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“Uh… No particular reason. I’m just not as good as you are.” Tony giggled. Nelly folded her arms in front of her chest and stared at him silently.
He immediately gave up and lowered his eyes when he saw that. “Fine. I felt pretty conflicted about it because I knew you would learn the truth one day. Rather than waiting to be discovered, I thought it would be better if I turned myself in instead. At least I’d be coming in clean.”
“In that case, why did you give me a fake address?” Her eyes narrowed. “Because I hesitated at the last second, so I sent that fake one instead…”
She continued to stare at him. I didn’t expect him to consider that at the last second. He’s still a child. I really have no idea what kind of person he’ll grow up to become.
Seeing how she remained silent, he continued, “Besides, didn’t you also show me mercy? Don’t you know that’s a blatant insult to a hacker?”
“You were insulted?”
Tony took in a deep breath. “Maybe a little bit, but it doesn’t matter because I can’t win against you, anyway…”
“Really?”
He nodded seriously. “Of course! It was a close call, but I did need more time! You didn’t think I was letting you win, did you?”
“It’s not impossible for me to think that way if you’re good at acting.”
“I admit, in the beginning, I did think about doing it. If I were somehow better than you, I would have to lose to you to protect your status as the number one hacker in the world. However, after I started battling with you, I realized I was being naive. I shouldn’t have thought I could win.”
Nelly found his explanation amusing, regardless of whether what he said was true.
“I’m not kidding, Nelly . If we have another battle next time, don’t show me any mercy. I want to know just how big of a difference there is between your skills and mine!”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“If I have something I don’t understand in the future, can I ask you about it?” “Sure you can.”
“You’re so great, Nelly . You’re the smartest mommy in the world!” Tony smiled innocently and brightly at her.
Truthfully, Nelly had never seen him being that excited before. As she gazed at his smile, the edges of her lips curved upward, too.
Moments later, she spoke up. “Tony .” “Hmm?”
“Promise me that no matter what happens, you must protect yourself first. You’re the eldest brother, so you need to be a good role model for Ben and Donna , okay?”
“I know, Nelly . Don’t worry! I’ll do that.” He nodded.
In response, she smiled. “Don’t forget about your promise, okay?” “I won’t!”
Nelly wanted to say something else, but when the words arrived in her mouth, she didn’t let them out.
“All right, it’s getting late. You should rest early!” As she spoke, she stood up, preparing to head back to her room.
“Nelly !” Tony called. “Yeah?”
“Please don’t tell Daddy about my hacking thing yet, Nelly .” She nodded without inquiring why. “Okay.”
“You’re not going to ask why?”
“It’s your matter, so it’s your decision to make, like what you did today. I only found out about it because you wanted me to know.”
Tony felt he was lucky to have an open-minded mother like her.
At that moment, his heart was urging him to give her a hug and tell her that he loved her. However, he wasn’t the type of person to do that, so he suppressed the desire to do so. In the next moment, he asked, “Have you reconciled with Daddy, Nelly ?”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
“Why do you ask?”
“That morning, Donna and I saw Daddy walk out of your room.” Nelly wasn’t sure how to reply to that.
“Donna said you’re interested in Daddy. You like Daddy, don’t you, Nelly ?”
While he didn’t want to admit it in the past, he was fully aware that his mother treated his father differently.
The gears in her mind turned as she stared at him silently.
“I have no intention of stopping you, Nelly . If you really like Daddy, then I’ll support you!” “I thought you were against it in the past?”
“I was against it because of how he used to treat you. However, from what I’ve seen of him lately, his dedication is evident. Most importantly, it was just a misunderstanding back then. Now that Daddy has decided to change, I approve of him, maybe just a little. Of course, the most important thing is still
whether you like him!”
Nelly couldn’t help but smile. “Your daddy will be happy to hear that!” “So, do you like Daddy, Nelly ?”