The next morning, as Qin Ningyi put on his sportswear and headed out, he unexpectedly ran into Zou Xiaoxiao.
Her short hair was pulled up into a small ponytail, a departure from her usual style.
Seeing her in sportswear too, Qin Ningyi raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you going to the design exhibition today?"
Zou Xiaoxiao smiled and stepped forward, about to playfully nudge him as she used to. Then she remembered that Qin Ningyi now had a girlfriend. She withdrew her hand and waved it.
"I'm supposed to have dinner with Lei Zi and the others today, so I'm taking a day off from work."
"Together?" She was doing stretches in place. Winter was approaching, and the sun rose later. The adoration in her eyes was hidden beneath the dim streetlights.
They had grown up in the same compound since childhood, and their grandfathers were close comrades. They were inevitably dragged along for morning exercises together.
Back then, any child who spent their winter or summer holidays in the compound developed a habit of running together in the morning.
"Let's go." Qin Ningyi stretched his wrists and ankles, then led the way.
Zou Xiaoxiao followed behind him, and they ran towards the dimly lit pedestrian path.
Although Qin Ningyi had agreed to run together, Zou Xiaoxiao watched him run ahead by himself, smiling with a mixture of habit and helplessness.
She wanted to say something to him, but struggled to catch up.
He had always been like this since he was little, with great stamina and endurance. During morning runs, among the children in the compound of similar age, he was always far ahead and never slowed down for anyone.
Zou Xiaoxiao caught up, panting, and asked him, "Why isn't Huo Rou with you? Don't you like someone you can be in sync with?"
Hearing Huo Rou's name, his gaze, which had been fixed on the road, finally turned. He glanced at the Qin family villa in the distance and chuckled to himself.
"Her... she likes to sleep in."
Qin Ningyi spoke about this with both helplessness and affection.
When An An first came, he had said that Huo Rou couldn't wake up early for morning runs. Qin Ningyi had been worried.
Later, he worried for a while. Then, seeing her sleeping soundly in the mornings, he felt content and stopped pushing her.
Zou Xiaoxiao looked at the affection in Qin Ningyi's eyes, and a pang of bitterness welled up in her heart.
"Brother Qin." She thought about it. These words weren't hers to say, but in her eyes, Qin Ningyi should be the principled, cold-faced youth, not someone who repeatedly made exceptions for a woman with no self-control.
"Do you really like her?"
Qin Ningyi answered this question without hesitation; he was sure he did.
"Isn't it really because you have a son now, and it's your sense of responsibility that keeps you with her?"
Qin Ningyi stopped, looking at her calmly, "Zou Xiaoxiao, what exactly do you want to say?"
Meeting his gaze, Zou Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and mustered the courage to speak to him, "Brother Qin, you are the most self-disciplined person in our compound, and you've always been principled and responsible. That's what I admire most about you."
"When we joined the army together, I could tell you loved that kind of life very much, but for your parents, you were eventually able to give up your passion and chose to come back to take over the company."
"The reason you're with Huo Rou, isn't it truly out of a sense of responsibility towards An An and her?"
Qin Ningyi was genuinely surprised by her words. "In your eyes, am I the kind of person who would marry a woman casually out of a so-called sense of responsibility?"
"Isn't it?" Zou Xiaoxiao stopped, looking at the back of Qin Ningyi's head, and quietly retorted.
"No."
Zou Xiaoxiao gave a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, you never intended to marry her, did you?"
"Perhaps you only like her a little, and you know you can't marry her, so you've never told Grandpa Qin about her existence." Zou Xiaoxiao felt as if she had stumbled upon the truth.
Qin Ningyi frowned, about to say something, when a dog's bark interrupted him.
Not far away, his son stood silently.
The sky was beginning to lighten in the east.
An An's eyes no longer held the usual dependence on him.
As a replica of Qin Ningyi, An An's expressionless face was as cold as his father's when he looked at someone.
He wasn't angry or throwing a tantrum, he simply asked softly, "Dad, are you with Mom because of An An?"
An An's calmness made Qin Ningyi flustered.
He turned and walked quickly towards An An, "No, it's not."
An An, with Shen Feng, took a step back, "So, that's why you aren't married."
Xiao Bing's words from when he ate with Zhao Wen and the others were still etched in An An's mind.
At that moment, he had looked at Qin Ningyi. A child's intuition had prevented him from asking Qin Ningyi about it.
He hadn't expected to hear the answer today.
An An calmed Shen Feng, "An An doesn't mind. It's just that Dad..."
The little child's soft, milky voice was filled with determination, "You can't bully Mom."
"No, An An, it's because there are special reasons, and Dad needs to sort things out before we can move to the next step," Qin Ningyi said hastily.
An An looked at Zou Xiaoxiao, then at him, "Don't say it in front of Mom."
He left these words, and it was unclear whether he had taken Qin Ningyi's explanation to heart, before running home.
Zou Xiaoxiao didn't know An An would suddenly appear. Her question was not malicious; she just found Qin Ningyi's interactions with Huo Rou strange, a feeling of being in a fog that led her to this speculation.
Qin Ningyi glanced coldly at her, "She's a bit special and can't be told to Grandpa immediately. There are no other reasons. Don't bring this up again in the future."
"I'm sorry, Brother Qin, I didn't mean to say this in front of An An. I just found your interactions with Huo Rou quite strange..."
"This is my business." Qin Ningyi dropped these words and lost his appetite for the morning run, turning to go back.
He talked a lot with An An, and they barely managed to get past An An's concerns.
After he finished washing up in the bathroom, the sky had started to turn rosy, while Huo Rou was still sleeping soundly.
"Still not up?" He checked the clock. It was already 7:30 AM. Qin Ningyi reached out and gently pinched Huo Rou's cheek.
She frowned but didn't wake up. Her docile appearance made his heart melt. He lowered his head and gently nuzzled Huo Rou's forehead. "If you sleep any longer, you'll truly become a little lazy pig."
Since returning from the US and after the incident with Old Wang, perhaps due to exhaustion, Huo Rou had been waking up later and later.
Often, she didn't have time to eat breakfast, so he had to ask the housekeeper to pack it for her to take to the company.
"What time is it?" Huo Rou woke up to his affectionate actions, feeling only a dull headache.
This groggy feeling persisted until she went downstairs for breakfast.