The Main Characters Won't Stop Pampering Me!-Chapter 102: Loan

"Luo Ming, who is very beautiful and makes excellent tea! And I have Yuanying and Song, my clever cousins. With my father, my grandpa, and everyone here, I truly don’t feel lonely at all! My little home is full, and my heart is full."

The answer was a masterpiece of emotional maturity, designed to soothe the patriarch’s worries and completely shut down the topic of finding a replacement maternal figure.

Grandpa Chi was visibly moved. He reached across the table, his usually stiff hand gently patting Huaijin’s small, folded hands.

"You are a remarkable child, Huaijin," he murmured, his voice husky with emotion. "A truly remarkable, strong little girl. Your father is a fortunate man."

The crisis was averted. The trauma of the mother’s absence, while real, was accepted and neutralized by the child’s profound gratitude for the present love she received.

With the philosophical and emotional high-stakes conversation concluded, Huaijin immediately reverted to her original, high-priority mission.

"Grandpa, that was a very serious talk, and serious talks require high-level, post-session carbohydrate loading," Huaijin announced, giving him a mischievous wink. "I must return to my cousins now, but I must first ensure equity in the dessert distribution."

Grandpa Chi watched, utterly fascinated, as Huaijin meticulously began assembling two small, perfectly balanced dessert plates.

"You’re taking those to Yuanying and Song?" the Chairman asked, surprised.

"Of course!" Huaijin declared, carefully placing a cream puff and a quarter slice of the lemon tart on one plate. "These are Butler Luo’s special desserts! They are only served to the elders, which means Yuanying and Song haven’t had a chance to try their deliciousness!"

She carefully balanced the two plates, her mouth set in a determined line. "It’s important to share the good fortune, Grandpa. It encourages familial harmony and reduces the risk of dessert-related sibling rivalry."

Grandpa Chi chuckled, a genuine, delighted sound that rarely echoed through the Manor. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He realized this child was not just smart; she was a force for good, a small agent of healing and equity in his complicated, emotionally stunted family.

Luo Ming, who had been discreetly waiting in the corner, stepped forward instantly, his expression of professional neutrality slightly softened by a gentle smile.

"Allow me, Little Miss Huaijin," the butler offered, taking the two plates with impeccable balance. "Your cousins are still absorbed in their reading."

"Thank you, Luo Ming," Huaijin said, giving him a bright, appreciative look that made the butler’s day. "Please ensure Sister Yuanying gets the tart; she needs the citrus for brain function, and Song gets the chocolate, as he seems to require the maximum dopamine reward for his efficiency."

Luo Ming bowed, his eyes twinkling, and silently escorted the plates toward the library.

Huaijin gave Grandpa Chi a final, sweet smile. "See, Grandpa? Everyone is happier now. Even you! I must go now, my father is waiting to delegate his research to me!"

She gave him a tiny wave and hurried out, leaving the Chairman alone with his thoughts, a strange mix of pride, fear, and profound respect for the small, complex girl who had just simultaneously saved her father from a bad marriage and taught the stern patriarch a lesson in unconditional love and dessert diplomacy.

***

The sun-drenched conservatory was quiet now, save for the faint clink of Grandpa Chi’s tea cup against its saucer.

The Chairman sat in a rare state of contemplative stillness, watching the retreating figure of his youngest granddaughter.

Huaijin wasn’t just walking; she was bounding. Her small, slightly round frame, which she carried with such unnatural gravity most of the time, was now vibrating with pure, unadulterated six-year-old glee.

Every hop seemed to emphasize the "fat little body", as she would later complain about in her teenage years, bouncing with the rhythm of a successful mission.

Grandpa Chi shook his head, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. She’s a terror, he thought, though the thought was laced with more affection than he’d felt for anyone in years. A brilliant, honey-tongued, fiercely protective little terror.

He had been moved, not just by her logic, but by the raw honesty of her "tantrum." In the world of the Chi family, where words were weapons and smiles were shields, Huaijin’s visceral rejection of Xu Meilin was a signal he couldn’t ignore.

Especially children as astute as Huaijin didn’t react with such instinctive loathing without a reason.

"Luo Ming," the Chairman called out softly.

The butler appeared from the shadows of the foyer as if he had been woven from the very air itself. "Yes, Chairman?"

"The ’bitter sludge’ woman," Grandpa Chi said, his voice returning to its cold, corporate edge. "Investigate. Everything. From her father’s ledgers to her social circles. I want to know if there’s even a grain of truth in the child’s fear of ’burnt toast.’"

Luo Ming bowed low, his eyes glinting with a secret understanding. "It will be done with the utmost discretion, Chairman."

Meanwhile, Huaijin was making her way back to the library, her heart light. She felt as though she had just dismantled a ticking time bomb with a plastic spoon.

Xu Meilin is handled, she thought, her internal executive rubbing its hands together in triumph. Grandpa’s suspicion is a one-way street. Once Luo Ming starts digging, that snake won’t find a patch of grass to hide in within this city.

The relief was physical. In her past life, the shadow of Xu Meilin had been a suffocating weight, a constant threat that eventually escalated into lethal intent.

To have neutralized her before she could even plant a foot firmly in the Manor was a victory of monumental proportions.

But as she approached the heavy library doors, she remembered her second objective, which was to distribute the sweets that she had managed to hog from the old man, her Grandfather.

In her hands, she carried a small, silver-filigree tray, which was a "loan" from Luo Ming, piled high with the leftovers of the elder-tier desserts.

These weren’t the standard snacks provided to the children during study breaks.