Chapter 187: My Childhood Sweetheart Can't Possibly Be an Idiot! (23)

Inside the mansion, the dark environment was frighteningly quiet.

Qi Yuan was at his wit's end. He had to take care of the children while urgently searching for Xiao Baobao, who had mysteriously vanished, leaving him completely overwhelmed.

He asked the other people in the mansion to help look for her. The few servants were also rather terrified; after all, an increasing number of bizarre incidents had been occurring in the mansion, and any normal person would feel their heart flutter with panic.

Ruan Fannan, who had been staying in the living room, kindly used a flashlight brought over by Butler He to help search when he heard about the matter.

He even thoughtfully said to Qi Xingyun, "I'll go look for her. You go back to your room to rest first, lock the door well, and don't go out alone."

Qi Xingyun remarked, "You're quite helpful."

Ruan Fannan replied, "We're all family, so I'll help out where I can."

Compared to Qi Xingyun, who watched the developments with cold detachment, Ruan Fannan indeed appeared remarkably noble.

Yin Mo cowered beside Qi Xiao. Hearing what had happened in that room just now made her even more terrified, and she whispered, "Do we have to go look for people too?"

As soon as she heard something had gone wrong, she had hidden in the living room, not daring to join the commotion. Now, having heard the terrifying rumors as well, she stayed close to Qi Xiao, not daring to leave.

Whether to muster her courage or not, Qi Xiao purposely spoke in a loud voice, "The Snow Mountain Mansion is our Qi family's territory. What kind of danger could there be? I think we shouldn't overthink it and should all just go back to our respective rooms. Maybe the little sister-in-law will come back on her own after she finishes taking a stroll."

Qi Da sneered, "I must find that woman. My son's death is definitely related to her."

Qi Yiyi hugged Qi Yuan's neck, crying pitifully with red eyes like a little rabbit, "Daddy, I want Mommy!"

Qi Wei stood beside Qi Yuan, his eyes occasionally scanning the surroundings. Unlike Qi Yiyi, he was not crying and shouting for his Mommy. His nonchalant attitude did not match a child of his age, but because the situation was completely chaotic, no one noticed his anomaly.

Qi Yiyi was still crying, "Daddy! Sob, sob, sob, where did Mommy go? I want Mommy!"

Qi Yuan was driven frantic with vexation. By the light of the flashlight, he looked at the people present and spoke up, "As long as you can help me find Baobao, I can withdraw from this competition, and I am willing to support whoever finds Baobao in becoming the new head of the family."

The people present who had originally intended to stay out of the matter suddenly perked up.

Qi Xingyun snatched the flashlight from Ruan Fannan's hand. Glancing at Qi Yuan, she smiled and said, "Second Brother, look at what you're saying. Little Sister-in-law is your wife, which makes her my family. When family is in trouble, of course I have to help! Don't worry, I'll go see where Little Sister-in-law went right now."

Qi Xiao chimed in, "Sis makes sense. The power is out in the mansion, and Little Sister-in-law must be very scared. I need to find her quickly."

Yin Mo pulled on Qi Xiao's hand with a troubled expression.

Qi Xiao said, "Alright, let me send you back to your room first. With such a small gut, don't hold me back."

Seeing Qi Xingyun set off with Ruan Fannan, Qi Xiao refused to fall behind and quickly took Yin Mo away from the living room as well.

As for Qi Da, without a single word of nonsense, he had already gone off to search.

Among the Qi family members, there was never any pure familial affection.

Qi Yuan suppressed the irony deep within his heart. He didn't just stand around waiting either; he intended to take the two children to look for people. Seeing two young people sitting idly on the sofa doing nothing, he remained silent for a moment and asked, "Aren't you going to look for people?"

Bai Yao was shelling pine nuts. Hearing this, she raised her head and said with deep affection, "Stepmom is so kind and generous, she will definitely have her own natural blessedness. Daddy, she'll be fine."

That address again.

Qi Yuan couldn't explain the reason either. When the twins called him Daddy, it just melted his heart, but when Bai Yao called him that, it gave him an indescribable sense of stifling frustration.

Qi Ye tugged on Bai Yao's hand and opened his mouth toward her.

Bai Yao fed a shelled pine nut into his mouth. He closed his mouth, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at her.

They didn't plan to look for anyone, which meant they had no intention of contending for the position of the head of the Qi family.

But how could that be possible?

Didn't Qi Ye and Bai Yao come to the mansion at this time precisely for money?

For the first time, Qi Yuan realized that he seemed somewhat unable to see through this young man and woman, which was followed by a sudden realization—because he had never spent time with this child Qi Ye, he didn't understand him at all.

A strange emotion inexplicably welled up in his heart. After a long while, Qi Yuan said, "I'm going to look for people. Since you two have nothing to do, help me keep an eye on the children."

Huddled in her father's arms, Qi Yiyi cried, "I don't want to! Daddy, don't leave me here! Daddy!"

Qi Yuan's brow twitched violently, and the words slipped out of his mouth subconsciously: "Don't call me Daddy!"

It was the first time Qi Yiyi had been yelled at by her dear daddy. She froze, even forgetting to cry.

Qi Yuan also realized his tone had been too harsh, but he couldn't be entirely blamed. It was really because the word "Daddy" had been spoken too many times by Bai Yao, and he had been nauseated by it so often that it felt as though he had developed PTSD.

Uncomfortably, Qi Yuan told his daughter, "Call me Father from now on."

Qi Yiyi's eyes were full of tears, and she was about to burst into loud wailing again.

Bai Yao quickly interjected, "Daddy, we don't mind helping you take care of the children, but neither Qi Ye nor I have any experience in childcare. Are you sure you want to leave them with me?"

Qi Yuan frowned deeply.

Qi Yiyi wailed tearfully, "Why can she call you Daddy, but I can't?!"

Qi Yuan's brow furrowed even tighter.

Why?

Naturally, because Bai Yao wasn't afraid of his roaring at all!

Qi Ye glanced at Qi Wei.

Qi Wei shuddered all over. Grabbing Qi Yuan's hand, he imitated Qi Yiyi's appearance and said pitifully, "Daddy... cough, Father, I don't want to stay here! Take us with you to look for people!"

Ultimately, Qi Yuan was still uneasy about leaving the two children with Qi Ye and Bai Yao, so he held a child in each hand and set off to search.

Bai Yao looked toward Butler He, who was walking toward the door, "Butler He, are you going to look for people too?"

Butler He nodded, "Yes."

Bai Yao said, "So many things have happened in the mansion, and the old master still hasn't shown up?"

Butler He lowered his gaze and said, "The old master is in poor health and cannot leave his room casually."

He seemed to have no desire to chat much with Bai Yao, uttering a few perfunctory words about having matters to attend to before leaving first.

Bai Yao rubbed her chin, "There certainly are a lot of problems here."

However, she didn't have more time to transform into Sherlock Holmes. The man beside her leaned in, blocking her lips and giving her a kiss full of the taste of pine nuts.

Bai Yao stroked the back of his head. He had always loved her touch, and now, touched by her, he let out a soft laugh that he could hardly suppress and nibbled on her cheek.