T-three minutes?!

It’s even three thoughts!!!

What to do, what to do?

Xu Youyou suddenly started to run around in circles, feeling anxious.

On the side, Niannian thought its little owner was playing some new game and happily joined in the spinning. Xu Youyou almost got dizzy from thinking.

〖You can do it, Youyou! 2 minutes and 46 seconds left! Oh, now it’s 45— 44!〗

At this moment, Xu Wenyin’s devilish whisper made Xu Youyou abruptly stop spinning around and start stumbling to express her thoughts.

“First-, first, not all family members are good people?”

Just like An’an’s father and Miaomiao’s grandma. Only her mother was different!

〖Uh huh, what else, what else?〗

“The second-, the second is we have to become stronger to defeat the bad guys!”

〖Not bad, not bad, you still have one minute, the last one!〗

Xu Youyou continued to rack her brain. What else did she learn?

S-she couldn’t think of anything else!

As Xu Wenyin counted down from four, Xu Youyou puffed up her cheeks like a steamed bun.

“Mom’s mean, bullying Youyou!”

How could her mother suddenly say she wanted to start class and then ask questions? She was totally unprepared!

Xu Wenyin didn’t feel any guilt, but instead laughed out loud.

〖Life is always full of surprises. Youyou, you’re still too young.〗 With a sigh that sounded like an old pedant, Xu Wenyin suddenly transformed into a human.

Xu Youyou overcame her confusion and came to the sofa. Then the little girl lay down and rested her head on her mother’s lap.

“Still unhappy?”

Xu Youyou paused for a moment, then shook her head honestly. “Not anymore.”

With her mother’s sudden antics, any remaining unhappiness vanished completely.

Xu Wenyin smiled. She reached out with her right hand to undo Xu Youyou’s little braids, then used her fingers as a comb to slowly and gently untangle Xu Youyou’s soft, fine hair.

The gentle motion made Xu Youyou instinctively curl up in Xu Wenyin’s arms like a kitten, feeling her eyelids getting heavy.

“Youyou.”

“Yes.”

Xu Wenyin’s voice carried a hint of tenderness, “Everything you just said was right.”

“In this world, there are good and bad people and blood ties don’t determine that.”

“There are those like Grandma Wu who will sacrifice everything for the children, and there are those like Liu Miaomiao’s grandmother who prioritize money and having a grandson over having a granddaughter. You’ll definitely encounter both types in the future.”

“Even though you haven’t done anything wrong and haven’t treated them poorly, because you have one more candy or receive extra praise, they might find it as a reason to hurt you.”

Hearing that, Xu Youyou’s eyes widened in indignation, her voice becoming impassioned, “Why? That’s terrible! Youyou don’t want to meet such people!”

She didn’t want to be around bad people at all!

Xu Wenyin smiled and ruffled Xu Youyou’s head. “But there’s no way around it because Youyou is human.”

Who would only ever encounter good people in their lifetime?

And as a female protagonist in an angsty story, Xu Youyou faces more malice than ordinary people.

In this world derived from a novel, the rules naturally prioritize the story.

As the mainstay of this world, Xu Youyou receives the most attention and suppression.

In this regard, even the male protagonist Lu Haoyu couldn’t compare.

Without the events that were explicitly stated later in the story, Xu Youyou would still likely encounter far more bad people than an ordinary person.

For example, most people might encounter classmates who like to tattle or colleagues who gossip behind their backs. While these situations were already unpleasant, with effort or resistance, one could still lead a relatively normal life.

On the other hand, Xu Youyou might encounter outright school violence and workplace bullying, and the malice directed towards her could extend far beyond that.

As Xu Youyou grows older, it might become even more ruthless, unless…… Xu Wenyin gently shook her head, trying to shake off that thought.

Her gaze shifted back to the little girl, who was looking at her with a well-behaved expression.

Because Xu Youyou was the female protagonist in an angsty story, the more she suffered, the smoother the main storyline of this world progresses.

But why?

What did Xu Youyou do wrong?

Since this world was already a real one, and Xu Youyou was also a real person with flesh and blood, why should she suffer for no reason?

This question was something the previous 5874 had never thought about.

A task was just a task; why bother exploring the reasons behind it?

Completing tasks was the function of the systems!

