1122 - Chapter 35.1

Jiang Yi felt like he had been tricked by his daughter.

The father-daughter trio strolling through the mall was quite the eye-catching sight.

Little Qiao Qiao, holding First Dad’s hand with one hand and Daddy’s with the other, was perhaps smaller than other kids her age. Nearly five years old, she still looked like a three- or four-year-old, dressed in a tiny skirt with her hair tied up in two little buns, looking every bit the little lady.

In reality, whether she was truly ladylike or not, only Daddy knew.

Just then, Qiao Qiao stopped in her tracks, spotting a family of three’s matching outfits displayed outside a clothing store. Excited, she turned to Yan Nanchen and said, “Can we wear matching clothes on my birthday? Please, good First Dad? You’re so nice, you’ll say yes, right~?”

Hearing his daughter call him “good First Dad,” Yan Nanchen naturally had to live up to the title. He bent down, picked Qiao Qiao up, and smiled. “Of course! First Dad will buy you anything you want, right, good Daddy?”

He glanced at Jiang Yi.

Qiao Qiao quickly nodded in agreement. “Right, good Daddy? You’re so nice, you’ll make Qiao Qiao’s little wish come true, won’t you?”

Jiang Yi: “…” Are they putting on a two-man act?

The family clothing section of the store was bustling with customers at this hour, as it was just after mealtime and people were out for a leisurely stroll.

At Qiao Qiao’s age, she wanted everything she saw. Having been spoiled by her doting uncle since childhood with every wish granted and armed with a sweet little mouth, it was no surprise that her First Dad, who had missed five years of her life, was now equally indulgent. Their shopping spree had already drawn quite a few stares.

“First Dad, I love this dress! Do you think it’s pretty?”

“It’s pretty. We’ll buy it.”

“First Dad, do you think I’ll look beautiful in this dress?”

“You will. We’ll buy it.”

“First Dad, I don’t have this dress yet. It’s so pretty!”

“Then we’ll buy it.”

Jiang Yi stood to the side, numbly listening to an endless stream of “buy, buy, buy.” He could already foresee the battlefield their home would become tonight, he’d be cleaning up until he lost his mind.

Not only did Qiao Qiao pick out clothes for herself, but she also didn’t leave a single matching family outfit in the store untouched.

Yan Nanchen glanced at the manager standing nearby, holding Qiao Qiao with one arm while pointing at a row of family outfits not far away, as well as the entire family clothing section behind them. “Every style here, in all three of our sizes, we’ll take them all.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, First Dad is so cool!”

Jiang Yi: “…”

Why were the Alphas in this family so obsessed with shopping? Now he finally understood why Chu Beiheng had needed such a big house when he was studying alone in M country with a smaller place, there’d be no room for all their stuff.

“Daddy, let’s wear these pink ones tomorrow when we go out!” Qiao Qiao pointed at the family of mannequins in the window, dressed in matching pink outfits.

The outfits featured a cat theme: a big black cat holding a wok, stir-frying rice; a little kitten clutching a milk bottle, sitting in a stroller; and a white cat holding a bowl and spoon, staring eagerly at the black cat, waiting to eat.

“Daddy is the white cat waiting to eat,” Qiao Qiao said from First Dad’s arms, leaning in with a giggle to tease her father, her little fingers poking his cheek. “Because Daddy can’t cook. Silly Daddy.”

Jiang Yi was both exasperated and fond of his daughter. He snatched her from Yan Nanchen’s arms with a huff. “Who says I can’t cook? I’ll make you something tomorrow.”

This scared Qiao Qiao into frantically waving her hands. She looked at Yan Nanchen for help: “First Dad, Daddy cooking is really scary. You have to stop him, or the kitchen will go ‘boom’ and explode!” She patted her chest with lingering fear. “It happened once before, and even Uncle scolded Daddy.”

Jiang Yi: “It wasn’t as exaggerated as an explosion, okay?” As he spoke, he met Yan Nanchen’s deep gaze and deliberately averted his eyes, feigning nonchalance. “Just a small boom.”

Then he turned sideways, pretending to examine the clothes nearby.

“You won’t need to step into the kitchen from now on,” Yan Nanchen said, handing the card to the store manager before turning back to Jiang Yi. “In our family, Alphas don’t let their partners enter the kitchen. It’s a rule, no Alpha in our family allows their partner to cook.”

Only then did Jiang Yi understand why Director Duan had practiced cooking so diligently while pursuing Luo Songran. No wonder both Yan Nanchen and Chu Beiheng were such good cooks it turned out to be a Luo family tradition.

Lost in thought, he suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing what he was thinking.

He glanced at Yan Nanchen, only to find the man already looking at him, and quickly averted his gaze again.

“Do you like this outfit?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yi immediately turned back and saw Yan Nanchen about to tell the manager to take the clothes again. He silently withdrew his hand from the fabric and hurriedly pressed down on Yan Nanchen’s arm. “No, don’t buy it. Even if you do, I might not wear it. It’s a waste of money.”

Yan Nanchen lowered his gaze to the hand gripping his arm, a faint smile tugging at his lips before he looked back at Jiang Yi. “It’s fine. Your Alpha has money. Spending on you isn’t a waste, it’s a pleasure.”

