The Main Characters Won't Stop Pampering Me!-Chapter 106: Stomp on It

He was currently checking a compass, even though they were going to a well-marked public park.

Then, there was the arrival of "The Rattler."

Yuanfeng’s ancient car pulled up with a dramatic cough-bang and a puff of smoke that made Yuanying cough into her silk handkerchief.

From the passenger side emerged the highlight of the morning: The Matching Visibility Hats.

Huaijin and Yuanfeng both stepped out wearing identical, neon-orange bucket hats with small, spinning propellers on top.

"Safety first!" Huaijin announced, hopping out of the car. Her outfit was a masterpiece of "Researcher Chic", denim overalls with eighteen pockets (all filled with notebooks, magnifying glasses, and snacks) and bright yellow rain boots, just in case they found a puddle.

Yuanfeng, the hidden Business Emperor, adjusted his propeller hat with a look of absolute pride. "Optimal visibility achieved, Huaijin! The probability of us getting lost has decreased by 94.2%!"

Song stared at his uncle’s propeller. His brain was trying to reconcile the image of the man who could solve triple integrals in his sleep with the man currently wearing a neon hat.

"Uncle Yuanfeng," Song said, his voice a mix of awe and confusion. "Is the... the propeller functional? Does it provide cooling?"

"It provides morale, Song!" Yuanfeng declared, patting his nephew on the shoulder. "In a high-stakes scavenger hunt, morale is the primary fuel!"

Since "The Rattler" could barely hold a bag of groceries without protesting, Luo Ming had prepared a "modest" family van for the rest of them.

Of course, "modest" by Chi standards meant a customized vehicle with leather seats, a built-in refrigerator, and a sound system that played soothing nature sounds.

Luo Ming stood by the open trunk, his suit replaced by a high-end "casual" attire: a crisp polo shirt and beige chinos that looked like they had never seen a speck of dust in their life.

He moved with silent, balletic grace, loading hampers that smelled of truffle-oil sandwiches and fresh-baked scones.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Luo Ming asked, his eyes crinkling as he looked at Huaijin’s propeller.

"All units are ready for deployment!" Huaijin shouted, giving a sharp, military-style salute.

Yuanying climbed into the van first, claiming the window seat. She looked at Huaijin’s overalls with a mix of horror and secret envy. "Huaijin, do you really need that many pockets? What are you going to put in them?"

"Specimens, Yuanying!" Huaijin replied, climbing in beside her. "Leaves! Rocks! Maybe a very small, very polite toad!"

Yuanying shivered. "If you bring a toad near my dress, I will scream so loud the birds will fall out of the trees."

"Then I shall ensure the toad is briefed on the ’No Screaming’ protocol," Huaijin said solemnly.

Song climbed in last, sitting in the back with his compass and his serious thoughts. He watched the way his sister was laughing at Huaijin’s nonsense.

He felt the weight of his own "leader" training, but as the van started to roll down the driveway, the smell of the scones and the sight of his uncle’s spinning propeller made him feel something strange.

He felt... light.

As the van and the sputtering "Rattler" made their way through the city toward Maple Creek Park, the interior of the van was a whirlwind of energy.

Yuanying was showing Huaijin her "Picnic Skit" script. "And then I say, ’Oh, look at this beautiful nature!’, and then you come in and say something smart about the dirt."

"I shall provide a monologue on the geological stratification of the park’s topsoil," Huaijin promised, nodding like a tiny professor.

"Perfect! That sounds very authentic!" Yuanying giggled.

Song, despite himself, found himself listening to Yuanfeng (who was talking to them through a walkie-talkie from the car in front).

"Now, children," Yuanfeng’s voice crackled through the speakers.

"Remember, the key to a successful scavenger hunt is observation. Look for patterns. The universe is written in the language of patterns. Also, if anyone sees a very large oak tree, please notify me immediately; I need to measure its circumference for my... uh... soil stability project."

