CHAPTER 39: DISCERNING

There was no grand flourish, no exaggerated gesture, just a small nod and the faintest curve of a smile that suggested understanding and perhaps, a hidden amusement at her unabashed charm.

Huaijin’s heart soared. ’Perfect. That’s exactly the reaction I wanted.’

"Goodbye!" she chirped as she waved at him and his small entourage.

She had already noticed that the boys he was with seemed like companions, friends, or classmates, perhaps, but she had no interest in them.

’It’s him I need to remember,’ she thought, ’the one who is calm and doesn’t fuss, and treats me nicely.’

As Huaijin made her way back to her father, she yawned lazily, stretching her tiny arms like a kitten waking from a long nap.

"Daddy..." she murmured, tilting her head and letting her big, innocent eyes meet his. "I’m sleepy... can we go home now?"

Yuanfeng, who had been observing her carefully, his chest swelling with a quiet tenderness, immediately nodded.

"Of course, my little princess. Let’s go home," he said, his voice warm but tinged with amusement at her dramatics.

Huaijin clutched his hand tightly, letting him lead her out of the haunted house and back into the bright, chaotic world of the amusement park.

The air was filled with laughter, music, and the distant screams of thrill-seekers, yet Huaijin felt an unshakable calm as long as her father’s presence was beside her.

Her eyes, however, could not help but flit occasionally toward the small group she had left behind, the boy she had so recently befriended, his friends, and the lingering shadows of potential conflicts with Yunyin and Liang Lingxi.

Indeed, as she returned to Yuanfeng’s side, the park’s social dynamics were already shifting. Chi Yunyin, ever scheming and opportunistic, had not wasted a single moment.

Using her social status and cunning, she had successfully paired herself with Song Jue, the boy whom Huaijin had been careful to avoid engaging too closely.

Huaijin’s tiny shoulders stiffened, and a low hum of annoyance escaped her lips. She watched as Yunyin sauntered triumphantly toward Song Jue, her small hand clasped with his in a display that radiated authority and self-satisfaction.

Yunyin’s smile was victorious, almost cruelly so, as if she had claimed a prize that rightfully belonged to the world’s most charming little tyrant.

Liang Lingxi, on the other hand, was left floundering, her eyes wide with dismay as she realized her chance had slipped away.

She turned instinctively toward the boy Huaijin had charmed, the calm, mysterious figure from the haunted house.

’Maybe... maybe he can help me?’ She thought desperately, clutching her small hands together as she approached him with a rehearsed smile.

"Um... big brother?" Lingxi began, her voice tentative, trying to emulate the politeness and charm that she assumed would win him over. "Could you... Maybe... go in the haunted house with me next time? I’d really appreciate it!"

The boy, who had patiently endured Huaijin’s affectionate insistence earlier, looked down at her now.

His dark eyes, calm and penetrating, met hers without a flicker of hesitation. For a moment, Lingxi’s small chest filled with hope, thinking she had successfully appealed to his generosity.

And then... he did the unthinkable.

He shook his head slowly, his expression unreadable, the faintest hint of coldness in his otherwise composed demeanor. "No," he said simply, his tone devoid of malice, yet absolute in its finality. "I won’t. I’m not interested."

Lingxi’s jaw dropped, and her face turned a pale shade of red. Shock and disbelief waged war across her small features as she struggled to comprehend the rejection.

"But, but, you just went with that little girl over there, didn’t you? I..."

"Exactly, it’s because I already went there and seen everything in it, so I’m not interested to go there anymore." The boy’s sweet and gentle voice felt a little cold at that moment, rejecting Liang Lingxi calmly as he turned around and walked away with his mates.

Her carefully crafted appeal, her forced sweetness, her strategic positioning, it had all failed spectacularly.

The boy’s calm detachment left her speechless, unable to muster even a single argument or plea.

Huaijin, observing this from her father’s side, could not help but suppress a giggle. She tilted her head, her small lips curling in the faintest smile, savoring the tiny, poetic justice that had just unfolded.

’That’s what you get for trying to manipulate people, Lingxi,’ she thought gleefully. ’The boy is not a puppet for anyone’s schemes. Oh well, if it’s me, than that’s an entirely different question!’

Meanwhile, Yuanfeng, ever vigilant and perceptive, noticed the subtle dynamics between the children. His daughter’s small giggles and beaming face told him that she was safe, clever, and enjoying herself in a way he had rarely seen before.

He smiled faintly, the warmth in his eyes betraying a quiet pride in Huaijin’s intelligence and emotional acumen.

Though outwardly she was only a six-year-old girl, her mind and intuition had already shown maturity beyond her years, a trait he had always recognized but was now witnessing in public.

"Daddy, he’s... he’s really handsome too!" Huaijin murmured suddenly, her tone thoughtful as she looked back over her shoulder at the boy from the haunted house. "And he’s so... calm. Not like the other kids who shout and fight."

Yuanfeng chuckled softly, ruffling her hair with a father’s affectionate hand. "I see. A discerning eye for character, huh?" he teased, though his mind was already considering the subtle advantages of Huaijin learning to navigate complex social situations from such a young age.

Huaijin beamed at her father, her small hand clutching his arm tightly. "Yes! And he helped me! So I had to give him candy to say thank you! Isn’t that what polite people do, Daddy?"

"Yes, that’s very considerate of you," Yuanfeng replied, though he could not hide the fondness in his tone. ’My clever little girl... she’s learning fast.’

As the father-daughter pair continued toward the park exit, Huaijin maintained her tiny facade of fatigue.