The Main Characters Won't Stop Pampering Me!-Chapter 101: Tension

She didn’t need to worry about that woman anymore. She had fired her shot, and it was a direct hit. The executive in her knew when to step back and let the system run its course.

Now, with the heavy cloud of the marriage push temporarily lifted, Huaijin’s thoughts happily returned to the immediate, sugar-coated task at hand: the strategic consumption of the remaining lemon tarts, enjoying the peace she had so fiercely fought for.

"Grandpa," Huaijin said sweetly, picking up her fork and pointing to a slice of cheesecake, her expression now perfectly innocent. "Since the matter of the bitter-sludge-woman is settled, may I inquire about this particular cheesecake?"

Grandpa Chi merely stared at her for a moment, then let out a slow, heavy breath. He smiled thinly, a mix of admiration and fear in his eyes. "You may, child. You absolutely may." The complexity of the Chi family had just increased tenfold, thanks to his little granddaughter.

The tension in the conservatory had finally dissipated, leaving behind the lingering scent of camomile and expensive sugar.

Grandpa Chi, still reeling from the unexpected ferocity of Huaijin’s rejection of Xu Meilin, decided wisely to retreat from the minefield of potential future spouses.

He would launch his investigation, trusting Luo Ming’s silent efficiency to unearth the truth about the "Trojan Horse," and thus, the matter was closed for the time being.

He watched Huaijin, now calmly and methodically slicing a perfect square of cheesecake with the focus of a geometry scholar, and felt a rush of complex, protective affection.

This child was fiercely intelligent, fiercely loyal, and fiercely guarded.

Grandpa Chi cleared his throat again, this time gently. He had dismissed the marriage topic, but a deeper, more fundamental question lingered, the same question that haunted Yuanfeng.

This was a rare, private moment, and the Chairman felt a sudden, paternal need to understand the heart of the child who had become so critical to the family’s future. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Huaijin," he began softly, his voice devoid of his usual command, "We won’t speak of that woman again. But... I must ask you something more personal."

Huaijin looked up, her expression attentive. She knew the weight of this question and braced herself, preparing a response that was both truthful and reassuring for the anxious patriarch.

"You are a happy child, Huaijin. Happier than any child I have ever seen in this Manor," Grandpa Chi said, his gaze drifting over the opulent but emotionally cold room. "But your life is... different. You only have your father, who is brilliant but often lost in the stars. Does your heart truly feel content? Do you... Ever miss having a mother? Do you perhaps feel lonely, or wish for a mother in your life?"

The question hung in the air, a vast, empty space that Yuanfeng feared and that the entire family tiptoed around. It was the deepest wound in Huaijin’s small, current existence.

Huaijin’s composure didn’t break, but inside, a sharp, cold wave of sadness washed over her.

She knew the truth of her mother’s absence, a knowledge that belonged solely to her reborn self, a painful, solitary burden.

In her past life, her mother hadn’t returned until it was too late. Yuanfeng, realizing his daughter was suffering in silence, had finally put down his research and left the country right before the main storyline began, determined to track down the woman who had abandoned them, seeking answers and, perhaps, a reconciliation that would heal his daughter’s unseen wound.

He had returned right at the devastating moment when Huaijin was dying, the victim of the chaos and malice she was now working so hard to prevent.

Her mother wasn’t by Yuanfeng’s side when he returned; she was a ghost, a promise that had failed to materialize. The reunion, if it ever happened, was too distant and too late for Huaijin.

’If she hadn’t returned for Yuanfeng in her past life, even when he was searching for her, then she certainly wouldn’t return for the child she left behind,’ Huaijin concluded with the detached, pragmatic logic of her former executive self.

There was no possibility of her mother’s return in this life either, not until the original timeline reached its climax, and Huaijin would ensure that timeline never arrived.

The memory was sad, unfortunate, but it wasn’t paralyzing. It was just a fact, a piece of necessary data in her life equation.

The sadness was for the six-year-old she was, who had longed for a mother. The strength was for the woman she is, who recognized that sometimes, the simple love you have is more reliable than the complex love you seek.

Huaijin crafted her reply carefully, weaving the truth of her present contentment with the calculated reassurance the old man needed to hear.

She knew her father was worried sick about this very issue, and by satisfying the Chairman, she could ease Yuanfeng’s mind, too.

She placed her fork down, folding her small hands on the table with great formality. She looked at Grandpa Chi with wide, honest, unblinking eyes.

"Grandpa, my mother... she is like a very rare, complex problem that Daddy is still trying to solve," Huaijin began, using the language of her father. "I believe that she must be very busy and very distracted, just like Daddy is when he finds a new theory. But I am certain that she is a good person. If she misses us, she will come back."

Huaijin paused, letting a small, gentle smile appear. "And besides, Grandpa, I don’t need to worry about being lonely or missing anything."

Her expression shifted to one of intense, absolute devotion. "I have Daddy. He is my very best friend, my bodyguard, and my favorite genius! He gives me all the hugs, all the best stories, and all the space I need for my homework. He is all the people I need."

She then included the old man in her inner circle, her tone warm and inclusive.

"And now I have you, Grandpa, who buys me wonderful cakes!"