Chapter 10

Yanny shuddered in fright and nodded quickly. "I understand! I won’t show my face to Auntie!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she hurriedly turned her head toward the window, trying to hide her panic.

She knew that no one liked her.

Her mother always said that her birth was a mistake.

She had long since gotten used to it.

Yanny stared quietly out the window, her mind wandering again.

Suddenly, a card was placed in front of her.

She froze for a moment and followed the hand that handed her the card to look at Andrew. She didn't understand what this meant.

He looked at her with a serious expression. "There's $300,000 on this card—it's your allowance. Use this money to buy yourself some clothes. But if you ask me for money again, you’ll have to wait two months. From now on, you’ll have $150,000 in spending money every month. If you think that’s too little, tell me now.”

$150,000 a month?

How much is $150,000?

Her head was buzzing, and she blurted out, "How many bags of instant noodles could that buy?"

Jace couldn’t help but snort derisively. "All you ever think about is instant noodles! That money could buy enough instant noodles to fill several houses! You really haven’t seen much of the world!”

Yanny gasped, waving her hands frantically in shock and panic. "Uncle, this is too much! I can’t accept this!"

Her mom would scold or even hit her over a dollar, yet her uncle was offering her enough to buy noodles for several houses!

She couldn’t accept it!

Unable to be bothered to argue with her, Andrew simply handed the card to Jace. "You take care of this. Use this money to buy her a bunch of clothes. Throw away all the old clothes she brought from the orphanage. Don't let her move into Eric's house looking shabby."

Jace looked completely bewildered. "Why me?!"

Forrest chuckled, "Jace, aren't you the closest to our newcomer, Yanny? You were just sneaking peeks at the greeting card she gave you. If you don’t take care of this, who will?”

Hearing this, Jace grew even more agitated. "Who said I was looking at her lousy card? I didn't look at it at all. I'm going to shred it today!"

As he spoke, he glared warily at Yanny. "Don't listen to his nonsense! I don't like your lousy card at all. I definitely didn't look at it!"

Yanny blinked in confusion.

If you don’t like it, just say so.

Why go out of your way to emphasize it to me?

She nodded meekly. "Okay, I believe you. I don’t believe a word of it!”

Forrest doubled over with laughter. "Jace, it looks like you're going to have your hands full from now on!"

The corners of Andrew’s mouth turned up slightly as he looked out the window. "We're at the mall. Take her inside to shop, and the bodyguards will find you there. You decide what to buy, but that money is for her—you’re not allowed to touch it.”

Jace hopped out of the car, huffing and puffing. "Who needs that measly amount of money? Let's go!"

Yanny clumsily shuffled along behind Jace, keeping close, and turned back to wave at them. "Bye, Uncle! Bye, Gabriel! Bye, Forrest! Thank you all!"

The car door slammed shut, the engine started, and the car drove away.

Jace urged her impatiently. "I really don't get why I have to deal with your stupid nonsense. I could’ve been enjoying my vacation, but instead, I’m stuck here dealing with this!”

Yanny's expression changed. She hung her head in apology and fear crossed her face. "I'm sorry, Jace. I’ve caused you trouble. Why don't you go home first? I can manage on my own.”

Jace was taken aback by her tearful expression. "Enough! With your limited intellect, you'd probably get lost if you went off on your own!"

He turned and walked into the mall. "Come in here with me!"

Yanny hurriedly set off to catch up.

As soon as they walked in, the mall she had seen on TV instantly caught her eye.

Her eyes lit up, and her mouth fell open in surprise.

“Is this a clothing store?”

When her mom took her clothes shopping before, they always went to narrow alleys packed with people. She’d never seen such a beautiful place before!

This place was so gorgeous!

The floor was so bright that it reflected her shadow.

Yanny stared blankly at her reflection on the ground. Then she glanced at her old, dusty shoes and stole a shy peek at Jace.

She quietly took a tiny step backward.

Jace noticed the little girl hadn’t kept up. When he turned around, he saw Yanny walking with her head down, tiptoeing like a puppy with its tail between its legs.

The atmosphere was incredibly tense.

Seeing her like this made him angry. He grabbed her by the arm and said, “What’s wrong with you?”

Yanny flinched and backed away, thinking she was about to be hit. She hurriedly raised her little hands. "Mom said to keep our distance when we're out, or I will embarrass her. I'm sorry, Jace! I shouldn’t have gotten so close to you!”

Her voice trembled.

Jace had been seething, ready to scold her for walking too slowly. But upon hearing this, his expression froze. “Your mom doesn’t let you walk close to her?”

When he was a kid, he was absolutely forbidden from leaving his mom’s sight.

Why was her mom treating her like this?

Yanny trembled, terrified of being hit. "I'm sorry, Jace. Tell me the rules, and I’ll remember them. Please say them again, okay?”

Jace’s heart sank. The words he’d been about to yell got stuck in his throat. He could only say angrily, "The rule is that you have to stay right behind me! Not a single step away! Don’t run out of my sight, got it?”

Yanny trembled slightly. “I understand.”

Jace snorted impatiently.

Afraid he was still angry, she timidly tugged at the hem of his shirt. "I'm sorry, Jace. I didn’t know. I just felt so dirty. I didn't think I should walk beside you."

Jace found this incomprehensible. He turned to look at her. “What does your mom tell you all day? Why do you think so little of yourself?”

At the mention of her mom, Yanny’s nose stung, and she muttered softly, "Mom says I'm a mistake. Mistakes don’t deserve to live a good life.”

Jace froze, the anger on his face vanishing instantly.

Had this little girl actually grown up under her mother’s treatment?

His own mother praised him and his brothers eight hundred times a day.

She praised them for being handsome, smart, and creative.

But her mother...

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Yanny grew anxious and gently tugged at his sleeve. "Jace, don't be mad. I’ll never do it again.”

Jace’s lips twitched. He glanced at her soft little hand and deliberately turned his head away. "I'm not mad."

She finally relaxed. "As long as you're not mad, Jace, I promise I'll follow you properly this time!"

He shot her a sidelong glance and kept walking.

She trudged along behind him, her short legs struggling to keep up.

His strides were long, and she couldn’t quite match his pace.

Jace pretended to slow down casually.

Yanny quickly jogged to his side, stole a peek at him, and walked alongside him.

A passerby spotted her and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, this little girl is just too cute!"

"Her brother is handsome, too. How come they're both so good-looking?"

“They really look just alike!"

"Oh my, seeing them makes me want to have a daughter! How can she be this cute?"

"Why does this little girl look familiar?"

"Wow, she has long hair—so adorable!"

Hearing these comments, Yanny turned her head and looked around in confusion.

Were these comments meant as compliments?

When she was with her mom, she had never heard such praise.

In the past, most people pointed and whispered about her. Some said she was the child of a murderer and would never turn out well. Others said she was pitiful.

She had never received so many compliments before.

She couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth and press her lips together to suppress a smile, not wanting anyone to notice.

Jace watched her out of the corner of his eye.

He saw her eyebrows and eyes curve upward slightly. She couldn’t hide her smile, and two faint dimples appeared below her lips.

Her smile was especially sweet.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but he quickly frowned to hide it.

She was only a little cute!

No big deal!