Cheng Leyan took Mama Rong and Zhuozhuo to McDonald’s, generously ordering two “Rich Lady Meals” (referring to the Angus Thick Beef Burger that made Cheng Leyan’s wallet hurt) and one kids’ meal. 

Mama Rong, of course, wasn’t eating McDonald’s for the first time, but it was still quite a novelty; Zhuozhuo, on the other hand, devoured his meal like a whirlwind, finishing his set and then having a pie, a box of chicken nuggets, and an ice cream. 

The little one was completely satisfied. 

Later, back home, Cheng Leyan took Zhuozhuo for a bath, changed him into pajamas, dried his hair, and tucked him into bed. 

Zhuozhuo carefully placed his Pikachu next to his pillow again. 

Stepdad had originally said he would take him to buy lots of toys today, but with everything that happened, they didn’t get to buy anything at all. 

There was some disappointment, but not much; more than anything, there was an overwhelming joy he still couldn’t believe: 

Teacher Xiang had left, and now, Aunt Zhang had left too! 

Aunt Zhang wasn’t in this house anymore! 

Aunt Zhang could no longer hit him, scold him, force him to drink those mushy things, or feed him stuff that made him sleep! 

Aunt Zhang… won’t come back, right? 

What if she comes back? 

If she calls someone to kidnap him again, will Stepdad save him? 

Thinking about these things, the little one’s heart tightened. 

He told himself: I am a tin man, I must be brave, I’m not afraid of her. 

But his face was already scrunched up. 

At this moment, he felt Stepdad sitting at his bedside, bringing that faint, reassuring scent. 

Stepdad said, “Baby, have you learned a lot of words already? You’re amazing! Stepdad hasn’t had the chance to talk to you about today. Were you scared when you were taken away?” 

The grievance surged up instantly, Zhuozhuo thought, yes, very scared. 

Stepdad continued, “Has Aunt Zhang done many excessive things before? But Zhuozhuo didn’t tell anyone because Zhuozhuo was scared, because Zhuozhuo thought it wouldn’t help to say anything?” 

Zhuozhuo thought, yes, he was really afraid that saying something wouldn’t help, that others wouldn’t believe him, and Aunt Zhang would hit him even more—just like Stepdad used to. 

Stepdad gently said, “Zhuozhuo is not a bad child, Zhuozhuo is not crying on purpose, Zhuozhuo is not refusing to speak on purpose, Zhuozhuo is not refusing to eat on purpose, Zhuozhuo doesn’t want to go against adults, right?” 

Zhuozhuo thought, yes, Zhuozhuo… Zhuozhuo is not a bad child. 

Zhuozhuo wanted to cry again, he sniffled lightly. 

He felt Stepdad gently smoothing his hair, slowly saying, “There are some bad people in this world, like Aunt Zhang, like today’s criminals, like—Stepdad in the past. I understand Zhuozhuo’s fear, Stepdad would be scared too. Stepdad understands. 

“But Zhuozhuo, it won’t happen again, because Stepdad will protect Zhuozhuo, will stay by Zhuozhuo’s side, this is what Stepdad promised Zhuozhuo, and Stepdad will definitely do it. Zhuozhuo is not a bad child, Zhuozhuo is the best child in the world, the most wonderful gift in the world. 

“Zhuozhuo was very brave today, Zhuozhuo did great, you exposed Aunt Zhang’s true face to Grandma, that’s really amazing. Zhuozhuo also has to promise me, in the future, if anything happens, like if someone bullies you, if you’re unhappy, if you feel wronged, you must tell Stepdad, okay? 

“Baby, what happened in the past is not your fault. In the future, do whatever you want to do, don’t be afraid. Stepdad will always believe in Zhuozhuo, Stepdad will always stand by your side.” 

“Sleep now, baby, sleep. Stepdad will stay right here.” 

Zhuozhuo thought, I am a tin man, I won’t melt, but I’m about to… 

Melt. 

He fell asleep in a strange way. 

Not because he ate something that made him sleep, not the fake sleep he was used to, not alone, scared, hungry, holding that bear with almost all its fur gone, struggling in all the nightmares. 

No. 

He was now full, warm, and safe. 

He had the most wonderful present, the most wonderful dream. 

Just as Zhuozhuo completely fell asleep, 419 set off fireworks in Cheng Leyan’s mind: his main task “Change the fate of this world and the villain Rong Jishi” was 10% complete. 

Zhuozhuo’s fate had already shifted by 10%. 

Hearing this news, Cheng Leyan was quite happy, not just because of the task, but because of Zhuozhuo himself. 

He was changing this child’s fate. 

He was giving this child a chance to have everything happy. 

In the future, Zhuozhuo would have more. 

Things he wanted as a child but never had, like toys, good food, hugs, companionship, laughter in amusement parks, all would be given to Zhuozhuo, he would give them all to Zhuozhuo. 

He would make Zhuozhuo very happy. 

The reward for the first stage was only ten yuan, 419 sheepishly credited Cheng Leyan with 10 yuan. Cheng Leyan was delighted, money is money, 10 yuan isn’t too little, 10,000 isn’t too much. 

This is RMB, after all. 