Huaijin leaned back against the plush seat. She looked at her cousins, the future villainess who was currently preoccupied with a silk ribbon, and the future rival who was secretly smiling at a walkie-talkie.

She looked out the window at the green trees beginning to replace the grey buildings.

Her heart felt full. In her past life, she had died alone, surrounded by the cold machinations of a family that didn’t know how to love. But now?

Now she was on a mission. She was surrounded by a "poor" genius father, a "handsome" secret-agent butler, and two cousins who were slowly learning that it was okay to be children.

The picnic wasn’t just an outing. It was a declaration. They were the Chi family, but they were doing it their way.

"Papa!" Huaijin shouted into the van’s intercom. "Make sure the propeller is spinning! We’re almost there!"

"Spinning at maximum velocity, Huaijin!" Yuanfeng’s voice cheered back.

They drove toward the park, a strange, mismatched, and beautiful group, ready to conquer the wilderness with nothing but heart, strategy, and a single strawberry lollipop.

***

The wheels of the fancy Chi family van finally crunched onto the gravel of Maple Creek Park.

Outside, the world was a giant explosion of green, yellow, and "nature-y" smells. But inside the van, for a moment, it felt like a tiny, quiet bubble.

Huaijin, her propeller hat spinning slowly as she leaned against the window, was watching Chi Song out of the corner of her eye.

She was like a little spy, but instead of a magnifying glass, she had a half-eaten bag of gummy bears.

She noticed something. Brother Song’s shoulders, which usually looked like they were made of stiff, frozen bricks, had finally dropped.

He wasn’t sitting like he was in a board meeting anymore. He was looking at Daddy’s "Rattler" car in front of them, and his eyes weren’t all "mysterious" and "solemn."

They looked... curious. Maybe even a little bit jealous of the smoke coming out of the exhaust.

Aha! Huaijin thought, puffing out her cheeks like a blowfish. He’s relaxing because Uncle Yuantian isn’t here to bark at him about ’Dignity’ and ’Succession.’

It made her tummy feel a little bit wiggly and sad. Song was basically a "mini-adult" because the big, grumpy grown-ups made him act that way. It was an awkward, squishy position to be in.

’He’s just a kid!’ she screamed inside her head. ’He should be worried about bugs and mud, not stock market things! No wonder he turned into a grumpy, twisted adult in the old story. If I had to wear a suit every day and never eat chocolate, I’d be a villain too!’

Huaijin looked at Yuanying, who was busy smoothing her dress for the tenth time, and then at Song, who was checking his compass for the twentieth time.

They were like pretty birds in a gilded cage. A cage made of gold and silk and very expensive tutors, but a cage nonetheless.

In her past life, Huaijin had been so busy being sad and feeling like the "extra" that she never noticed her cousins were also stuck. They were all suffering in their own fancy ways.

Originally, Huaijin’s plan was simple: Run Away. Hide. Stay as far away from the "Main Story" as possible. Don’t talk to the hero, don’t trigger the villainess, and definitely don’t get involved in family drama.

But as she watched Song’s propeller hat, which he had secretly put on when he thought no one was looking, she realized something very annoying.

’I tried to hide, but the plot found me anyway! It’s like a giant, sticky spiderweb! If I can’t run away from the story... then I guess I’ll just have to STOMP ON IT!’

If the "Plot" wanted a tragedy, Huaijin was going to give it a comedy. If the "Plot" wanted them to be rivals, she was going to make them a "Snack-Eating Alliance."

She was going to destroy the "Main Story" with the power of silliness and sugar.

The van doors slid open, and the "High-Society" atmosphere of the park hit them. It was a sea of designer picnic blankets, imported sparkling water, and parents who looked like they were attending a funeral for Fun.

"Look at them," Yuanying whispered, her voice suddenly small and worried. "It’s the families from the Elite Prep School. If I don’t look perfect, they’ll tell everyone at the next gala."