Chapter 426: Chapter 415: It Can’t Be a Candlelit Dinner, Right? Chapter 426: Chapter 415: It Can’t Be a Candlelit Dinner, Right? It turned out he had to endure watching them the entire time.
Because President Zhan and Miss Qiao still had many more rides to enjoy, he was responsible for following them throughout.
Qiao Jing stood at the exit, waiting for the two little ones to come out.
She had thought she would see Pingping and Anan with smiles still on their faces from earlier, but in the end, only Anan’s face was brimming with a joyful smile.
Pingping’s smile, on the other hand, seemed forced, and his eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
A hint of curiosity welled up in Qiao Jing’s eyes as she looked at Pingping and pulled the child in front of her.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”
He had seemed just fine a moment ago; he didn’t look unhappy at all.
How could he have changed so suddenly?
Pingping shook his little head vigorously, took a sharp breath through his nose, and his eyes reddened slightly.
Qiao Jing asked patiently, her voice becoming much softer without her realizing.
“But you don’t look very happy?”
Pingping hesitated for a moment, his big eyes gradually welling up with tears, and he bit his lip.
“Sister Qiao, thank you! When I grow up and earn money, I will surely earn a lot to repay you.”
He still felt as if he were dreaming.
Qiao Jing’s arrival was like a beam of light shining into his dark life, illuminating his world and filling him with hope for the future.
Now he not only had new clothes but also no longer went hungry. In a few days, he would go to the orphanage, and he wouldn’t have to wander anymore.
Anan’s smile also became much more restrained as she stood by Pingping’s side, nervously clutching at her skirt.
“Sister Qiao, I will too, like brother, earn a lot of money to repay you.”
Qiao Jing crouched down and gently patted the two children on their heads.
“Okay, I’ll be waiting, waiting for you to grow up and make something of yourselves.”
From their time together these past few days, she knew Pingping’s personality wasn’t the type to comfortably accept others’ kindness.
Pingping had tried to repay her in little ways, evident from him helping to clean the house and washing his own clothes.
So, she accepted Pingping’s promise.
Pingping wiped his tears and smiled again.
“Yes, Sister Qiao, I will definitely keep my word.”
“Me too!” Anan looked at Qiao Jing with her large, blinking eyes.
Standing to the side, Zhan Qipei softened his gaze when he heard the two little ones’ words.
Qiao Jing then took the two little ones to play in bumper cars and other rides.
The amusement park was filled with their laughter everywhere.
After coming out of the last ride, Qiao Jing took both of their hands.
“Let’s go have dinner.”
When she came in, she had seen a map, and there was a restaurant on the west side, not far from where they were.
It was already past seven o’clock by then, past their usual dinner time.
Pingping’s stomach uncontrollably started to rumble.
Qiao Jing couldn’t help but laugh, looking toward Anan.
“Is your stomach being that cooperative?”
Pingping’s entire face instantly turned as red as a red apple, and he reached out to cover his stomach, trying to muffle the rumbling.
Seeing this, Anan also reached out to help cover Pingping’s stomach and even started to talk to it, putting her index finger to her lips.
“Shh, shh, shh! Stop making noise now!”
But no matter how hard the two little ones tried to cover the stomach, Pingping’s stomach rumbled again.
Seeing Pingping’s face so red, Qiao Jing’s smile grew even deeper.
“Let’s go, let’s go have dinner.”
Zhan Qipei’s expression became somewhat subtle, and he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“They have just prepared dinner over there, we can go straight there.”
He had only found out before leaving that Qiao Jing was going to bring the two children.
But he had already arranged for a candlelight dinner to be ready in the afternoon.
It wasn’t impossible to have a candlelight dinner with these two children, if necessary.
It was seeing that the two of them were very sensible that he reluctantly agreed to take them for the candlelight dinner.
Surprise appeared on Qiao Jing’s face as she turned to look at Zhan Qipei.
“Ready? Did you ask them to prepare in advance?”
Zhan Qipei nodded, said no more, and led the way, walking ahead a few steps before suddenly remembering that there was still a staff member who hadn’t left.
The staff member had been following them the whole time and was also in charge of the candlelight dinner this time.
But he didn’t want anyone else following them.
Zhan Qipei stopped, casting a casual glance at the staff member.
The staff member immediately understood Zhan Qipei’s intent and hurriedly bowed, turned around, and even stumbled as he left.
He was finally spared from being a third wheel. Earlier, when they went bumper car riding because the boss insisted on riding with Miss Qiao, he, a staff member, had to watch the two kids.
That was already bad enough, but as a single man, he had been forced to endure being a third wheel the entire time.
Now he could finally escape…
Outside the restaurant entrance.
As Qiao Jing saw the dim environment inside the restaurant through the glass window, a bad feeling inexplicably surged in her heart.
Earlier, when they had left home, Zhan Qipei hadn’t planned on including the two kids in their outing.
Just half an hour ago, Zhan Qipei had sent her roses.
Could it really be that he had prepared a candlelight dinner?!
Thinking this, Qiao Jing glanced sideways at the man with a questioning look and lowered her voice.
“Don’t tell me you’ve prepared a candlelight dinner. It’s not suitable with the two kids here.”
She knew by the dog-like demeanor of Zhan Qipei that it wouldn’t just be a simple candlelight dinner.
If there were thousands of roses inside, along with other stuff…
Just thinking about that scene made her feel overwhelmed.
Zhan Qipei pursed his thin lips, deliberately showing a hint of disappointment on his face, and opened his mouth lightly.
“It’s a candlelight dinner.”
He hadn’t yet complained about the two children disrupting his and Qiao Jing’s time alone, so how could he complain about the candlelight dinner he had prepared?
If his wife was going to refuse to have a candlelight dinner with him because of the kids, he thought he might send Pingping and Anan to an orphanage the next day.
That way, in the future, it would just be him and Qiao Jing at home.
And to avoid future problems, no matter how busy he was, he would come to pick up Qiao Jing from work.
If he really didn’t have time, he would send his staff to pick her up.
Otherwise, if next time he ended up picking up a few more kids, he would be tortured several times over.
Just then, Pingping and Anan’s stomachs began to growl in unison.
Faced with the choice between letting the two little ones stay hungry and having a candlelight dinner, Qiao Jing didn’t hesitate to choose the latter.
Suggesting that they remove the candles, she was worried about the presence of those bizarre items.
After all, it was Zhan Qipei who had planned this, and she could reluctantly accept weird things, but she feared it would have a bad influence on Pingping and Anan.
As she opened the door to the restaurant, the candles on the table lit up simultaneously.
Explosion sounds akin to firecrackers rang in Qiao Jing’s ears.