But what exists now is Xu Wenyin. She had the same body as a human, and it’s inevitable that she’s gradually learning to think like a human too.

Just like this time, were the two children Liu Miaomiao and Liu Yanzhi pitiful?

Pitiful!

If it weren’t for her, Xu Youyou would’ve been even more pitiful than the two.

At least Liu Miaomiao and Liu Yanzhi weren’t subjected to any material hardships. When Xu Youyou was young, she not only had to eat leftovers but also had to do household chores and take care of her cheap younger brother.

Xu Wenyin could ensure Xu Youyou’s happiness materially, but she couldn’t guarantee that every person Xu Youyou would encounter in the future would be a good person.

Perhaps there would be those who were bad from the start, and perhaps there would be those who seem nice at first but then betray her in the end. Xu Wenyin couldn’t prevent those kinds of people from approaching Xu Youyou, so she could only help Xu Youyou strengthen her own heart.

Strong enough that, even when encountering such people, she wouldn’t doubt herself.

Strong enough that, after a brief moment of sadness and sorrow, Xu Youyou could quickly stand up and welcome a better tomorrow.

Perhaps, this was the key to completing this A-level task.

“Youyou don’t understand.”

Xu Youyou’s little head was completely buried in Xu Wenyin’s arms, her voice muffled.

“Youyou don’t want to meet bad people.”

“Can Youyou just be with Juanjuan and the others, and Mom?”

Xu Wenyin cruelly shattered Xu Youyou’s innocent hope.

“That’s not possible.”

“Youyou can’t evade, and neither can Mom!”

“Youyou will go to school, will work, and will meet many, many people in the future.”

“But don’t be afraid when you encounter bad people, because it’s not Youyou’s fault; it’s the bad people who are wrong!”

“Don’t be sad because of bad people, Youyou!”

The truth was profound, however, Xu Wenyin no longer continued because Xu Youyou was still young and couldn’t digest so many things.

She just happened to use Liu Miaomiao’s incident as an opportunity to talk a bit more because she didn’t want the little one to be unhappy.

“Don’t be sad because of bad people?”

Xu Youyou repeated Xu Wenyin’s words, lifting her head just in time to meet Xu Wenyin’s gaze. “Youyou seem to understand now!”

Just like with Liu Miaomiao this time. Even though her grandmother deceived her and hurt her, Liu Miaomiao still has her father, mother, and them. So, being sad for a while was fine, but it’s not worth being sad for bad people for too long!

“Youyou is amazing!” Xu Wenyin smiled and gently patted Youyou’s head.

Then she saw Xu Youyou shyly purse her lips and bury her head back into her arms.

Hmm?

Xu Wenyin suddenly became playful.

“Youyou, do you like mom being gentle?”

Today’s move was something Xu Wenyin saw on a parenting show, where the host mentioned that mothers could occasionally use gentle persuasion when communicating with their children. Chatting like this could help the child remember better.

Then the host gave a demonstration herself.

Xu Wenyin saw it and thought she could do it as well!

Her appearance naturally exuded gentleness, so if she tried to be gentle, it was like an additional attribute bonus.

Looking at it now, the effect was indeed great!

“Youyou like Mom no matter what Mom is like!”

Unexpectedly, Xu Youyou blinked her big eyes and flashed Xu Wenyin a sincere and radiant smile.

This sudden straight shot directly broke through Xu Wenyin’s defenses.

She directly lifted Xu Youyou and rubbed her face against the little girl’s, exclaiming, “So sweet, so sweet!”

What kind of little angel was this?!

Not good, she needed to go buy another house to calm down!

———pr

For dinner, Xu Youyou had her favorite scrambled eggs with shrimp. The little girl ate a full bowl of rice, which made Xu Wenyin happily eat another bowl as well.

As expected of her, she could make any dish delicious.

However, after Xu Youyou helped put the bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher, she suddenly said she wanted to go next door to see Lu Chenjun.

“Mom, Juanjuan doesn’t seem happy either. I want to go see him~”

Of course, Xu Wenyin wouldn’t refuse her lovely daughter’s request.

After sending Qin Yiren a message on her phone, she went to the house next door with Xu Youyou who was holding Niannian in her arms.

Qin Yiren was happy to see Xu Youyou and Xu Wenyin, but she also glanced worriedly at Lu Chenjun’s room.

