"Zi Xuan, hurry up. We shouldn't keep Uncle Sun waiting, or he'll start scolding us again," Yang Xintian urged.

Xiang Zixuan covered her mouth and laughed. "He's not as scary as you make him out to be. Uncle Sun is very good-natured."

Despite saying this, she didn't like to trouble people or keep them waiting; it wasn't polite. She quickly finished getting dressed.

Once she was dressed and had washed up, she sat down at the dining table. The breakfast was lavish. The two girls were eating by themselves.

As for Sun Dasheng, he had already finished and was now on the balcony, smoking.

A cigarette after the fact. He hadn't smoked last night. Guess it's fine to have it now, right?

After breakfast, Sun Dasheng took Xiang Zixuan for a stroll around the residential complex. The main purpose was to help her get her bearings, since she had arrived late the previous night. At the moment, Xiang Zixuan knew nothing about her new home.

Ignorance bred fear.

Once she knew her surroundings like the back of her hand, the anxiety hanging over her would lift, and the worried look would vanish from her face.

「At the lakeside pavilion」

Sun Dasheng and Xiang Zixuan sat down close to each other. Yang Xintian, meanwhile, was crouching by the lake, supposedly watching people fish. Whether she was genuinely interested or just making an excuse to give the two of them some private space, only she knew.

"Uncle Sun, thank you for everything you've done for me," Xiang Zixuan began, her voice full of gratitude. She was a polite, well-mannered young woman.

Sun Dasheng accepted her thanks with a smile.

"I still need to prepare for my dad's funeral..." She hesitated, aware that the man before her hadn't always been on the best terms with her late father. There had been a significant rift between them at first. Although she believed she had resolved it—at least, that was her perception—asking him for help with this was certainly asking for too much.

But at that moment, she couldn't think of anyone more suitable to help her.

"Let me find someone to handle this on your behalf," Sun Dasheng proposed, offering a compromise.

"May I ask who it is?" Xiang Zixuan took this matter very seriously and didn't want a stranger handling it.

"Of course. This person used to be a colleague of your father's before he moved to one of my companies. They still had some dealings, and their relationship was decent. I'll tell you his name, though I'm not sure if you've heard of him."

Sun Dasheng then said a name.

Xiang Zixuan was visibly moved. It was clearly a name she had often heard her father mention.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Sun," Xiang Zixuan said, standing up and bowing to him in thanks.

Sun Dasheng accepted her gesture of respect. He then nodded, motioning for her to sit back down.

This time, she sat even closer to him. Whether it was intentional or not was unclear.

Sun Dasheng glanced at her, noticing the dazed look in her eyes, as if she were captivated by his peerless features.

"Once your family affairs are settled, what are your plans?" he asked.

"I think I'll find a job to support myself," Xiang Zixuan replied.

"How old are you? You haven't even finished school. What kind of job do you think you can find?" Sun Dasheng questioned.

"I'm not picky. I'm not some pampered princess. I'd even work as a salesperson in a mall if I have to."

It seemed that, in her mind, working as a mall salesperson was the most difficult job imaginable. Then again, she had grown up in a comfortable, middle-class family, free from financial worries, so her perception wasn't surprising. Even so, she was already far ahead of most people from a similar background.

"However, working in sales also requires knowledge. If you're selling clothes, you need to understand the brand and its design concepts. If you're selling cosmetics, you should know the principles of makeup and the chemical composition of the products. If you're selling cars, you must be familiar with the vehicle's design and materials. If you don't know any of this, how will you explain it to your customers and convince them to buy from you?"

"Oh? Really?" Xiang Zixuan frowned, looking troubled.

She genuinely hadn't known any of that. She rarely went to malls, as her father usually bought everything for her. Her only job was to tell him if she liked something. If she liked it, she kept it; if not, it was exchanged.

Is it really that hard just to be a salesperson?

This is exactly why naive young girls are so easy to deceive. Were the things Sun Dasheng mentioned important? Of course, they were.

But were those things absolutely essential? Not really.

To be a good salesperson, you just need to be pretty and willing to put yourself out there. That's often all it takes to get orders and hit your sales targets.

