Chapter 59: But, Pa...I do not want to complete it
The lie he had used so far was that their only daughter had gone on a trip with her best friends, which was already suspicious enough, and very soon his wife would definitely begin asking more questions.
What made this more troublesome was time itself.
In the sci-fi world, barely any time had passed at all. Only an hour had gone by since Lin Huahua had entered the simulation.
But inside the simulation, time moved much faster, which was why it already felt like she had spent so much longer here. That difference was useful for training, but it also meant that his sons were already panicking far too early and far too loudly.
So now he was here.
And now he would tell her the options.
"Your first option," Lin Zhanshan said calmly, "is that you make all the males willingly unmate you and let you go, and then you help them find a better female."
The words had barely settled when Lin Huahua’s bright face slowly dropped.
It was not as if she had not thought of that before.
She had thought of it.
More than once.
In fact, she had already been planning something close to that in her own little mind, because she knew very well that once she left, this world would return to the placeholder version of her, and those poor beastmen would be stuck with a female who never cared for them and treated them badly.
Still, hearing it from her father was different.
When it was only her own thought, it felt temporary and far away.
When he said it out loud, it became real.
So Lin Huahua’s face fell, and a soft little "Oh..." left her lips before she could stop it.
Lin Zhanshan noticed immediately.
To be honest, he had expected that reaction.
He knew his daughter too well.
He knew that she would get attached, and the whole simulation had been built with that in mind. The males were handsome, attentive, loyal, and each of them had a personality crafted in a way that would eventually suit her.
He knew she had never cared about men in her own world, which was exactly why he wanted her to experience something here, even if it was only inside a simulation. He also knew something else that he would never say out loud.
He was being a little evil on purpose.
Because he had a very strong feeling that by the time Lin Huahua truly tried to make those males let her go, it would already be much too late.
They would be far too in love with her.
And she would be in trouble.
Still, he did not say any of that. He only asked in a neutral voice, "What? Do you not want to do it?"
Lin Huahua’s heart jumped, because she immediately realized that her reaction had been too obvious.
So she straightened up at once and shook her head quickly. "No, no. I can do it."
Even while she said it, her voice sounded a little weak.
Lin Zhanshan saw that and said nothing.
Then Lin Huahua asked, "Then the next option is what?"
He looked at her and answered, "The next option is that you stay in this world and complete the simulation."
The moment those words left his mouth, Lin Huahua’s face changed completely.
All the little stubbornness in her expression broke apart at once.
Her eyes became wet.
Her lips trembled.
Then she looked at him with such sadness that even her little white rat ears drooped.
"But, Pa..." she said in a small voice, "I do not want to complete it."
Lin Zhanshan had to turn his face away for a second.
That was his weakness.
Her tears were his weakness.
And Lin Huahua knew it very well.
The moment her eyes watered up like that, her brothers immediately pushed closer from behind him and started speaking all at once like a flock of noisy birds.
"Pa, she cannot do it."
"Let her come back."
"Yes, let her come back now."
"She already suffered enough."
"Look at her face!"
Lin Zhanshan’s forehead twitched.
As the ruler of a whole world, he had handled danger, politics, and endless problems, yet somehow the greatest trouble in his life still remained his wife and these ridiculous children. His wife loved stressing him. His sons loved disobeying him. And his daughter, his most spoiled child of all, only had to tear up once and the entire house would nearly fall apart.
So he hardened his heart and said firmly, "My decision is final."
That was the end of it.
Lin Huahua stared at him for one second, and then the tears she had been holding back suddenly spilled over.
Her brothers instantly looked heartbroken.
"Do not cry, little sister."
"We will find something better for you."
"We will send you food."
"We will think of a way."
Lin Zhanshan turned sharply. "No one is sending her anything."
The brothers shut up for one breath.
Then one of them muttered, "You are so cruel."
Lin Zhanshan ignored him and closed the communication.
The hologram vanished.
Just like that.
Lin Huahua stared at the empty space in front of her for a second as if her soul had also been switched off along with it.
Then she suddenly dropped to the floor in one dramatic motion and started wailing.
"Pa! Pa, you cannot do this to me!"
Her cry sounded so tragic that if someone passed by without context, they would definitely think some great disaster had struck her family.
Lin Huahua sat there on the floor with tears on her face and grief in her heart, and the more she thought about it, the more lost she felt.
What was she supposed to do now?
At that exact moment, Feng Yiren pushed aside the entrance and stepped in quickly because he had heard her voice from outside.
The moment he saw her sitting on the floor crying like a broken little white rat, his whole expression changed.
He looked extremely worried.
"What happened?" Feng Yiren asked at once.
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