TFRLTOP Chapter 89 Part 2

Without hesitation, Xiao Yunmu got in his car and drove straight to the welfare home.

On the way, he couldn’t help thinking: What can you even tell from one photo? A welfare home is still a welfare home—can it really compare to having a nanny at home?

Her so-called parents sent her off just to dump her here? What were they thinking? She’d be better off staying at the Xiao house.

When Xiao Yunmu arrived, Ming Ming was running over to a caretaker, holding her bowl and looking up sweetly. “Auntie, can I have another bowl?”

Xiao Yunmu: “…”

Really? Eating well, drinking well, and still chubby after days away? What was I even worrying about?

The head of the welfare home greeted him warmly. Upon hearing that he’d come to find Ming Ming, the man explained frankly how she had introduced herself when she arrived—unwanted by her parents, nearly trafficked, and left to fend for herself.

Xiao Yunmu fell silent again.

It was hard to describe how he felt, but “heartache” probably covered most of it.

He told the director that he would be taking her home.

The man, who was used to dealing with wealthy families, immediately understood. He’d heard rumors about the Xiao family—the tragic death of the parents, and then a mysterious “illegitimate daughter” suddenly appearing. This girl’s name was Xiao Xinxi, so clearly she was related to the Xiao family. Since the young master himself had come to take her, the director naturally didn’t object.

He even offered helpfully, “If you’re concerned about appearances, we can leave her registered under the welfare home. That won’t be a problem.”

Xiao Yunmu didn’t care either way. He had no plans to register her under the Xiao household anyway, so it didn’t matter where her name was listed.

Tired of the director’s endless flattery, he pulled out his checkbook, wrote a donation on the spot, and handed it over. That shut the man up immediately. He bowed and quickly sent someone to bring Ming Ming over.

Ming Ming had barely started her third bowl of rice when she was dragged outside.

When she saw Xiao Yunmu, they just stared at each other for a few seconds.

“You’re here?” she asked.

He looked down at her and scolded lightly, “What, no ‘Brother’? That’s rude.”

“You came to find me?” she asked again.

“I don’t particularly like you,” he said coldly. “And you know exactly what your situation is.”

Ming Ming blinked. He came all the way here just to say that?

What “situation”? Oh, right—being an illegitimate child. But she wasn’t eating his food or taking his inheritance, so what was his problem?

“I haven’t even finished eating yet,” Ming Ming muttered, turning to leave.

“You can stay at my place,” he said evenly, “until you come of age.”

She froze. Did he take the wrong medicine or something?

Go back? For what—more of his bland, “healthy” children’s meals? No thanks.

“And if I say no?” she challenged, tilting her chin up.

“One small cake a week.”

Ming Ming pouted. Bribery? Really? “But…”

“Two cakes a week.”

“…That’s not the point. What I’m trying to say is—”

“One cake every two days.”

“You—”

“One per day. That’s the limit,” Xiao Yunmu said flatly. “Any more and you’ll get cavities.”

“Deal!” Ming Ming grinned like a cat that had just stolen a fish.

Xiao Yunmu gritted his teeth.

Did I just get outsmarted by a five-year-old?

The system inside his head groaned, “Could you at least act like a pitiful fake daughter living under someone else’s roof?”

Ming Ming replied matter-of-factly, “I’ll think about that when I’m older. Right now, I’m too young for such complicated concepts.”

When Xiao Yunmu brought her home again, he treated it like completing a chore—dropped her off, then disappeared.

For several days, Ming Ming didn’t see him at all.

He seemed determined to prove that he really didn’t like her.

Ming Ming felt completely deceived.

Sure, he kept his promise—one small cake per day—but every other meal was still that same “healthy, balanced” nonsense. Nothing had changed!

She wanted to run again, but this time she couldn’t. Xiao Yunmu had arranged for an entire team of caretakers to watch over her around the clock, making sure she couldn’t escape.

Ming Ming was miserable. Feeling like she had no privacy left, she finally marched up to Xiao Yunmu to confront him.

“You don’t even like me—so why do you keep me here? Are you just trying to torture me? You’ve already made me eat bland food every day—is your next plan to make me separate red beans from green beans with chopsticks? Admit it! The ‘Xin’ in Xiao Xinxi really stands for Cinderella’s suffering!”

Xiao Yunmu: “…”

He shot a glare at the nanny, who frantically shook her head. “I didn’t teach her that! I swear!”

The vein in Xiao Yunmu’s forehead twitched. “What has she been watching lately? What kind of cartoons teach kids to talk like this? Find out!”

His secretary muttered under his breath about how an eighteen-year-old could somehow sound older than a grandpa but still promised to investigate immediately.

Meanwhile, Ming Ming was still rambling on.

Xiao Yunmu finally cut her off with a cold smirk. “You sure know a lot for your age. Perfect timing—your kindergarten’s been arranged. You start tomorrow.”

Ming Ming froze. Kindergarten?

Then she remembered her earlier “goal”—to start her first romance in kindergarten—and suddenly felt excited.

“Okay!” she said cheerfully.

On the first day of school, Xiao Yunmu even postponed his morning meeting to personally take her there.

At the gate, chaos reigned—children were crying everywhere, clinging to their parents. Ming Ming, on the other hand, looked around curiously, fascinated by everything. Not a single tear in sight.

Walking through the noisy crowd, Xiao Yunmu couldn’t help feeling proud. See? My kid’s different. So much easier than the rest.

He crouched down and said goodbye calmly, reminding her to behave, play nicely with the other children, and that he’d pick her up after school.

Ming Ming smiled sweetly and waved.

For the first time, Xiao Yunmu’s eyes softened.

Yeah, he thought. Still my kid. Definitely better behaved than the rest of them.

Ming Ming was almost six now. Based on her age, she was placed in the senior kindergarten class—the oldest group in the school. She naturally assumed that meant everyone would be mature and sensible.

She was very wrong.

Once inside, she scanned the room for cute boys—no luck. Instead, a few runny-nosed kids toddled over to make friends.

Ugh. Not interested.

So she went to play with the girls instead.

By the end of the day, Ming Ming was completely drained.

These kids could cry. Like, endlessly. They were supposed to be the “big kids” of kindergarten—why were they still bawling like babies?

Her head was spinning. How can they be this loud? They can’t even speak properly!

And worst of all—they kept trying to hug her while crying, like they wanted to wipe their snot all over her.

Disgusting! Horrible! I want to go home! I want my brother! I don’t want kindergarten anymore, waaaah…

When Xiao Yunmu came early to pick her up, he saw her sprint out the door and throw herself into his arms, sobbing, “Brother, I don’t wanna go to kindergarten anymore!”

Around them, all the other kids were happily reuniting with their parents—laughing, smiling, running.

The contrast was striking.

Xiao Yunmu blinked, genuinely puzzled.

What, is she… just a little slow to adapt?