Speak, what are your conditions for leaving my daughter

On a Monday morning, sunlight spilled through the gap in the curtains and onto Chen Zhi's eyelids.

But he didn't wake up.

Not until a far-from-gentle call echoed in his ears, accompanied by the vibrating sensation of some soft-bodied creature throwing a rave on his bed.

"Wake up!"

Chen Zhi thought he must be hallucinating. He rolled over and pulled the quilt over his head, trying to block out this sleep-disturbing demonic voice.

"Five more minutes."

"Get up! You're going to be late!"

The owner of the voice clearly had no intention of letting him off. A cool little hand slipped into the covers and pinched his nose.

Feeling short of breath, Chen Zhi was forced to open his eyes.

Greeting his sight was an enlarged, pretty face with fair, delicate skin and fluttering eyelashes, staring at him with a wicked smile.

Chen Zhi's brain crashed for two seconds.

"Lin Wanwan?"

He sat up abruptly. The quilt slipped down to his waist, revealing his lean and muscular upper body.

"Why are you in my room?"

Lin Wanwan's gaze lingered on his abs for a split second before she casually looked away and pointed at the wall clock.

"It's seven o'clock, you're about to be late."

Chen Zhi scratched his hair, looking at the tightly closed bedroom door in utter confusion.

"How did you get in?"

Lin Wanwan took a keychain with a pink bunny pendant out of her pocket and dangled it in front of his eyes.

"Ta-da! A special privilege granted by your mom. From now on, I'm in charge of waking you up."

Chen Zhi fell back onto the bed in agony, pulled the thin quilt back over himself, and let out a muffled wail.

"I'm so done."

Seeing that Chen Zhi still had no intention of getting up, Lin Wanwan angrily tried to pull off his covers.

"Hurry up! Don't you go for a morning run every day? If you don't leave now, you won't make it."

Chen Zhi clung tightly to the corners of the quilt, wriggling around on the bed until he had wrapped himself up like a silkworm cocoon. His voice came out muffled.

"Not running anymore. I quit."

"Why?"

"I'm taller than you now, so I don't need to wake up so early to out-compete you."

Lin Wanwan laughed out of sheer annoyance.

She took a deep breath and used all her strength to yank the thin quilt completely off.

The cold air hit instantly. Chen Zhi shivered and looked helplessly at his childhood friend, who was standing by the bed with her hands on her hips.

"Lin Wanwan, you're a girl. Can you be a little more reserved?"

"There's no need to be reserved when dealing with a lazybones who won't get out of bed."

The girl threw his school uniform at his face, turned, and walked out. Her high ponytail swished, leaving him with a view of the back of her head.

"You have three minutes. I'll be waiting downstairs. If you don't come down, I'll let Xiaobai bite you."

...

When the bell for morning reading rang, Chen Zhi finally strolled into the classroom yawning. He shoved his backpack into his desk and slumped over the table like a puddle of mud to catch up on his sleep.

He dozed off in a daze for a while, but there was no movement beside him.

Feeling a bit puzzled, Chen Zhi opened one eye and looked at the seat next to him.

Empty.

Pei Ningxue didn't come?

Could it be that what happened on Friday night made her stepmother go crazy?

Chen Zhi frowned, his sleepiness mostly dissipating.

Just then, the front door of the classroom was pushed open.

The homeroom teacher, Wang Qian, stood at the door with a somewhat complicated expression. Her gaze swept across the classroom before finally settling on Chen Zhi.

"Chen Zhi, step outside for a moment."

The eyes of the entire class instantly focused on him, filled with curiosity.

Chen Zhi slowly stood up and, under the watchful eyes of all his classmates, walked out of the classroom with his hands in his pockets.

In the hallway, Wang Qian lowered her voice, a hint of warning in her tone.

"Chen Zhi, Pei Ningxue's parent is here. He's waiting for you in the Discipline Office and specifically asked to see you."

Chen Zhi raised his eyebrows.

"Here to interrogate and condemn me?"

"He doesn't look like he's here to play nice."

Wang Qian sighed, feeling a bit of a headache.

"That man has a very strong aura. Even Director Zhang is standing by his side smiling apologetically. When you go in later, talk less. If anything happens, I'll cover for you."

A warm current surged in Chen Zhi's heart, and he smiled at Wang Qian.

"Don't worry, Sister Qian, I know what I'm doing."

The two walked into the Discipline Office one after the other.

The originally spacious office felt a bit cramped at this moment.

Director Zhang was attentively pouring tea for the man sitting in the main seat of the sofa, acting very subserviently.

As for the man, he was probably in his thirties or forties, dressed in a sharp suit, handsome, with a certain majesty between his brows.

