He couldn’t let his little sister, who was several years his junior, leave him in the dust.

Just a few days after making up with Ling Zhiwei, the first day of school arrived.

Shanshan, dressed in a brand-new school uniform, skipped into the classroom.

All the children from the entire grade were here.

"Whoa! Shanshan, what took you so long?"

A little girl came skipping over.

"Shanshan, hurry! Xiao Qiang said he went abroad! He rode on a plane, stayed in a hotel, and even saw a super-huge hamburger! Come listen to him talk about it!"

Another boy waved excitedly.

The classroom was as noisy as a marketplace.

It was giving Shanshan a headache.

’Sigh, having too many friends can be a pain sometimes.’

But she only dared to grumble about it in her head.

If she actually said it out loud, she was afraid some kid would be up all night, crying secretly under their covers.

Like Cao Jiajia, sitting all alone in the corner.

She was sitting in the second-to-last row, by the window, with her head down.

Shanshan didn’t even spare her a glance.

On one side, the children were filled with laughter and cheerful chatter.

On the other, the office where the parent-teacher conference was being held was packed to the gills.

Cao Daqiang stood at the edge of the crowd, clutching a parent-teacher conference notice in his hand.

’He was calculating in his head, thinking he should use this opportunity to get to know a few more parents. Maybe he could pull some strings for the future.’

’His kid’s grades were poor. What was he going to do about high school entrance exams later on?’

’He had to find a backup plan.’

Liu Yingzi saw right through her husband’s intentions.

Besides, she found these kinds of events annoying anyway.

The moment her daughter told her she could leave, she immediately nodded and walked away.

As for Shanshan’s side, Ling Anxun couldn’t get away from work.

Shanshan didn’t say anything, but she felt a little disappointed inside.

She stood at the classroom door, watching the backs of parents hurrying down the end of the hallway.

’Truthfully, she should have known. Dad was so busy, how could he possibly make time specifically for an event like this?’

’Not every child could have parents who were there for them all the time.’

’She was a big girl now, not the little girl who used to cry over every little thing.’

’It wasn’t that her dad didn’t love her.’

’It’s just that he really couldn’t get away from work.’

But on that first day of school, Ling Anxun had actually pushed a pile of work aside to make a special trip for Shanshan’s parent-teacher conference.

He got out of the car fifteen minutes early and changed into the dark gray cashmere overcoat he had brought specially for the occasion.

It was the style Shanshan had picked out for him at first glance when they went shopping together last winter.

Shanshan had originally thought her grandparents would come, or maybe her uncle and aunt would just show up to make an appearance.

She never expected that as soon as she walked out of the school gates, she would see her dad standing in the crowd, wearing her favorite dark gray coat.

"Dad!"

She let out a shriek and immediately dashed toward him.

’He really came!’

"Whoa there, my little princess. Surprised you, didn’t I?"

Ling Anxun scooped her up, spun her around three times, and planted a big kiss on her chubby cheek.

"Wow! This is the best surprise! I’m so happy!"

Shanshan giggled, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"But didn’t you say you were busy today? Won’t this make you late for work?"

Of course she wanted her dad to come, but she also understood the importance of his work.

So, amidst her surprise, she quietly added this question, wanting to see how he would answer.

"It’s all taken care of. Would your dad ever let you down?"

He gave her little hand a squeeze.

The father and daughter chatted and laughed as they walked toward the classroom.

Ling Anxun bent down slightly, listening to her chatter away about the interesting things that happened in class.

"Shanshan, is this the ’world’s most awesome dad’ you’re always talking about?"

Her Chinese teacher, Luo Jinjie, was standing at the door and asked with a smile.

She was the new homeroom teacher and had only been teaching them for two months.

And she had heard the other teachers in the office talking before.

That little girl who always gets first place, Cao Xueshan—her father was a legendary figure.

"Mhm! Hello, Teacher Luo. This is my dad!"

Shanshan buried her face in Ling Anxun’s shoulder, but her eyes were secretly peeking up at her teacher.

After speaking, she didn’t forget to tighten her grip on her dad’s arm.

"Teacher Luo, my daughter is always praising you to me. She says you’re incredibly patient and have helped her so much with her essays."

Ling Anxun gave a slight nod.

"Oh, not at all. She’s naturally bright and a diligent student. What teacher wouldn’t love having her in their class?"

Luo Jinjie’s face flushed slightly, and she looked down, fiddling with the file folder in her hands.

"Dad, is Teacher Luo pretty?"

Shanshan suddenly whispered in his ear.

Ling Anxun’s arm tensed, and he scoffed inwardly.

’As expected, this little rascal had this planned all along.’

’This wasn’t about whether the teacher was pretty or not.’

’She was clearly testing his views on being single!’

He glanced down at his daughter’s sparkling eyes and thought to himself.

’She’s probably been scheming about this for a long time, hasn’t she?’

He didn’t answer, but his gaze turned a few degrees colder.

Shanshan felt it immediately and shrank into the crook of his neck, shaking with silent laughter.

She knew her father all too well.

She knew she’d been found out, but that was precisely the effect she wanted.

She had expressed her intentions and could still make a clean getaway.

Since she’d been seen through, she decided to play pitiful and quickly send the teacher on her way.

"Goodbye, Teacher Luo! I’ll definitely write an even better weekly journal next time!"

After saying that, she didn’t forget to tug on her dad’s sleeve, signaling for him to hurry up and leave.

Ling Anxun raised his hand and booped Shanshan on the nose.

"What’s going on in that little head of yours, thinking about setting me up all day? If I really found you a new mom and had a little brother or sister, wouldn’t you be afraid I’d love them more than you?"

"No way!"

Shanshan tilted her little face up.

"You said it yourself, word for word: I’m your one and only treasure! No one can ever take that spot away!"

Her little hands balled into fists, which she held up in front of her chest.

"Even if you have other kids in the future, you’ll only love me more! Because you’re my dad, and I’m your daughter, and no one can ever change that!"

Ling Anxun stood before her, pressing his lips together again and again to keep from smiling.

"What if I have a change of heart?"

He asked, deliberately putting on a stern face.

"Shanshan, Dad needs to tell you something very important. A person’s heart is the most unreliable thing in the world."

"One day they can be good to you, cherishing you completely, and the next they might just turn around and leave, never looking back. People change, you understand?"

Shanshan froze, blinking her eyes.

She didn’t say anything, but she suddenly tightened her arms, hugging his neck for dear life.

"Then you’re not allowed to get married!"

"You’re not allowed to find another mom! You’re not allowed to leave me! No one is allowed!"

She tilted her head back, tears welling in her eyes.

"You said it yourself, that I’d be your only daughter for your whole life! You have to keep your promises! You can’t take back a single word! Not one!"

Ling Anxun didn’t rush to respond. Instead, he raised his hand and gently patted her back.

"Silly girl, when have I ever not kept my word? When have I ever lied to you?"

As he spoke, he held out his pinky, hooking it gently in front of her.

Shanshan sniffled, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes as she shakily extended her own finger.

"Pinky swear, for a hundred years, no changing," Ling Anxun recited in a low voice.

Shanshan sniffled, trying hard to keep a straight face, but still followed along in a small voice.

"Pinky swear, for a hundred years... no changing."

’In reality, she knew perfectly well.’

’If she wanted to, she could just recite an ancient spell and make it so Ling Anxun could never go back on his word for the rest of his life.’

’But she trusted her dad.’

"Alright, you can stop worrying now, right?"

Ling Anxun asked with a smile on his face.

But inwardly, he was bursting with joy.

"Mhm!"

Shanshan nodded forcefully.