Chapter Ten: "I am yue..."

“Brother Lu, I’m here! Woohoo!”

“So, how have you been? Missed me these past few days?”

At the doorway appeared a man dressed flamboyantly like a peacock, leaning his arm against the doorframe, resting his forehead on it, head slightly bowed, striking a pose and speaking in a peculiar bubbly tone.

“Get out,” Lu Jinqiao said flatly.

Lu Jinqiao reached out and gently patted An’an, who was still stunned. An’an had been chewing on something when the sudden noise startled him so much he forgot to chew his cheese stick.

“Burp.”

Being patted by Lu Jinqiao, An’an let out a burp, which seemed to trigger a chain reaction—one burp after another.

“Burp, burp, An’an burp…”

An’an quickly shut his mouth and fell silent.

Yin Yuanxun looked at An’an sitting on the sofa with surprise. After a moment, he glanced at Lu Jinqiao.

“Brother Lu, be honest—where did you get this little cutie? I want to adopt one for my old man too; it might finally fulfill his dream of having descendants.”

Lu Jinqiao casually grabbed something nearby and tossed it at Yin Yuanxun. “Why did you suddenly show up here?”

Yin Yuanxun sighed. “It’s because of my old man. You know I have no intention of getting married. But the old man started suspecting I might like men, so now he’s pushing guys on me.”

“Can you imagine? Those guys bump into me, spill coffee on me, trip me right in front of them, or pretend to be drunk and mistake me for someone else, then throw themselves at me. Please, I just look naive, but these are tricks from years ago. The girls at my company think these tactics are so low-level.”

“I can’t defend myself against them, so I came here to lay low for a couple of days. Brother, you have to let me stay, or I really have nowhere else to go. Because I showed up suddenly, the old man found out and froze my cards.”

“Although I have cards he doesn’t know about, I can’t let him find out.”

Lu Jinqiao asked casually, and Yin Yuanxun spilled all his troubles without reserve.

Lu Jinqiao: “…Noted.”

Yin Yuanxun: “So, brother? Are you going to let me stay for a couple of days to lay low or not?”

“Brother Lu, your little girl is really adorable. Can I borrow her for two days? I’ll return her even if I make her cry.”

No sooner had he spoken than Lu Jinqiao shot him a sharp look.

“If you keep talking nonsense, don’t even think about entering my house.”

Yin Yuanxun raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t say another word, I’m shutting up.”

“But Brother Lu, when did you get a kid? Is she from your relatives? That can’t be. You’re not that kind-hearted to babysit for others, are you?”

Yin Yuanxun scratched his chin, clearly puzzled.

Especially when he saw Lu Jinqiao carefully feeding the little girl sitting on the sofa water drop by drop, he thought Lu Jinqiao must have been replaced by someone else.

Lu Jinqiao said succinctly, “She’s mine. My biological daughter.”

Yin Yuanxun: “Oh-oh, yours… yours!”

He jumped up from the sofa. “Wait, brother,” he whispered, leaning close to the other side of Lu Jinqiao and covering his mouth, “Are you serious? You really didn’t adopt her?”

Lu Jinqiao pushed him away, removing his head from her ear. “Really, she’s mine. Biological. We did the DNA test.”

Yin Yuanxun was still skeptical but figured Lu Jinqiao wouldn’t lie about something like this, so he dropped his doubts for the time being.

Then he leaned toward An’an and started chatting.

“Little lady, what’s your name? Since you’re your dad’s biological daughter, I guess I’m your uncle.”

An’an had already swallowed what was in her mouth and stopped hiccuping. Her big eyes sparkled as she looked at Yin Yuanxun. When she heard him ask her name, she straightened up and said in a crisp little voice, “I’m An’an. What’s your name, uncle?”

Yin Yuanxun mimicked her tone, “I... ahem, I’m Yue. I’m your uncle, sweetheart.”

An’an: “Su-su~”

Yin Yuanxun: “Yes, exactly.”

Yin Yuanxun leaned in for some close bonding with Bobo, but Lu Jinqiao stopped him at the source, standing up and taking An’an in her arms.

“Your mission here is accomplished. You can leave now.”

Yin Yuanxun clapped his leg and stood up. “No way! I just met my little niece and haven’t had time to bond yet. I can’t leave now.”

“At the very least, let me properly introduce myself to my little niece before I go, right, sweetheart?”

Yin Yuanxun had some experience with kids before, but An’an was the first he’d met who was so quiet, well-behaved, and attentive.

He reached out with a flattering smile. “Brother, let me hold her for a bit. I want to cuddle my little niece. Don’t you have a meeting soon? I’ll keep An’an company for a while; you can go with peace of mind.”

Indeed, Lu Jinqiao had a contract meeting with another company soon—a final negotiation that could be signed on the spot if all went well, or else it would drag on and waste time.

Although Yin Yuanxun usually seemed unreliable, when it came to important matters, his decisiveness and execution were quite impressive.

Plus, he didn’t dare mess up.

So leaving An’an with him was the best choice at the moment.

Lu Jinqiao softly asked An’an if she wanted to stay with this uncle for a while. After receiving An’an’s affirmative nod, Lu Jinqiao finally handed her over to Yin Yuanxun. Since there was still some time before the meeting, she stayed with An’an a bit longer, letting her get familiar with Yin Yuanxun so she wouldn’t feel so uneasy being alone later.

As soon as Lu Jinqiao left, Yin Yuanxun immediately dropped all pretense. Holding An’an with a smile, he said, “An’an, uncle’s going to take you out for some yummy treats, okay?”

Yin Yuanxun had no desire to stay cooped up in the office—it was boring to death. With this time, he definitely wanted to take An’an out for a little fun to brighten her day.

An’an thought for a moment. “What about Bobo?”

Yin Yuanxun smiled. “Uncle will message your dad to tell him we’re going out to play, alright?”

An’an hesitated, then nodded.

Though Yin Yuanxun showed her his chat with Lu Jinqiao, An’an didn’t understand and just let him persuade her. Eventually, she went out with him.

Considering that a toddler shouldn’t have too much strong flavor or heavy seasoning, nor too many sweets, Yin Yuanxun first took An’an to a mall to pick out a little gift to welcome her.

He bought himself an ice cream and scooped a bit onto a small spoon for An’an to taste.

An’an scrunched her face at the cold, but after tasting the ice cream’s texture, she was won over. She looked up at Yin Yuanxun with big eyes but didn’t insist on eating more.

Seeing how well-behaved she was, Yin Yuanxun couldn’t bear to stop. He scooped a tiny bit more from a part he hadn’t touched and fed it to An’an, then tossed the spoon into the trash.

“All done, sweetie. Just a little taste, okay? Too much isn’t good.”

An’an nodded obediently. “Thank you, uncle.”

Yin Yuanxun ruffled An’an’s little head, squeezing hard enough to make her pull back slightly.

In no time, he finished his ice cream and carried An’an toward the largest jewelry store in the mall.

“Mommy, I want this one! This one is pretty!”