A Changed Fate

Lin Zhengran stared blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You're protecting me? Didn't you say that wrong?"

Little He Qing nodded, then felt that was wrong and shook her head again, speaking like a tiny chick.

"Because you're always making the teachers and the other kids angry in kindergarten, and none of the boys play with you, I thought if anyone bullied you in the future, I'd teach them a lesson for you and help you vent."

Lin Zhengran really was amused. Little He Qing's face turned terribly red, and she lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.

"But you're still getting bullied by them every day right now. You can't even protect yourself, and you're going to teach them a lesson for me?" Lin Zhengran asked with a smile.

Little He Qing bit her lip, her voice even lower than before. "No. Lately, you're always teaching me to do bad things. The teachers all say you've led me astray. No one bullies me anymore, and only you still bully me."

Lin Zhengran's smile stopped. "True. Now that I think about it, lately it seems like no one's been making trouble for you except me. But since you know I bully you, why are you still protecting me?"

She lowered her head. In truth, she didn't know why either, but she just had that thought.

Lin Zhengran reached out. Little He Qing thought he was going to tug on her cheeks again, so she quickly shut her eyes and shrank her neck in.

To her surprise, he only patted her shoulder.

He smiled and said, "Although I'm not counting on you to protect me, thanks anyway." He turned to look at the Taekwondo advertisement. "As for this Taekwondo, if you really want to learn it, just have Aunt He sign you up. Maybe you really will become very strong in the future."

Little He Qing looked at Lin Zhengran in surprise. "R-really?"

"Of course. You never know with this kind of thing," Lin Zhengran said casually.

Children could not clearly distinguish many emotions in their hearts, but even so, He Qing began to realize why she alone did not feel disgusted when he bullied her. It was because Lin Zhengran never refuted her ideas.

In fact, every time she was too timid and cowardly to do certain things, Lin Zhengran would urge her to do them and give her confidence.

Lin Xiaoli's shout came from the distance. Mom was calling Lin Zhengran back.

Lin Zhengran answered her and said goodbye to He Qing. "I have to go find my mom. See you at school tomorrow. Remember to bring me snacks."

Your words have subtly influenced Fairy He's heart, changing her future fate to a certain extent.

Fortuitous encounter reward: Charm +1

Huh? Did this count as a hidden event?

Watching Lin Zhengran's departing figure, Little He Qing waved her small hand, a faint blush appearing on her face. A moment later, she also turned around and went back to the café where her parents were.

That night, Aunt He brought Little He Qing home in a huff. Little He Qing watched as her mother kept shedding tears on the sofa.

Every time after meeting Dad, Mom would be like this.

Today was the first time she took the initiative to get involved in the two of them. She went to pour a cup of water and handed it to her mother. "Mom, divorce Dad. Don't be unhappy anymore."

Aunt He froze in shock when she heard this. Looking at her daughter, who never liked to speak, her tears fell even harder.

Yet she actually laughed through her tears and asked in a trembling voice, "Who taught you this? You even know how to say things like that?"

Little He Qing only disliked talking; she was not stupid. There were some things she had wanted to say for a long time, and Lin Zhengran's "leading her astray" this past month had given her enough courage to speak.

Aunt He hugged her daughter and stroked her head. "Mm. Mom will listen to you. I'll be happy from now on."

Another month passed.

It was Wednesday morning, and Lin Yingjun drove Lin Zhengran to school.

Lin Zhengran flipped through a kindergarten reader in the car.

The moment the system's voice appeared, tears welled up in his eyes.

Finally! After two months of swindling and coaxing Little He Qing, plus bitter cultivation, he had finally reached level ten!

After two months of cultivation, you have finally broken through to level ten! This will be the first milestone on your path of cultivation! You will unlock your first exclusive talent. However, as proof of a strong person, the low-grade pills provided by the fairy can no longer give you any effective improvement.

Lin Zhengran was not surprised by the system's prompt. He had eaten far too many snacks over the past two months, and after eating many candies too often, they no longer tasted that good. Converted into pills, that should count as increased drug resistance.

Your current attributes are:

Strength: 3

Energy: 2

Physical Strength: 4

Charm: 2

The first exclusive skill has been unlocked.

Aura Link: The bond between you and Fairy He has caused some changes on your path of immortal cultivation. Over these past two months, you accidentally discovered that every time Fairy He improved, you could actually improve as well. In the cultivation world, this is known as Aura Veins. Founding a sect emphasizes precisely this. Thus, you studied this method in depth and finally achieved some small success.

Usage method: You only need to form a contract with a fairy willing to follow you. When the other party's cultivation improves, you will gain double the improvement. However, you must note that forming a contract requires the other party's sincere consent. Otherwise, it cannot succeed.

Form a contract? Why did this setup feel so familiar too?

But this ability was strong. He liked rebate rewards for top-ups.

As it happens, today's Fairy He has appeared before you again. As a companion who has walked with you for two months, do you wish to form a contract with her, or choose someone else?

"Ranran, we're at school. Dad's going to work now."

Lin Yingjun parked the car at the School Gate. Lin Zhengran gave a sound of acknowledgment, opened the door, and hopped out of the car.

"Dad, be careful on the road."

He looked into the distance and sure enough, found He Qing not far away at the School Gate, talking to her mother.

Aunt He looked much better than usual today. She stroked her daughter's head and said something to Little He Qing.

It was mostly reminders like listening to the teacher at school.

Little He Qing carried her small schoolbag, a smile on her face. She waved goodbye to her mother. "Bye, Mom! Be careful on your way to work."

Lin Zhengran walked over. The moment Little He Qing saw him, she immediately stood up perfectly straight, her voice sweet.

"Good morning, Lin Zhengran."

Lin Zhengran looked curiously at Aunt He as she left in a taxi. "Your mom seems to be in a pretty good mood today."

Little He Qing nodded lightly and looked that way too. "After Mom and Dad got divorced, both of them became much happier."

She took a packet of candy from her pocket and handed it to Lin Zhengran. "Oh, here! This is today's candy. I had Mom buy it especially for me. They're all the flavors you like."

Two months had passed, and the current Little He Qing had already had some of her bad habits corrected by Lin Zhengran.

She talked more now, and she no longer hid everything away as much as before. Though she still wasn't very honest sometimes, it was still better than before.

Lin Zhengran waved his hand. "Starting today, you don't need to give me candy anymore. I don't want it."

"Huh?" Little He Qing, who had been in such a good mood, instantly panicked. She froze there, on the verge of tears. "Why? You're not taking my things anymore? Why don't you want it?"

"What do you mean, taking... When have I ever taken your things?" Lin Zhengran was speechless.

"No... I mean, why do you suddenly not want it anymore?" she asked in a panic, thinking she had done something wrong.

Lin Zhengran explained casually, "I just don't feel like eating it anymore. Keep it and eat it yourself."

Eating this stuff no longer gave him any improvement, so there was no need to keep eating it.

Lin Zhengran looked at her with disdain. "What are you crying for?"