Chapter 76: Daddy, I’ve Grown Up
Nan Xun felt that she might have unlocked a broad, well-paved road to rapidly wiping out evil thought points. From now on, whenever she had nothing to do, she planned to give gifts to Papa Li Chen—and they had to be handmade—so she could move her Li Chen papa to tears.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, Nan Xun reached elementary-school age. But studying alongside a bunch of little radish heads was pure agony to her, so she begged Li Chen papa not to make her attend primary school.
Li Chen also wanted to keep his daughter by his side, so he agreed. Old Master Li, of course, opposed it. In the end, they compromised: primary school could be skipped, but middle school and high school were mandatory.
By the time Li Chen was twenty-eight, most of the Li family’s assets had already been transferred to him. Old Master Li finally enjoyed a leisurely life. That same year, little Nan Xun—now Li Xiao Nan—was fifteen, in her second year of high school, having skipped two grades in middle school.
Now blossomed into a young beauty, Nan Xun lay sprawled on her bed, sighing heavily.
“Little Eight, what’s the evil thought value now?”
“Evil thought value: 50,” the Void Beast replied.
“If I remember correctly, it already dropped to 50 the year before last. It hasn’t gone down by a single point in three whole years?” Nan Xun wanted to just die.
The Void Beast was silent for a moment before saying, “It seems that once it dropped by 50 points, it reached a bottleneck. Looks like using familial affection to redeem the big boss really doesn’t work that well. Forget it—let’s wait another three years. If it still doesn’t work, we’ll leave.”
Nan Xun raised both hands and feet in agreement. No wonder Little Eight warned her from the very beginning not to lose herself. Staying in any one world could easily take ten or twenty years—when the fake starts to feel real and the real feels fake, it’s easy to get immersed and never come out.
Her goal was clear: return to the real world, and then go back to the first world to find her egg son.
Clear. Definite.
“Oh right, I forgot to tell you something,” the Void Beast suddenly said. “Your Li Chen papa’s darkening value, which hasn’t changed in ages, shifted today. It went up by 5 points—to 45.”
Nan Xun responded with an “oh.” “That shouldn’t have anything to do with me, right?”
Hearing footsteps, Nan Xun immediately burrowed under the covers. Seeing the man whose upper body was still dripping with water, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, she couldn’t help sneaking a few extra glances.
That body—tsk, tsk. After so many years, she still wasn’t tired of looking. And that face—long gone was the youthful immaturity, replaced by mature, masculine charm. Her Li Chen papa was outrageously handsome, with a body just as outrageously good.
Li Chen walked over with his upper body bare. Nan Xun patted the space beside her and said sweetly, “Daddy, I’ve already warmed the bed for you.”
Nan Xun had her own princess bedroom, but she had never slept in it even once. All these years, she’d been sleeping with Li Chen papa. Damn it—she was a girl! In the past, every time she mentioned sleeping separately, Li Chen papa’s face would darken, and she’d immediately shut up.
But this time, after Li Chen got into bed, Nan Xun—full of a sense of shame—brought it up again. “Daddy, I’m fifteen this year. I’ve really grown up. From now on, we can’t sleep together anymore.”
Li Chen reached out and pulled her into his arms, his voice dropping. “Sweetheart’s being disobedient again, hmm?”
Nan Xun struggled a bit, but couldn’t break free, so she obediently lay in his arms. She cleared her throat and softened her tone as much as possible. “Daddy, my classmates all sleep on their own. I’m this old and still sleeping with you—it’ll get me laughed at.”
“Sweetheart, who do you think is more important—your classmates, or Daddy?” Li Chen asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Nan Xun hurriedly replied, “Of course Daddy is more important! Classmates are just people I study with, but Daddy is my family, the one who’s been with me as I grew up. Daddy will always be number one in my heart.”
Li Chen nodded in satisfaction and patted her head. “Good.”
Nan Xun: …
So… did he just brush past that topic like it was nothing?
“Daddy, there’s one more thing. I’m already this old—can you stop assigning people to protect me?” Nan Xun said. Calling it protection was a joke—damn it, it was basically surveillance. She’d long since noticed the two people secretly watching her.
That his daughter had discovered the people he sent surprised Li Chen somewhat. He knew exactly how capable his men were. After the brief surprise, he waved it off lightly. “Sweetheart, no matter what Daddy does, it’s for your own good.”
Nan Xun: …
It’s for your own good really was the ultimate, irrefutable excuse.
Unable to persuade Li Chen, Nan Xun simply closed her eyes and went to sleep. Fine—she’d continue fighting for her rights tomorrow. Li Chen papa seemed to be in a bad mood today.
But she hadn’t done anything today, had she? Well… except that she received a love letter during the day.
Could he be angry about that?
But she hadn’t even read it—she tossed it straight into the trash. Even if she had read it, so what? Fifteen or sixteen was exactly the age when boys and girls started having their first crushes. In ancient times, people were already discussing marriage at this age. Her Li Chen papa was making way too big a fuss.
Muttering to herself, Nan Xun soon fell asleep.
After Nan Xun fell asleep, the man beside her turned to look at her sleeping face. His gaze was deep, his expression heavy.
It seemed his sweetheart had grown up—she knew how to feel shy now.
Yet, though it was something perfectly normal, he still felt unhappy.
Unhappy, Li Chen tightened his hold on the girl sleeping like a little pig in his arms.
Nan Xun slept soundly. When she woke up the next morning, Li Chen was already dressed, sitting by the bed, staring at her with a gloomy look that startled her badly.
When she looked again, his gaze seemed perfectly normal, nothing out of the ordinary.
Li Chen handed her her dress. “Get dressed and come down to eat. Auntie Li has already prepared breakfast.”
Nan Xun took the clothes and replied with an “oh,” waiting for him to leave.
But Li Chen stayed seated at the bedside, unmoving, his gaze growing even heavier.
Meeting those dark eyes, Nan Xun inexplicably felt flustered. “Daddy, if you don’t go down, the food will get cold.”
“Sweetheart, you’re becoming distant with Daddy, hmm?”
“Daddy, I’m not being distant. I’ve just grown up and want some privacy.”
“Daddy has never had any privacy from you, yet now you want privacy from Daddy?” Li Chen said in a low voice.
Nan Xun pouted. “Oh, come on, Daddy. There are plenty of work things you’ve never told me about. Hmph.”
Li Chen looked at her silently for a long while, then suddenly said, “Alright. Daddy understands.”
With that, he turned and left.
The bedroom door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Nan Xun was a bit stunned. What did Li Chen papa mean—what exactly did he understand?
The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became. Nan Xun cried to Little Eight, “Little Eight, is he a pervert? Don’t you think he’s a pervert? I’m already this old, and he still insists I sleep with him. I wanted to wait for him to leave before changing clothes, and he didn’t like it. Why does he even get to be unhappy about that?”
The Void Beast thought for a moment, then replied, “Yeah, I think your Li Chen papa is a pervert too. But then again… when have we ever encountered someone who wasn’t a pervert?”
Nan Xun: …