Jiang Yi: “…”

And so, after two hours of shopping, Jiang Yi didn’t dare let his eyes wander anymore. Otherwise, Yan Nanchen would assume he liked something just because he glanced at it a few times, and with a wave of his hand, it would be bought immediately.

Qiao Qiao, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying herself. Having no real concept of money, she was used to being spoiled like this by her uncle in the U.S. She found it impressive and sweetly showered her First Dad with endless praise, her flattery working like magic as she secured piles of new toys.

Jiang Yi suddenly felt a headache coming on, already dreading the cleanup later. But he was also grateful that his daughter had so many family members who loved and doted on her. If he were raising her alone, he feared she might have been deprived.

No parent in this world would willingly neglect their child but reality is often filled with helplessness.

With so many purchases, Yan Nanchen arranged for the mall to deliver everything to their neighborhood.

“I’ll help you tidy up tonight,” Yan Nanchen said, carefully settling the sleeping Qiao Qiao into the child seat in the back of the car and adjusting it for her comfort. Then he straightened up and looked at Jiang Yi standing outside the car. “Okay?”

Leaning against the car door, Jiang Yi chuckled. “I think you’re doing this on purpose.”

“I just want to spend more time with you. Otherwise, I’d have to wait until I dream to see you,” Yan Nanchen said without hesitation, laying his feelings bare. “I want to be with you all the time. I don’t even want to go to work anymore.”

Jiang Yi felt slightly flustered by his words and coughed lightly. “Not going to work would be exploiting your employees. Alright, let’s head back.” With that, he bent down and got into the back seat.

Yan Nanchen’s gaze briefly swept over the curve of Jiang Yi’s waist as he bent down, then he calmly averted his eyes, suppressing the greedy thoughts in his heart. He closed the rear car door and walked around to the driver’s seat.

“Then tomorrow after breakfast, I’ll take you both to the theme park. What would you like to play?”

Jiang Yi turned his head to look at their sleeping daughter, completely captivated. Qiao Qiao’s sleeping face actually bore some resemblance to Yan Nanchen. Perhaps too engrossed, he didn’t hear what Yan Nanchen had said.

Yan Nanchen kept glancing at the rearview mirror, watching Jiang Yi who was watching their daughter. For some reason, he smiled.

Jiang Yi heard Yan Nanchen’s chuckle: “What are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing at myself for being jealous of our daughter. You were so focused on Qiao Qiao that you didn’t even hear me talking. I felt a bit envious.”

Jiang Yi sighed helplessly: “Being jealous of your own daughter? How childish can you be?”

“It is childish, but it’s true your attention was all on her without sparing me a glance. Of course I’d feel hurt. I don’t want to leave tonight.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“I bought the apartment next to yours.”

Jiang Yi’s eyes widened in shock. He gripped the front passenger seat and leaned forward, staring incredulously at Yan Nanchen who was driving: “You bought another place? No one spends money like you do! That last apartment.”

Just as they reached a red light, Yan Nanchen gradually brought the car to a stop. He turned his head, meeting Jiang Yi’s indignant gaze directly, then let his eyes drift down to Jiang Yi’s lips.

Perhaps emboldened, he leaned in and kissed him.

Jiang Yi stared at him in astonishment. Before he could react, the kiss had already ended, but he remained frozen under Yan Nanchen’s intense gaze, unable to look away.

“Yi Yi, no amount of money can make up for what I owe you. I just want to do something to make you notice me more, to have me in your eyes, to make you aware of my presence. I hope seeing me can bring you some happiness.”

“That alone would make me happy.”

Yan Nanchen’s deep, affectionate words filled the enclosed space of the car like an overwhelming net, wrapping around them with an intensity that burned. Jiang Yi tightened his grip on the seatback, as if trying to steady his racing heartbeat.

But it was no use.

He continued gazing at Yan Nanchen, his pulse fluttering wildly under that look so much that he could feel it throbbing in his eardrums and down his spine. Subconsciously, he pressed his lips together, as if regretting how fleeting that kiss had been.

Too brief.

The atmosphere in the car grew subtly charged, as if something was about to happen if only one of them would take that next step.

“Yi Yi, tonight I want.”

Beep!

Just as Yan Nanchen was about to voice his thoughts, a honk from behind interrupted them.

Both quickly snapped out of it, one returning to driving, the other to watching their child tacitly pausing the unresolved tension between them.

When they got home, Jiang Yi opened the door while Yan Nanchen carried their daughter inside. He then walked over to the crystal cabinet by the entrance, bending down to gaze at the small urn inside.

“Good evening, Nian Nian. First Dad bought you a gift today. I’ll tell you all about it later, okay?”

Jiang Yi was about to change his shoes when he bent down and saw the scene. Holding his slippers, he silently glanced at Yan Nanchen, who was talking to their son. Feeling a sting in his nose, he lowered his head and didn’t look again, focusing on changing his shoes.

Yan Nanchen carried Qiao Qiao back to her room and comforted her before stepping out. When he emerged, he saw Jiang Yi standing in the kitchen with his back turned, washing his hands absentmindedly. The water was running, his hands rubbing soap bubbles, yet they weren’t even wet.

He walked over.

“What’s on your mind?”

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