Chapter 27

Is it a ninth-grader?

Upon hearing this, Jin Hyun-tae quickly thought for a moment. He had a slight understanding of the school system in the United States, knowing it was different from that in China.

In the parallel United States, elementary school is divided into five grade levels, followed by four grade levels for middle school, and then three grade levels for high school, making a total of twelve grades.

Although there are some differences, once you understand this, it's still easy to distinguish the students.

According to Demi's statement, she should be a third-year middle school student.

Oh, just a third-year middle school student, she's still a little kid.

At least in Jin Hyun-tae's eyes, Demi could be considered a little kid.

After all, he had the soul of a 36-year-old man, even though his current body and physiological age were that of a 16-year-old.

"You can just call me 'Jin.' Here, this is the money for the newspaper subscription and your commission." As he spoke, Jin Hyun-tae took out his wallet from his pocket, counted a few 10-dollar bills, and a few 1-dollar bills, and handed them to Demi.

Demi's face lit up with a bright smile as she took the money and made a series of promises, such as not delaying the newspaper delivery regardless of the weather and ensuring the best service.

At this moment, his daughter Coco, who was in the crib behind Jin Hyun-tae, stood up. She first looked around groggily, then rubbed her eyes with her small hands, and finally looked in the direction where her father was standing.

"Mommy!"

Unexpectedly, the little one saw Jin Hyun-tae and Demi at the same time and called out "Mommy."

Demi didn't think much of it, as she didn't believe the little one was calling her. However, Jin Hyun-tae knew who the little one was calling.

"Are you taking care of a child for someone?"

Demi asked casually.

At this moment, Jin Hyun-tae apologized and quickly turned to his daughter, picked her up from the crib, held her horizontally in his arms, and gently patted her back while softly saying to the little one, "Don't call out randomly; that's not your mommy."

Then he responded to Demi, "No, this is my daughter, named Coco. Isn't she cute?" As he said this, Jin Hyun-tae turned his daughter to face Demi to show her.

What! What!

This... This... This is your child!

You're not joking, right!

Demi's freckled face was full of disbelief, her eyes staring straight at Jin Hyun-tae, hoping to get a response like "I'm joking" from him.

The daughter in Jin Hyun-tae's arms kept wriggling, clearly unwilling to be held by her father. The little one kept looking at Demi, her big eyes blinking, looking very cute.

Jin Hyun-tae smiled bitterly and put down the daughter who was wriggling like a caterpillar. Then he said to Demi, "I'm not joking; this is really my daughter, no doubt about it."

"How is that possible? You look so young, how could you be a father? You must be joking, right?"

Demi still didn't believe it.

"Indeed, I'm only 16, but I'm also a father. As for why I became a father...," Jin Hyun-tae's mouth twitched, but he continued, "You should understand, it's the result of a teenager's impulse during adolescence."

After saying this, Jin Hyun-tae really wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in, as it was too embarrassing.

The excuse was not bad, but a bit awkward.

Demi nodded in shock, apparently believing Jin Hyun-tae's explanation and excuse.

"What about the child's mother?"

Demi was quite nosy.

Oh! How can you be so indiscreet, why are you so nosy, is this something you should ask!

Jin Hyun-tae really wanted to shout at Demi, but his good-natured personality and middle-aged man's character prevented him from doing so. Instead, he responded patiently.

"The child's mother passed away in an accident, so now I'm raising the child alone."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," Demi apologized repeatedly.

Seeing the young girl apologize repeatedly with a guilty look, Jin Hyun-tae said, "It's okay, you didn't mean to, I'm not angry."

Demi quickly glanced at Jin Hyun-tae, seeing him standing there with a smile, really not angry, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He really has a good personality; if it were someone else, they would have been angry by now.

Demi thought to herself.

"Let's do this, to apologize, I invite you to my family barbecue party later. It's my way of making it up to you, okay?"

Jin Hyun-tae thought the girl would leave now, but unexpectedly, she changed the subject and invited him.

Since they were neighbors living so close, it wouldn't be good to refuse. Moreover, living here, it was necessary to get along well with the neighbors and at least get to know each other.

Thinking of this, Jin Hyun-tae smiled and nodded, accepting Demi's invitation.

"Sure, I'll bring some beer in the evening."

