"Is Ling Ling going too?" Lin Qiao ignored her son and laid her eyes on Wu Yueling's face, who slightly nodded in response.
Lin Qiao thought for two seconds and then said, "Then we have to get your father's permission."
Wu Yueling nodded again, then quickly turned and ran out of the room to look for her father.
After she left, Lin Xiaolu said to Lin Qiao, "Teng said that Ling Ling needs to meet more people now, as it might be good for her condition. We will protect her." She tried to explain for Teng because she didn't want Lin Qiao to blame him.
Lin Qiao walked to her and put a hand on her head, then nodded and said with a smile, "Emm, you're right. Ling Ling's condition is much better than before. Perhaps, meeting more people is helpful for her indeed. She was willing to talk earlier, but she refused to talk again now."
Lin Xiaolu grinned delightedly as Lin Qiao agreed with her.
On the other side, Wu Yueling ran to Wu Chengyue's door and knocked on the door twice, waiting for a few seconds. After that, she stood on her tiptoes and opened the door before sticking her head inside the room.
Wu Chengyue and Xiao Licheng had stopped talking when she knocked on the door. As the little girl stuck her head in, Wu Chengyue gave her a mild smile and asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything that you want to say to me?"
Wu Yueling shrank her head, then walked in while holding the edge of her clothes. She looked at Wu Chengyue with hesitation, seemingly wanting to say something but lacking the courage.
As Wu Yueling walked up to him, Wu Chengyue glanced at Xiao Licheng and then asked her again, "What's going on?"
Wu Yueling pulled his trousers, then pointed at the door with her other hand. She wanted her father to walk out of the room.
"Does Ling Ling want you out?" Xiao Licheng said uncertainly.
Wu Chengyue was confused too. He gave Wu Yueling a glance, then obediently stood up.
As he stood up, Wu Yueling impatiently dragged him out of the room, downstairs to the living room. In the living room, Wu Chengyue saw Lin Qiao and the other three kids.
Lin Qiao said to him expressionlessly, "Ling Ling wants to go out with us. I told her to ask for your permission."
"Where are you going?" Wu Chengyue looked at her with a smile and asked.
"The market. I'm taking them there to take a look. We might find something useful," said Lin Qiao.
"I'm going with you then," Wu Chengyue said without thinking.
Lin Qiao rejected him directly. "I don't think so. You are too eye-catching. I don't want everybody to look at me."
Her meaning was pretty clear. So, Wu Chengyue didn't try to persuade her. "Okay then! I'm going to prepare a car for you. Come back early for dinner."
Soon, Lin Qiao carried Teng and got onto the car that Wu Chengyue prepared for her, together with the other three kids, as well as Duan Juan and Shen Yujen. Soon, the car drove toward Central Market.
There was a market in every district within Sea City Base, and Central Market was the biggest market there. People from all over the base could sell and shop in that market. Of course, the goods in that market were expensive.
The market was very busy, filled with people, and comprising of three floors.
Lin Qiao had been to the market before, so she knew where it was. She parked the car in the underground parking lot, then brought the four kids out of the car and headed upstairs. Duan Juan held Wu Yueling with her right hand and Tongtong with her left hand. Lin Xiaolu followed behind Lin Qiao while Shen Yujen walked behind everyone else.
Shen Yujen had been there before as well. While walking, she introduced the place to Duan Juan.
"The first floor is crowded and messy as a lot of people are there. As expected, the goods on that floor are relatively cheap. The second and third floor are the main parts of this big market. The fourth floor is the Mission Hall, and the fifth floor is the center of the hunter business. The other offices and conference rooms are located on higher floors."
Three young women and four kids together could be pretty eye-catching in the market.
Normally, the women with kids were either from rich families or surrogate mothers. The former would look much better than the latter. All surrogate mothers were from the bottom of society who struggled very hard for survival.
The people observed the three women and four kids. Two of the three women were wearing camouflage suits, looking dashing and serious. The other woman was in a simple shirt and a pair of jeans, also looking neat and clean. The kids were all in clean and good clothes. Their clothes weren't brand new, but not old either.
The three women didn't look like someone who lived at the bottom of society.
Lin Qiao was wearing sunglasses, and her long hair were tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. The camouflage suit made her look very young, though the baby carried in her arms ruined her young and energetic vibe a little bit.
Lu Tianyu was young, actually, was only about thirty-four years old. Before, her thick makeup made her look older than her real age. Lin Qiao never wore makeup, so she now looked much younger than the old Lu Tianyu. Her skin was white and tender, and she was in great shape. As she and her people walked into the market, many people laid their eyes on her with greed.
She could detect the hidden meaning in those people's eyes. But, she stayed composed as she carried Teng and walked around the stalls while paying attention to the surrounding people. In fact, only the kids were looking around at the stalls.
Teng climbed onto her shoulder and sat on her arm, twisting his little waist to look from side to side without stopping for a second. Lin Xiaolu was looking around as well. The market was larger than the market that she had visited back in Hades Base, and a lot of people were there.
The goods on the stalls were mostly daily needs or some machines.
Some people were strolling around, window-shopping like Lin Qiao and her people.
Lin Qiao gave Wu Yueling a glance, whoi had unwittingly held Duan Juan's hand tighter and stayed close to the latter. The little girl seemed nervous and scared but calm, not panicked or anxious.
Teng's plan worked well; the girl wasn't terrified or freaked out. She should do it a few times more. Perhaps, she would get used to it over time.
Under Lin Qiao's lead, the few kids made a tour on the first floor, then moved to the second floor, which was much tidier and less crowded than the first floor.
"Are you… Lu Tianyu?" After Lin Qiao visited half of the stalls on that floor, a voice was suddenly heard from behind her. Lin Qiao paused, and so did the others. Everyone turned to look back.