Xu Mengyao quickly entered the Fairy Tale Cottage. Lin Xiaoqian had already woken up and exclaimed with delight, "Mommy, I saw so many little fairies!"
"I turned into a little fairy too," Xu Mengyao said, lying down with her legs bent.
Soon, she too was captivated by the cottage's magic and immersed herself in its enchantment.
She felt as though she had entered a fairy tale world.
She found herself in a forest filled with countless flowers. Little fairies flitted through the trees, while flower fairies danced among the blossoms.
After a few minutes, Xu Mengyao blinked and came back to reality.
"Mommy, did you see the little fairies?" Lin Xiaoqian asked in her sweet, childish voice.
Xu Mengyao nodded joyfully. "Yes, Qianqian! Isn't the Fairy Tale Cottage Daddy made wonderful?"
"Mmm-hmm!"
"Daddy is the best!" Lin Xiaoqian declared.
Both mother and daughter gazed at Lin Chen with admiration and delight.
Lin Chen smiled warmly at them. Their enthusiastic reactions made his efforts feel worthwhile.
"Qianqian, play for a while longer, then come out. It's getting late, and you need to take a bath and go to bed," Lin Chen said.
"Daddy, come closer! I want to kiss you!" Lin Xiaoqian said.
Lin Chen leaned in.
*Smooch!*
Lin Xiaoqian planted a kiss on his cheek. "Mommy, you're inside too! You should kiss Daddy too!"
"Alright then," Xu Mengyao said, planting a kiss on his other cheek.
Lin Chen smiled. "Qianqian, play for a bit longer, then come out. It's quite late today. After your bath, Daddy will read you a story before you sleep."
"Okay!"
***
The next day, Xu Mengyao went to work, and Song Qingquan arrived at Lin Chen's house to deliver an invitation to his birthday banquet.
"Daddy, who's this?" Lin Xiaoqian ran over from the balcony.
Lin Chen hesitated slightly. Song Qingquan was only in his early forties, a bit young to be called "Grandpa Song" and a bit old to be called "Uncle Song."
Noticing Lin Chen's hesitation, Song Qingquan smiled and said, "Grandmaster Lin, I still feel quite young. How about you let your daughter call me Uncle Song?"
Lin Chen patted Lin Xiaoqian's little head. "Qianqian, say hello to Uncle Song."
"Hello, Uncle Song," Lin Xiaoqian replied.
Song Qingquan responded cheerfully, "Qianqian, close your eyes. Uncle Song will show you a magic trick."
"What kind of trick?" Lin Xiaoqian asked, closing her eyes.
Song Qingquan retrieved a doll from behind the door. "You can open your eyes now, Qianqian. Do you like it?"
The doll was a beautifully handcrafted, rope-woven creation, both exquisite and adorable.
Lin Xiaoqian's eyes lit up.
"I love it!"
"Thank you, Uncle Song," she said happily, accepting the handmade doll.
"Qianqian, why don't you take this doll to the Fairy Tale Cottage? Daddy and Uncle Song need to talk."
"Okay, okay."
Lin Xiaoqian hugged the doll and went to her room.
Lin Chen and Song Qingquan sat down on the sofa. Song Qingquan, looking somewhat embarrassed, said, "Grandmaster Lin, there's something I need to tell you."
"We know the Wu Family has powerful backing. My elder brother told me that force is actually our Song Family."
This matter was bound to be exposed sooner or later. After careful consideration, Song Qingquan decided it was best to tell Lin Chen first.
"I know," Lin Chen replied with a faint smile.
Song Qingquan was taken aback. "Grandmaster Lin, you know?"
"Yes."
"However, President Chen's recommendation of you was purely coincidental. I didn't ask him to recommend anyone from our Song Family."
Lin Chen nodded slightly.
Song Qingquan breathed a sigh of relief. "We're very sorry for helping the Wu Family. Our Song Family doesn't have a deep connection with them."
