School Hunk or Childhood Sweetheart?-Chapter 475 - 476: The Starting Point of Happiness

"Thank you, Daddy!" The little girl finally cheered up.

"Daddy, are you going to leave again? Will Ningbao become a child without a father once more?" The little girl looked up at Jiang Yu, her eyes filled with longing and also unease.

Jiang Yu couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt and self-reproach. Children should be carefree by nature.

Yet his child bore worries and anxieties at an age when she shouldn’t have to, worries and anxieties that her peers did not need to endure.

"No, Daddy will always be by Ningbao’s side," Jiang Yu said, holding her in his arms.

"Then will Mommy and Daddy make up?" Ningbao asked, looking up at him from his embrace.

The little girl’s eyes shined brightly, full of hope.

Jiang Yu’s expression darkened as he apologized, "I’m sorry. Daddy did something bad before that made Mommy angry, and that’s why she won’t forgive Daddy."

"It’s okay."

The little girl patted his back with her soft little hands, encouraging him like a little adult, "Mom says if you correct your mistakes, you’re still a good child. Daddy, let’s correct them together, okay? Once you’ve made amends, Mommy will surely forgive you."

"Okay, Daddy will change!"

Shen Tan stood outside the door, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

After Jiang Yu finally soothed the little girl back to sleep and left the room, he saw Shen Tan standing at the doorway.

The two stood facing each other, wordless.

After a moment, Jiang Yu said, "I’m going to check on Yanyan."

Shen Yan, the little friend, was more composed than his sister; even if he had concerns, he wouldn’t talk about them.

However, Shen Tan could still tell from his everyday behavior that he was worried for them.

It was truly absurd how two adults needed to be worried about by two six-year-olds, which made Shen Tan feel even more upset.

After Jiang Yu left, Shen Tan remained sleepless, eventually getting up and opening a bottle of red wine, which she took to the balcony.

The night was deep, the distant lights glistening faintly.

The evening breeze did little to dispel the heaviness in her heart.

Shen Tan lifted the glass and took a sip; the slightly astringent liquid teased her throat with a hint of intoxication.

Her mind drifted back to years ago.

After graduating from college, she opened a private studio with the remainder of her pocket money and the cash gifts from holidays, as well as a small loan from Shen Weiyi.

It served both to satisfy her own interests and hobbies and to solve the problem of finding work after graduation.

While the Shen Group certainly didn’t lack for a position, she had grown up in that household and did not want to end up working at her family’s company after graduation.

Fortunately, the family had lower expectations for their daughter, and her parents didn’t insist she join the company.

However, they also didn’t provide much support for her entrepreneurial efforts.

It was entirely by her own effort that she managed to get the studio off the ground.

Shen Tan had a unique aesthetic vision and sharp insight into fashion trends, and with her social connections in the upper echelons, she soon managed to make her studio thrive.

Though not comparable to some of the larger, more renowned studios, she had managed to make a stand in the industry.

She believed things would only get better in the future.

Her career was thriving, her love life was fulfilling, everything was moving in a positive direction.

She had thought all this was just the beginning of happiness.

But reality delivered her a harsh blow.

She had everything planned for their future, even designing the gown she would wear for their engagement with her own hands. In the end, though, she found her entire future was nothing more than an elaborate sham.

Shen Tan pulled herself out of her thoughts, emptied the remaining wine in her glass in one gulp, and returned to her room.