Chapter 166: New Friends (Subscription Requested)

A sun umbrella, beach chairs, a beach table, sunscreen, fruit juice, fruits, and small snacks...
It had to be said that Qin Hao had made thorough preparations for this date. Not only had he brought along little external helpers, but he had also meticulously attended to every single detail.

He had made three or four trips back and forth just to move everything over. Then, choosing a spot with fewer people, he quickly set up the sun umbrella, arranged the beach chairs, set out the beach table, and placed the juices and snacks neatly.

"Xiaorou, hurry and bring the little ones over first."

Seeing the two little ones already jumping around and shouting happily on the sand, Qin Hao called out to Wen Xiaorou, who was following behind them while holding little Dong'er.

"Mm, coming!"

Wen Xiaorou replied, and with an amused smile, she guided the somewhat reluctant little pair over.

"Xiaorou, help put some sunscreen on the little ones, and then change them into these little sandals—they're adjustable for size."

Qin Hao said as he lifted the two little ones onto the beach chair and laid them down. He then took off their little shoes and turned them upside down...

Well, would you look at that!
In just this short while, there was already a layer of sand inside the little shoes.

Watching Qin Hao clean out the little shoes for the two little ones, Wen Xiaorou felt a slight wave of dazed emotion wash over her, a flash of tenderness appearing in her eyes.

"Hiahia... This chair is so much fun!"

Little Xi'er's milky laugh rang out. Barefoot, she kicked and wriggled her little body to the upper slanted part of the chair, and then went "wheeee" as she slid back down.

Just like that, she had turned the beach chair into a little slide.

Brought back to her senses by the milky laughter, Wen Xiaorou smiled softly and said:
"Alright, stop playing for a moment, Xi'er. Sister is going to put sunscreen on you two. Once it's applied, you can go play on the beach and even pick up pretty little seashells!"

"Pretty seashells!"

Hearing this, the eyes of the two little ones lit up brightly. They then obediently lay down to let Wen Xiaorou apply the sunscreen.

In no time, the sunscreen was applied, the little sandals were changed, and the two little ones—tugging along little Dong'er, whose little bottom was wiggling—cheerfully ran off to play on the beach.

"Qiu'er, Xi'er, don't take Dong'er too close to the ocean! Just play right here on the sand. If you want to go to the water later, Brother Hao will take you," Qin Hao shouted to the two little ones.

"Okay!"

Receiving their reply, he turned to Wen Xiaorou and asked, "Xiaorou, I bought those kiwis you like. I'll cut one for you."

"Um, thank you..."

Wen Xiaorou nodded softly, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Why did you suddenly come here?" After a brief silence, she asked, "Xuexue said you wouldn't be arriving for a while longer. I thought it would still be some time."

"Well, things in Jinghua are settled, so I came back together with Brother-in-law and the others," Qin Hao laughed. "You know how it is, staying around the old man is stifling; I've been wanting to run away for ages."

"Oh... Brother-in-law?" Wen Xiaorou murmured softly. "You mean Qingge?"

Hearing this, Qin Hao glanced at her momentarily, then smiled. "Yeah, Brother-in-law was staying at my place during his trip for the exchange meeting and got ambushed by a surprise attack from my mom."

Qin Hao handed a piece of cut kiwi to Wen Xiaorou and said, "My mom basically approves already; now there's just my dad's hurdle left."

"Oh." Wen Xiaorou took a bite of the kiwi, then squinted at Qin Hao with a smile. "Are you sure that sudden ambush by your aunt wasn't your doing?"

"Cough, cough..."

Qin Hao gave a dry cough, looked over at the three little ones who were busy digging into the sand with their little bottoms sticking up, and chuckled awkwardly, "Children sure are having fun."

Wen Xiaorou: 😑

"By the way, how long do you plan to stay in Yangcheng this time?"

"Well... probably for quite a while," Qin Hao replied. "I'm planning to shoot my first movie here."

"Ah!" Wen Xiaorou was startled. "You have a script, funding, and actors?"

"Uh... about that..."

Qin Hao scratched his head and laughed. "The script is still being written, the old man approved five million for funding, and as for actors, I've only confirmed one so far... Yang Qing."

"Yang..." Wen Xiaorou was speechless. "Qingge has no acting experience whatsoever. You must have taken a fancy to his popularity."

Wen Xiaorou smiled. "Ever since Qingge's famous piano piece came out, his popularity has skyrocketed. His Weibo followers have already reached thirty-five million, getting close to the upper-middle tier of first-line celebrities."

"Yeah..."

Hearing this, Qin Hao nodded in admission. "I did initially have my eyes on Brother-in-law's popularity, but not necessarily anymore. Do you know what he's doing right now?"

"What?" Wen Xiaorou asked curiously.

"Studying movie screenwriting," Qin Hao said with a profound look. "I keep suspecting he's plotting something big. There's no way he'd go and study that kind of stuff for no reason."

"Uh..."

