Jude was like a wrung-out sponge, and he was earnestly soaking up all the knowledge that he could
get his hands on. It was not surprising that he jumped at the opportunity to learn from Vania, and he
quickly nodded in agreement.
Vania leaped for joy and immediately started making plans to mold Jude in her image.
She announced with a smile, “Let me go get dinner ready for all of you, and we can have a study
session together tonight.”
The four children all nodded in response.
Vania grew more blissful in their presence, and soon enough, she had chucked all her worries out the
door as she focused on preparing dinner.
Jude had only been with them for a few days, and he was still fairly thin compared to the others, but he
was beginning to look a lot livelier. His melancholic eyes had a touch of aloofness to them, and even at
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇta young age, his looks were extraordinarily striking.
Meanwhile, Vania’s exuberance left Jude feeling a little confused. He turned his puzzled eyes toward
his three older brothers in an attempt to find out what was going on.
Jack was the first to respond. He sighed and sat on the couch. “Jude, you don’t know about this, but
before you came home with us, Mommy already tried to get one of us to inherit her designer dreams,
but none of us liked designing, so we didn’t let her teach us. After we turned her down, Mommy would
often bring it up again and complain that her outstanding design talents were going to end with our
generation. Now that you’re here, it’s like she’s gotten a second chance to have one of her children
carry on her dreams, and she’s probably hoping that you’ll want to become a designer like her.”
Jude’s brows creased a little when he heard what Jack said.
Was he now burdened with the task of passing on his mother’s artistic genes? He was feeling a little
unsure of himself, and he was afraid that Vania would be disappointed in him if he could not draw very
well.
James calmly gave his younger brother a comforting pat on the back. “Relax, it doesn’t matter if you’re
not very good at drawing or if you don’t like it. Mommy respects our choices, so if you like something,
then you can just tell her.”
Jude nodded lightly to signify that he understood what James meant. After spending a few days with
the other three children, he had become less reserved than he was when he first met them. Even
though he barely spoke around them, he would still use simple movements and gestures to
communicate his thoughts to them.
Jacob was clutching a lollipop as he declared, “Don’t worry, Jude. Our Mommy is the best in the entire
world!”
“That’s right!” James and Jake agreed in unison.
Jude nodded again and carefully committed their words to heart.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAn hour later, Vania had prepared a sumptuous dinner. It was a balanced meal of nutrients and
vitamins, but most importantly, it smelled delicious. As soon as she set the food down on the table, the
children started peppering her with praises, and she could hear them gulping their saliva in anticipation.
Vania raised them to be polite and well-mannered children, so despite the elder three children’s
tendency to get a little cheeky, they still abided by proper eating etiquette. They had an air of
refinement as they tucked into the food. Jude was a quick learner, and after several days of exposure,
he had also picked up on proper eating habits.
After several hearty refills, the merriment of dinner was over, and it was time for Vania and the children
to have some bonding time together.
Today, Vania prepared four drawing boards.
She solemnly instructed the older three, “It is your younger brother’s first time drawing today, and like
his older brothers, the three of you will need to set a good example for him.”
“Yes, Mommy,” they replied sincerely and nodded.
Thus, they did what Vania had taught them. They set out their drawing boards, grabbed a pencil, and
got into a comfortable sitting position. Now, they were all ready to start drawing.