Chen Zilu pulled her niece around the corner and stopped where Qiu Li couldn’t see them.

She crouched down in front of her, face stern. “Xiaoxiao, Auntie has something to ask you.”

Yan Xiao was still mentally applauding her flawless performance and happily imagining how many “negative points” she might’ve just earned. She’d even snuck a glance back—Qiu Li was staring at the cotton candy she gave him, looking like he’d just swallowed a fly. He was probably cursing her under his breath…

So when her aunt spoke, her smile hadn’t even faded yet. Squinting with glee, she asked, “What is it?”

Seeing that carefree expression—completely unaware she’d done anything wrong—Chen Zilu felt a rush of disappointment.

Her Xiaoxiao, usually so clever, sweet, polite, well-mannered, and beautiful… How did she suddenly turn into this?

Unacceptable.

Her expression tightened further as she said, “Xiaoxiao, what you just did was wrong. Do you understand that?”

Xiaoxiao tilted her head, gazing at her aunt. Of course I know. I did it on purpose. But aloud, she just said, “Oh.”

Looking at her niece’s innocent, clueless face, Chen Zilu hesitated. Maybe she was being too harsh? What if she scared the child or made her feel ashamed? After a pause, she softened her tone, her face gentler now.

“You can’t throw away someone else’s milk, okay? That’s very impolite. Do you understand?”

She deliberately didn’t mention Qiu Li by name—she didn’t want her niece to see him the way others might, through a biased lens. If you don’t like someone, it’s fine to keep your distance. It’s okay to ignore them. But hurting someone just because you don’t like them—that’s a serious problem. She couldn’t control how others behaved, but her own little girl? She had to teach her right.

Yan Xiao thought for a moment. She still had a future worth living for—she still needed to keep being a child. After all, being a “little kid” made it easier to get close to the villain boss. That meant she had to play the part well. So she pressed her lips together and nodded solemnly. “Mm. Mm-hmm.”

Seeing her niece take it seriously and nod back, Chen Zilu finally relaxed. Don’t be fooled by how young she was—Xiaoxiao was a child who understood right from wrong and always kept her word.

“Then promise Auntie,” Chen Zilu said with a smile, gently pinching her cheek. “From now on, no more throwing away other people’s milk, okay?”

Yan Xiao bit her lip. She thought her aunt was overreacting a bit, but—well, no choice. She was still a three-year-old right now. Under Auntie’s expectant gaze, she nodded obediently. “Okay.” I’ll just throw it away secretly next time when you’re not looking!

Then she added, “I was wrong just now. Don’t be mad at me, Auntie.”

In front of grown-ups, she had to be the well-behaved kid. She couldn’t leave a bad impression. Just now… well, that was her first time doing a mission. She’d been nervous and slipped up. She’d be more careful from now on.

Seeing her niece admit fault, Chen Zilu’s heart melted. She pulled the little one into a hug and said gently, “As long as Xiaoxiao stays polite and sweet, Auntie won’t be angry.”

Mission complete!

Yan Xiao beamed and followed her pure-hearted aunt back into the house—to find the male lead of this novel, Qiu Yan.

…..

Out on the lawn, Qiu Li stood there holding the cotton candy for quite a while before finally tucking it into the pocket of his little vest.

He glanced down at the spilled milk soaking into the grass. After a pause, he crouched, picked up the empty carton, and pulled a tissue from his pocket. Carefully, he began wiping the milk off the grass, making sure to clean up every last trace…

…..

Yan Xiao followed her aunt into the house. After greeting a few people, she slipped away and headed for the studio to find Qiu Yan.

She genuinely liked Qiu Yan—not just because he didn’t act like a typical kid. With him, she didn’t have to pretend to enjoy silly games or speak in childish tones. And, of course, she deeply admired his talent.

To be able to create such highly acclaimed, sought-after art at such a young age—that was something far beyond her reach. People naturally admire strength and brilliance. She was no different.

In the original book, Yan Xiao and Qiu Yan had always shared a good relationship. Now, in her current situation, it was even more important for her to strengthen that bond. If she could build a close connection with the male lead, then once she maxed out her “dislike points” and returned to her original world, her parents could benefit from that relationship too. Knowing that would give her peace of mind.

She was very pleased with her thorough and well-thought-out plan.