Lin Chen chuckled softly. "It's nothing. We met through conflict, but there's no deep-seated enmity between my family and the Song Family. A simple misunderstanding is all it takes to resolve this."
"Having more friends than enemies is always better."
If he were to go all out against the Song Family just because they helped the Wu Family, he'd be a fool. The Wu Family would be the ones laughing the loudest.
Song Qingquan nodded. "That's true."
"Grandmaster Lin, the Wu Family's rise was questionable. I suspect their companies are riddled with problems. I predict Wu Yangcheng will be sentenced to many years in prison."
"The Wu Family's companies will likely be declared bankrupt and liquidated."
Lin Chen replied, "Let the law run its course. He'll get whatever sentence he deserves."
"Agreed."
Song Qingquan nodded. "He's evaded justice for so long. Within the bounds of the law, we should push for the harshest possible sentence."
"Sounds good," Lin Chen said with a smile.
Song Qingquan produced an invitation from his bag. "Grandmaster Lin, my father is celebrating his 80th birthday. We'd be honored if you'd attend his birthday banquet. My father insists that guests only need to come; we're not accepting any gifts."
"We just want everyone to gather, share some celebratory wine, and make the occasion lively."
Lin Chen accepted the invitation.
"You're really not accepting any gifts?"
Song Qingquan nodded. "Grandmaster Lin, that's right. Our guests are quite diverse—some are very wealthy, while others hold high status but don't have much money."
"In that case, we'll just waive the gift requirement altogether."
Lin Chen replied, "Then I'll go empty-handed. If my wife is free, she and Qianqian will join me."
"It would be best if President Xu and Qianqian could both attend, Grandmaster Lin," Song Qingquan said quickly.
After chatting for a while longer, Song Qingquan left.
He didn't mention wanting to bring his wife and daughter to freeload on the meal.
The Wu Family hadn't targeted them yet, and his relationship with Lin Chen wasn't close enough for such a request.
"Qianqian, come down."
"Daddy's going to take you to practice martial arts."
Lin Chen called out to Lin Xiaoqian inside the Fairy Tale Cottage in the spare bedroom.
"Coming, Daddy!" Lin Xiaoqian replied, sliding down the small slide.
Lin Chen took Lin Xiaoqian to a shop outside the residential complex. Here, Lin Xiaoqian had two rooms: one was a music room, and the other served as a dance and martial arts studio.
The dance studio had a full-length mirror, which was perfect for practicing Tai Chi. Lin Xiaoqian could see her movements reflected in the glass.
The half-hour practice session ended quickly.
Lin Xiaoqian practiced Tai Chi for an hour each day, split into two sessions. The morning session only required half an hour.
"Daddy, can you teach me to dance?" Lin Xiaoqian asked, looking up at Lin Chen.
Lin Chen's heart stirred.
He might have to attend a ball with Xu Mengyao in the future. She would likely know how to dance, and if he could too, it would be quite romantic to dance with her.
*System, can I teach Qianqian by watching a video?* Lin Chen thought to himself.
Yes... Host, you can have the System play the video in the system space, and you'll be able to see it.
"Okay."
Lin Chen quickly stored his phone in the system space.
The phone played a very simple dance.
Lin Xiaoqian was not yet three years old and wasn't ready for serious dance training. Casual hopping around was fine.
"Qianqian, follow Daddy's lead," Lin Chen said, clumsily "teaching" her.
Fortunately, Lin Xiaoqian couldn't tell the difference. She followed along diligently, convinced that her father was the most skilled dancer in the world.
Five minutes flew by.
Host, by teaching Lin Xiaoqian to dance, you have acquired the Dance skill. Ten hours to reach Grandmaster level, twenty hours to reach Great Grandmaster level.
The System's voice chimed.
A flood of information surged into Lin Chen's mind.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If he had continued teaching, even Lin Xiaoqian would have realized he was a complete fraud.
-----------------------
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