Chapter 5: The Pampered Daughter

By the time dinner arrived that evening, Fang Lian still wore a sullen expression, her head bowed as she fiddled with her phone incessantly.

“Try this, it’s the signature dish of their restaurant,” Yan Xuan said, pushing a plate of braised pork knuckle toward her. The enticing aroma briefly distracted Fang Lian from her phone. She picked up her chopsticks and stared at the pork knuckle but hesitated to take a bite.

It smelled delicious, no doubt, but eating it risked getting greasy all over her mouth—hardly elegant.

In front of Yan Xuan, Fang Lian wanted to maintain her graceful image.

Yan Xuan noticed her hesitation and, taking the initiative, put on gloves and carefully tore the pork knuckle into small pieces. He casually asked, “Are you always this reserved when you eat?”

Fang Lian’s disappointment was evident. “Godfather, do you think I’m putting on an act?”

Yan Xuan shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I just think there’s no need for you to be so restrained around me.”

“I guess you’ve probably done your homework on me by now,” Fang Lian said.

“Why do you say that?”

“My presence at Nanjiang University is proof enough. I always thought I’d miss the cutoff by a few points, yet I still got accepted. You must have pulled some strings for me, right?”

“Is that so?”

Yan Xuan couldn’t help but smile wryly. He hadn’t expected Fang Lian to see him as some all-powerful figure who could manipulate admissions behind the scenes.

He picked up a piece of pork knuckle and brought it to her lips. “Eat.”

Fang Lian paused, brushed aside the messy strands at her ear, and slowly lowered her head to take the bite. Whether intentional or not, her soft pink tongue brushed Yan Xuan’s fingertip, inadvertently pulling a thin silver thread.

“Delicious?”

“Yes, everything tastes better when fed by my godfather,” she replied with a sweet smile, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. She leaned closer to Yan Xuan and tilted her chin slightly, waiting to be fed again.

Yan Xuan had to admit, sincere or not, Fang Lian was adept at offering emotional comfort, and she had him somewhat distracted.

“Godfather, why did you find me online in the first place?” Fang Lian’s curiosity got the better of her, and she finally asked.

With a sum nearing seven figures involved, Yan Xuan wondered why he couldn’t find any other woman but her.

Before college, they had never crossed paths in any way.

“Did the app assign me to you, or am I the lowest-tier white user?”

Of course, Yan Xuan only thought this silently. Unsure how to answer, he simply smiled mysteriously, letting Fang Lian fill in the blanks.

To her, that enigmatic smile was another loaded warning. She sighed inwardly.

She’d been far too naive in the past—there’s no such thing as a free lunch. With nearly a million transferred back and forth, her godfather must be absolutely certain she can’t escape his grasp.

If she didn’t cooperate, would he just imprison her outright?

Lock her up in a sprawling 500-square-meter villa, assign a dozen or twenty bodyguards and maids to watch her, and every day upon returning, shove her against the wall, taunting her with a sinister, arrogant tone:

“Woman, still trying to run?”

…

Lost in this melodramatic fantasy of their twisted romance, another piece of pork knuckle was brought to her mouth.

“Mmm, delicious!”

Setting aside her chaotic thoughts, Fang Lian obediently enjoyed the feeding game.

After dinner, they strolled side by side around campus. Just as they neared the entrance of the women’s dormitory, Fang Lian suddenly suggested, “Godfather, I’m a little thirsty. Let’s buy some ice cream.”

Ice cream?

Yan Xuan wasn’t oblivious to a woman’s hints, yet he still shook his head. “You should head up and rest early. You have military training tomorrow morning.”

“Hmph… you’re so considerate, godfather,” Fang Lian pouted, clearly displeased with his answer.

Since Yan Xuan had openly revealed his identity a few days ago, Fang Lian had wrestled with her feelings but decided to take the initiative.

At worst, she’d clear the air with him. Whoever ends up benefiting isn’t certain yet.

Yet after several days, Yan Xuan kept feigning ignorance of her hints, showing no desire in his gaze, but his care for her remained undiminished—almost like treating her as a daughter!?