The studio was filled with children who had come just to see Qiu Yan. Among kids aged three to ten, he was by far the most admired. But Qiu Yan never played with any of them. He was fully immersed in his art, embodying the aloof, untouchable aura of a true genius. The kind who seemed to exist above the mundane world.

When she walked in, he was completely absorbed in his painting, as if no one else existed. His profile, bathed in sunlight, was so striking it looked like it had been painted itself.

If she had to choose one word to describe Qiu Yan, it would be—regal.

A perfect fit for the leading man of a romance novel.

Beautiful, powerful, tragic—he had it all.

Well, except the tragic part. For now, he was just beautiful and powerful.

The kids in the studio didn’t seem to faze Qiu Yan at all. He stayed completely focused on his painting. Yan Xiao didn’t say a word either—she quietly grabbed a small stool and sat nearby to watch.

Yan Xiao had no illusions about her artistic ability. She stared at his canvas for quite a while, but still couldn’t figure out what exactly he was painting. She could only think: The colors are really nice. Whatever it is… it actually looks pretty good.

Resting her chin in her hands, she stared for a bit until her neck started to ache. She sat up to stretch—and when she turned her head, she caught a glimpse through the floor-to-ceiling window.

Out on the lawn, Qiu Li was bent over, wiping up the spilled milk with a tissue.

The lawn was empty except for him—he stood out immediately.

Yan Xiao raised an eyebrow. The future villain boss was this… well-mannered as a kid?

The system had drilled into her over and over how ruthless, sinister, and cold Qiu Li would become. Full-on villain boss material. So naturally, she’d started seeing him as a bad guy from the start, even though he hadn’t gone dark yet.

But now, watching him finish wiping the milk, carefully toss both the tissue and empty carton into the trash, his head still down so she couldn’t see his expression—just the calm, focused way he moved—she couldn’t help but feel: the future villain, before his fall, didn’t actually seem so scary.

Quiet, a little cold maybe, but not terrifying.

And come on—he was only six years old. How scary could he possibly be?

Seriously, I got spooked by his look earlier? What a coward move…

After tossing the trash, Qiu Li pulled out a clean tissue and carefully wiped his hands. As he was doing so, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes locked onto him.

He was extremely sensitive to being watched. Whether it was Qiu Zhan, his group of so-called friends, or other kids at kindergarten—they all loved whispering behind his back, pointing fingers when they thought he wasn’t looking. He’d caught them more than once, but they never showed a hint of guilt. If anything, they just got bolder.

He hated it. Really hated being stared at. Because those stares were never kind.

His brows pinched slightly. After a brief hesitation, he turned toward that gaze with a cold expression on his face.

—

Yan Xiao had been zoning out, watching Qiu Li’s small figure from inside the studio. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t expect him to suddenly look up and meet her eyes—his gaze icy, with a flicker of hostility.

She jumped. Wha—weren’t you just thinking he wasn’t scary? Why does he look like he’s already turning into a villain?!

But then, her eyes lit up.

He must’ve realized her earlier behavior was unfriendly—and now he was mad!

Perfect! If he was angry, and she provoked him while he was angry… wouldn’t that double her “dislike points”?

Thinking this, Yan Xiao lifted her chin at him and gave a slow, deliberate, provocative smile.

Qiu Li blinked. The person staring at him turned out to be that little girl from before.

And just as he was processing that—she smiled at him.

—Yan Xiao thought she was giving a defiant, provocative smile. But what she didn’t realize was that she was only three years old.

At that age, even a scowl would come across as adorable. Much less a “provocative” look—on her cherubic face, it just looked like a sweet little grin. And since she was already widely acknowledged as a cute kid, her attempt at menace didn’t stand a chance.

So in Qiu Li’s eyes, all he saw was a little girl smiling at him.

She smiled at him.

Qiu Li suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself. He’d jumped to conclusions, assumed the worst, treated someone like a bad person without knowing anything. Maybe… maybe she hadn’t done it on purpose. After all, she did give him candy…

He frowned slightly, torn for a second, debating whether or not he should respond.

But then his eyes landed on Qiu Yan, sitting beside her.

And just like that, his expression turned cold again.

Everyone liked Qiu Yan. No one liked him. The little girl was probably no different.

He looked away and turned to leave.

—

Watching him stomp off with a scowl, Yan Xiao raised her eyebrows in satisfaction.

Ha! He’s mad for sure!

=^_^=