Chapter 3

Zhong Yao was woken up by a sudden burst of loud, jarring noise.

When she opened her eyes, the rainy night had turned into a sunny morning. Through the car window, she could see a warm orange sun rising on the horizon, its reflection shimmering on the water beneath a busy overpass.

She blinked in confusion, then remembered—she had already left Yunshui Town and was now on her way to Beijing.

She didn’t know how She Rui had managed to convince Aunt Liu, but her transfer paperwork had gone through smoothly. Late that night, Aunt Liu had helped her pack and sent her off on a car headed far from home.

She hadn’t even had a chance to tell Shiwu. Or perhaps, deep down, she hadn’t dared to—afraid of making her friend sad, and even more afraid that she herself wouldn’t be able to let go.

Now the car sped along, skyscrapers whizzing past the window. Overhead expressways loomed high, and the city buzzed with car horns and crowds. Everything here was the complete opposite of the quiet life in Yunshui.

It felt like a scene from a movie flashing by frame after frame. Zhong Yao sat with her neck turned, staring out the window, dazed.

She used to think Beijing was far away—utterly unreachable.

But now, in just a day and a night, in a single sleep, she had arrived.

Everything around her felt new and unfamiliar. The more she looked, the heavier her chest felt.

She and her mother had lived in Yunshui Town, while the father who had abandoned them turned out to live in this dreamlike city.

Gradually, the high-rises and traffic faded. It looked like they were passing through a park.

Suddenly, the car slowed. They turned a corner and began descending into the darkness beneath ground level.

Zhong Yao realized—this was the kind of underground parking garage she often saw in dramas. Usually, when the protagonists arrived here, it meant they’d reached their destination.

Her heart instantly leapt.
Was she about to meet that long-lost father?

Hiss—the car came to a smooth stop.

Zhong Yao gripped the hem of her shirt. A strange tension she didn’t want to admit to washed over her. She pressed her lips together, filled with hesitation.

She Rui had already stepped out and retrieved her luggage. Seeing Zhong Yao still sitting inside, she bent down to remind her:
“Zhong Yao, we’re home. Come on, get out.”

Zhong Yao replied softly, and the moment she stepped out of the car, She Rui placed a baseball cap over her head. Before she could even ask why, She Rui had already started walking ahead.

Zhong Yao, consumed by thoughts of the father she disliked, didn’t dwell on it. She followed mechanically behind.

They entered a spacious, brightly lit elevator, walked through gleaming hallways, and finally arrived at a deep brown security door.

There was no keyhole. Zhong Yao watched as She Rui raised her hand to swipe below the handle. An electronic panel lit up, a password was entered, and with a beep, the door opened.

Her heart climbed into her throat. It felt like her feet had taken root—she couldn’t step over the threshold.

She Rui, still looking for a pair of slippers, glanced back only to see the girl frozen at the doorway, tangled in her thoughts.

More sensitive than I expected, she thought.

“Come in,” She Rui said gently.
“Your father’s overseas. He won’t be back until later.”

Zhong Yao instantly relaxed at those words and stepped into the foyer.

The house was even more beautiful than she’d imagined. Just the downstairs living room alone was about the size of the entire apartment she and her mother had shared. Zhong Yao didn’t know anything about interior design, but everything was spotless, tidy, and gleaming. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she could even see a garden and a swimming pool.

It looked better than the houses on TV.
So… her father was a rich man.

She Rui didn’t take her upstairs. Not long after arriving, her phone began ringing non-stop. She seemed very busy.

Roughly ten minutes later, she ordered food for Zhong Yao, reminded her to wait quietly at home for her father, and left in a hurry.

In this huge, unfamiliar home, Zhong Yao was now all alone.

But she didn’t feel any sense of belonging—not even curiosity to explore. She just sat dazed in the center of the sofa.

At first, she kept glancing toward the front door, nervous about the moment she’d have to face this unfamiliar father.

Slowly, the sunlight outside faded into starlight and a nearly full moon rose, yet the man she was waiting for never appeared.

From the moment she was born, from Yunshui to Beijing, from dawn to dusk, Zhong Yao had always been alone, sitting motionless on the same spot of the sofa.

Late into the night, her phone chimed—it was Aunt Liu.

【Yaoyao, are you in Beijing now? Are you getting used to it?】

Zhong Yao swallowed the lump in her throat and quickly typed back:

【I arrived earlier. Just had a late-night snack! How’s Shiwu? Was she mad when she found out I left? Did she cry?】

【Shiwu’s fine. She’ll be bouncing around again in a few days. Did you meet your dad yet? What’s he like? Does he live alone in Beijing? Is he strict? Is he treating you well? Do you feel upset at all?】

Aunt Liu normally typed slowly because she wasn’t good with pinyin. But now, her messages were coming through rapidly, one after another.

Zhong Yao’s throat tightened, and for a moment, she almost lost control of her emotions.

She bit her lip, stared at the moon outside the window, and finally managed to hold back the tears:

【Aunt Liu, he lives in a big house by himself. We had dinner together, and now I’m alone in the bedroom.】

Her tone was calmer than Sun Liuniang had expected. It seemed she hadn’t felt any joy or sorrow from suddenly gaining a father. It felt a little strange, but then she remembered—Zhong Yao had always been mature beyond her years.
Perhaps this was only natural.

