Qin Niexun initially responded with a simple, "Okay." However, after agreeing, he felt puzzled and asked, "What happened? Ann can’t go to crowded places? Did the big white goose sense that Ann was in danger again?"
"No." Qin Yanyi kept it brief and explained what had occurred earlier at noon.
Qin Niexun, forced to wake up abruptly from his sleep, began processing this entirely new and unheard-of information. For a moment, he sat on the bed, utterly speechless, simply staring blankly ahead.
Qin Yanyi, with his hospital duties awaiting him, had no time to give his fourth brother more time to react. "Grandma and Grandpa probably don’t know yet. I’ll call Dad and tell him in a bit."
"...Alright." Qin Niexun raised his left hand and wiped his face. "You go ahead, Second Brother. I got it."
After delivering the message, Qin Yanyi left his room.
Qin Niexun sat on the bed for a while longer, thinking, She can really hear people’s thoughts...?
He had always believed in what he could see and hear with his own senses. It was hard for him to fully accept this just based on a few words from his second brother, Qin Yanyi.
Suspicion crept into his mind. "Could Second Brother be pulling my leg?"
No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t figure it out.
Qin Niexun glanced at the clock, realizing he had only rested for a little over five hours. But with his second brother’s revelation, there was no way he could go back to sleep.
He got out of bed, his steps steady, and entered the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Qin Niexun, now dressed in loungewear, walked downstairs at a leisurely pace.
In the living room, he could hear the voices of Old Mr. Qin, Old Mrs. Qin, and Ann, along with the sound of a video game coming from the TV.
Qin Sui’an was engrossed in a racing game with her grandpa. The game required players to dodge obstacles, testing their reflexes and responsiveness.
As the game progressed, the number of obstacles on the map increased.
Old Mr. Qin and little Ann were both deeply focused on the game, their expressions identical in their seriousness, as if nothing could distract them.
Old Mrs. Qin had initially been chatting and laughing with them, but as the game became more intense, she silently observed, worried that her husband might accidentally outshine their beloved granddaughter, or that their precious granddaughter might strain her eyes from being too focused.
Old Mr. Qin was fully engrossed, his eyes glued to the TV screen.
He had already lost to his granddaughter in chess and had embarrassed himself while riding a bicycle in front of her. He couldn’t afford to lose in this simple game too. Another loss, and he’d feel unworthy of being her grandpa.
Qin Sui’an’s large, round eyes were fixed intently on the screen, but she could still hear her grandma and grandpa’s thoughts:
Ann isn’t afraid of losing~ Ann’s eyes are fine, they’re not hurt~
Grandpa is Ann’s grandpa, for life. How could he feel unworthy just because of losing a game? Ann doesn’t understand grandpa’s strange thoughts~
As she sighed inwardly, she suddenly heard a voice from outside the living room:
Second Brother couldn’t have been joking with me, right?
The more Qin Niexun thought about it, the more impossible it seemed, yet a tiny bit of curiosity lingered.
He walked closer to the living room but didn’t rush inside. He stood just outside, listening closely to what was happening inside.
Ann is playing a game with Grandpa? I’ll wait for this round to end before going in, so I don’t distract Ann.
With that in mind, Qin Niexun patiently waited outside for their game to finish.
Qin Sui’an blinked her large eyes, skillfully dodging obstacles on the TV screen while glancing toward the living room door.
Old Mrs. Qin noticed her quick glance.
What’s wrong with our little granddaughter?
Old Mrs. Qin also looked toward the door, thinking that her little granddaughter might have heard something. With Ann’s sharp hearing, it was possible. She stood up and walked to the door.
Turning around, Old Mrs. Qin saw her fourth grandson standing there. "Niexun?"
As expected, she had guessed correctly—her little granddaughter was amazing!
Old Mrs. Qin smiled and asked, "Why are you just standing here? Why not come in?"
"Grandma." Qin Niexun glanced into the living room and saw Ann smiling at him. He immediately returned the smile. "I didn’t want to interrupt Ann and Grandpa’s game."
"This round is almost over," Old Mrs. Qin replied as she returned to her seat on the sofa. Just then, the TV screen displayed the words "Game Over."
Old Mrs. Qin looked at her granddaughter and husband. "Oh, who won this round?"
Old Mr. Qin sighed in defeat. "I lost to Ann again."
Qin Sui’an put down the game controller and snuggled into her grandpa’s arms, wrapping her little hands around him. "Grandpa, it’s not embarrassing. You’re still Ann’s grandpa~"
Old Mrs. Qin couldn’t help but laugh and looked at her husband. "What silly thoughts were you having again? You even need Ann to comfort you."
Old Mr. Qin cleared his throat in embarrassment, but with his little granddaughter in his arms, losing or feeling embarrassed didn’t seem to matter as much anymore.
He chuckled happily and hugged his granddaughter. "Ann is absolutely right!"
