Melon held the phone against his ear, listening attentively, as the man on the other end spoke.
When the man finally finished speaking, the boy seized his chance.
âIâm sorry, sir, but my mother canât come to the phone right now,â he piped up politely in his young voice.
âMay I ask whoâs calling?â
Only silence greeted his query.
Melon waited several long moments, but the man didnât say anything.
Thinking that the call had been dropped, he said in a tentative tone, âHello?â
Just as he was about to take the phone away from his ear, the man spoke again, his voice unexpectedly soft, âIs.
is that you, Max?â
Melonâs brows furrowed, his confusion evident.
âWho are you? Why do you know my name?â As he said that, he quickly glanced down at the phoneâs screen to see whether he knew the digits or not.
But it offered no identifying details.
Once again, silence was the sole reply.
The boyâs patience started waning, and Melon stated matter-of-factly,
âWell, sir, if thereâs nothing more, Iâll be going.
Then, bye-bye.
â
Hearing that, just a second before the boy ended the call, the man found his voice and said, âIt is me.
your father.
â
Melon caught the word âfatherâ clearly and stopped his movement midway.
Now, it was he who was stunned and couldnât find words to respond.
As the shock washed over him, the boy subconsciously turned away and cried out, âMommy, some scoundrel is on the phone!â
Having heard her sonâs distress, Ariana swiftly closed the door and rushed over.
She took the phone from his hand and asked, âWhat scoundrel, dear?â
Melon looked at her blankly.
âHe says heâs my father.
But I wonât be fooled!â He gave a nonchalant shrug before scratching his head, clearly baffled.
âIt is strange, the number of men claiming to be my father lately.
â
At her sonâs charming comment, Ariana couldnât help laughing at him.
Over the years, she had met a lot of men who tried to approach her, trying to gain her affection.
But she had refused all of them politely, without wavering even the slightest.
When they couldnât win Ariana over, they often tried cozying up to Melon instead, saying, âLet me be your father!â
But her son, as intelligent as he had ever been, would politely and yet firmly decline each time.
Even if the men used tricks, such as buying toys and snacks for Melon, the boy would insist on saying,
âI already have a father even though heâs not here now.
â
Thinking little of it, Ariana promptly redialed the mysterious number, assuming that it was her online friend.
The phone was soon connected.