That evening, Qin Ningyi called An An, "An An, please pass the phone to your mom."
An An happily picked up the phone, but Qin Ningyi immediately asked for Huo Rou. An An pouted and handed the small phone to Huo Rou, muttering, "Hmph, why call Mom directly and need a child to help in between."
Qin Ningyi, on the other end of the line, heard it all. He thought if Huo Rou only gave him a pleasant look after this, where did he get Huo Rou's number from...
"Hello?" Huo Rou's voice rang out. Qin Ningyi lay in bed, the moonlight streaming in, accompanied by Huo Rou's voice. The night seemed to have taken on a different hue.
Qin Ningyi suppressed some sudden thoughts and his voice was hoarse, "Huo Rou, it's me."
"What is it?"
Qin Ningyi suddenly felt that calling Huo Rou from his bed was rather hasty. He propped himself up with his strong, powerful hands, leaning against the headboard before continuing, "I've found a very good school for An An. On Saturday, we'll take him to visit a senior, and they will conduct an admission test for An An."
Huo Rou frowned. She also had to take An An to see Ren Zhen on Saturday to arrange for his enrollment.
"Saturday won't work. I've found a friend whose family runs a very good private school. We've arranged to meet on Saturday and take An An to see it," Huo Rou refused. She had read some materials, and the school run by Ren Zhen's family had good teachers and emphasized moral education.
Qin Ningyi remembered Huo Rou constantly looking at her phone after leaving school and sighing as she got out of the car. She must have put a lot of effort into contacting a school.
He didn't want to dampen her spirits, but Ren Xiangtian's clan school was currently the least afraid of the Zhou family in Yu Chang City. He had asked Xiao Konglin to inquire. After they left school, the Zhou family elder had already stated in educational circles that they would not accept An An.
Each system had its own power structure. The Zhou family virtually had a monopoly in the education sector of Yu Chang City. As for the remaining smaller schools, he couldn't be bothered with them.
"I'm sorry for making you go to so much trouble." Huo Rou waited for a moment, and when Qin Ningyi didn't respond, she felt a bit apologetic for making him waste his effort.
Hearing Huo Rou's apology, Qin Ningyi's voice softened again. To avoid disheartening her, he proposed an idea: "How about this, I'll accompany you to see the school you contacted in the morning, and then we can go see the one I mentioned. We can compare them before deciding."
Huo Rou thought this was a good idea. Qin Ningyi must have gone to some effort to find a school, and going to see it would at least put his mind at ease.
"Okay. See you Saturday then."
"Mhm, goodnight."
Saturday arrived quickly.
Huo Rou took An An into the car. Since they had to go to Huo Rou's chosen location first, Qin Ningyi asked her to sit in the front and navigate.
Huo Rou, sitting in the passenger seat again, lowered her head to search for the route. She didn't notice Qin Ningyi's fleeting smile.
[Starting navigation. Destination: Jinjiang Villa. Estimated travel time: approximately 2 hours.]
"Jinjiang Villa?" Qin Ningyi glanced at her, surprised.
"Yes, my friend lives here. Let's go." Huo Rou nodded. She knew the place was a bit far, but she didn't expect him to be so surprised.
"What friend? How did you get to know them?" Qin Ningyi asked as he drove away.
Besides the Ren family, he hadn't heard of any other families living in Jinjiang Villa. After all, the villa was initially planned and built by his father in cooperation with the Ren family for their own use.
"I met them online. We can be considered comrades-in-arms," Huo Rou thought for a moment. This phrasing should be acceptable. They indeed met online and accomplished something significant together, so they could be considered comrades-in-arms.
Qin Ningyi's ears interpreted this as online gaming buddies. He mused that some people also called gaming companions "comrades-in-arms."
He was already starting to think about how to comfort Huo Rou. It was probably a scam... It was normal for a simple girl like Huo Rou to be deceived. Fortunately, he had suggested going with them.
Two hours later, under Huo Rou's direction, Qin Ningyi drove the car into the Ren family's courtyard.
"Wow! Mom, this place is so beautiful!" An An exclaimed, looking at the castle-like estate.
Huo Rou looked at the green vines covering the walls and the flowers in the courtyard and nodded in agreement. The plants were well-maintained.
The butler had already seen guests arriving on the system and, following the instructions of the master and young master, hurried to escort them in.
"Guests, please come this way."
Led by the old butler, they arrived in the main hall, the central castle among the ancient and elegant castle cluster.
"Xiao Qin, you're here!" Ren Xiangtian, with a white beard, stood up with a smile to greet them.
Following behind him was a man with a youthful demeanor, his brown hair slightly curled, wearing a pair of glasses, and looking very refined. As he approached with Ren Xiangtian, he looked at the family of three who had arrived, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Boss?"
His voice carried a hint of swagger, completely at odds with his refined appearance, reminding one of the idiom "refined scum."
He was looking at Qin Ningyi, and upon hearing his voice, Qin Ningyi also frowned and looked at him. Huo Rou watched the two of them stare at each other, finding it somewhat amusing, and remained silent.
In a moment of eye contact, the man with glasses narrowed his eyes and suddenly relaxed his demeanor, "No..." he said in a rather flippant tone. Ren Xiangtian shot him an eye roll.
Ren Zhen pushed aside the hair falling in front of his eyes and said, "Everyone, please sit. I have some matters to attend to, so I won't be joining you."
With that, he turned and went upstairs, leaving without a moment's delay.
Ren Xiangtian said with a chuckle, "This is my son, Ren Zhen. My late-born child, spoiled to a fault. Xiao Qin, please don't mind him."
Qin Ningyi shook his head, indicating it was alright, and sat down at Ren Xiangtian's gesture.
As soon as he sat down, Qin Ningyi looked at Huo Rou. This was where Huo Rou had said she wanted to come, but she hadn't greeted any friends since they entered. His eyes inquired of Huo Rou.
Huo Rou simply gave a soft smile and shook her head.
Meanwhile, Ren Xiangtian nodded to the middle-aged man on the adjacent sofa, "Xiao Wang, come, take this child for a tour."
The man called Xiao Wang stood up. His square face looked a little stern. He walked up to An An, "Your name is An An, right?"
An An was not intimidated by his sternness and calmly replied, "Yes, I am An An."
A hint of relief appeared on Xiao Wang's stern, square face. "Well-behaved and not bad. How about you let your mom and dad chat with Elder Ren while I take you for a walk?"
An An looked at Huo Rou and Qin Ningyi, and they both nodded at him. Only then did An An obediently follow Xiao Wang upstairs.
"The test has begun?" Qin Ningyi asked Ren Xiangtian, raising an eyebrow.