Xue Xingchen realized for the first time that a person's face could be so thick.
Yan Jin Chao reached out and stroked the little one in his arms. "See, your softheartedness made her take it for granted."
Xue Xingchen asked, "Daddy, can I go back on my word?"
"In this world, nothing can be taken back, but you can correct it."
Xue Xingchen was confused and looked at Yan Jin Chao.
"Miss Lin, you don't need to come tomorrow. I don't like to drink soup, not because yours is not good, but simply because I don't like you alone."
Lin Shi Shu trembled all over. This time, she could no longer hold back, covering her face as she ran away.
Xue Xingchen breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing Daddy is more skilled."
Yan Jin Chao smiled. "You still have a lot to learn in the future."
The longer he interacted with the little one, the more he truly regarded himself as the little one's father.
Having someone like the little one to teach felt quite good.
"Daddy, you're so capable, why can't you win over Mommy?" Xue Xingchen asked thoughtfully.
Yan Jin Chao's expression changed slightly. "Who is your mother? She is the ruler of this world."
"But Mom is still a normal person. She cries when she's hurt, cries when she's sad, and laughs when she's happy. Are you afraid of Mom, Daddy?"
"Why should I be afraid of her?" Yan Jin Chao was a little displeased.
"Then why are you always resistant to remembering past events? I've heard Mom talk a lot about you from the past."
Yan Jin Chao's interest piqued. "Your mother said so?"
"Mom said that in the past, Daddy was like a peacock—proud, arrogant, self-important, fanning himself, and admiring his own beauty."
Yan Jin Chao's lips curved slightly upwards, and Xue Song, hidden in the shadows, couldn't help but smile.
"Little one, is your mother praising me?" That was clearly slandering him.
"Isn't she praising me? Aren't peacocks the most beautiful?"
Yan Jin Chao was stumped by the little one for the first time. "Of course, they are beautiful, but is it good to compare a person to a peacock?"
"Otherwise? Should I compare myself to a frog or a fish?"
Looking at the little one's clean and innocent eyes, Yan Jin Chao found it difficult to get angry, so he could only say, "People are people, why compare them to anything?"
"Doesn't that mean Daddy's appearance is beautiful?"
"Alright, let's not discuss this anymore." Yan Jin Chao felt that if they continued the discussion, he might not be able to come to a conclusion, so it was better to give up.
Lin Shi Shu returned to her room and couldn't help but cry. Why had she done this? Wasn't it because she liked him?
But he used this liking as capital to trample and insult her. She hated him, hated him so much.
"You hate him?"
"I hate him." After speaking, Lin Shi Shu trembled. Who was speaking here?
"Who are you? Come out?" she couldn't help but shout.
A person slowly walked out from the corner. When that person reached Lin Shi Shu, she trembled, "You... you are Yu Xiao Yu?"
This person was indeed Yu Xiao Yu. She had been pursued by killers from Qian Jin Lou and had barely escaped them. However, she dared not act alone, so she came here.
She wouldn't have been able to enter here, but Xue Feng once owed her a favor, and now she had come to collect it, and he had no choice but to grant it.
However, he had warned her not to try to harm Young Master Yan and the little one, otherwise, he would not show leniency.
After her repeated assurances, she was let in. She came to find Lin Shi Shu, and seeing the hatred on Lin Shi Shu's face, she knew she had found the right person.
"You... what are you doing here? Yu Xiao Yu, I won't do anything to you out of our past relationship. But leave immediately, or else..."
"Or else what? Cousin, you're too heartless. You wouldn't have treated me like this before." Yu Xiao Yu said pitifully.
"Before?" Lin Shi Shu chuckled at her words. "Before, I didn't know you and Uncle had such ambitious intentions, wanting to monopolize my marriage and seize my father's official position. You should be content with how I'm treating you now; at least I haven't called for guards to throw you out."
"Cousin, you say such things to me, and I'm truly hurt. I came here specifically to tell you a secret."
"What secret?" Lin Shi Shu asked.
Yu Xiao Yu looked at Lin Shi Shu and sat down. "Cousin, I've been on the run, and I'm hungry."
Lin Shi Shu patiently asked a maid to bring in some snacks. "It's past mealtime, there are only these snacks. You can eat them to tide you over."
Yu Xiao Yu didn't care what kind of snacks they were and ate them ravenously, which stunned Lin Shi Shu. "How long has it been since you last ate?"
"Eat? I haven't eaten for several days."
She was afraid of her whereabouts being known by the killers from Qian Jin Lou, so she had been traveling through mountains. Every night, she dared not sleep, fearing that if the fire went out, wild beasts would pounce on her and bite her to death.
She also dared not look for food, fearing encounters with wild beasts along the way. She wanted to live, she had to live...
The past few days had been unimaginable for her in the past decade or so.
"Then eat slowly," Lin Shi Shu couldn't help but say.
Yu Xiao Yu nodded, then looked up at Lin Shi Shu. "I knew Cousin wasn't as bad as she seemed."
"Hurry up and eat!" Lin Shi Shu sighed.
Yu Xiao Yu asked, "Cousin, why are you sighing? The fact that you can stay here proves that Young Master Yan treats you differently."
Lin Shi Shu flickered and said nothing more. Yu Xiao Yu said, "Cousin, what I'm about to tell you is very important to you."
Lin Shi Shu frowned. "What is it?"
Yu Xiao Yu leaned closer and whispered, "Cousin, that Miss Shu is actually the Empress."
Lin Shi Shu looked at her. "How do you know?"
Yu Xiao Yu said proudly, "I know naturally. I saw it in the capital."
"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Lin Shi Shu asked.
Yu Xiao Yu felt that Lin Shi Shu didn't seem to care about this matter and was somewhat puzzled. "Cousin, you..."
"To be honest, I already knew Miss Shu's identity, Yu Xiao Yu."
Yu Xiao Yu trembled all over. "Cousin, you..."
"Xiao Yu, leave this place. For the sake of our past relationship, otherwise, you know I won't show mercy."
Yu Xiao Yu frowned. "Cousin, if you don't act now, you'll have no chance once the Empress arrives."
"I never do things that harm myself and others. Yu Xiao Yu, I'm not like you. What I want, I will obtain honorably."
Yu Xiao Yu shook her head. "Cousin, you're truly foolish."
"Let's go, I don't want to see you again." Lin Shi Shu turned her head away, no longer looking at Yu Xiao Yu.