice.
His father could only smile wryly. "Your mom..." He seemed to swallow the words on the tip of his tongue, then abruptly changed tack. "That one was a limited edition, out of production... You can't buy it anymore."
Zhang Xiaojun understood only the meaning of the words "can't buy it," and immediately felt disappointed.
"You can't buy it anymore? Then why is Mom still looking for it?" Zhang Xiaojun asked.
"Mm."
Zhang Xiaojun looked at his father as his father led him out of the toy store.
Instead of buying his son a remote-controlled car, the man made it up to him by buying him potato chips.
"Don't tell your mom." The man winked at him.
Hugging the chips, Zhang Xiaojun grinned happily, his gloom and confusion swept away.
When they got home, the man put on a stern face and