After comforting her grandpa, Qin Sui’an ran over to her fourth brother, Qin Niexun.
Qin Niexun caught her steadily and was about to lift her up when she dodged his grasp. His heart sank for a moment as he stared in surprise at his sister, who had just avoided his hands. "Ann?"
Qin Sui’an quickly pointed to his bandaged arm, her little voice serious as she said, "Fourth Brother’s hand is injured! You can’t pick up Ann. It’s not that Ann doesn’t want you to hold her."
Qin Niexun felt like he was on an emotional rollercoaster. Hearing Ann’s words, he let out a sigh of relief.
So, it was just a misunderstanding—he had thought for a moment that Ann was avoiding him.
Carefully, Qin Sui’an took hold of her fourth brother’s injured hand, gently "moving" it aside before snuggling into his embrace. "Ann doesn’t dislike Fourth Brother."
Qin Niexun chuckled softly, understanding that his sister was worried about accidentally hurting his injured hand. He tucked that hand behind his back and gently held her with his other arm. "As long as Ann doesn’t dislike me, that’s all that matters."
When Qin Niexun had returned home earlier that morning, Ann was still asleep. Now that she saw his injured hand and showed no surprise, it seemed his second brother must have already told her about it.
But he couldn’t help but wonder how Second Brother had explained it to Ann.
Climbing onto the sofa, Qin Sui’an leaned against his uninjured arm, her small face looking up at him as she replied in her sweet voice, "Second Brother said Fourth Brother fell and hurt his arm."
"I see," Qin Niexun nodded in understanding.
That was a pretty good excuse—his second brother was quite good at making things up. But thinking about how someone his age could still manage to fall down, it felt a bit silly.
However, Qin Niexun quickly accepted the explanation. There was no way he could tell Ann that his injury had come from chasing down bad guys and getting slashed by one of them.
Qin Sui’an blinked in confusion, her small face showing that she was struggling to understand.
Second Brother lied to Ann...
Both Old Mrs. Qin and Old Mr. Qin noticed their granddaughter’s expression and felt that something was amiss.
Old Mrs. Qin called out to Qin Niexun, "Niexun."
"Hm?" Qin Niexun turned to look at her. "What’s wrong, Grandma?"
Old Mrs. Qin hinted, "Didn’t your second brother tell you something when he went upstairs just now?"
Qin Niexun paused for a second, then looked at Ann by his side.
He didn’t have the ability to hear others’ thoughts, but he could clearly see a hint of gloominess on Ann’s small face.
If Second Brother wasn’t joking with him, then it was likely that Ann had already heard every word of his inner thoughts.
"Ann," Qin Niexun began, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, "Did you hear my inner thoughts?"
Ann lowered her head, her soft little voice tinged with sadness, "Ann heard them." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Old Mr. Qin, seeing his beloved granddaughter so upset, was about to demand what exactly his fourth grandson had been thinking to cause her distress, but his arm was suddenly pulled back by someone.
He looked at his wife, "Little Jin?"
Why was she stopping him? Niexun had made their precious granddaughter unhappy!
Old Mrs. Qin didn’t answer his unspoken question, only saying, "Let’s go to the kitchen and make some juice for Ann. She’s been playing for a while and just ate a big drumstick, so she must be thirsty by now."
Old Mr. Qin didn’t quite understand why his wife wanted to send him away, but he followed her lead obediently. "Alright, let’s go."
The elderly couple stood up and left the living room, leaving Qin Niexun and Qin Sui’an alone.
Qin Niexun realized the reason behind his grandmother’s sudden departure and, once they were out of earshot, immediately pulled Ann into his arms. "Is Ann upset because Second Brother lied to you?"
"Just a little sad," Qin Sui’an nodded honestly, her little head bobbing. "Second Brother could have told Ann the truth. There’s no need to make up an excuse."
Though she was only three and a half, she understood that there were many types of jobs adults could have, some of which could be dangerous.
"Second Brother was worried that Ann might get scared because you’re still young." Qin Niexun raised his injured hand to show her. "It’s not much different from falling down—nothing serious."
That was the truth. Qin Niexun had sustained worse injuries before, and his body bore many scars.
Qin Sui’an stared wide-eyed, her round eyes growing even bigger.
Realizing from her expression that she had heard his inner thoughts again, Qin Niexun inwardly cursed himself for not being able to keep his thoughts in check.
Qin Sui’an looked up at him, her little face scrunched up with worry. "Does it hurt, Fourth Brother?"
"No, it doesn’t." Qin Niexun, with his thick skin, didn’t find either his current injury or his past ones to be anything significant—after all, he still had all his limbs.
As soon as Qin Sui’an started to relax, she heard the latter part of her brother’s thoughts.
All limbs intact... but that means there’s still a possibility that Fourth Brother could lose one!
Qin Sui’an gasped, "Fourth Brother’s job is very dangerous!"
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