Sun Dasheng said all this because he didn't want to see such a delicate flower prematurely exposed to the harsh realities of the world, only to wither.

"Then what should I do, Uncle Sun?" she asked, suddenly at a loss. This just went to show that her idea of dropping out of school to work had been an impulse, one she hadn't properly thought through or researched. Such behavior was fitting for someone like her.

"Then just focus on your studies. After you graduate, you can think about finding a good job—something relaxed, with a decent salary that allows you to support yourself. Wouldn't that be better?"

Uncle Sun's advice was certainly good, but...

She looked up at him, only to find his eyes already fixed on her. Her body, already close to his, seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, drawing her gradually nearer. By the time she came to her senses, her head was already resting on his shoulder.

How terribly rude! she thought, startled, and tried to pull away.

Just then, a hand gently settled on her shoulder, keeping her from moving. A soft voice sounded by her ear. "It's okay. If you're tired, you can rest on my shoulder for a while."

Her ears grew hot. "Mmm," she mumbled, her voice as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito.

"You were about to bring up your concerns about tuition and living expenses, weren't you?"

"Mhm. That woman took everything Dad left behind."

Calling her mother 'that woman' suggested that any bond between them was broken.

"Indeed. You can't fight her right now. As for your family matters, those are something you'll have to handle yourself when you're older and more capable. It's a private affair, and as much as I'd like to help, my hands are tied. I hope you understand."

"I understand, Uncle Sun. How could Zi Xuan possibly blame you? You've been helping me so much these past few days. I couldn't be more grateful. If I had any complaints, wouldn't that make me terribly ungrateful?"

"You're such a good girl." Sun Dasheng moved his hand from her shoulder to her head, gently stroking her long, smooth hair. He was like a loving father caressing his daughter. "I truly envy your father for having such a sweet daughter to warm his heart. Look at me, so old and without a dear daughter of my own."

"I can be your dear daughter too, Uncle Sun," Xiang Zixuan said earnestly, gently taking his arm and nestling her head against his chest. As she spoke, however, her eyes kept darting towards the lake. She felt a bit like a thief, sneaking around. She was terrified that Yang Xintian, who was still squatting over there, would turn around and see them.

"Really? I thought you were joking before," Sun Dasheng said, his tone stirred.

"Of course it's true. Uncle Sun, you give me the same feeling my dad did."

"Thank you! Uncle is very happy to hear that. But don't say that again in the future. Others might get the wrong idea."

The wrong idea? Xiang Zixuan didn't understand.

Sun Dasheng leaned down and whispered an explanation in her ear.

As she listened, Xiang Zixuan's face grew redder and redder, until she finally said with a hint of indignation, "Those people are just filthy-minded, so they see everything in a filthy way."

Sun Dasheng shrugged. "Can't be helped. That's just how society is these days, and there really are a lot of girls who find sugar daddies for money. So from now on, just keep calling me Uncle Sun, like Tian Tian does."

"Okay." She was clearly a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to call him her godfather.

"Alright, let's think about something happy. From now on, Uncle Sun will cover your tuition and living expenses for school."

Seeing that Xiang Zixuan was about to say something, he raised a hand to stop her.

"Don't speak just yet. Let me finish. Of course, I'm not giving it to you for free. Think of this money as a temporary loan. After you graduate and start earning a salary, you can pay me back slowly."

Is that so? Xiang Zixuan considered this. If those were the terms, she could accept them.

"Thank you, Uncle Sun. Don't worry, once Zi Xuan starts working, I will definitely pay you back!" she promised, holding out her hand as if to swear an oath.

Watching her innocent, adorable display, Sun Dasheng felt an inner smile, but his face remained serious. He played along, sealing their agreement with a firm high-five.

"Uncle Sun, what are you two doing? Aren't you going to come watch the fishing? This grandpa is an amazing fisherman! He's already caught over a dozen fish while I've been watching!" Yang Xintian's voice called out from the distance, startling Xiang Zixuan, who quickly pulled away from Sun Dasheng's embrace.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.