"I'm willing." Qin Ningyi closed his eyes and said the words like a sigh.
Curiosity truly existed, and it grew with each passing day.
An'an secretly smiled and fell asleep peacefully.
The next day, Qin Ningyi arranged his schedule early, clearing his afternoon work time to pick up An'an.
The last class was Zhou Qin's Chinese lesson. After school, she led the children to the school gate to wait for their parents. Zhou Qingyan stood with An'an, chatting intermittently.
"An'an, you said your dad would pick you up today?" Zhou Qingyan asked curiously.
"Yes, Dad promised me yesterday," An'an nodded and smiled. "Brother, who's picking you up today?"
Zhou Qingyan shook his head. "It seems no one is picking me up. An'an, what does your dad do? Can I get a ride home with you?"
Zhou Qingyan smiled sheepishly, scratching his head as he looked at An'an. "Of course, if it's not convenient, it's okay. I can wait for my dad to pick me up after he finishes his overtime."
An'an saw the familiar car approaching and said to Zhou Qingyan, "Brother, just ride with us. I'll have the driver send you home."
Zhou Qingyan looked at An'an gratefully and said, "An'an, you're so nice, so righteous!"
While An'an was watching the traffic, he turned his head and shook his head at the driver waiting in the distance. The car that had been waiting by the roadside started and drove away from the school.
When Qin Ningyi got out of the car and walked up to An'an, the Chinese teacher, Zhou Qin, also saw him.
Before An'an could greet Qin Ningyi, Zhou Qin walked over.
"Qin Ningyi?" Zhou Qin quickly walked up to Qin Ningyi, smiling brightly.
Qin Ningyi frowned, his eyes filled with confusion, and he didn't respond.
"I'm Zhou Qin! You great genius, only remembering textbooks and not people? We were university classmates! Did you really forget?" Zhou Qin asked playfully.
Qin Ningyi apologized.
Zhou Qin didn't feel too awkward and only asked, "I didn't expect to see you here. After I confessed to you in college, you stopped coming to school. I thought I had scared you away."
"What were you doing back then?" Zhou Qin asked familiarly, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.
An'an saw Zhou Qin smiling happily and felt a little uneasy. His mother had never stood with his father.
He quickly pulled Zhou Qingyan to Qin Ningyi and said, "Dad, do you know Teacher Zhou?"
Qin Ningyi's face lit up when he saw An'an approaching. "Is she your teacher?"
An'an nodded, a hint of defensiveness in his eyes toward Zhou Qin.
Zhou Qin hadn't expected An'an to be Qin Ningyi's son! He had a son already? No wonder he felt familiar when he first saw An'an.
"When did you get married? Your son is already so big," Zhou Qin asked curiously.
Qin Ningyi didn't answer and simply said politely, "Thank you for taking care of An'an."
"Not at all, An'an is very smart. He's already a little prodigy in the class," Zhou Qin said, still a little bothered. "Why isn't An'an's mother here?"
An'an grabbed Qin Ningyi's hand and said, "Dad, let's go. My classmate has no one to pick him up. Let's take him home."
Qin Ningyi nodded to Zhou Qin and said, "Then we'll be going. " He then looked at An'an. "Say goodbye to the teacher."
An'an and Zhou Qingyan politely said goodbye to Zhou Qin and got into the car together.
In the car, Zhou Qingyan looked around. Although the interior was simple, the details were much better than his own family's car.
Qin Ningyi noticed Zhou Qingyan looking around and asked An'an, "An'an, you haven't introduced your classmate yet."
"Oh, Dad, this is my deskmate, Brother Zhou Qingyan. He's very nice to An'an," An'an narrowed his eyes. "Brother, I forgot to ask where you live. We can take you home."
Zhou Qingyan gave an address, and the driver quickly took him there.
The days of school passed quickly. In the following days, family members took turns picking up An'an, which made him very happy.
Qin Feiyuan completed his final work and went abroad with Su Nianzhu to represent WAN in a competition. This week, only Qin Ningyi and An'an were at home, which made it feel a bit quiet.
With Qin Feiyuan and Su Nianzhu away this week, Qin Ningyi saw that An'an was a bit down. He specially finished his work early on Friday, asked Xiao Konglin to book a private restaurant, and planned to take An'an to a change of environment and taste.
The private restaurant was located in a small alley. Outside the alley, around a corner, was a lively night market. More and more people came to eat supper at night, making it very lively. Turning the corner into the alley, the environment became quiet, as if it were two different worlds.
The decoration of the private restaurant was very unique. An'an felt a sense of novelty in the new environment.
"Dad, is their hot and sour shredded potatoes delicious?"
Qin Ningyi was a little helpless. His son liked spicy and sour flavors, which he could accept, but the other two women at home didn't eat much sour food. An'an was clearly craving it this time.
"It's delicious. Can you read the menu? Order for yourself."
An'an took the menu and ordered from the waiter: "Hot and sour shredded potatoes, sweet and sour fish, sweet and sour shredded cabbage, vinegar-fried cabbage, and I want mala xiang guo!" His eyes sparkled as he looked at Qin Ningyi. "Dad, can An'an order more dishes? I want to eat them all, and I'll pack them to take home if I can't finish. Is that okay?"
Looking at An'an's eager eyes, Qin Ningyi found it amusing. He really didn't know who this preference came from. Huo Rou?
He had imagined Huo Rou's appearance countless times, but An'an had no photos on his phone, and he didn't know what Huo Rou looked like.
"Dad?" An'an leaned his head over, tilting it to look at Qin Ningyi.
His soft and sweet son was rarely so cute. Qin Ningyi nodded.
A table full of sour dishes made An'an very content. He ate a bowl more rice than usual.
"Does your mother also like to eat sour food?" Qin Ningyi asked as he watched An'an use the leftover sweet and sour shredded cabbage sauce to soak his rice.
"Yes!" An'an nodded proudly after chewing the rice in his mouth. "An'an likes the same things as Mom!"
Qin Ningyi thought to himself that he should have more of these dishes made at home.
This child was probably very homesick.
After dinner, Qin Ningyi took An'an home. Qin Ningyi was driving himself today, so An'an sat alone in the child seat in the back.
They left the alley and passed by the noisy night market.
A voice of a burly man came from a barbecue stall: "You're ungrateful, you slut!"
Beside the burly man was a group of people, and those trying to break up the fight didn't dare to come forward.
In front of him, a thin young girl was covering her face and looking at him defiantly.
An'an saw the scene from afar through the car window. "Dad, someone is fighting over there!"
Qin Ningyi glanced over, thinking about An'an being in the car. He only slowed down and said to An'an, "An'an, can you call 110? Do you know how?"
"Yes!" An'an took out his phone and was about to call the police when he caught sight of the face of the girl who had been knocked to the ground by the burly man and was being dragged by her hair. An'an suddenly became agitated. "Dad, stop the car! Stop the car quickly!"