Demi's eyes widened instantly, looking at Jin Hyun-tae as if he were an alien.

"You can buy alcohol?"

Jin Hyun-tae's face showed embarrassment, becoming a bit shy.

In the original United States, alcohol is not sold to people under 20, and it's the same in this parallel world.

So, since Jin Hyun-tae said he was 16, he was far from 20, so how could he buy alcohol?

Not even beer was possible.

"Don't worry, I have a lot of beer at home, I'll just bring it, no need to buy it outside."

Jin Hyun-tae had to explain a bit to Demi.

The reason Jin Hyun-tae had beer at home was that he had asked Dave to buy it for him, as he couldn't buy it himself.

"I didn't expect you to have a way to get alcohol, I really can't underestimate you," Demi said with an envious look.

Indeed, American teenagers are quite rebellious. Although they can't buy alcohol under 20, many underage teenagers still find ways to get alcohol and throw parties with their friends.

Those who can get alcohol are definitely stars in everyone's eyes and are indispensable at parties for underage teenagers.

Clearly, Jin Hyun-tae was such a person in Demi's eyes.

Unfortunately, Jin Hyun-tae didn't understand Demi's thoughts, or he would have laughed to death.

What nonsense party, he just liked beer, so he asked Dave to buy it for him.

"Okay, I'll tell my father, he'll be very happy that you're coming to the barbecue party." With a different intention, Demi hurriedly said this to Jin Hyun-tae and then rode her bicycle away.

As Demi left, the little one, Coco, who had been holding the back gate of the yard and looking at Demi with a small face, turned back to Jin Hyun-tae with a disappointed and regretful look, shouting, "Mommy! Mommy!"

It was as if the real mother had just left, making Jin Hyun-tae both amused and heartbroken.

"Coco, be good, that's not your mommy." Jin Hyun-tae only explained to Coco that Demi wasn't her mother, but he couldn't tell her the harsh reality that her mother was no longer in this world.

Speaking of which, his daughter was pitiful, losing her mother at such a young age. She grew up on formula milk, unlike other children who at least had some breastfeeding.

Of course, this also meant that Coco didn't have some bad habits, like touching her chest or needing to hold something when sleeping.

But Jin Hyun-tae knew that every time he took his daughter out, the little one would look at other children with their mothers with envy.

So, whenever he saw his daughter with that look, Jin Hyun-tae's heart was filled with sorrow.

He wasn't pitying himself, but pitying the child without a mother.

"Coco wants a mommy."

Although his daughter's intellectual development was different from that of her peers, surpassing them by a lot, her current transformation wasn't so obvious, so she was still at a child's level of intelligence and couldn't fully understand Jin Hyun-tae's words.

Therefore, the little one insisted on expressing her thoughts, which was "wanting a mommy."

This wasn't about wanting Demi to be her mother, but telling her father that she wanted a mother, and it didn't matter who it was.

Turning his head, Jin Hyun-tae wiped away the tears from his eyes, feeling a bit bitter.

No matter how much he cared for his daughter and provided her with the best living conditions and environment, he couldn't fill the gap of her needing a mother.

He felt he had let his daughter down.

"Okay! Okay! When there's a chance, Dad will definitely find you a mommy, Coco, be good."

His daughter was still too young to understand the father's bitterness and the helplessness in reality.

A mother isn't something you can just find; it requires the right timing and the right person.

Especially for Jin Hyun-tae and Coco, this point needed to be handled with great caution.

But no matter what, the little one was finally calmed down by Jin Hyun-tae. Perhaps his words had an effect, and the little one believed his promise, as she immediately smiled, her voice clear and bright.

"Dad is the best!"

Smack!

The little one lifted her small hand, wrapped her arms around Jin Hyun-tae's neck, and kissed his cheek, leaving it wet with saliva.

Seeing his daughter's mood improve, Jin Hyun-tae felt relieved. He was worried that the little one would keep fussing about this, which would be troublesome.

Fortunately, such worries didn't materialize, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Crossing his garden, Jin Hyun-tae saw Demi and a middle-aged man moving barbecue equipment out of their house, clearly preparing for the party.

Jin Hyun-tae thought for a moment, picked up his daughter, went into the room, took a box of beer from the fridge, and walked to Demi's house through the back garden.

At this moment, Demi was telling her father about inviting someone and providing some basic information about the person.