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Join the ServerFacing the mysterious number, Cheng Chengyuan barely hesitated before picking up.
Even if it was a scam call, so what?
You call me, and it’s not like I’m paying for it.
“Hello, who is this?”
After the call had been reconnected, the speakerphone switched off automatically, so only Cheng Chengyuan could hear what came next.
But as his expression shifted again and again, the other two in the room grew restless.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
Cheng Yiyi’s mother tugged at his sleeve, but he gently pulled away and shook his head.
“Don’t worry. Let me ask a few more questions. I’ll tell you about it later.”
He said into the phone, “Is what you’re saying true?”
“Yes.” The voice on the other end was very formal, the kind of trained voice you could recognize immediately.
“Is there any chance this is a mistake?”
“No.” After that, a faint rustling of papers came through the phone. “At 3:17 this afternoon, the three of you were notified of this at the front desk by the flat-chested nurse.”
“Why do you have to mention that part about the nurse?” Cheng Chengyuan asked.
“I can’t help it. That feature of hers is the most noticeable.”
“The girl at the front desk is probably going to cry when she hears that…”
“Ah, brother, let’s focus on the main topic. Forgive my bluntness, but we, the Shen family, have already looked into your information. Your name is Cheng Chengyuan, and your ID number is…”
“Wait, you don’t have to say that!”
“Understood.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
When the call ended, Cheng Chengyuan gave his daughter, who was sitting on the sofa, a strange look.
“What?” Cheng Yiyi looked left and right, and only spoke after confirming her dad was staring at her.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
“Girl, let me ask you something.”
“Dad, why aren’t you just asking directly this time?” Cheng Yiyi found it odd. Since when had her old man been so roundabout?
Didn’t he always say things straight to the point?
“Suppose, just suppose…”
“One million, no, maybe more…”
“Ten million?”
“Uh, still not enough…”
“About a hundred million.”
At that, Cheng Yiyi’s father nodded in self-approval. “Suppose you had a hundred million on one side, and your mom and dad on the other, and you could only pick one. Which would you pick?”
“Dad, isn’t that just stirring up trouble?”
Cheng Yiyi answered, “If you’re the one scolding me, I pick Mom. If Mom’s the one scolding me, I pick you.”
“Are you trying to trap your own daughter with a no-win question?”
“Hey, that’s not what I mean.”
Cheng Yiyi hadn’t paid any attention to the astronomical number earlier. All she could see in the options were her parents.
“What I’m asking is, do you think that hundred million matters more, or the relationship between us matters more?”
“The relationship.”
“Good to know I didn’t raise you for nothing!” Her father nodded happily, but Cheng Yiyi added,
“Dad, you’re not MrBeast.”
“To be honest, even if I picked the hundred million, you wouldn’t give it to me. So what’s the point of asking?”
Cheng Chengyuan: “…”
“What if I actually gave it to you?”
“Dad, you know it’s just a ‘what if.'”
“Fine, I’ll stop beating around the bush. Let me just tell you straight…”
Cheng Chengyuan stopped hiding it and relayed the information from the other end of the line.
“The person who called me just now is from the Shen family…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“So, daughter…”
“It really seems like you might be their lost young lady.”
Cheng Yiyi: “?”
Her head was spinning. Even her snacking had frozen, and the candy in her mouth was dissolving slower…
Wait, the candy was a choking hazard!
This is the part where I have to step in!
After sorting through it for a while, Cheng Yiyi finally cleared her head and slowly asked:
“So…”
“I’m the Shen family’s daughter?”
“And they want me to go back?”
“And they’re asking our family for a favor? They’ll cover all travel and living expenses, and I don’t have to spend a cent on anything?”
“And whether I go back or not is completely up to me?”
“Yes.” Her father nodded. “And isn’t your university in the capital too?”
“The college entrance exam results are about to come out. I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately. Your scores have probably already been seen by the big shots. You’ve been admitted. If you want, you can bring your ID and visit the campus for free in advance.”
“Dad, why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“Because after the exam, when you compared your answers, you were way too cocky. It annoyed me.”
Cheng Chengyuan was acting like a sulky little kid. “I never even had the chance to study when I was young. Seeing you so proud made me unhappy.”
“…”
Dad, are you an elementary schooler?!
No, wait!
Dad never even went to school. He’d only learned a few pinyin characters before dropping out. He was barely half an elementary schooler.
He even learned to read only after he started working, slowly picking it up by himself.
“Let’s get back to the main topic.”
Cheng Chengyuan’s expression grew serious. “Yiyi, do you plan to transfer your household registration?”
There was no pressure or force in his tone, just a simple question. “Whatever you choose, it’s up to you.”
“After all, as your father, oh, no, your adoptive father!”
“From the moment I brought you home, I never expected anything back from you.”
“I treated you purely like a raising game.”
“If the rain falls and a daughter marries away, and if you want to run off, then I’ll just have to try again with your mom.”
Cheng Yiyi: “…”
Hearing that, she turned her gaze to her mother.
Her mother said nothing, just half-closed her eyes and gave her a gentle look.
“I don’t want to go. And I definitely don’t want to change my registration…!”
Cheng Yiyi’s voice was firm.
Becoming part of a big family, having wealth and power, was certainly a glorious thing.
But everyone has different priorities.
Cheng Yiyi felt that staying with her two parents was already enough.
They had treated her so well.
Her grandparents on both sides still held old-fashioned thinking, always urging her to date, get married, and have children.
“Just find a good family to marry into.”
She had heard that kind of thing many times.
Even worse, the older generation didn’t support her continuing her education. In their eyes, women didn’t need deep knowledge or great ability.
All they needed was to find a powerful man to “attach” to.
That was supposed to be great happiness and great glory.
Cheng Yiyi’s appearance perfectly suited that way of life. With just her face, she could enjoy plenty of privileges and suitors.
But her parents were completely against it, and they gave her almost every choice.
They cut off Cheng Yiyi’s contact with those relatives, facing the pressure, insults, and even coercion together as a couple.
All their daughter got was gentleness.
With parents like these, Cheng Yiyi already felt happy enough.
Maybe there were gentler people in the world.
Maybe in another family, she would have a better life.
But first come, first served, right?
The parents before her had already won her full approval. No temptation could shake her decision.
After a full exchange, the couple showed satisfied expressions.
“Didn’t raise her for nothing.”
The weight in Cheng Chengyuan’s heart finally settled.
Honestly, Cheng Chengyuan didn’t want his well-raised daughter to run off to someone else’s house.
Because if that happened, wouldn’t all his effort have been for nothing?
What parent would want that?
“But…” He changed the subject. “You still need to make a trip to the capital.”
“After all, that family is huge. As ordinary people, no matter what, we have to show them some respect.”
“The person who called told me that the other families already know about this. If you don’t go, there’ll be big consequences.”
“If you do go, even if you don’t change your registration, you can still get a decent sum of money.”
“Of course, that money is all yours. Your mom and I won’t tell you how to spend it. But if you dare to use it to keep some boy toy, or do anything illegal, I’ll beat you to death.”
Her mother added from the side, “Mommy would too.”
Cheng Yiyi: “…”
Honestly, they didn’t need to mention that…
Plenty of people had tried to support her, and she’d turned them all down. Why would she go support someone else?
Besides, to this day, she had never had any romantic feelings for any man.
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