“……He hasn’t been talking much since he came back, and when I asked him what happened, he didn’t say anything. I was actually thinking of coming to find you later to ask about it.”

Lu Chenjun wasn’t the type to share his feelings with his mother and this worried Qin Yiren a lot. Why did he become like this after visiting the Liu family?

So, the mother and daughter split up.

Xu Wenyin told Qin Yiren about what happened to the Liu family today, of course, using the excuse of hearing it all from Xu Youyou.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain how she knew everything.

Xu Youyou, on the other hand, went to find Lu Chenjun with Niannan.

“Knock, knock—”

With a “Come in”, Lu Chenjun saw two little heads poking in from the doorway.

Lu Chenjun: “……”

“What are you doing?”

Xu Youyou carefully closed the door and then walked over to Lu Chenjun’s side. “Juanjuan, are you doing a puzzle? I thought—”

“You thought what?”

Lu Chenjun saw Niannian trying to reach out its claw and grab him, so he couldn’t help but move back a little.

Did this cat learn bad behavior from Xiao Lu?

Whenever it saw him, it liked to climb onto his shoulders and play with his hair using its paws.

But it also knew its limits and hadn’t actually hurt Lu Chenjun.

However, as Niannian’s weight gradually increased with its growth, a certain little curly hair expressed that he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“I thought you were unhappy.”

Xu Youyou also noticed Niannian’s movements. She patted Niannian’s head and said, “Be good.” After that, the kitten who seemed to gauge the situation quieted down.

Lu Chenjun no longer paid attention to Niannian and answered Xu Youyou, “I’m not unhappy. This kind of thing happens a lot.”

In his words and expression, there was a maturity that didn’t belong to a child. This reminded Xu Youyou of how Liu Chenjun looked a few days ago when facing Teacher Xu.

Very impressive, but also…… very distant.

Some geniuses have high intelligence but lack social skills. They belong to the category of being excellent at research.

But Liu Chenjun was different. Not only does he have high intelligence, but his emotional intelligence is also not low.

Plus, growing up in big families like the Lu’s and the Qin’s, where many adults don’t filter their words around children, Lu Chenjun could understand much more than the average child!

This time, Liu Miaomiao’s situation didn’t even particularly surprise Lu Chenjun.

As early as when Liu Miaomiao started saying those strange things, Lu Chenjun deliberately tried to keep Xu Youyou away from her, not wanting Xu Youyou to be infected.

Because he knew that concept was definitely wrong!

In this way, he was certain that Grandma Liu, who taught Liu Miaomiao such ideas, also had issues!

However, those were all Liu Chenjun’s own speculations and thoughts. He had never shared them with anyone, including Qin Yiren and Xu Youyou.

Now that the situation had finally erupted, Liu Chenjun wasn’t unhappy. He was just puzzled by one question.

“Why do people have to have friends?”

Eh?

Xu Youyou was taken aback.

This question……

Liu Chenjun didn’t expect Xu Youyou to give him an answer either. This little genius wanted to find the answer by himself.

In the past, let alone visiting Liu Miaomiao, even regarding Liu Yanzhi’s matters, Lu Chenjun felt he would simply refuse directly, without even thinking of coming up with ideas or solutions.

Why participate in other people’s battles?

During this time, he had done many things that he would never have done before!

Liu Chenjun was very puzzled. When asked if he was happy or not, he seemed to be just okay.

But he also didn’t seem to be unhappy reading books and playing puzzles by himself in the past.

“Juanjuan, you don’t want to be friends with Youyou anymore?”

Before Liu Chenjun could come up with an answer, he heard Xu Youyou’s voice with a hint of crying.

Then, he saw Xu Youyou looking at him with red eyes, her expression genuinely sad, like a cat suddenly feeling greatly wronged, pitiful, and helpless, a sight that no one could ignore.

Lu Chenjun’s eyes widened instantly.

“No!”

What was this silly Xiao Lu thinking now?!

Lu Chenjun was in a panic, wanting to get tissues and comfort Xu Youyou at the same time. He had never been so flustered before.

Xu Youyou, however, didn’t seem to care. She wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve and said, “But Youyou really like Juanjuan. Juanjuan is Youyou’s first friend!”

In the orphanage, Xu Youyou had no friends.

