An An came here, apart from not wanting to be sent away, this was the first time he showed a spoiled mood.
Qin Ningyi's heart was slightly shaken by the pull of the small hands. Meeting his hazy eyes, the last shred of his resolve crumbled.
"Let's go," Qin Ningyi led him to the lounge, "Be good."
"Mm-hmm," An An looked at the big hands holding him. Unlike his mother's slender and soft hands, these hands had distinct knuckles and were very strong. "Dad, I'm very good. Mom says I'm the best behaved child."
An An climbed onto the bed himself, sleeping on the inner side. His eyes were almost closed, yet he still stared at Qin Ningyi by the bed, his anticipation overflowing.
Qin Ningyi had no choice. His tolerance had broken his own perception that morning. He lay down beside An An and said in a low voice, "Sleep."
"Oh!" An An nodded excitedly, and his head quietly leaned against Qin Ningyi's arm as he fell asleep with peace of mind.
While the two entered dreamland, Xiao Konglin had no chance for a nap.
He was still caught up in the excitement of President Qin actually being willing to take a nap, thinking he finally had a chance for a midday rest! Just as he lay down on the sofa, his phone rang.
"Old Madam, is there anything you need me to do?" Xiao Konglin became nervous. The last time the Old Madam called him was to have President Qin go on a blind date.
Would this time be another hellish difficulty?
"Little Xiao, I've heard from Xiao Wan about An An's situation. Since the child resembles Ning Yi, it's fate. If no one comes to claim him, we'll raise him; it's also a good deed. However, the father-son relationship still needs to be handled with care."
"In the afternoon, have Dr. Wang go over and take a sample for a paternity test. If Ning Yi was indeed tricked into this, alas, it would be pitiful for this child."
"Yes, I'll arrange it right away. Then today..." Although Xiao Konglin had President Qin Fei Wan's word, now that the Old Madam herself inquired, he still had to ask for her opinion.
"If no one comes to pick him up, have Ning Yi bring him over. I want to see if he really looks that much alike," the Old Madam chuckled happily. "After being shown off grandchildren by those friends for so long, I also want a child to liven things up around here."
"Okay, Old Madam." Xiao Konglin breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, he didn't want to send An An away either. Just based on President Qin's behavior of eating and napping on time today, this An An was a little hero!
His nap ruined, Xiao Konglin resigned himself to arranging for a driver to pick up Dr. Wang.
In the lounge, Qin Ningyi, who was rarely taking a nap, was awakened by a babble.
"Mommy," An An mumbled pitifully, clutching the quilt, "Mommy, Mommy..."
Qin Ningyi had spent most of the day with An An, and An An had always been well-behaved in front of him, like a little adult.
But now, An An's eyes were tightly shut, his lips pouted, and tear tracks on his cheeks still held droplets of tears.
Qin Ningyi was at a loss. He had never comforted a child before. When he encountered crying children, he would hide far away because they annoyed him. How did others comfort them?
Seeing An An crying so aggrievedly, a strange sense of heartache welled up in him. For the first time, he felt dissatisfaction towards the child's mother.
Such a young child, and she had abandoned him to go out on her own. This mother was too irresponsible!
Qin Ningyi reached out and gently wiped the tears from An An's face. An An seemed to feel the warmth, waved his small hand, and grabbed two of his fingers.
Having grasped something, An An's sense of unease lessened, and he stopped crying, only sobbing.
Qin Ningyi, afraid he wouldn't be able to breathe properly, patted his back to soothe him. An An groggily opened his eyes, saw Qin Ningyi patting his back, and instantly revealed two dimples. He contentedly hugged Qin Ningyi's arm and closed his eyes, murmuring, "Daddy..."
"Mm?" Moved by this action full of dependence, Qin Ningyi's heart softened, and he unconsciously responded.
"I want to hear..."
"Hear what?"
The answer was An An's shallow breathing. Qin Ningyi looked at the small hands tightening on his arm, then at An An's peaceful sleeping face, and in a low voice, softly hummed a lullaby.
When An An woke up, he saw Qin Ningyi leaning against the headboard, fast asleep beside him. He smiled contentedly, gently loosened his arm, and got up.
An An knelt beside Qin Ningyi, looking at him up close. His small hand playfully touched his brow bone and eyelashes. This was his dad. Why did Mom lock his photos on the computer and never mention him?
An An then imitated Qin Ningyi, leaning against the headboard, looking down at his big hand, and then placing his own hand on top of it for comparison.
An An played on the bed for a while before Qin Ningyi finally woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, An An leaned over, smiling incredibly happily, "Good afternoon, Daddy!"
Anyone would have their mood improved upon opening their eyes to such a soft, cute child. Qin Ningyi didn't respond to An An's greeting but reached out and ruffled his fine, soft hair.
An An, like a cat being petted, proudly raised his head.
Qin Ningyi put on his shoes and smoothed the creases on his clothes, about to turn back to help An An. Just then, he saw An An busily walking around on the bed, folding the quilt.
"He can even fold the quilt?" Qin Ningyi raised an eyebrow. Four or five-year-olds knew so much?
An An carefully straightened the folds of the quilt and said proudly, "An An knows a lot! Mom taught me everything." After saying this, he seemed to realize something was wrong and added, "Except for cooking."
Qin Ningyi also became interested, "You can cook too?"
"Yes, Mom can't cook. I'm the man of the house, of course, I have to take good care of her!" While speaking, An An had already creased the quilt with sharp edges. "I learned several dishes from Sister Zhao Di! I'll cook for you too, Daddy, in the future."
The quilt was folded neatly. An An nodded in satisfaction, climbed off the bed, and put on his shoes.
Qin Ningyi looked at the quilt on the bed, which had the beginnings of a "military square" shape. He squatted down to help An An tie his shoelaces and asked casually, "Did your mom teach you to fold the quilt too? What does your mom do?"
Qin Ningyi became curious about this mother An An spoke of. What kind of person would teach a child to fold a military quilt?
"Yes, Mom taught me." Hearing Qin Ningyi ask, An An was secretly happy. His goal this time was to make Dad like Mom, so they could live together as a family.
Finally, he asked about Mom!
An An thought about what his mother did most often and said to Qin Ningyi with certainty, "Mom grows flowers."
Qin Ningyi naturally took An An's hand and walked out. He was a little surprised by this. He thought that folding a quilt like this was probably related to the military, but it turned out she was a flower grower?
"What kind of flowers?" Qin Ningyi couldn't connect someone who could fold a military quilt with growing flowers. However, wasn't there a saying online, called "Zhonghua Jia" (literally "China family")?
He smiled self-deprecatingly. After spending a day with a child, his thinking had changed.
"I grow the most beautiful flowers in the village!"