The Main Characters Won't Stop Pampering Me!-Chapter 105: Purple Cape!

"Yes! I ate a million cakes! And I drew you a purple cape!" Huaijin shouted, pointing back at the table.

Yuanfeng looked over at the other children and Mr. Shen. He saw the crumbs on the table and the happy faces of his niece and nephews. He gave Mr. Shen a polite nod, the kind of nod one scholar gives another.

"I hope she wasn’t too much trouble, Mr. Shen," Yuanfeng said with a warm smile.

"Not at all, Professor," Mr. Shen replied, walking over to hand Huaijin her messy drawing. "In fact, I think Miss Huaijin was the best teacher in the room today. She taught us all how to enjoy a Tuesday."

Yuanfeng’s eyes softened as he looked at his daughter. He knew she was special. He knew she was doing things to help this family that even he couldn’t do.

"Time to go, sweetheart," Yuanfeng said. "Say goodbye to your cousins."

Huaijin waved her little hand frantically. "Bye-bye, sister Yuanying! Bye-bye Big Brother Song! Don’t forget to practice your smiles! We have a picnic soon!"

Yuanying waved back, looking a little sad to see her go, but still wearing that "sugar-glow." Song gave a polite wave too, looking much more like a real boy than a marble statue.

As they walked out to "The Rattler," the sun was starting to set, turning the sky into a giant bowl of orange and pink sherbet.

Yuanfeng buckled Huaijin into her seat, and the old car groaned as it started up, making its usual clatter-clat-bang sounds.

"Daddy?" Huaijin asked, hugging her drawing to her chest.

"Yes, my dragon?"

"Grandpa was being a bit silly today," she said, her voice dropping to a "secret" whisper. "He wanted to talk about that mean snake lady. But I told him I like cupcakes and you much better."

Yuanfeng laughed, the sound deep and happy. He didn’t need to know the "adult" details to know that his daughter had protected him again. "I like cupcakes, and you much better too, Huaijin. Always."

As they drove away from the big, scary Manor and back toward their small, cozy home, Huaijin looked out the window.

She saw the trees passing by like green ghosts. She felt sleepy and happy.

She had saved the day, filled some tummies, and made the "ice" in the library melt just a little bit. She closed her eyes, dreaming of the big picnic next week, where there would be more sunshine, more games, and definitely no mean snakes.

The Emperor and his Little Dragon disappeared into the twilight, leaving the Manor a little bit brighter than they had found it.

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.

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The library doors hadn’t even fully settled into their frames before the atmosphere of the Chi Manor shifted from "Stuffy Academic Institution" to "High-Stakes Heartfelt Drama."

As Professor Yuanfeng stepped into the room, his eyes, usually sharp enough to pierce through the most complex quantum variables, instantly softened into a puddle of paternal mush.

Huaijin, spotting the messy-haired "hero" of her life, didn’t just walk; she launched herself with the trajectory of a surface-to-air missile fueled by pure adoration.

"PAPA!" she squealed, her voice a high-pitched siren of joy.

What followed was a reunion so theatrical it would have made a seasoned opera singer weep with envy.

Yuanfeng caught her mid-air, spinning her around while laughing in a deep, resonant sound that seemed to chase the shadows out of the mahogany corners.

"My little dragon! My star! My most brilliant discovery!" Yuanfeng exclaimed, showering her face with a barrage of noisy, exaggerated kisses.

He squeezed her so tight her little shoes dangled in the air, clicking together in a frantic rhythm of happiness.

Huaijin, for her part, committed fully to the bit. She wrapped her small arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder (which smelled like old parchment, expensive tea, and home). "I missed you for a thousand hours, Papa! The library was so big, and the books were so heavy without you!"

She peppered his cheeks with sticky, sweet kisses, her small hands patting his face as if checking to make sure he was real. This wasn’t just a daughter greeting a father; this was the center of the universe returning to its orbit.

Standing by the window, Grandpa Chi watched this display with a feeling he rarely felt: bitter, stinging jealousy.

He stood tall, his hands clasped behind his back, the very image of the unshakeable patriarch.

But inside, he was a swirling mess of "Why doesn’t a certain someone run at me like I’m a purple-caped superhero? I even shared sweets! Hmph! Stingy brat!" He looked at the way Yuanfeng’s face lit up; the man looked younger, brighter, and infinitely more alive than when he was discussing corporate mergers.

The Chairman let out a small, huffy breath. He had billions in the bank, half the city under his thumb, and a butler who could brew tea that tasted like liquid heaven.

But looking at the messy, "poor" professor and the giggling little girl, he realized he was currently the poorest man in the room.

A week passed in a flurry of preparation. But before the big day, Huaijin knew she needed one more "asset" for Operation: Picnic Perfection.

She needed a man who could handle a tactical scavenger hunt, a portable tea service, and a swarm of ants with equal grace.

She needed Butler Luo Ming.

Borrowing the Chairman’s right-hand man was no small feat. It required a level of negotiation that would have intimidated a UN diplomat. Huaijin, however, had a secret weapon.

She had approached Luo Ming in the manor gardens two days before the trip. The butler was supervising the pruning of the roses, looking as elegant as a marble statue in a three-piece suit.

Huaijin had tugged on his sleeve, looking up with her biggest, roundest, "I am just a tiny innocent child" eyes.

"Mr. Luo Ming," she whispered conspiratorially. "I have a huge, very important secret."

Luo Ming knelt down with practiced grace, his expression one of polite curiosity. "And what might that be, Little Miss?"

Huaijin reached into her pocket and pulled out a single, glittering, strawberry-flavored lollipop. It was the "prestige" kind, the one she had saved from her school’s reward box.

"This," she said, holding it out with trembling hands (mostly for dramatic effect), "is a Contract of Joy. It is a very rare and powerful candy. If you take it, you have to promise to come to our picnic and help us win the scavenger hunt."

Inside, the adult Huaijin was screaming.

’Oh, the shame! I am a grown woman in my soul, and here I am using a ten-cent lollipop as a high-level bribe! I have traded my dignity for strawberry-flavored corn syrup!’

But Luo Ming didn’t laugh. He looked at the lollipop as if it were a solid bar of 24-karat gold. He saw the "adult" seriousness in her eyes, the strategic mind that knew exactly how to make a request that couldn’t be refused.

He also saw the little girl who genuinely wanted him there.

"A Contract of Joy, you say?" Luo Ming asked, his voice soft. He reached out and accepted the lollipop with the same reverence he would give a signed treaty. "It would be an honor to fulfill such a contract, Little Miss. I shall inform the Chairman that my services have been... officially retained."

Grandpa Chi, when told of the "candy contract," had simply sighed and waved a hand. "If the child has bought your soul with sugar, Luo Ming, then you must go. God help the other parents at that picnic."

***

The day of the picnic arrived with a sky so blue it looked like it had been painted by a very happy artist. The air was crisp, smelling of dew-drenched grass and the promise of adventure.

The staging ground was the front driveway of the Chi Manor, and the contrast between the two "factions" of the family was nothing short of a comedy sketch.

Yuanying and Chi Song stood by the sleek, black Chi family SUV. Yuanying looked like she was heading to a photoshoot for Junior Vogue.

She wore a designer floral dress, a tiny white cardigan, and a wide-brimmed straw hat with a silk ribbon. She was currently checking her reflection in the car window, making sure her "casual outdoor look" was flawless.

Chi Song, on the other hand, looked like he was preparing for a trek across the Himalayas. He had a professional-grade backpack, sturdy hiking boots, and a look of grim determination.