Chapter 102: An Qing Searching for the Hair Clip

As An Qing moved forward, the quiet street soon lost its emptiness.

A ray of sunlight sprinkled onto the earth. 

Relying on the route in her memory, she successfully found the morning market.

Although it had taken quite some time to walk here, it was still morning, not yet noon.

The people setting up stalls here were already prepared. 

At a glance, there were all sorts of goods, dazzling and abundant.

An Qing stood at the entrance of the street, calmly looking at everything.

So many. 

Too many.

Whether it was the people coming to buy things or those setting up stalls, there were too many.

This was also the reason she had set out so early.

Too much time had passed. 

She only remembered the appearance of that hair clip, and… An Yu’s expression that day.

As for which stall it had been bought from, An Qing could no longer recall, so she had to search slowly.

An Qing slowly walked into the morning market. 

All kinds of things were sold here, but fortunately, her target was clear—she only needed to look at stalls selling hair clips.

Her face was cold, unusually devoid of that fake smile.

Probably because she felt there was no need for it.

In just a short while, An Qing realized she had overestimated things.

Hair clip stalls were everywhere here. How had she never noticed before?

It wasn’t her first time coming here, but those were things from her previous life.

This was her first time coming to the morning market specifically to find a hair clip. 

She never imagined there would be so many stalls selling them.

Too many—so many that searching one stall at a time would take half the day.

But there was no choice. 

She didn’t dare miss a single stall.

That hair clip—she absolutely had to buy it, then return it to An Yu.

In her previous life, An Yu had used it to humiliate her. So in this life, she would definitely give it back.

Thinking this, An Qing stopped at yet another stall.

Hair clips were being sold here as well.

She looked at those hair clips coldly, but her gaze was incredibly slow and careful, as if afraid of missing something.

“Uh… little miss?”

The middle-aged woman running the stall looked at An Qing somewhat awkwardly. 

Those who knew would think she was a customer; those who didn’t might think she had a grudge against the hair clips.

Hearing the stall owner’s voice, An Qing quickly blinked, then lifted her head and showed a kind smile.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh… nothing, nothing.”

The middle-aged woman shook her head, but the doubt in her eyes didn’t fade.

She had clearly seen the girl in front of her with an icy expression just moments ago—how did she suddenly become normal?

Strange. Could she be getting presbyopia early?

“I see.” 

An Qing replied calmly, then lowered her head again and continued searching carefully.

After a short while, the middle-aged woman spoke again: “Miss, what are you looking to buy? I can recommend some for you.”

Mainly because An Qing was looking far too intently—it was making her a bit nervous.

An Qing calmly raised her head, smiled faintly, then casually picked up a hair clip.

“I’ll take this one.”

She didn’t ask the price and simply paid before leaving.

The middle-aged woman glanced at the money paid and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

She had thought it was some inspector.

But thinking about it, an inspector wouldn’t examine a hair clip so meticulously.

And judging by how she paid, she probably came often and knew the prices.

The middle-aged woman shook her head, then put the matter of An Qing out of her mind—after all, it couldn’t affect her business, right?

…

Not far away, An Qing had already left the previous stall.

Next time, she needed to be more careful not to draw too much attention.

An Qing casually tossed the hair clip she had just bought into a trash bin. It wasn’t the one she needed—she had only bought it to avoid seeming too strange.

She still needed to keep searching.

On the other side, completely different from An Qing’s busyness, An Yu had been playing games with Ning Dongli ever since finishing breakfast.

All the way until noon.

“Ha~”

An Yu yawned, a crystal tear glistening at the corner of her eye.

It was almost time for her usual nap.

But what An Yu was thinking about now was whether she should still take a nap today.

She wanted to sleep at noon, but without Ning Wanciu…

It somehow felt a little strange.

As expected, Ning Wanciu was also a necessity of life—just like needing the pillow on her bed to sleep at night, she needed Ning Wanciu for her midday nap.

Bang bang bang —

While she was pondering whether a nap was still necessary without Ning Wanciu, there was suddenly a knock at the door.

“Hm?”

“Miss, I’ve come to bring you lunch.”

An Yu tilted her head. 

She recognized this voice—it was Wang Man, who made breakfast for her every day.

“Mm.” 

An Yu hopped down from her chair, walked lightly to the door, and gently unlocked it.

Not just when sleeping—as long as An Yu was home, she would lock the door.

Because the terrifying An Qing might throw a pillow.

Definitely.

Slowly pulling open the door, standing outside was indeed Wang Man, currently holding the prepared lunch.

“Thank you, Aunt Wang.”

An Yu expressionlessly raised both hands, indicating for Wang Man to place the tray on them.

Wang Man paused for a moment. 

Though it might be rude, honestly, An Yu stretching out her hands expressionlessly like this was like asking for a hug—super cute.

If only she had such a cute daughter.

Uh… what was she thinking!

Wang Man shook her head, driving those thoughts from her mind.

Still, she hesitated a little. 

If An Yu carried it herself, she somehow felt like it might spill.

Wasting some food wasn’t a big deal, but if the plate broke and injured An Yu, that would be bad…

“Aunt Wang?” 

An Yu tilted her head in confusion, her amber eyes staring at Wang Man.

…

“Ah… mm, alright. Be careful, Miss.”

Feeling like she was about to melt from the cuteness, Wang Man had no choice but to nod, then slowly placed the tray into An Yu’s hands.

Fortunately, what she feared didn’t happen—An Yu held it steadily without tipping it over.

“Phew…” 

Letting out a relieved breath, Wang Man nodded: “Then, Miss, I’ll be going now.”

“Mm. See you next time, Aunt Wang.”

Wang Man unconsciously showed a gentle smile: “Alright, see you next time, Miss.”

After saying that, Wang Man left on her own and even closed the door for An Yu.

Seeing this, An Yu carried her meal step by step, slowly back to the table, then gently set it down.

“Phew.”

Great. 

She succeeded.

An Yu didn’t choose to sit and eat right away. 

Instead, she quickly rushed to the door, reached out to lock it again, and only then returned to her seat.

Then she put her headphones back on, clicked the voice chat, and said softly: “Ning Dongli, lunch time.”

She had to let Ning Dongli know—she couldn’t just disappear without a word.

“Oh oh, then I’ll take lunch time too!” 

It just so happened that Ning Dongli was hungry as well.

“Mm. And… want to nap together in a bit?”