Wen Xiaorou froze. Connecting this with how Yang Qing had previously turned various impossibilities into possibilities, she nodded in deep agreement.

"Sigh, let's stop talking about him. What about you? How have you been spending your time here in Yangcheng?" Qin Hao shifted the topic.

"Me..."

As Wen Xiaorou and Qin Hao lay on the beach chairs, chatting while keeping an eye on the little ones, the unfamiliarity between them born from their long separation began to fade away.

"Hiahia... Qiu'er, look! I dug up a colorful seashell! It's so pretty!"

On the beach, little Xi'er stuck her little bottom out as she unearth a multicolored seashell, bursting into joyful, milky laughter.

"Let me see, let me see!"

Little Qiu'er, very cooperative, ran over to take a look and let out an exclamation of "Wow!", which only made little Xi'er's laughter even more gleeful.

"Hiahia... I'm going to give this to Sister! Sister is definitely going to love it!"

"Mm-hmm, Qiu'er is going to dig up a pretty seashell too, to give to Brother, heehee..."

Encouraged by little Xi'er's success, little Qiu'er dug with even greater enthusiasm, furiously scooping at the sand with her little hands like a little puppy.

Two meters away from the two older girls, little Dong'er was happily amusing herself.

Digging a little sand pit, then digging a little sand trench, um... and digging another little sand pit...

As she dug, she suddenly felt as though she had hit something. Her little bottom plumped right down onto the sand as she began digging vigorously with both little hands.

Ooh~ ooh~ It's a pile of little seashells~~

Little Dong'er split her little mouth into a wide grin. Then, tilting her little head, she called out babblingly to little Qiu'er, who was squinting happily at a newly dug golden-yellow seashell:

"Sister~ Sister~"

"Dong'er, what is it?"

Hearing her baby sister's babbling, little Qiu'er ran over together with little Xi'er.

"Look~ look~~" Little Dong'er pointed her little finger at the small sand pit she had dug and babbled.

"Waah! So many little seashells! Dong'er, you're so amazing!"

"Hiahia... Dong'er is so great, even more amazing than us big sisters!"

The two little ones gasped in admiration at the seashells in the sand pit, and then they joined forces to dig the little seashells out one by one, their little faces beaming with joy.

"Qiu'er, let's dig a big, big sand pit, and then fill it up with water, okay?"

After cleaning up the little seashells, little Xi'er looked at the various small sand pits and trenches little Dong'er had made, her big eyes sparkling.

"Okay! Heehee..."

Little Qiu'er nodded, and immediately the two little ones, along with tiny little Dong'er, embarked on their grand enterprise of digging a sand pit.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any little shovels. After digging for a long time, they only managed to make a shallow pit, and sand kept sliding back into it as fast as they dug.

Yet the two little ones were undeterred, continuing to dig amidst chatter and laughter. But right at that moment, a soft, adorable little milky voice timidly spoke up from behind them:

"C-can... can I play with you guys too?"

"Swish!"

At the sound, the three little ones turned their heads in unison to see a round-faced, cute little girl with a bun hairstyle blinking her eyes at them.

She was holding a small plastic shovel in one hand and carrying a pink little bucket.

"Hiahia... Of course you can! Let's dig the sand pit together!" little Xi'er said very enthusiastically with a smile.

Little Qiu'er also nodded sweetly and said, "Yeah! What's your name? I'm Qiu'er, she's Xi'er, and this is my little sister Dong'er."

"My name is Mengmeng," the little girl said with a happy smile.

"Hiahia... Mengmeng, let's play together! I'll give this little seashell to you."

Little Xi'er handed a white little seashell to little Mengmeng. This little one was always so enthusiastic toward other children.

"Thank you..."

With the addition of a new member to the grand sand-digging enterprise—along with the divine weapon of a little shovel—a large sand pit was successfully dug in no time, followed by a small sand trench.

Not far away, Qin Hao and Wen Xiaorou saw that a cute little playmate had joined Qiu'er and the others. Not minding at all, they continued chatting and laughing, when suddenly little Xi'er came trotting over on her little feet.

"Xi'er, are you thirsty? Come drink some water."

Seeing little Xi'er run right up to her, Qin Hao smilingly opened her little rabbit water bottle and handed it to her.

"Glug, glug, glug..."

Holding her little rabbit water bottle, little Xi'er took a few gulps, then beamed widely at Qin Hao and said, "Brother Hao, Xi'er likes you so much."

"Haha... Brother Hao likes you a lot too," Qin Hao laughed heartily.

"Hiahia..."

Hearing this, little Xi'er remained standing right where she was with a milky smile, her big eyes blinking repeatedly as she stared at Qin Hao.

Qin Hao was left somewhat bewildered by her gaze and asked in a daze, "Xi'er, is there something you need?"

"Hiahia... Brother Hao, can you help us carry some water?"

Qin Hao: "...... Sure."

"You have to fill the big sand pit all the way to the top, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Giggle..."

Watching the two of them, Wen Xiaorou smiled even more brightly.