The system added: [There’s one more thing, Host, Zhuozhuo’s fate has shifted, and the subsequent story has changed. The world will has re-simulated the fate of the entire world based on the current situation and provided a prediction, showing a possible future for Zhuozhuo. 

[It is given to you as a reward, which can be used as a reference to help you adjust your future actions.] 

Cheng Leyan’s eyes lit up: [This is great! Isn’t this like a prophet skill? Very useful!] 

He quickly tucked Zhuozhuo in, turned off the lights, and went back to his room to study this “Future Guide.” 

The world will provided a piece of text, very similar in style to the original “Imprisoned Love.” 

The text went like this: 

[When Jiang Weiran woke up, he felt a splitting headache. He wanted to reach up and press his head, but found that his wrists were tightly shackled with iron cuffs. 

The smell of tobacco wafted over. 

There was someone else in the room. 

He lifted his head, looking towards the corner, trying hard to make out the figure. 

His eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he saw someone sitting in the shadows. The person was wearing a suit, legs crossed, with a flickering light between his fingers. 

It was Rong Jishi. 

He was smoking a cigar. 

He was… he was actually smoking a cigar at this time. 

“Rong Jishi, are you fucking crazy!?” Jiang Weiran shouted, struggling hard. 

But it was useless. The metal cuffs held him firmly to the bed. 

Rong Jishi watched him struggle, watched him unable to break free. 

Later, when the cigar was finished, Rong Jishi got up and walked over, looking down at him. After a while, he reached out and pinched his chin. 

He said, “Ranran, just stay here.” 

Jiang Weiran struggled violently, letting his wrists chafe and bleed, he shouted, “Let me go, let me go! Rong Jishi, you’re a fucking lunatic! I don’t owe you anything, why are you doing this to me!?” 

Rong Jishi just smiled, “You don’t owe me, but the world owes me. 

“Ranran, you don’t know, growing up, not many people were good to me, you’re about the second. The first one… the first person, he was very good to me, really good, he made me know I wasn’t wrong, I wasn’t alone. 

“But he died.” 

“I always remember something he said.” Rong Jishi slowly said, “I was three years old then, he told me, do what you want to do, don’t be afraid, Stepdad will always stand by your side.” 

Rong Jishi reached out and touched Jiang Weiran’s hair, curling his lips, “So, I did.”] 

Cheng Leyan: ………….. 

Thunderstruck. 

Ah! 

Ahhhhh! 

What the heck! What the heck!!! 

Zhuozhuo, what have you learned!? 

You stopped smoking, but now you’re smoking cigars! 

I said so many things, and you only remembered “do what you want to do”! 

Why didn’t you remember my wise words! 

“Those who seek money thrive, those who seek love have nothing” got eaten by a dog!? 

Besides, when I said “do what you want to do,” it was to encourage you to face things bravely, not to become a criminal! 

And what’s with “the world owes you,” “I’m not wrong,” are you stuck in middle school!? 

Now you know how to act cool, talk tough, and be a criminal!? Who taught you this, huh!? 

Give me back my soft, sweet, adorable little one, and let this greasy pervert man get lost!!! 

And why did I, Stepdad, die again, why!? 

Do I have to die so young!? 

Suffocating! 

Cheng Leyan seriously doubted his parenting skills. 

He even started to think, maybe kids can’t just be given love and care like before, maybe a bit of tough love is more effective? 

The system weakly suggested that it had whips in its little warehouse, but they weren’t for hitting kids. 

Cheng Leyan: […I don’t want to know what you use those things for.] 

He was originally lying in bed hugging a golden apple (yes, the golden apple is now his sleep buddy), but now he just got up. 

In the world of top sales, there’s no such thing as “giving up”! 

He didn’t believe it, could he really raise a criminal kid!? 

So he stayed up all night reading various child-rearing books, including “Positive Discipline,” “Berk’s Developmental Psychology,” “The Awakened Family,” “The Explosive Child,” and so on. 

The next morning, when Zhuozhuo woke up from his sweet, warm dream, he opened his eyes to see Stepdad with two huge dark circles under his eyes, squatting in front of him, looking at him eerily. 

The little one was startled, blinking cutely, instinctively grabbing the Pikachu beside him. 

Cheng Leyan, with a pleasant demeanor, pinched his voice to sound like a chipmunk: “Baby, you’re awake. Did you sleep well? Baby, do you remember what Stepdad taught you before?” 

Zhuozhuo nodded seriously. He remembered, Stepdad said he wasn’t wrong, to be brave, to do what he wanted, not to be afraid. He remembered it all. 

Cheng Leyan: “Yes, that’s right, what Stepdad taught you is: ‘Those who seek money thrive, those who seek love have nothing,’ money is the most important! And also, Stepdad taught you that smoking makes your teeth yellow, and smoking cigars is not okay either!” 

Then he took out an iPad and showed Zhuozhuo dozens of pictures of the teeth of people who smoked cigarettes and cigars for years. 

The little one had never seen something so shocking, scrunching up his little face. 

But it wasn’t over, Cheng Leyan continued earnestly, “Baby, today Stepdad wants to teach you something new: the law is solemn, sacred, and no one can violate it. From today, Stepdad will add a new course for you, which is—” 

He dramatically pulled out a super thick book from somewhere, with two words on it: “Criminal Law.” 

Zhuozhuo: Huh?