507 Mini Version (1/2)
Xiu had eyes closed as she listened to Dylan playing the piano. Her eyes twitched when he made a mistake yet again and the throw pillow in her hand went straight towards Dylan's head. Having been accustomed to this, he instinctively dodged but before he could laugh at his victory, the second pillow hit straight at his face.
”Even my little brother is better than you,” stated Xiu keeping her voice calm but he could feel a gloomy and dangerous undertone to it which made him gulp with his prominent Adam's Apple bobbing up and down.
Dylan tried to laugh which came out weird as he said, ”But I heard that your little brother is a genius. It's no wonder that he is better than me. I was always an average student; Not too good, not too bad. The only reason I caught the attention of people was because of how it was famous in our circle that my parents pamper me like a kid.” He had a strange smile as he reminisced about those times and sighed, ”Anyways, I also heard how your little brother even managed to make our Princess Ava talk. Isn't that a proof that he is a genius? He accomplished something no other could do.”
Xiu's lips curled up in a proud smile. She always felt like a proud mother-hen whenever anyone would compliment Jackie. It might be because he was like a kid to her after how she had looked after him for years.
”It didn't require a genius to make her talk though,” she began making Dylan frown. ”The reason why she was being stubborn and quiet was that everyone gave into her. Especially, Ah-Si. Since he could always get her everything she wanted without having to say a word, she became too dependent on her father.”
Dylan scurried over to Xiu's side asking, ”Then how did your little brother do it?”
Xiu's smile had a hidden meaning as she said, ”He... He just threatened her.”
Dylan's eyes went round while he gaped at her in disbelief. ”He... He did what?” He stammered around not knowing whether he heard it wrong or not.
”You didn't hear wrong. Jackie indeed threatened her.”
”How?” After his initial shock, he was curious now.
Xiu gave him a look, ”Simple. He told her if she didn't open that little mouth of hers like a good girl, he is gonna steal her mother that she finally found after years.” Dylan's jaw almost hit the floor. ”Ava is young but as soon as Nora walked into her life, she grew very close to her. Natural instincts of a child I'd say. So, you can imagine how such a small child would be scared of losing her mother again.”
Dylan was quiet for a long time and couldn't help looking at Xiu as if he was seeing a criminal. It was all written on his face, 'You are to blame for this!' Xiu however, chose to disregard the accusation in his eyes.
”Now I know why Ah-Si told me that Jackson Jing is a mini version of Xiu. You raised him really well, eh?”
”How could you teach a kid all your cunningness? Isn't he too young to play tricks like this?”
”Hey! If one kid can play a trick, others can do it too. How was my brother wrong? It's because of how protective you all are over Ava that she grew too comfortable in her silence. Someone like Jackie had to remind her that the world doesn't work that way. If you want something, voice it out. If you still can't get it, raise your voice louder!”