After thinking for a moment, she could only reply:

[As long as you’re not feeling wronged, that’s good. Yaoyao, send me your address in Beijing later. If you ever want to come home, just call me. I’ll come get you anytime, okay?]

Compared to the father who kept her waiting endlessly, Aunt Liu’s care practically overflowed from the screen.

Zhong Yao’s eyes turned hot, tears welling up. She fought the urge to cry as she ended the conversation:

[Okay, Aunt Liu. I’m really sleepy. Goodnight.]

Her phone went quiet—no more messages. Zhong Yao abruptly stood up from the couch.

She had decided: she wasn’t going to wait any longer.

When parting with Shiwu and Aunt Liu, the little girl had thought to herself: Mom picked this dad for me. I should listen to her.

But now she realized—this dad wasn’t good at all. He didn’t care about Mom, and he always made people wait.

Besides, she missed Aunt Liu and Shiwu too much. She couldn’t bear to leave them behind.

She’d made up her mind. Once she got home, she didn’t need to go back to school. She could help Aunt Liu run the shop or wash dishes for other people. She wouldn’t spend much money and could even earn a little—maybe that way Aunt Liu wouldn’t have to work so hard.

The more she thought about it, the more determined she felt. She opened her phone, searched for tickets, and late at night, dragged her suitcase to the door.

But—

As soon as the front door opened, she came face-to-face with a travel-worn man.

Tall, sharply dressed, handsome—he frowned slightly, a flash of irritation flickering in his eyes.

But then, as if something dawned on him, that irritation quickly turned into surprise.

“Zhong Yao?” he asked tentatively, his tone a bit distant.

Zhong Yao didn’t respond. She just stood there, staring up at the man with the gold-rimmed glasses, her mind going blank. All the anger and resentment she’d held onto vanished in an instant, replaced by sheer shock.

On the way here, she had imagined what her heartless father might look like—ugly, unpleasant, or just plain hateful. But she had never, ever expected—

That her heartless father would turn out to be Jin Chuan, the celebrity Sun Shiwu idolized day and night.

Caught completely off guard, Zhong Yao didn’t know what to do. She stood frozen in place, fingers tightening unconsciously around her suitcase handle.

Jin Chuan, just back from a trip, also froze for a moment when he unexpectedly ran into the red-eyed little girl. He was briefly stunned.

Single for 35 years, and now a 14-year-old illegitimate daughter suddenly showed up—anyone would feel thrown off. When he first saw her, he had assumed she was another delusional fan.

But now, as he looked at the girl’s face, Jin Chuan no longer had the slightest doubt—she really was his daughter.

She had his exact features. If the media ever caught them in the same frame, it’d dominate the trending topics for days. Especially that tiny mole above her eyebrow—he had one in the same spot, only a lighter shade.

“Ahem… ahem…”

The girl suddenly coughed, trying hard to suppress it.

Only then did Jin Chuan realize he still had a cigarette between his fingers—she must have been irritated by the smoke.

He calmly stubbed it out and said lightly, “Come inside.”

But Zhong Yao didn’t move, standing stubbornly at the doorway.

Jin Chuan didn’t push her. He crossed his arms and blocked the doorway, clearly waiting to see what she would do.

After a long pause, the girl finally spoke:
“Move. I’m going home.”

Without missing a beat, Jin Chuan asked,
“Isn’t your home right behind you? It’s late—where else are you going?”

“This isn’t my home!” Zhong Yao snapped as if a nerve had been hit. She glared at him fiercely and pushed him with all her might.

But—

He didn’t budge.

“You’re young, but you’ve got quite the temper.”

Jin Chuan had zero experience dealing with young girls. There was no use standing around arguing at the door. So he simply grabbed her suitcase with one hand, picked her up with the other, and carried her into the house.

Bang! The door shut behind them.

He said, half-threatening,
“If you step outside right now, there are eight child traffickers, nine drunk vagrants, and ten serial killers waiting. You still sure you want to leave?”

Not only was he harsh, he treated her like a kindergartener, trying to scare her with lies. Zhong Yao was so furious she burst into tears. She didn’t care about saving face anymore and shouted:

“Jin Chuan! You big liar! Let me go!”

Jin Chuan was stunned.

The girl had already broken free and was running upstairs in a storm of stomping footsteps.

So she knows who I am?

An unexpected daughter with a fiery temper and fragile heart—Jin Chuan felt the situation growing more troublesome by the second.

And right on cue, his manager She Rui messaged:

[Jin Chuan! You have to listen to me on the Zhong Yao matter!]
[Don’t think winning Best Actor at Cannes means you can sit back and relax. Do you have any idea how much work it took to get here? This is not the time to plant a ticking time bomb!]
[You can raise Zhong Yao, fine. I won’t object. But she must stay in a boarding school. She absolutely can’t be seen with you all the time!]

Each message buzzed in his hand like the earlier DNA test envelope, making his head throb.

Tch.

Jin Chuan ran a hand through his hair and flopped onto the sofa.Bringing the kid home had been the easy part.
But raising her… that might be the real challenge.