When she arrived in Jiang City, Juanjuan was the first friend to show her kindness and allowed her to touch his head.

And Juanjuan was really nice. Although he seemed difficult to get along with, he took good care of her.

He helped her when she’s tired from training, and even though he doesn’t like going out, he still goes out to play with her when she asks, and also, also……

So, when Xu Youyou heard Lu Chenjun’s question, her first reaction was that he didn’t want her as a friend anymore.

Tears had already welled up in her eyes before she could respond.

“That’s not! What I! Mean!”

After a moment’s pause, Lu Chenjun added, “You’re also my first friend.”

Unlike Xu Youyou, many children wanted to be friends with Lu Chenjun. Whether it’s because their parents instructed them to or simply because Lu Chenjun was cute, he never lacked options for friends.

But Lu Chenjun didn’t like them, nor did he enjoy being around them.

Therefore, Xu Youyou was also his first friend.

“I don’t dislike being friends with you, I’m just……”

Aside from Xu Youyou, Liu Chenjun was just wondering what was going on with Qian Xin and Liu Yanzhi. Not to mention Liu Miaomiao.

He used to hate people like Liu Miaomiao the most, who had a bad temper and talked a lot.

Well, actually, he still didn’t like her very much now.

Then why did he naturally join everyone to visit Liu Miaomiao in the afternoon?

Even when Mother Liu asked them to visit Liu Miaomiao more often, he didn’t refuse. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time reading more books?

Lu Chenjun had been stubborn since he was very little and he’s even a bit proud.

He felt like other people didn’t understand him and treated him like a child, when in fact, he’s long known what those people were up to.

It’s only Qin Yiren’s selfless love that prevented Lu Chenjun from becoming a prickly hedgehog, the kind that stings everyone it meets.

“Never mind, let it be.”

Liu Chenjun compromised. If he couldn’t figure it out himself, then he would just wait a bit longer.

Perhaps when he grew a little older and read more books, he would find the answer.

For now, just continue like this.

After all, Lu Chenjun could also noticed how happy Qin Yiren was after he made several ‘friends’.

“Juanjuan? Am I really your first friend?!”

Xu Youyou’s emotions came and went quickly. As soon as she heard his words, her eyes, which were originally glistening with tears, instantly lit up!

Lu Chenjun: “……”

Was that the point?

Furthermore!

With a stern face, Lu Chenjun suddenly walked to the door and opened it with a swift motion. As expected, he saw Qin Yiren looking awkward and Xu Wenyin looking perfectly composed.

“Hey, good evening, Juanjuan~”

Not only were they not embarrassed, they even greeted him confidently!

Lu Chenjun could only hope that Xiao Lu wouldn’t learn to act like this in the future, or else he would truly be sad!

“Aiyaya, I swear we’ve only been here for less than a minute. We didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Xu Wenyin approached Xu Youyou and, noticing her slightly reddened eyes, quickly cast an accusing glance at Lu Chenjun.

This move was called a ‘preemptive strike’!

In fact, she also knew that Lu Chenjun wouldn’t deliberately make Xu Youyou cry. The two little children must have just talked about something.

But it’s right to blame first now.

Sure enough, Lu Chenjun didn’t mention the eavesdropping, but walked up to Xu Youyou and lowered his head.

“You can touch it.”

Xu Wenyin and Qin Yiren: “???”

Boy, was this a new way of apologizing?

However, seeing Xu Youyou smile again and Liu Chenjun returns to his usual self, Qin Yiren quietly breathes a sigh of relief.

Having a son who’s too smart wasn’t always a good thing.

She’s afraid he’d get stuck in his own ways.

Fortunately, there’s still someone who could pull him back.

———pr

Liu Miaomiao didn’t reappear at the kindergarten until nearly half a month later.

During this time, the little girl’s gradual recovery and return to cheerfulness definitely couldn’t have happened without the companionship of her friends and the love of her parents.

This month, Father Liu decisively abandoned several projects and slowed down the company’s progress.

Father and Mother Liu stopped being busy with the company’s affairs all the time and instead focused most of their energy on Liu Miaomiao.

What’s the use of making more money? Was it more important than their daughter?

This time, such a thing happened. Grandma Liu was certainly hateful and could be described as vicious and inhumane.

