“What I mean is, my little princess is still too young to be dating~” Zhen Zheng, ever the cautious father, spoke gingerly to his daughter, who barely reached his chest.
“Then I’ll wait until I’m eighteen to date her,” Zhen Zhu shot back without a hint of fear. She straightened her back and planted her hands on her hips. “Anyway, I only came to tell you that I’ve fallen for a girl. I don’t need your approval—I like that girl, and that’s that!”
Good heavens! Zhen Zheng felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, leaving him charred on the outside and tender within.
Seeing Zhen Zhu about to bolt from the room, he forgot all about his dignity. He jumped to his feet and chased after his daughter. “Hey now, my little princess! Don’t run—come back!”
“No way! Nyah nyah nyah! Daddy’s a big meanie!” Zhen Zhu didn’t even glance back.
What? Zhen Zheng’s mouth fell open, his soul seemingly fleeing his body. Had his little princess just called him a… a meanie? No, no, that couldn’t be right. He must have misheard. It had to be a hallucination. It just had to be! Zhen Zheng switched into full self-consolation mode.
“My little princess! Stop right there. Daddy didn’t say you couldn’t like that girl, did he?” What Zhen Zheng feared most was probably his precious daughter Zhen Zhu coming to hate him.
Hearing this, Zhen Zhu came to a halt. She spun around, puffing out her cheeks at her old father.
A fawning smile spread across Zhen Zheng’s face. “Little princess, Daddy didn’t say you couldn’t like her, right? He just said you’re still too young. Liking her is fine, but no dating that girl yet~”
His voice was so gentle it could have wrung water from a stone.
“Really?” Zhen Zhu asked, half doubting.
“Really! Why would Daddy ever lie to you?” Zhen Zheng nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice.
Only then was Bear Child Zhen Zhu satisfied. She threw her arms around her old father. “Thanks, Daddy!”
Ah!! Zhen Zheng froze for a moment, then broke into a goofy grin. His daughter had hugged him of her own accord—hee hee hee! His daughter had hugged him!
Work kept Zhen Zheng away from home far too often, and even when he was there, he didn’t always have time for Zhen Zhu. Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He scooped her up with one arm, fished out the device with the other, and answered the call.
It turned out to be more business that needed handling.
After hanging up, guilt clouded Zhen Zheng’s face. He set his precious daughter down and ruffled her hair. “Sorry, Zhen Zhu. Daddy has to take care of something. Why don’t you head back to your room? I’ll come play with you as soon as I’m done.”
Her earlier joy evaporated in an instant. Zhen Zhu swatted away her old father’s hand in a sulk and stomped back to her room.
But once she was there, her mood lifted again. After all, her dad had basically given her permission to come out of the closet—which, rounding up, meant he approved of her crush on Liang Sheng.
The night before, as she’d been thinking about Liang Sheng, her phone had pinged with a message. It was from Liang Sheng herself, and Zhen Zhu had nearly burst with excitement. When she saw the invitation, she’d been over the moon.
“Sure, tomorrow at nine in the morning…” Zhen Zhu typed, then thought better of it and changed it to “eight.”
That way, Liang Sheng could spend an extra hour with her. Zhen Zhu’s little scheme hit every note perfectly.
Afterward, she glanced at her princess bed and started fantasizing about lying there with Liang Sheng. Inevitably, her mind wandered to things a girl her age shouldn’t be thinking about.
Eek! Zhen Zhu startled herself with the thought and clapped her hands over her face. Why was she imagining that!? It had to be those yuri manga she’d been reading lately. She blamed it all on the innocent comics.
By the next morning, at half past six, Zhen Zhu was wide awake. She couldn’t sleep a wink! This was Liang Sheng’s first time visiting her bedroom, after all. Zhen Zhu hopped out of bed and paced the room in circles. She had to tidy up properly—make it look clean, neat, elegant, and regal.
She bustled about until seven thirty. By then, Liang Sheng had already set off for her house.
“You must be Miss Liang Sheng?”
Liang Sheng blinked in confusion. Why were all the maids and servants in the Zhen household giggling behind their hands at her—and with such weird smirks? She checked herself over. Her clothes weren’t odd, and there were no strange marks on her face. So what were they laughing at?
The truth was, the night before, Zhen Zhu had gone around telling everyone from top to bottom.
“Tomorrow, the girl I like is coming over! You all have to be nice to her!”
At first, the staff figured it was just a childish friendship thing. Until—
“That girl is going to be my wife someday! The other lady of the house! Don’t you dare mistreat her!”
Zhen Zhu put on an air of superiority, dressed in her pink pajamas, looking utterly comical.
“Ah!!”
The entire household froze, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
In the end, they couldn’t hold back a chorus of laughter.
Zhen Zhu’s nanny scooped her up. “Oh, Zhen Zhu, do you even know what ‘wife’ means?”
“Of course I do!” Zhen Zhu crossed her arms. “A wife is the woman you spend your whole life with! The one you marry and get a marriage certificate for!”
“Right~” The nanny laughed along with the others. “But how do two women get a marriage certificate?”
Zhen Zhu tilted her head. She’d looked it up online, so she blurted out, “Then I’ll take her to some foreign country that allows it! I’m definitely marrying her!”
The conviction in Zhen Zhu’s voice was a hundred times stronger than when she’d once declared she’d marry Brother Su Ze someday.
“And what about kids?” the nanny pressed with a killer question.
That stumped Zhen Zhu. She paused to think. Yeah… how would they have kids?
“W-well… we just won’t have any…” Her confidence clearly faltered.
Everyone burst into “ha ha” laughter and let it drop, allowing a blushing Zhen Zhu to scamper back to her room.
Today, Liang Sheng’s arrival had them all brimming with curiosity. What kind of girl could turn the arrogant, quirky Bear Child Zhen Zhu?
Upon closer inspection, this Liang Sheng really was a beauty—an absolute stunner.
A young maid nearby stifled her giggles at Liang Sheng, leaving her baffled. Liang Sheng approached and asked, “Excuse me, what’s so funny?”
Her words only made the laughter around her swell.
Thud thud thud—hurried footsteps approached.
