Chapter 61: Just a Little Girl After All

Aunt Fang’s parents had passed away, and during the brief period when she and Jun Weide had gotten along, he took all her savings. But once he brought his mistress home, he heartlessly kicked Aunt Fang and Brother Nan out. At the time, Old Master Jun was away in Fragrant City, leaving the mother and son with no one to turn to. They eventually ended up in an orphanage.

Before Brother Nan turned eight, Aunt Fang did everything she could to protect him. But when she fell seriously ill, it was Brother Nan who went to beg Jun Weide for help. All he needed was ten thousand yuan for her treatment.

Jun Weide refused.

For a mere ten thousand yuan, Aunt Fang was left to die. The trauma nearly drove Brother Nan mad—he couldn’t sleep for nights on end. Thankfully, he later joined Boss Sheng’s crew and worked relentlessly, taking on any job just to survive.

By the time he turned eighteen, Old Master Jun had returned and somehow tracked him down, bringing him back into the Jun family. No one could understand why Brother Nan, who already had a thriving business of his own, would willingly come back.

“Tao An,” Jun Nanye suddenly said, “what do you think about making him lose both his wife and children?”

Tao An instantly caught on. He nodded eagerly, eyes shining with anticipation. “Brother Nan, just give the word. I’ll take care of it.”

The car continued toward the apartment.

That night, at midnight, Jun Nanye felt a familiar drowsiness creeping in, a rare sense of calm settling over him.

“I’m so happy today,” Cheng Yuan murmured quietly. “Dad decorated such a beautiful room for me. I can just imagine him smiling to himself as he picked out everything.”

She spoke softly, knowing he wouldn’t wake unless she really disturbed him. To her, Jun Nanye was like a silent tree—strong, still, and trustworthy. She poured her heart out freely in his presence.

“My dad must be the best dad in the world.”

Jun Nanye, who had just woken up, barely caught her whisper. If not for his sharp hearing, he might have missed it entirely.

“I used to think he had terrible taste,” she continued, “always wearing the same shirts and dress pants in black, white, or gray. I never thought he’d pick out a pink duvet cover for me!”

Jun Nanye: “……”

He kind of regretted waking up.

“I love the light wood furniture too, not that heavy, dark red kind. And the big desk!” she gushed, her excitement bubbling over.

She couldn’t contain her joy. In her previous life, her relationship with her father had been nothing but strained. Every conversation turned into an argument. She hated his stern face, rolled her eyes at his lectures, and couldn’t stand how he kept giving in to the Cheng family.

They had leeched off them for years, especially Cheng Jianlin, who even dared to bully her.

“Communication really is everything,” she sighed. “I won’t be so foolish again,bottling everything up and pushing him away. Dad might be strict, but he loves me more than anyone.”

Cheng Yuan rested her chin on her hand and gazed at Jun Nanye’s absurdly handsome face. Her cheeks flushed. She was completely unaware of the subtle change in his breathing.

Not all fathers are good fathers, Jun Nanye thought quietly.

“Dad works so hard making delicious meals every day. I’m definitely going to get fat!” Cheng Yuan muttered, pinching her waist. She felt like she’d already gained an inch.

Could her dad be a chef? Jun Nanye mused, mentally noting the detail.

Cheng Yuan yawned widely, wrapping up her one-sided conversation. She looked at Jun Nanye, sleeping soundly, and couldn’t resist reaching out to gently touch his face. “A man with a face like this is a curse,” she murmured. “Why would a guy be this good-looking? He’s prettier than most women.”

“Heaven is so unfair,” she yawned again. “Handsome, great figure, and rich, too…” Snuggling closer, she drifted into a dreamy thought, I need to find a good-looking boyfriend. Even if nothing else, at least he’d be nice to look at—and I’d probably eat an extra bowl of rice.

Soon, Cheng Yuan was sound asleep.

Jun Nanye chuckled softly. “Just as I thought… she’s still just a little girl.”

He had never met her father, but it was clear they shared a deep bond.

In that moment, he completely forgot they were strangers.

Meanwhile, at school—

Bei Xiaolin stared at her test paper, frantically calculating her score. When she totaled 320 points, she was so overwhelmed with joy that she nearly burst into tears.

She’d always hovered around 100. But now—320!

“Yuanyuan! I did it! I really did it!” Bei Xiaolin exclaimed, hugging Cheng Yuan tightly, trembling with excitement.

“Congratulations!” Cheng Yuan replied with a warm smile.

“How did you do?” Bei Xiaolin asked.

“Guess,” Cheng Yuan teased playfully.

Before she could reply, Teacher Lu called from the podium, “Everyone, let’s take a moment to recognize Cheng Yuan. Her progress this semester has been outstanding. She scored a perfect 150 in English and totaled 500 points overall. I hope everyone can learn from her!”

Gasps rippled through the class.

“She used to barely scrape past 100!”

“Perfect score in English? No way! English words see me, but I don’t see them.”

“So she really didn’t cheat on that last test?”

“Obviously not! You think it’s easy to cheat and get a perfect score every time?”

Lin Juan sat frozen, staring at her own score of 67. Her paper was marked with a sea of red Xs. The sight stung.

Cheng Yuan used to be worse than me. How did she get so good, so fast?

“Yuanyuan, you’re incredible!” Bei Xiaolin said with admiration. “I totally worship you!”

“You have to work harder too. Aim for 350 next time,” Cheng Yuan said.

Bei Xiaolin’s smile froze. She stared at her like she’d been betrayed. Are we even still sisters? I just got 320—wasn’t that good enough?

Thirty more points? Are you trying to kill me?

“Just ten more points in each subject—Chinese, math, and English,” Cheng Yuan said reasonably. “In math, solve one more problem and a few extra multiple-choice questions. Totally doable, right?”

Bei Xiaolin thought it over. Thirty points seemed impossible… but ten points per subject? That didn’t sound too bad.

“New Year’s break is coming up,” Cheng Yuan added. “Perfect timing for the art entrance exams. If you want me to go with you, you’d better start working hard now.”

“Wait, you’ll come with me?” Bei Xiaolin’s eyes lit up.

“Sure,” Cheng Yuan shrugged. “Or would you rather go alone?”

“No, no! I’ll work hard! I swear!” Bei Xiaolin clenched her fists. Yuanyuan was sacrificing her own vacation to accompany her. She couldn’t let her down.