The more Yan Xuan acted this way, the more Fang Lian wanted to do something. Having never experienced fatherly love as a child, her heart now felt like it was being clawed at by a cat—an indescribable sensation.

“By the way, I haven’t given you this month’s ‘living expenses’ yet.”

Yan Xuan suddenly took out his phone and transferred 20,000 yuan to Fang Lian. He glanced at her profile and noticed her favorability rating had already risen to 88. He was secretly surprised.

That was fast. Was she really that easy to win over?

If Sun Kai knew what Yan Xuan was thinking, he’d probably be furious.

Fang Lian had never lacked admirers since middle school, but though materialistic, she was smart. She knew how to set boundaries and had a clear plan for her future.

Her hometown was a tiny county town; selling herself cheaply for a few pennies wasn’t worth it.

Her goal was to emulate a certain tea sister!

After Yan Xuan tweaked her character setting, that mindset vanished completely. Yan Xuan’s rapid increase in favorability was simply because Fang Lian genuinely felt a sense of “fatherly love” from him.

Over the past year of chatting, Fang Lian had always suspected Yan Xuan was some sleazy middle-aged man with improper intentions, but meeting him in person turned everything around.

She suddenly realized he really was just “cloud parenting” a daughter online.

So the more indifferent Yan Xuan acted, the stronger Fang Lian’s sense of “fatherly love” became.

“No need, godfather. Please don’t transfer me any more money.”

Once again, Fang Lian refunded the transfer, and Yan Xuan’s account balance rose by 19,980.

Yan Xuan could only show a helpless expression. “What’s this? Trying to distance yourself from godfather lately?”

Fang Lian hurriedly denied it. “Not at all. I just don’t want to rely on you anymore. I can earn money myself.”

“Looking for a part-time job?”

“Yeah, I plan to check after military training. Got any good recommendations?”

“For part-time? How about managing my accounts?”

“Accounting? No! No! No!” Fang Lian thought Yan Xuan was just making excuses for spending money on her and shook her head. “I don’t understand any of that. You should find a professional accountant.”

Yan Xuan smiled. “It’s not that complicated. I don’t like shopping myself, so I want to entrust some money to you. When I want to buy something, I’ll tell you, and you can pick it out for me. I trust your taste!”

“Really?” Fang Lian hesitated. Usually, rich people would hand such tasks to a secretary.

Could it be that godfather was worried about exposing his identity on campus and didn’t want a secretary around, so he planned to make her his secretary?

After careful thought, Fang Lian nodded in agreement. Yan Xuan immediately took out his phone and transferred money to her.

His idea was simple: transferring small amounts repeatedly would look strange and might be flagged by the app as suspicious. Better to transfer a large sum at once.

Money was meant to be spent anyway. Spending through Fang Lian gave him a 1:1000 exchange rate—why not?

Before long, a message popped up on Fang Lian’s phone notifying her of the bank deposit. She stared in shock at the long string of zeros.

“One, two, three... seven zeros? Ten million!?”

She turned to look at Yan Xuan, who remained calm, as if ten million and ten thousand were no different to him.

Suddenly, Yan Xuan asked, “Do you have a driver’s license?”

Fang Lian nodded. “Yes, I just got it this summer.”

“Good. The day after tomorrow, Saturday, help me buy a car. You might have to be my chauffeur from now on.”

“A car!?” Fang Lian recalled Sun Kai mentioning the same thing earlier and felt a faint warmth blossom in her heart.

Was her godfather afraid she’d be seduced by other men’s sweet words?

Having heard people talk about being raised with wealth since childhood, Fang Lian only now truly understood the meaning of those words.

“Godfather...”

She suddenly whispered.

“Anything else?”

“Can I call you something else?”

“I’ve wanted to say this for a while. If you keep calling me godfather, others will misunderstand...”

Before Yan Xuan could finish, Fang Lian stood on tiptoe and leaned close to his ear. Her lips parted softly, a sweet, delicate voice calling out:

“Dad~”