However, Father and Mother Liu also bear responsibility.

If they hadn’t been so focused on the company’s affairs and had spent more time with Liu Miaomiao, these issues should have been discovered long ago!

There was no way Grandma Liu would be able to teach her bad things for several years, nor would it hurt Liu Miaomiao so much.

Fortunately, everything was still salvageable!

Liu Miaomiao was still young, and there was still a chance to correct those wrong views.

If it were a few years later, encountering teenage rebellion with such deeply ingrained views, Father and Mother Liu fear that their family would’ve been completely ruined.

As for Grandma Liu, no matter how much she cursed and scolded, she couldn’t put up any resistance against Father Liu, who had been battling in the business world for over a decade and had already become completely indifferent.

Father Liu not only gave his sister-in-law in their hometown some money to keep an eye on Grandma Liu but also directly warned Grandma Liu that if she dared to come out and continue to bother Liu Miaomiao, whether it was his brothers or nephews, he would ensure that they wouldn’t be able to find a job anywhere.

With Father Liu’s current influence, Grandma Liu knew that he could really do it.

After more wailing and cursing, Grandma Liu was forcibly sent back to their family’s hometown.

Father Liu was also afraid that Liu Miaomiao would be reminded of unpleasant memories, so he quickly bought another villa on the other side of the community and had it renovated in the shortest possible time.

It can be said that it’s because of this that Liu Miaomiao was able to recover so quickly.

Of course, there were still effects. Compared to the previous Liu Miaomiao, she was still quieter now. This change was unavoidable, and all they could do was hope that with time, as Liu Miaomiao grew up, she could face these things with more strength and courage.

The other children also breathed a sigh of relief when they finally saw Liu Miaomiao come to school. They tacitly avoided mentioning the matter and instead talked about planning a belated birthday celebration for Liu Yanzhi.

Because Liu Miaomiao was absent, Liu Yanzhi didn’t want to celebrate his birthday at such a time. He felt that having his friends’ concern was enough, so it kept dragging on until now.

But Qian Xin and Xu Youyou have never forgotten it.

It was already late, but how could they not?

A birthday is important, and it only happens once a year!

The thing was, Liu Miaomiao’s birthday happened to be at the end of March, which was next week.

The little girl used to look forward to her birthday, but since returning to kindergarten, she hadn’t mentioned it again. It’s unclear whether she doesn’t want to celebrate or for some other reason.

Xu Youyou could only use the topic of Liu Yanzhi’s birthday as a segue to casually ask Liu Miaomiao. The latter’s reaction was one of surprise, as if she had just remembered the matter.

Well, it turned out she really forgot!

As Liu Miaomiao remembered that her birthday was coming soon, joy and anticipation appeared on her face. However, soon after, she looked as if something had come to her mind again, and she bashfully glanced at Liu Yanzhi.

“An’an……”

“What’s wrong, Miaomiao?” Liu Yanzhi asked, looking confused.

Liu Miaomiao seemed to have made up her mind and blurted out her thoughts, “Do you want to celebrate your birthday with me? My mom can prepare two cakes. It will be livelier. But if you don’t want to, then forget it!”

After saying that long string of words, Liu Miaomiao took a deep breath. It obviously tested her lung capacity.

Then, when she looked up again, she saw the surprised faces of Xu Youyou, Qian Xin, and Liu Yanzhi.

Liu Miaomiao asked, “W-what’s wrong with you guys?”

What’s with their expression? Did she say something wrong again? But-, but those words weren’t taught by her grandmother ah!

Just as Liu Miaomiao’s expression began to turn despondent, Qian Xin spoke up first.

“Miaomiao, are you still Miaomiao?”

The proud little princess, who acted as if she was the center of the world, was actually willing to celebrate her birthday with others?

Even Liu Yanzhi couldn’t say a word for a moment.

Of course, he didn’t mind celebrating his birthday together with a friend, but this was Liu Miaomiao……

“Miaomiao, do you feel unwell?”

Liu Yanzhi couldn’t help but ask, and Xu Youyou, who hadn’t spoken yet, also looked over with concern. Obviously, Liu Miaomiao’s words surprised all of them.

Liu Miaomiao: “……”

She blushed and she finally spat out irritatedly, “I’m fine!”

Hateful, she won’t speak again next time!