"Hello?" A gruff male voice answered the phone, speaking Mandarin with a noticeable accent. "Are you looking for Sister Rou?"
"Yes, I'm her best friend."
"Sister Rou went out with the boss early this morning," the person replied, speaking slowly and deliberately in his broken Mandarin. "Is An'an looking for her?"
Hearing his name, An'an took a breath and hummed in affirmation.
There was a pause on the other end. "Sister Rou left a message... she said, An'an should be good and stay with his godmother. She misses you very much and will be back as soon as possible."
"Then Uncle, please also tell Mom for me to eat on time," An'an said, then paused as if he had more to say but held back. "An'an misses her too."
After Xia Qingxue left, Qin Ningyi took An'an to work.
He hadn't felt any regret about not hearing Huo Rou's voice just now, but seeing An'an's dejected mood since they got in the car, he frowned and glanced at the clothes he was wearing.
"To the mall."
"Huh? President Qin, we're not going to work?" Xiao Konglin asked in surprise from the passenger seat.
Qin Ningyi cast him a sidelong glance. Xiao Konglin wisely shut his mouth and confirmed the route to the mall with the driver.
Upon arriving at the mall, Qin Ningyi took An'an to the children's play area.
An'an had never played these games before and became very interested. Qin Ningyi was secretly pleased, feeling his decision was the right one.
However, he soon noticed something was amiss.
Most children could barely hit one target when throwing beanbags, but his son, after a few initial misses, hit every single one.
Soon, Xiao Konglin was holding a plush toy.
Next, An'an went to the arcade next door. After figuring out the claw machine's mechanism, he used ten chances, and apart from the three he spent figuring it out, he won seven incredibly cute stuffed animals.
Xiao Konglin felt a lot of pressure.
By the time An'an was working on his second claw machine, a crowd had already gathered around.
"Wow, this kid is amazing!"
"Look at him! Such a little kid can grab one, why can't you grab one for me!"
A young couple started arguing because of this. The man, annoyed, walked over. "Can you help me grab that doll, kid? I'll give you twenty extra coins."
An'an looked at him and the expectant girl beside him, then nodded. He operated the machine expressionlessly and grabbed the doll for him.
Once this started, couples in the vicinity all came to buy dolls. Before long, Qin Ningyi was holding a basket full of game tokens.
An'an, having had a lot of fun, left one plush toy behind, sold the rest of the game tokens and plush toys to the store, and returned the initial capital to Xiao Konglin. An'an still had quite a bit left.
"Dad, I made money!" An'an exclaimed, waving the money in his hand.
Qin Ningyi nodded with amusement. "Impressive."
Xiao Konglin was also full of admiration. As expected of President Qin's son, the "God of Wealth," could the ability to make money be inherited?
Leaving the children's play area, Qin Ningyi, according to his original plan, intended to take An'an to a clothing store to pick out some clothes.
Yesterday had been too rushed to prepare, so today he would take this opportunity to shop with An'an.
He really had no experience buying clothes. The dazzling array of children's clothing in the boutique made him hesitant.
"Which one do you like?" Qin Ningyi looked down at An'an and took the plush toy from his hand. "Go pick."
An'an walked past, looking at each item. The sales assistant arrived late and only saw little An'an browsing the clothes.
"Kid, where's your adult?" she asked unpleasantly.
"Outside," An'an replied politely.
The sales assistant looked outside. Qin Ningyi had just stepped out to take a call and was not visible. The sales assistant's expression soured. "What are you browsing for if your adult isn't here?"
She glanced at An'an's clothes. "You dare to come to our wan-kid to buy clothes dressed like this? Can you even afford it?"
"Bring your adult next time. If you can't afford it, don't touch our clothes. If you break anything, your parents won't be able to afford to pay for it." The sales assistant looked at An'an's clothes, which had no brand markings and were made of ordinary cotton, deeming them cheap street-market wear.
An'an found it strange. He hadn't done anything wrong, so why was this aunt so fierce?
Though he didn't understand, he retracted his hand.
Seeing him withdraw his hand, the sales assistant became even more convinced he was just a child wandering around who couldn't afford anything. She pushed him towards the exit.
"Go on, go on. Have your adult earn more money before coming back," the sales assistant said impatiently, shooing him out.
Qin Ningyi returned to see An'an being pushed out of the store by the sales assistant.
He quickly went forward, took An'an, and asked gently, "What's wrong?"
The sales assistant saw that he was dressed in a well-made suit and realized she had offended him. She quickly tried to salvage the situation. "Sir, I'm so sorry. It's just that I saw this child alone and thought he was lost, so I was about to take him to the broadcast."
"No, that's not it," An'an shook his head and said softly to Qin Ningyi. "She's snobbish."
"I..." the sales assistant was about to argue, but Qin Ningyi's sharp gaze made her swallow her words.
"You don't even have basic service etiquette," Qin Ningyi said, looking at Xiao Konglin, who was sweating profusely. "Is this the children's clothing brand under our company?"
Xiao Konglin also hadn't expected such a sales assistant to exist. He smiled wryly. "Sorry, President Qin, I'll handle this."
Qin Ningyi hugged An'an and left, heading to another children's clothing store. "Dad, An'an doesn't want clothes anymore."
"Hmm? I'll go choose with you," Qin Ningyi thought An'an had been scared by the previous sales assistant and tried to comfort him patiently.
An'an shook his head. He knew the aunt was fierce, which was why he hadn't said much. But, "No, the fabric they use for their clothes isn't the most suitable for children. Mom said children should wear comfortable, sweat-absorbent materials."
"And, they're not pretty." An'an lowered his head and poked his finger. "I..."
Qin Ningyi's phone rang at that moment, and An'an fell silent, waiting obediently for him to answer.
"You're back?"
"Didn't Mom say you brought your son to work? Where is he?" a lazy voice asked from the other end of the phone.
"Shopping for clothes at the mall," Qin Ningyi replied concisely.
The female voice on the other end sounded somewhat dismissive. "Buying what? Do you know how to pick clothes?" she said imperiously. "Bring him back, I'll make them. Are the clothes from the mall better than what I make?"
Qin Ningyi chuckled softly. "Alright, I'll see you at the office."
After hanging up, he met An'an's curious gaze and smiled. "Your aunt is back. She said she wants to make clothes for you."
"Auntie?" An'an seemed to have never heard this title before.
Qin Ningyi nodded and started walking towards the parking lot with An'an in his arms. "My sister, An'an's aunt."
"Will Auntie like An'an?" An'an began to worry again.