Yes, I Have a Child with the Villain

When the lights were turned off, Ryan whispered, "Mommy, Daddy, this is so weird. Why are we using three blankets?"

Adrian said, "This way, your blanket won’t get drafty."

Caroline said, "Go to sleep now, no more talking."

Ryan said, "Oh."

「The next day.」

As planned, they got up at eight in the morning and had breakfast.

At nine-thirty, they went to the aquarium.

Inside the aquarium, there was no one else besides the three of them.

Adrian had already paid a hefty sum the day before to book out the entire venue.

This was to avoid a repeat of yesterday’s scene.

"Huh? Why is this place just like the amusement park Daddy took me to? There’s nobody here."

"Daddy, didn’t you say we wouldn’t go to some bankrupt aquarium with no people?"

Caroline answered distractedly, "It’s not bankrupt. Maybe other people just don’t like coming to the aquarium."

The staff member standing nearby: "..."

"Really? You guys better not be tricking me just because I’m little." Ryan was starting to get suspicious.

Caroline said, "When have we ever tricked you?"

Ryan’s wise eyes blinked as if he were thinking and trying to recall something.

Adrian glanced down at the little guy and cut into his reminiscence at just the right moment. "Sweetheart, do you know what kind of fish this is?"

As expected, Ryan’s attention was drawn away. He shook his head. "I don’t know. What kind of fish is it, Daddy?"

Adrian said, "I don’t know either."

Caroline: "..."

The staff member: ...

She cast a casual glance at the backs of the family of three.

’Sheesh,’ she thought. ’How come these three look so much like the people in the photos that were leaked last night?’

After the three of them had walked away, the staff member took out her phone, pulled up the photos she had saved from last night, and compared them to the living, breathing figures right in front of her.

She felt a jolt.

’Holy crap!’

’What have I just discovered?!’

’So Luna Lynn’s rumor denial was true?’

’The real story is some high-society secret!’

「The day trip to the aquarium came to an end.」

At three in the afternoon, they drove back to Kingsport.

By the time they got back to Kingsport and had dinner, it was nearly nine o’clock.

Tomorrow was Monday.

Ryan had to sleep by himself.

With the hotel trip over, Caroline and Adrian tacitly returned to sleeping in separate rooms.

Although their son had caught them in the act once before, it didn’t matter.

On Monday, office workers like them were up before the chickens.

That evening, when Adrian came home from work, he made a major announcement.

Adrian was going to Southedge on a business trip for a week and wouldn’t be back until the following Monday.

Ryan’s eyes darted around, and he looked at Caroline with anticipation. "What about Mom? Are you going to Southedge too?"

Caroline smiled. "Mom’s not going on a business trip this time. Do you want to go with Daddy, or stay with Mommy?"

Adrian didn’t have a strong opinion on who the child stayed with, but he laid out the pros and cons. "If you come on the trip with me, Ryan, you’ll have to stay in the hotel and won’t be able to go anywhere. Daddy won’t necessarily have free time."

Ryan’s excitement vanished in an instant. He let out a listless "Ah."

Adrian glanced at him. "Of course, I could have Miss King come along to take care of you, but given your history of running off on your own, you’d only be allowed to play in the hotel."

He was genuinely afraid the kid would get another crazy idea and run off somewhere to find someone again.

Although the boy was smart and knew to go to the police for help, things like child abduction were a risk that had to be guarded against.

Ryan said, "Oh, then I’ll stay home with Mom."

"Daddy, you’ll answer my calls during this business trip, right?" the little guy asked again, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Clearly, he was still upset about Adrian ignoring his messages before.

It had even left a mark on him.

Adrian said, "I can answer anytime except when I’m in a meeting or discussing business."

He paused, as if to give the child some reassurance. "Even if I miss Ryan’s call, I’ll call you back myself."

With that guarantee, Ryan was satisfied.

Finally, Adrian looked at Caroline. "I’ll have to trouble you during this time."

Caroline couldn’t be happier that one of them was going away on business. Seeing each other every day was awkward.

She said, "Just make sure you answer his calls."

In fact, no matter who was on a business trip, Ryan would conduct his routine "check-ins" every night.

The last time Caroline used a business trip as an excuse to be away, Ryan had video-called her every single night.

Adrian’s business trip this time was no exception.

Every night, Ryan would take her phone and video chat with Adrian for over an hour, only stopping when it was his bedtime.

Every evening, Caroline listened to the little guy interrogate his father about what he did during the day, what he ate, who he met, how many were men, and how many were women, not missing a single detail.

Anyone listening would surely think she was using her son to check up on Adrian.

But in reality, the little guy was asking all these questions himself.

What surprised her, however, was that Adrian actually answered in great detail about his daily schedule.

Of course, Adrian would always end the call by quizzing his son on his homework, seemingly as "revenge" for the boy’s nightly barrage of questions.

Surprisingly, Ryan answered Adrian’s questions fluently.

Caroline, watching from the side, was nothing but shocked.

’Holy cow!’

’This kid really has the script for a genius baby protagonist.’

’He already knows his multiplication tables by heart. I remember back in elementary school, my teacher would keep me after class until I could recite them before I was allowed to go home.’

At this moment, Caroline leaned in and asked curiously, "Sweetie, do you know any hacking skills?"

On the other end of the video call, Adrian: "..."

But Ryan just tilted his head and blinked. "What’s a hacker?"

’Well, looks like I was overthinking things,’ Caroline thought.

But since her son had asked, she gave him a simple explanation: "A hacker is someone who can use the internet to find information that most people can’t."

Ryan’s attention was instantly captured, his eyes sparkling. "Then I want to be a hacker."

Caroline let out a dry laugh. "Learn all your words first, then we can talk about being a hacker."

Ryan was instantly filled with determination. "Mom, I’ll study hard."

"..."

’There’s no need to be *that* diligent.’

For a moment, Caroline didn’t know whether to feel gratified or awed. What was it like to have such a motivated child?

After saying goodbye to Adrian, Ryan went to sleep peacefully.

On Thursday night, Ryan had a sudden idea to go visit Adrian over the weekend.

Caroline thought of this little unregistered person without an ID and rejected the idea with a deadpan expression.

Just driving to Southedge would take a whole day and night.

It wasn’t a realistic proposition.

So, Ryan had another sudden idea: to go back to the old family home to play.

Caroline shot that down too.

Franklin Whitman and Yolanda Young weren’t planning their trip until next month. Going back to the old house now would be like a werewolf blowing their own cover.

Ryan’s eyes darted around. "Then Mom, I want to go back to Azure Heights."

’What is this little guy scheming?’ Caroline wondered.

"Azure Heights is being redecorated, remember? We’re setting up a birthday surprise for you. You don’t want it anymore?"

Ryan’s eyes lit up. "I do, I do!"

"Then Mommy, can I play with May and Luke this weekend?"

Caroline was confused. "Who are May and Luke?"

Ryan said, "They’re new friends I made in class."

Previously, after Caroline and Adrian noticed their son’s social issues, they had switched Ryan from private one-on-one tutoring at his learning center to small group classes.

However, before letting Ryan join the group, they made him promise not to reveal his parents’ identities.

With Adrian’s prior explanation, Ryan had agreed quickly, without a hint of hesitation.

They just hadn’t expected that not long after switching to the small class, Ryan would already have made new friends and even arranged to play with them over the weekend.

Caroline gave Tiny a long, deep look.

’This must have been his goal after going around in circles like that.’

She asked, "Where did you guys plan to go play?"