Chapter 1030 He is a stern father Lyra and Malcolm also heard this news.
Everyone moved over to the Callahan family's residence together.
Fortunately enough though, Alistair had just caught an ordinary cold which caused him fever- nothing serious or alarming.
After hearing the diagnosis results from pediatrician, Spencer, who was nonchalant, casually remarked, "He's so lucky! Just an ordinary cold doesn't require shots or medicine like | had when growing up. I'm soaked in medication jars all day long! Why didn't your mistake back then bring retribution upon your son now, Anthony?" Anthony turned pale on hearing those words, without being able uttering any response whatsoever.
"I'm sorry about your illness. I'll try my best cooperating with laboratory researches, to develop low-dose antidotes suitable for your physique as soon as possible,"he said apologetically.
Spencer told it to Malcolm and Lyra behind Anthony's back, feeling uneasy when seeing Anthony's expression and his deeply- immersed self-blame.
He felt relieved when he concealed sof his dark thoughts and left without looking back when Malcolm and Lyra cto see Alistair.
Years passed by, season after season.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAnthony rarely mentioned his mother Mavis in front of Alistair.
In daily life, he played the role of a loving mother, taking care of Alistair's daily needs while also being a strict father figure who preached various teachings.
Four years flew by quickly, and Alistair turned five years old.
In the evening at Callahan Residence's study room, Anthony sat by his desk with a red ink pen in hand, correcting Alistair's homework personally - advanced math problems as preparation for elementary school.
The overhead light illuminated the room as he looked serious and meticulous while sitting at his desk.
Beside him was five-year-old Alistair standing with hands behind him.
His exquisite blue eyes blinked continuously due to nervousness that made him swallow saliva repeatedly.
From this angle, he couldn't see how many mistakes were corrected on his homework but could clearly feel the red ink pen in Anthony's hand drawing another circle on it.
Was this the sixth one his dad had circled? Alistair whimpered inwardly that his dad's face looked so ugly which scared him! On top of that was a small ruler lying on the table which often had intimate contact with him - causing worry lines to appear all over little Alistair's face as he bit down on his lower lip tightly.
He stood obediently with hands behind back but inside was already going crazy.
Oh no! Yesterday afternoon he only cared about playing with Molly instead of doing homework seriously.
However, there wasn't anything that escaped from Anthony when it cto educating his son.
He never compromised on such matters and thought boys shouldn't be too pampered or they'll ruin their future! "There are twenty elementary math problems altogether. You got eight wrong answers including two questions you had do wrong last week. And you still got wrong again today! This is an attitude problem," said Anthony sternly.
Making little fists clench even tighter behind his back and listening to his father's stern reprimand, he pouted and avoided the attitude issue.
He muttered under his breath, "I'm not even in elementary school yet. Getting twelve questions right is already pretty good." Anthony calmly looked at him with a hint of emotion in his eyes.
"When Spencer was your age, he could already solve middle school math problems. You can't even get at least 80% correct on elementary school math problems," he said.
Twenty questions and eight wrong answers - almost half of them were incorrect. Not to mention that there were two questions that he had gotten wrong last week and had to copy into his mistake notebook.
He should have gotten everything right - this was an issue with attitude.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmUnexpectedly, Alistair responded gloomily, "Spencer is really amazing. He's super intelligent and a genius boy. If you like Spencer so much, why didn't you just have another Spencer instead of me?" Anthony remained silent.
"Daddy, you always comparewith Spencer. Shouldn't | compare you with Uncle Malcolm? Uncle Malcolm has such a high military rank while all you do is manage the company," Alistair continued.
"Even though Uncle Malcolm manages such a large organization, he still finds tto spend more twith Aunt Lyra than you do withevery day." Furthermore, Spencer had a mother - Aunt Lyra was very beautiful - so why didn't Alistair have one? Did Mom leave because she was angry by his father? As the childish voice spoke words that touched Anthony's heartstrings, all he saw was an annoying brat who deserved punishment.
He replied, "If you wantto stop working and play with you every day instead of checking your math homework once per week like we used to do before, then it can be done as long as you're willing! I'll stay by your side tomorrow if that's what it takes." "Waaah..." Alistair shook his head like a rattle drum, immediately changing tack, "I can't take it anymore! Just kidding!" Anthony looked serious as ever, "I'm talking about studying seriously here but somehow you find tfor jokes! You'll be going up into elementary school next year. If you don't study hard now, then how will things turn out? You're spoiling yourself!" He counted the red circles again, and pronounced the sentence in a stern voice, "Eight mistakes, ten mistakes. Tie up the sleeve of the left hand and raise it higher." The small ruler was placed on the table. He picked it up, held it tightly in his palm, unbuttoned the cuff of his suit, took off his watch, and made preparations meticulously.
Alistair stared at him blankly, worried, and he kept rubbing his small hands behind his back.
He hadn't been beaten yet, but he seemed to feel the pain already.
"Woo... I'm not convinced. Why is it ten not eight?" His dad's math was taught by the kindergarten teacher, right? Anthony's tone was cold, "Six basic mistakes, two repetitive mistake. Do you have any opinions?" Humph, he had an opinion! His dad was so fierce every the checked his homework! Alistair swallowed, but never stretched out his little hand. "I have to go to kindergarten tomorrow. Can you not beat my hand, or just butt?" Otherwise, if he went to kindergarten, other children will laugh at him if they found the injury on his hand.
Anthony was picking off the wedding ring on his ring finger, carefully put it on the table, and sighed, "It's not impossible, but don't cand cry withtomorrow, and complain that your butt hurts." Alistair pursed his lips, "It really hurts. What if | can't sit on the stool tomorrow? How can you bear it? How about... letgo this time?" Taking chances, he winked at Anthony.
Anthony's face beceven more serious, and he stared at him quietly, "You made a mistake and cheated on me. It seems that you don't realize what your problem is at all. Add another five times." His dad was too cruel! Alistair pursed his small mouth, grievously covered his face, and tried to be well-behaved, "Daddy~" Anthony was unmoved, "If you dare to play tricks on me, just add another five times, you try?" The little boy stared at him resentfully, and shut up decisively.
His dad was really angry. If he went on, he can't stand out of the study room tonight...
With a calm face, Anthony wrote something in his small notebook with a red ink pen, and waited patiently, "Two minutes, hand or butt, the choice is up to you."