Chapter 84: Blatant Favoritism
Seeing her like that, Ling Zhiwei’s heart softened.
"Alright, alright, I promise, okay? From now on, I won’t show up unless I absolutely have to. Is that good enough for you, you little tyrant?"
Shanshan’s face immediately lit up with a smile.
"You’re the best, Fourth Brother! When I get into college, I’ll treat you to dinner first thing!"
To Shanshan, school was like one long, never-ending festival.
The coursework was simple and fun. Her teacher’s lessons were lively and easy to follow, often sprinkled with stories and games.
There was no sense of competition between the students, nor any bullying or silent treatment.
Best of all, her homeroom teacher, Teacher Yang, was an incredibly gentle person.
She often had the students do arts and crafts, like drawing or weaving bracelets.
One time, Teacher Yang even brought in homemade cookies and gave one to every student.
So, every day after school, Shanshan was reluctant to leave, always wanting to stay just a little longer.
With her little backpack on, she would run around the hallways chatting with her classmates.
She would only skip happily toward the school gate after the teacher on duty reminded her it was time to go home.
Even more surprisingly, because of Shanshan, a boy in her class named Zhang Shunshun—who used to start crying the moment he walked through the school gates—gradually stopped crying so much.
At first, he would cling to his mother every day, crying and refusing to go into the classroom.
But ever since Shanshan took his hand and started introducing him to other friends, he grew more and more settled each day.
By the second week, Zhang Shunshun was actually walking through the gates on his own, backpack and all. He even started looking forward to seeing Shanshan every morning.
His mother was overjoyed. She asked the teacher about it several times before finally hearing from other parents that there was a new, incredibly sweet little girl in the class.
Word spread quickly, and before long, all the parents had heard Shanshan’s name.
"With a classmate like her in the class, my child is always in such a good mood for school."
One mother remarked in the parents’ group chat.
"My kid used to complain about going to school, but now he’s rushing me to get him there early every day!"
Shanshan was adorable, and her temperament was exceptionally good.
Even more remarkably, her grades were consistently the best in the class.
Gradually, she became the most popular kid in her class.
The moment class let out, a crowd of students would gather around her desk.
But Shanshan’s greatest talent was complimenting people.
Take Yan Lili, the quietest girl in class, who rarely ever spoke.
But Shanshan would always go over, take her hand, and say,
"Lili, the flower you drew is so beautiful! The colors look just like a rainbow. I wish I had your talent!"
Whenever she heard this, Yan Lili’s face would turn bright red.
"Wow, really? A-Am I really that good?"
The teachers watched all of this, their hearts filled with warmth.
So, whenever Ling Anxun came to pick Shanshan up, her teacher would always make a point to stay a few extra minutes and chat with him.
At first, Ling Anxun assumed the teacher was just making polite conversation.
He would smile and nod, but he didn’t really take it to heart.
But as he came to pick her up more often, he saw with his own eyes how his daughter was always surrounded by a crowd of classmates, and he finally believed it.
"See you tomorrow, Lin!"
Shanshan skipped over to a boy who was packing his bag.
"Weiwei, don’t forget to bring that little cake for me! You promised you’d give me half!"
She then turned and shouted to a girl with a bow in her hair a short distance away.
"Goodbye, Teacher! See you tomorrow!"
Finally, she waved to Teacher Yang, who was standing by the podium.
Ling Anxun stood quietly waiting under a plane tree not far from the school gate.
He was about to call out to her, but he swallowed the words. ’It’s good for her to play a little longer and make more friends,’ he thought.
He never imagined he would be completely forgotten.
He watched as Shanshan walked off hand-in-hand with a girl half a head taller than her, chatting away without a single glance in his direction.
At that moment, Ling Anxun’s heart sank.
It wasn’t that he’d never considered she would grow up, make friends, and have her own little world.
But to actually see her walk away without a backward glance... that feeling of being left behind struck him with a heavy blow.
He waited until they had gone a little farther before catching up.
"Shanshan, how come you didn’t wait for Dad?"
He wasn’t scolding her; he just called out gently.
"Ah! Dad!"
Shanshan whirled around and threw herself into his arms.
"I’m so sorry! I was so busy talking with them I didn’t even see you!"
"I really didn’t mean to! I... I just lose track of time when I start talking..."
How could Ling Anxun bring himself to look stern in front of her friend?
He looked down at his daughter, then glanced up at the girl beside her.
A smile touched Ling Anxun’s lips.
How could he possibly bring himself to scold her in front of everyone?
Besides, he wasn’t even angry.
He stroked his daughter’s head and said with a smile,
"It’s alright, I’m not mad. In fact, I’m happy you have so many good friends."
As he spoke, he gently ruffled Shanshan’s soft hair.
"Hello there. Thank you for walking with Shanshan."
The girl looked startled for a moment, then replied softly,
"Hello, sir. I’m Qiqi. Shanshan and I are deskmates."
On the way home, Ling Anxun held Shanshan’s hand and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Sigh... Your poor dad stood there forever and didn’t even get a single look. It seems I’m not as important as your new friend."
Shanshan buried her face against him, her cheeks flushing.
"Dad, I’m sorry... It was all my fault. Please don’t be sad."
She pressed close against his arm, nuzzling her head into his shoulder.
"I really didn’t forget about you... I was just so happy that I... Please forgive me this one time, okay?"
"Haha, well, you should have called for your dad first!"
Ding Qin teased with a laugh.
The rest of the family couldn’t help but laugh when they heard the story.
But Shanshan suddenly grew serious, her little hand squeezing Ling Anxun’s finger.
"Grandma, all of you, stop laughing at Dad. He’s not mad at me; he’s just sad because he loves me so much. From now on... I’ll never, ever leave Dad behind again."
She punctuated her promise with a firm nod.
With that, Shanshan spread her little arms and tried with all her might to wrap them around Ling Anxun.
But she was so small, her hug barely encircled a fraction of him.
She tried again and again, finally just flinging her entire body at him and clinging on.
Ling Anxun laughed, bending down to scoop her up in one motion.
"Oh my, is our little Shanshan this attached to her daddy? You won’t even let us get a word in?"
As he spoke, he gently nuzzled her little cheek with the tip of his nose.
Watching from the side, Ding Qin smiled so wide that the corners of her eyes crinkled.
"Now Grandma’s getting jealous. You’ve never hugged me like that."
She pouted in mock hurt, patting her chest lightly a couple of times.
"I love Grandma! But... but I love Dad more."
Hearing this, Shanshan immediately turned her head and explained anxiously.
"I love Dad the most because he picks me up from school every day, tells me stories, and draws with me!"
After she finished, she immediately turned back to Ling Anxun, blinking her big eyes.
She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the smile still playing on his lips.
Seeing her father’s gentle smile, she broke into a grin and snuggled back into his arms.
"I love Grandpa and Grandma, my uncles and aunts, and my brothers and sisters-in-law. But the one I love the most, most, most... is still Dad."
She said this with the utmost seriousness, and the moment the words left her mouth, the entire family burst into laughter.
Being so openly and unabashedly favored by her, Ling Anxun felt as if his heart was overflowing with honey.