"?"
Hearing these words, the man's expression visibly froze for a moment.
Ji Nian, completely unaware, turned her head to look at the pastries on the table, unconsciously licking her cracked lips.
"Brother, if you're not going to eat them, could I have one?"
Seeing no reaction from the man, Ji Nian, whose eyes were blurry from hunger, pleaded pitifully: "Please, brother, just treat me like a chicken you're feeding, cluck cluck cluck."
Those two short clucks were so vivid and expressive that they could move listeners to tears.
The System moved its electronic mouth, wanting to speak but hesitating.
The man neither cried nor laughed, his eyes mockingly examining the little girl before him who shared half his blood yet called him brother, with a hint of disgust.
Apart from that wrinkled infant years ago, this was the first time Ji Tingzhou had seen his daughter, who had been forgotten in a corner since birth.
He had almost forgotten... besides himself, there was another remnant of the Ji family.
The tiny child, swallowing saliva from hunger, yet showing proper manners by restraining herself from touching the food, had clearly been taught well.
Who could be behind her, having such a kind heart to teach her so?
Murderous intent surged, but curiosity won out.
"Want to eat?"
Ji Tingzhou's eyes showed no sign of concealing their malice as his jade-like hand, covered in horrific scars, picked up one of the pastries and dangled it in front of Ji Nian.
The next second, he threw it over the railing into the lake with a splash.
The sound wasn't loud, but it awakened part of Ji Nian's rationality.
This person was treating her like a cat or dog, his attitude extremely nasty.
He instantly became less handsome in her eyes.
Her gaze turned cold, and just as she was about to turn and leave, she heard that voice in her head again—
[Leaving so soon? Haven't you figured out who this person in front of you is?]
Ji Nian coldly snorted: [I don't care who he is. Such a bully who picks on children, I hope his children are born without anuses]
[He's Ji Tingzhou, your dear father]
The System was clearly gloating.
Ji Nian was thunderstruck.
No!! My butthole!! How can I live without you!!!
[My daughter is already five years old, how is he so young!!]
The System picked its nose and flicked it away: [He had you when he was eighteen, he's only twenty-three now, of course he's young]
And she had just brazenly said her father would start lactating at the sight of him! Wait, perhaps the man didn't even know who she was?
The System, that troublemaking piece of trash, spoke up again: [Friendly reminder, your current body's eyes are moss green, perfectly inheriting part of your father's mixed-blood genes, and your appearance is even a miniature female version of him]
Ji Nian: "........"
She was so angry she furiously... furiously did nothing!
This body was already young, and the slightest provocation would bring tears to her eyes.
Seeing the child's tears fall, hanging precariously on her chin, looking like she'd been bullied.
Ji Tingzhou suddenly became expressionless.
Useless thing, scared to tears already.
Impatience crossed his brows, and he was about to raise his hand to have people in the shadows drag this little dirty child away.
Suddenly, the sobbing child moved.
"Brother, does your hand hurt?"
Her tear-filled eyes stared at the hand he had placed between his legs, her little face wrinkled with sympathy.
She was actually sympathizing with a stranger who had just tormented her.
Ji Tingzhou was almost amused by the anger.
Everyone related to the Ji family bloodline, every single one of them, was born wicked.
How could someone like him, destined for hell, produce such an overly sympathetic little thing?
Or perhaps she was just a little fox skilled at pretending.
The System was stunned.
[You're quite quick to react]
Who said Ji Nian was stupid? This Ji Nian was brilliant.
[Thought you'd rather give up your butthole than take this abuse]
While Ji Nian was still sobbing and crying on the surface, she coldly replied in her heart: [Heh, who says I'd give up my butthole just like that, I definitely want to keep it]
Ji Tingzhou was a crucial character in this book, and her life was literally in his hands.
So Ji Nian had made sure to learn about this important character who would later elevate the female protagonist to the heavens.
Apart from Ji Nian being born against his will, his main reason for disliking his daughter was: she carried the Ji family bloodline.
This family was like it was cursed, every Ji family member was a sociopath without empathy, and extremely masculine, every penny they earned was stained with countless blood and flesh.
And the terminator of these demons was Ji Tingzhou, who despised the Ji family blood flowing in his own veins, let alone Ji Nian who inherited this part.
If Ji Nian were an adult, she would definitely run away for her life, but now, she was only five years old.
At an age where she couldn't even control her bowels, how could she control her life...
The expedient measure was to show her harmlessness, cling to her scumbag father's leg, and wait for the female protagonist to arrive and capture everyone's attention, making it convenient for her to run away with the money.
As long as she became like shit, no one would dare step on her head!
Facing a child who couldn't hold back tears, especially one with moss-green eyes so similar to his own, Ji Tingzhou gave no response, only meaningfully stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly standing up and leaving.
He didn't even look at the little girl again.
Ji Nian internally complained about his rudeness while her eyes fixed on the pastries left on the table by the man, drooling.
[Since he's gone, that means he doesn't want these anymore, right? So I can eat them, right?]
After the man's figure completely disappeared, knowing that servants would come to clear these away soon, Ji Nian wasted no more time and began stuffing food into her mouth.
People who haven't eaten for a long time can die from eating too much too quickly, so Ji Nian only ate a little, stopping when her empty stomach felt less uncomfortable.
She turned and grabbed a large leaf, wrapping up the remaining pastries. Eating something not completely clean wouldn't kill her, it was better than starving to death. At this point, Ji Nian no longer cared about hygiene.
After doing this, she started walking away.
The bodyguards in the shadows quietly watched her gradually disappearing figure before turning to leave.
Meanwhile, they wondered how there could be a child in the manor, which department's servant had brought their child without permission, and even allowed them to interact with the master.
Eight hundred conspiracy theories swirled in their minds, finally turning into a cold laugh.
Perhaps they heard that the master had adopted a girl and thought he liked children?
Ridiculous, didn't they know whether the master was the type to respect the elderly and love the young?
If the master doesn't order him to drive out both adults and children from the manor later, he, Wei Yang, would read his name backwards!
Suddenly there was a response in the earpiece.
Ji Tingzhou's hoarse voice sounded in his ear.
"Five minutes, I want to know all information about her nanny."
Wei Yang: "........"
"Wei Yang, what are you standing there for, let's go."
A colleague came over and patted the stunned man's shoulder, looking confused.
Wei Yang's face turned red: "I'm changing my name from now on."
"Call me Yang Wei."
Colleague: ?
...
Perhaps her luck had run out, Ji Nian hadn't gone far with her pastries when several servants caught her.
Zhang Yulan (the fat nanny) had told them Ji Nian had run away, and the servants, afraid she might accidentally offend the master, came out to look for her.
They happened to run into Ji Nian returning with her spoils, and immediately roughly controlled her with swift movements.
"Stay still!"
"So annoying, we already have enough work, and now we have to waste time looking for you, would it kill you to behave?"
"No wonder the master doesn't acknowledge you, you only know how to cause trouble, why hasn't Zhang Yulan beaten you to death yet."
Ji Nian quietly memorized these two people's faces and calmly replied: "You could have done quite a bit of work in the time you spent running your mouths."
The two looked at the little girl who had uttered such shocking words in astonishment.
"Articulate communication improves efficiency."
The two: "........"
And so, the world fell silent.
Ji Nian craftily winked, then immediately returned to her innocent child facade.
However, her happiness didn't last long.
The System quickly shattered her good mood—
[Friendly reminder: You're about to have your face disfigured, enemy Zhang Yulan has arrived on the battlefield]
