Zhu Xiulin suddenly snapped out of his trance and quickly suppressed the affection stirred by the little one. He coughed lightly, trying to attract the little one’s attention, but failed. The little one remained focused on the painting on the wall.
Zhu Xiulin coughed a bit harder this time, still unable to catch the little one’s attention. Feeling somewhat frustrated, he glanced at the painting on the wall with a hint of complaint—although it was his painting.
Originally, Zhu Xiulin planned that when the little one looked his way, he could naturally strike up a conversation. Unexpectedly, his plan failed.
Standing in place, Zhu Xiulin waited for a while, as if brewing his emotions, then slowly spoke up, "Do you really like this painting?"
Qin Sui’an blinked her round eyes twice lightly. She turned her little head, looking left and right.
Her grandmother stood to her right, Aunt Lucy also to her right, and on her left, a neatly dressed young uncle had appeared at some point.
The question just now seemed to come from the young uncle, but he was still staring at the painting, and she wasn’t sure who he was asking.
Qin Sui’an tilted her head in confusion.
Was the young uncle asking her?
Zhu Xiulin’s hand at his side trembled nervously. It was the first time he had taken the initiative to ask someone if they liked his painting, and that person happened to be a little one who seemed barely three years old.
His gaze remained on the painting on the wall, but his peripheral vision kept observing the little one’s reaction.
After waiting for a few seconds without a response from the little one, Zhu Xiulin couldn’t help but lower his head to look at her again and asked, "Do you really like this painting?"
Only then did Qin Sui’an confirm that the young uncle was asking her.
She immediately nodded vigorously, her childish voice soft and sweet as she said, "I like it~ This painting is so beautiful!"
The painting she was admiring at that moment was a magnificent landscape waterfall painting.
Zhu Xiulin glanced at the painting and then at the little one, feeling that the painting didn’t quite match her. Why did the little one want to buy this painting?
Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "Among all the paintings here, why did you choose to buy this one?"
"Huh?" Qin Sui’an blinked in confusion, looking at the painting on the wall.
Then she shook her head slightly, correcting seriously, "Uncle, Ann didn’t buy this painting, Ann bought another one!"
"Another one?" Zhu Xiulin was stunned for a moment, then became even more curious. "Which one did you buy then?"
He had rushed over without first checking which painting the little one had bought, eager to ask her reasons for buying it.
Qin Sui’an stretched out her little hand and pointed to another painting on the nearby wall. She smiled with her round eyes, "Ann bought that one~"
Zhu Xiulin followed the direction of that adorable little hand.
It was a painting symbolizing "vernal equinox," where everything long asleep was slowly waking up, the sun rising, as if all hopes were about to come true.
In the painting, every brushstroke seemed to contain beautiful hopes.
Zhu Xiulin looked at the painting and suddenly felt as if he had returned to the mood he was in when he painted this piece.
He was lost in thought for a long time before finally moving his lips and asking the little one, "Among all the paintings, is this the one you like the most?"
"Yeah yeah! Ann likes this one the most!" Qin Sui’an nodded vigorously, her eyes shining brightly.
Just looking at this painting made her very happy. It seemed to be telling her that her mother would wake up soon.
Qin Sui’an happily looked up at the young uncle’s dumbfounded expression and asked curiously, "Uncle, do you want to buy this painting too? But Ann already bought it, and Ann really likes this one."
She had heard Aunt Lucy tell her grandmother that only one person could buy each painting here, not many.
And this painting was the one she most wanted to buy, so she couldn’t bear to let someone else have it.
Zhu Xiulin, in slow motion, shifted his gaze from the painting to the little one. He shook his head, "I’m not buying it."
Qin Sui’an immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patting her little belly, "That’s great then!"
She didn’t have to "compete" with this young uncle for a painting!
Watching her little gesture, Zhu Xiulin’s heart softened. Unconsciously, a faint smile appeared on his face, a look even he hadn’t noticed.
Pretending to be puzzled, he asked the little one, "Aren’t the other paintings nice?"
"They’re all nice," Qin Sui’an praised seriously, "The paintings here are all very nice!"
"Why didn’t you buy the other paintings? Why just this one?" Zhu Xiulin paused for a moment, not waiting for her answer before adding, "Is it because you don’t have enough money?"
This painting wasn’t the best or most perfect one here, as its pricing was relatively low, something he was well aware of.
But he was more curious about what the little one was thinking.
"Ann has money!" Qin Sui’an didn’t allow anyone to say she didn’t have money anymore. "Ann has participated in many competitions and won many prizes, so Ann has plenty of money!"
Moreover, she had her grandmother! Grandma said she could buy whichever painting she liked. Grandma was even richer than Ann!
Something flashed vaguely in Zhu Xiulin’s mind, but it disappeared too quickly for him to grasp.
Shaking off his doubts, he asked the little one again, "Then why did you only buy this one painting?"
Qin Sui’an glanced at the young uncle curiously.
Why did the young uncle want to know why?
Almost belatedly, Qin Sui’an, wary, took small steps toward her grandmother, "Grandma..."
Old Mrs. Qin gently held her precious granddaughter’s hand, soothingly rubbing her little head, patiently explaining in a soft voice, "Ann, he is Zhu Xiulin, and the painting you bought is his."
Old Mrs. Qin had intended to step forward to intercept him when she saw Zhu Xiulin approaching, but she remembered he was the "host" of this art exhibition. Her granddaughter’s purchased painting was also his creation, and—
Old Mrs. Qin was also curious why he had been following them. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
With all these factors in mind, she didn’t stop Zhu Xiulin from approaching or from asking the little one various questions.
Qin Sui’an blinked her round eyes blankly.
The name sounded so familiar!
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