"My name is Cheng Ningyuan!" Ningning said, his voice brimming with barely concealed delight.
That tender, childlike voice felt like a spring breeze brushing by, or gentle rain falling on a parched desert. Instantly, Third Young Master Ye's irritated mood lightened.
"Let me speak to your sister," Ye said, his tone softening when he realized he was talking to a child. The boy's surname was Cheng, and since Cheng Anya wasn't that old herself, Ye naturally assumed this was her younger brother.
Inwardly, he couldn't help but grumble—look at that, such a polite kid, even his voice was pleasant to hear. How could two siblings from the same mother turn out so differently?
⊙﹏⊙
"Sister?" Ningning dragged out the word playfully, chuckling to himself. He hadn't said that exactly—it was Ye who assumed, and he had simply chosen not to correct him.
There's no law that says you have to correct someone's mistaken assumption, right?
Ningning was a clever child—sharp-witted, emotionally mature, and strong-willed. The person he loved most in the world was Cheng Anya. And if she didn't want certain truths revealed, he would never do it.
Even if he was bursting with curiosity about his biological father.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Ningning smiled, "Hold on a sec!"
"Baby, who's on the phone?" Cheng Anya asked as she dried her hair.
"Someone named Ye."
Her hand froze mid-air. The towel dropped to the floor as she stood there in a daze. Instantly, a scene flashed in her mind—Ye Chen with his hand around her throat, trying to strangle her.
Panic-stricken, she dashed over to grab the phone, clamping her hand over the receiver as she stared at Ningning in shock.
Ningning gave her a smile and a casual shrug, then picked up the fallen towel to help dry her hair.
Cheng Anya's heart pounded wildly, utterly flustered. No matter what she faced, she could usually keep her composure. But Ningning—he was the one thing that could throw her completely off balance.
"Nervous?" Ningning asked gently.
With her heart in her throat, Cheng Anya's voice trembled slightly, "President Ye… is there something you need?"
"Come to Central Plaza. Now."
"Wait… it's already 10 p.m…"
"A competent secretary should always be on call," Ye Chen said flatly before hanging up without another word.
Cheng Anya's temper flared. Damn it, what if I just quit, huh?
"Mummy, stay calm!"
"Ningning, what did you say to him?" she asked, visibly shaken. She could face anything with poise—except when it came to Ningning. He could unravel her like no one else.
"He asked for my sister," Ningning replied sweetly, with a soothing tone. "I was just about to tell him you're my mummy when you came out."
Thank God. Cheng Anya's heart finally settled, like someone being pulled back from the edge of a cliff just in time.