Yan Xiaoran slowly looked down at the child in her arm and said, "What d-did you just say?"

"Da!"

Blinking her eyes, Yan Xiaoran did not want to believe what Xiaozi was saying and turned her head towards the other two who were quite speechless as well.

"She said 'Ma', right?" she asked them, "Not 'Da'…"

Fang Shaoteng and Maxine were also not in the best position to say otherwise and quickly nodded their heads.

"You're perfectly right, Boss! That child definitely called you 'Ma!'" Fang Shaoteng quickly said.

On his side, Maxine was frowning as she didn't want to lie to their boss and looked at Fang Shaoteng. Was it alright for them to lie just like that? She turned her head to look at Yan Xiaoran and what she saw also made her want to say the same thing as Fang Shaoteng.

"That is right, Madam. You heard it correctly!" Maxine said.

Unfortunately, one of the four did not cooperate with their little lies and said in a very loud voice, "Da!"

Yan Xiaoran: "…"

Maxine and Fang Shaoteng: "..."

Yan Xiaoran's head hurt.

Looking down at the little girl who was staring up at her with dreamy eyes, Yan Xiaoran did not know what to do. She didn't even notice how Alexander became so close with Xiaozi in such a short time for her to call him 'Da' already.

Was it because he was the one cleaning and changing her diapers?

Yan Xiaoran decided that when Alexander returns, she would not let him take Xiaozi away from her even for a second so they could get closer and Xiaozi would eventually forget calling him 'Da'.

Sadly, the time when Xiaozi will finally call her 'Ma' was something we should expect in the far future. Xiaozi's relationship with her new father will deepen even further as they become partners in crime.

After the subtle disappointment she felt after what happened earlier, Yan Xiaoran's mood quickly took a turn as her phone lit up.

A text message came from Alexander.

["How are you? I just arrived and saw your messages. I will be entering a land with no signal so you might not be able to contact me for a while. I will call you the next time I get the chance. I Love you! And take care of Little Koala!"]

A smile bloomed on her lips as she read the message. Yan Xiaoran couldn't help but feel like having a loving husband was great. But having Alexander as her husband was the best.

Not only was he keeping up with her insatiable desire to make love with him, he was also extremely good at it. Besides that, he was also a good companion and a good father.

After sending a reply to him, Yan Xiaoran decided to call it a day.

She took Xiaozi out of the headquarters and went to the nearest fast food chain. She remembered that when a commercial was on the TV screen, Xiaozi was ogling it like she would swallow the whole screen if she was a giant.

Seeing the fast food restaurant at the corner as they came closer, Yan Xiaoran looked at Xiaozi who had no idea about where they were heading. But her reaction soon changed as she saw the brand logo of the fast food restaurant and the mascot standing outside.

"Da!" Xiaozi squealed as she gripped Yan Xiaoran's arm. Probably, telling her to go to that place.

"Alright, alright… We will go there now." Yan Xiaoran told her.

The two of them entered the restaurant and a mascot greeted them after he saw the beautiful lady approaching them with a child in her arms.

Unlike the nonchalant and slightly cold Yan Xiaoran, Xiaozi was ecstatic when the mascot got closer and she reached her hands out, intending to pull the head off of the mascot to see what was under.

But before she could actually commit the crime, her mother steered away from the mascot and entered the restaurant. The cold air coming from the aircon slapped them awake and the bustling noise from the families and children who came to dine there almost threw them off.

It had really been a while since Yan Xiaoran entered a fast food restaurant and the first time for Xiaozi.

The last time Yan Xiaoran entered and ate in a fast food restaurant like this, it was before her mother remarried and father disappeared from their lives. She would always save as much money as she could from selling notebooks to her classmates during elementary and when she saved enough to buy a budget meal, she would squeal in happiness.

At that time, that was the only joy she could steal from the dark and trying times she had to experience.

On the other hand, Xiaozi was a pampered baby. Yu Jinyan did everything to give her the best and make her eat only high-end food for kids of her age while exploiting the child through showing her to the public.

Both Yan Xiaoran and Xiaozi experienced a very sad life under their mother's hands. Different times and situations, but the effect it did to them were the same. It was quite miserable.

The only thing that Yan Xiaoran was thankful of was that Xiaozi did not grow up seeing and experiencing what she did.

As she was lost in her thoughts, a piercing cry suddenly took her out of her memory lane.

In her arms, Xiaozi was exposed to a new world and didn't have enough time to adjust. The noisy surrounding and smell of chemicals from the cleaning crew made her irritant.

Then she cried…

"Wah!"

Startled at the sudden outburst of the child in her arms, Yan Xiaoran felt embarrassed when she saw several heads turn her way. But she was most concerned with why was her child crying now?

"What happened?" Yan Xiaoran asked as she moved away from the crowd and eyes staring at their way. She found a corner with no people seated around it and sat on one of the tables.

She tried to shake her arm up and down with the child still riding it. But Xiaozi was not convinced of her way to pacify a child. This time around, Yan Xiaoran really wished Alexander was here. He was the best one out of the two of them to make Xiaozi stop crying.

After mouthing 'sorry' to the other diners, a part-time worker in the restaurant approached her.

"Do you need some help, ma'am?" the waitress asked with a paper in hand.

Yan Xiaoran shook her head and smiled apologetically at her, "I'm really sorry about this. Can I ask you to take my order?"

"Certainly, ma'am…" the waitress took her orders and since Xiaozi was still crying, Yan Xiaoran bought some of the toys displayed inside the glass box.

After the waitress left, Yan Xiaoran put all her attention to wipe Xiaozi's tears away, "Xiaozi, don't be afraid now. Mommy's here with you…"

Xiaozi bit her lips and shove her face in Yan Xiaoran's chest, escaping the hand that was about to wipe her tears and snot. Instead, the child decided to use her blouse as a substitute.