Pei Ningxue stood beside him with her head down, her hands tightly wrung together, her knuckles turning white.

Hearing the door open, the man put down his teacup, lifted his eyelids, and cast a sharp gaze.

"You are Chen Zhi?"

The man spoke, his voice deep.

Chen Zhi ignored Director Zhang's frantic winking. He casually walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat directly opposite the man.

He crossed his legs, his gaze brazenly sweeping over the man's face before finally stroking his chin.

"Are you Pei Ningxue's dad, the one who only ever provided his DNA?"

The air instantly froze.

Director Zhang almost dropped the teapot in his hand. The tea splashed out and burned the back of his hand, making him grimace in pain, but he didn't dare make a sound.

Wang Qian drew in a sharp breath, thinking to herself that this kid really dared to say anything.

Pei Dongcheng clearly hadn't expected this student to be so audacious.

He was stunned for a moment, but then, instead of getting angry, he let out a soft chuckle.

"You certainly have a glib tongue. No wonder you could wrap my daughter around your little finger."

He leaned back against the sofa.

"Young man, having drive is a good thing, but sometimes, ignorance will make you pay a price."

Chen Zhi dug at his ear, looking thoroughly impatient.

"Mister, everyone's time is precious. If you have something to say, just say it. Skip this pretentious opening speech. Do you think we're filming a TV drama?"

Pei Ningxue jerked her head up, looking at Chen Zhi in horror, shaking her head at him frantically.

The smile on Pei Dongcheng's face faded a bit, and his eyes turned ice-cold.

"Fine, then I'll be direct."

"You and Ningxue are not from the same world."

"In the future, she will go abroad for further studies and inherit the family business. And you, in all likelihood, will spend your life being mediocre in this small city, hustling just to pay off a mortgage and a car loan."

"Your so-called friendship right now is nothing but an adolescent joke. I came here today to put an end to this joke."

Chen Zhi frowned, as if he had just heard something extremely hilarious.

"And so?"

Pei Dongcheng took a checkbook out of his breast pocket, uncapped a fountain pen, and held it out in front of him.

"Tell me, what are your terms to completely disappear from my daughter's world?"

"A school transfer? Or money?"

"As long as you promise not to pester Ningxue anymore, I can grant you one wish."

Holy crap, are we really acting in a TV drama?

Chen Zhi almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

He shifted into a more comfortable posture, looking at Pei Dongcheng with a half-smile.

"One hundred million?"

Pei Dongcheng's writing motion paused. He looked up, staring at Chen Zhi as if looking at a madman.

Then, he burst into laughter, his voice full of mockery.

"Little kid, do you even know the concept of one hundred million?"

"Someone like you? Dares to ask for one hundred million?"

"Greed should have its limits, otherwise it just makes you look stupid."

The smile on Chen Zhi's face vanished instantly.

He clicked his tongue, a trace of undisguised disgust flashing in his eyes.

"If you can't cough it up, then why are you acting so tough?"

With that said, under everyone's shocked gazes, he simply stood up.

"Wait for me a moment."

Dropping those words, he turned and walked right out of the office.

He left a room full of people staring at each other in bewilderment.

Director Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and offered an awkward, apologetic smile. "Mr. Pei, this kid... he's just a bit stubborn. Please don't take offense..."

Pei Dongcheng gave a cold snort and snapped his checkbook shut.

"An uncultured wild brat like him truly isn't fit to be Ningxue's friend."

Pei Ningxue bit her lip, her eyes red. She wanted to argue, but under her father's stern gaze, she swallowed her words.

Less than two minutes later.

The office door was pushed open once again.

Chen Zhi strode back in, his messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

He walked straight up to Pei Dongcheng, tossed his bag onto the coffee table, unzipped it, and began rummaging inside.

A bunch of random, messy items were casually thrown onto the table.

Pei Dongcheng's frown deepened. What kind of trick was this kid playing now?

Suddenly, Chen Zhi stopped.

He pulled a black bank card out from a hidden compartment in the bag.

Pinching the card between two fingers, Chen Zhi gave his wrist a flick.

Smack!

The bank card was slapped heavily onto the coffee table right in front of Pei Dongcheng, letting out a crisp crack.

Leaning both hands on the table, Chen Zhi towered over Pei Dongcheng, looking down at him with an incredibly arrogant, punchable expression.

"There's a million in this card."

Pei Dongcheng froze.

Chen Zhi stared dead into his eyes, enunciating every single word so clearly that his voice echoed through the entire office.

"I'm giving you a million. The PIN is six zeros."

"Take the money, and leave your daughter."

Pei Dongcheng: "?"