Chapter 48: Shopping at the Mall  

After taking a bath, Ou Zichen and Zhao Jiaying went to the study.  

It was the weekend. Shen Linghao had to accompany his mother, Liu Lanzhi, for a visit to Grandma’s house, so he did not come over.  

Inside the study, father and daughter were playing chess again.  

After two rounds, Zhao Jiaying won against Ou Zichen effortlessly. Feeling proud, she said, “Great! Yingbao won again. Daddy, do you admit defeat?”  

“I admit it! Yingbao is amazing. Daddy concedes wholeheartedly.”  

The chess skills that Ou Zichen had once been so proud of were utterly useless in front of Zhao Jiaying. It was true that the younger generation surpassed the old—he had no choice but to accept it.  

“Daddy, why is that bad auntie here again?”  

The “bad auntie” referred to Yang Xiaoyun. Ever since Zhao Jiaying learned that she wanted to steal Ou Zichen, she had firmly believed that Yang Xiaoyun was a bad woman.  

But Zhao Jiaying was not wrong—Yang Xiaoyun truly was a bad woman. She had even wanted her dead. If that wasn’t bad enough, then what was?  

“Daddy doesn’t know. Maybe she’s here to see Great-grandma!”  

As long as she was not looking for him, he had no objections if she came to visit Lin Zhenzhu.  

“Does Great-grandma really like her that much?”  

Zhao Jiaying had noticed how warmly Lin Zhenzhu treated Yang Xiaoyun and could tell that Lin Zhenzhu liked her.  

“Because she once helped Great-grandma, so Great-grandma treats her well.”  

Although Ou Zichen had already told Lin Zhenzhu that he had repaid the favor on her behalf, Lin Zhenzhu was a sentimental and loyal person. She believed in repaying kindness for a lifetime, so she continued to remember Yang Xiaoyun’s good deed.  

Seeing that Zhao Jiaying had been recovering well lately and had not had nightmares at night, Ou Zichen decided to take advantage of the weekend. He suggested taking her out to go shopping and relax a little.

“Yingbao, Daddy sees that the weather is nice today. How about we go shopping?”  

“Daddy, do you like shopping?”  

This question left Ou Zichen a little helpless. As a busy CEO, he was always swamped with work. Whenever he had free time, he just wanted to catch up on sleep. How could he possibly enjoy shopping?  

However, if he answered truthfully that he did not like it, Zhao Jiaying would surely lose interest in going. But he wanted to take her out, to let her see the outside world and experience new things. It would only be beneficial for her.  

To trick Zhao Jiaying into going out, Ou Zichen had no choice but to lie.  

“Of course! Daddy loves shopping. So, will Yingbao accompany Daddy today?”  

Zhao Jiaying blinked her big, round, black eyes and thought for a moment. Usually, Daddy always accompanied her to do things she liked, but she had never really done something for him. So today, she would reluctantly keep Daddy company.  

“Alright! I’ll go with Daddy!” she answered crisply.  

To be honest, she did not really like shopping because it was exhausting. Her little short legs could not walk very far.  

Holding Zhao Jiaying’s hand, Ou Zichen led her downstairs. When she saw that Yang Xiaoyun was gone, she secretly rejoiced—the bad woman had finally left.  

She ran over to Lin Zhenzhu and said in her sweet, childish voice, “Great-grandma, Daddy and I are going shopping! Do you want to come with us?”  

“No, Great-grandma is old and doesn’t like noisy places. You two go ahead.”  

As an elderly lady, she had no interest in following young people around. Staying home, trimming flowers, and reading magazines was far more comfortable.  

Suddenly, Zhao Jiaying thought of Ou Zilong.  

“Daddy, where’s Second Uncle? Does he want to come with us?”  

Ou Zichen picked her up and carried her toward the villa entrance, where the driver was already waiting by the fountain.  

“Don’t worry about your Second Uncle. He’s busy.”  

Busy keeping his little girlfriends entertained—he certainly wouldn’t have time to go shopping with them.  

But Ou Zichen did not say that out loud, afraid of hurting Zhao Jiaying’s feelings. He wanted her to maintain a good impression of Ou Zilong.  

Ou Zichen took Zhao Jiaying to Tianhuan Plaza, one of the largest shopping malls in Bincheng, specializing in mid-to-high-end products.  

Since it was the weekend, the mall was crowded. To ensure Zhao Jiaying’s safety, Ou Zichen specially arranged for two bodyguards to accompany them.  

This was Zhao Jiaying’s first time visiting a shopping mall. Back when she lived in the slums, there were no large malls—only a small supermarket, which Mommy had taken her to a few times.  

After Yang Xiuhua started taking care of her, she often brought her along to buy groceries. So, the place Zhao Jiaying had visited the most was the wet market.  

Everything in the shopping mall was new and fascinating to her. She could not help but look around excitedly, her gaze darting from one store to another.  

Before long, something caught her attention—a toy store not far ahead. She let go of Ou Zichen’s hand and ran toward it on her little short legs.  

Ou Zichen did not know what was going on, but he quickly followed.  

“Daddy, look! This yellow duck is so big! It’s even bigger than Yingbao!”

Zhao Jiaying was looking at a plush yellow duck doll. This store specialized in yellow duck merchandise, so everything inside was related to yellow ducks.  

Seeing the burning desire in Zhao Jiaying’s eyes as she gazed at the toy, Ou Zichen softly asked, “Yingbao, do you like it?”  

Zhao Jiaying nodded frantically.  

“I love it! Yellow ducks are my favorite!”  

Ou Zichen vaguely recalled that the first time Zhao Jiaying came to Ou Corporation to look for him, she had been carrying a yellow duck backpack. But after spending so much time with her, he had never noticed her love for yellow ducks. As a father, he had truly been negligent.  

“If Yingbao likes it, then we’ll buy it!”  

“Really? We can really take it home?”  

Mommy, Zhao Yunxi, had told her that children should not pester for toys. She had always remembered that rule. But she really, really loved this one, so she had to ask for Ou Zichen’s permission.  

“Of course. Yingbao’s bedroom is almost finished with renovations, but right now, it’s still empty. So today, we can buy lots of yellow duck items to fill it up, okay?”  

“Okay, okay, okay!”  

With Ou Zichen’s approval, Zhao Jiaying excitedly held his hand and walked into the yellow duck specialty store.  

In the end, they bought a lot of yellow duck-themed items—yellow duck pillows, yellow duck cushions, yellow duck towels, yellow duck handkerchiefs, yellow duck cups, yellow duck toothpaste and toothbrush, yellow duck pajamas, and even yellow duck bedding.  

Of course, they also bought the giant yellow duck plush that was even bigger than Zhao Jiaying herself.  

With so many items, it was impossible for them to carry everything. After paying, Ou Zichen left the address of the Ou family estate with the store clerk so they could deliver everything.  

The store clerk was overjoyed. Selling so many items in one go meant her commission for the month would double.  

Even better, she had not been scheduled to work today. Another employee had taken leave at the last minute, and she had been asked to fill in. Initially, she had been reluctant, but now she felt incredibly lucky—if she had not come, she would have missed out on such a big sale!  

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