794: Chapter 789 With Dad's Support

"Youyou, listen to Dad."

Shen Yan's voice was low, but it was exceptionally clear in the wind.

"You don't need to guard anything."

"In this family, Dad is here to support you."

"Look at that building."

Shen Yan pointed across the river at the "sky city" that was rising from the ground.

Although it was still just a prototype, one could already see its imposing manner that looked down upon all others.

"That was built by Dad."

"Even if the sky falls, that building will hold it up."

"The bad people you saw before are all gone now."

"Dad is very strong now, a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than you can imagine."

Shen Yan released his embrace and held Youyou's face with both hands.

He looked directly into her eyes.

"I'm very happy that you got first place."

"But even if you came in dead last, Dad would still love you."

"You don't need to refuse parties just to help Dad save money."

"And you don't need to be afraid to play for fear of losing something."

"I earn so much money not so that you can live in fear inside a glass dome."

"It's so that you have the confidence to play with whoever you want, and not play with whoever you don't."

"It's so that even if you poke a hole in the sky, Dad can patch it up for you."

Youyou looked at Shen Yan blankly.

The fear in her eyes was melting away bit by bit.

"Really?"

"We really won't turn back into paupers?"

Shen Yan smiled.

He smiled with great confidence and arrogance.

"As long as your old man still has a breath left, no one in this Jinghai can make you suffer even a little bit of grievance."

"If someone does, I'll buy their company and make them apologize to you."

Youyou burst out laughing with a 'puchi' sound.

A snot bubble even popped out.

"Dad is bragging."

"Dad never brags."

Shen Yan took a tissue from his pocket and wiped her face.

"Tomorrow, go invite your classmates to come over and play."

"That empty lot behind the manor, Dad plans to build an amusement park there."

"You can be the director; you'll have the final say on who gets to come in and play."

Youyou's eyes lit up.

It was the pure radiance belonging to an eight-year-old child.

"I want to invite Teacher Lin!"

"Okay."

"And Zhang Zixuan... although he's very stupid, he lent me an eraser last time."

"Approved."

"And..."

Youyou began to count on her fingers.

Shen Yan watched her.

That heavy glass dome finally cracked open a sliver.

Sunlight shone in.

Just then, a sound suddenly rang in Shen Yan's mind.

[Ding!]

[Detected that the Host has completed a hidden emotional quest: The Daughter's Heart Knot.]

[Family cohesion increased.]

[Random drop reward: A world-class team of child psychology education experts (hired, will start tomorrow as the school's new psychological consultants).]

[Obtained intelligence: An old bookstore in Jinghai City center that is about to go bankrupt has a copy of the Ming Dynasty yongle encyclopedia hidden in a mezzanine, priced at ten yuan.]

Shen Yan was stunned for a moment.

Then he shook his head helplessly.

This system really is an all-around Nanny.

It even provided a full set of psychologists.

But that intelligence...

Buying the yongle encyclopedia for ten yuan?

Shen Yan glanced at the gradually darkening sky.

"Let's go, Youyou."

"Where to?"

"Taking you to buy some books."

"By the way, let's go buy that bookstore and turn it into a library for you."

The Audi restarted and merged into the rolling traffic.

The old Jinghai district hid a corner forgotten by time.

The streetlights here were dim, with only a few yellowed tungsten bulbs swaying in the evening breeze.

The sides of the street weren't towering office buildings, but low brick-and-tile houses with peeling plaster, revealing the grey-blue brick cores inside.

The air was filled with the smell of moldy paper and the oily smoke of fried stinky tofu from the alley entrance.

The Audi A6 glided silently over the uneven stone road and stopped in front of a shop named "Zhixing Bookstore."

Calling it a bookstore, it was actually more like a grocery store that collected scrap.

Bundles of old newspapers were piled at the door, along with several old-fashioned televisions with broken picture tubes.

The Shop Owner was an old man in his sixties, lying on a lounge chair by the door listening to the radio, his cattail fan waving fitfully.

Shen Yan turned off the engine.

Youyou clung to the car window, looking curiously at this world so completely different from St. Paul's Elementary School.

"Dad, are we going to buy a library here?"

The little girl pointed at the rickety sign, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"It looks run-down now, but it'll be fine once it's fixed up later."

Shen Yan unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed the door open to get out.

He went around to the passenger side and carried Youyou down.

Holding his daughter's soft little hand, Shen Yan walked straight into the bookstore according to the coordinates given by the system.

The light inside the shop was very dim.

The bookshelves were welded from angle iron, messily stuffed with all kinds of old books.

From elementary school textbooks to expired magazines, and even a few yellowed wall calendars.

Shen Yan ignored the owner's scrutiny, his gaze quickly scanning the dust-covered book spines.

The system's instructions were precise.

Third shelf, bottom row, fifteenth book from the left.

Shen Yan crouched down.

A thick book was stuffed in that spot, its cover colorful.

Printed on it were several large gilded characters — "Becoming a Billionaire in Thirty Days."

Typical street-stall literature.

If not for the system's prompt, Shen Yan would never have believed that hidden beneath this vulgar cover was a priceless fragment of the Ming Dynasty yongle encyclopedia.

Shen Yan reached out to pull the book out.

Just as his fingertips touched the spine,

Another hand reached over almost at the same time.

It was an extremely rough hand.

The knuckles were large, the palm was full of calluses, but the index and middle fingers were excessively long.

Both hands pressed down on "Becoming a Billionaire in Thirty Days" at the same time.

Shen Yan's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He looked along that hand.

Crouching next to him was a man in his fifties.

He wore a washed-out deep blue Zhongshan suit, with every button fastened meticulously.

On his feet, however, were a pair of old Beijing cloth shoes covered in mud spots.

His hair was gray and messy, like a laborer who had just come off a construction site.

But this man's eyes were very bright.

In that dim corner, they were like two small light bulbs, revealing a sense of shrewdness and cunning.

"Little brother, I want this book."

The man grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth yellowed by smoke.

He had no intention of letting go.

Shen Yan remained calm.

"What a coincidence, I've taken a fancy to this one too."

"A piece of trashy success literature found everywhere on the streets; why must you, little brother, compete with an old man like me?"

The man's fingers tightened slightly, firmly gripping the spine.

"Since it's a book found everywhere, why do you hold on so tightly, old gentleman?"

Shen Yan countered.

The man's gaze shifted slightly.

The original nonchalant street-vibe retracted a bit, replaced by a kind of scrutiny.

"I have a quirk; if I see something I like, even if it's a pile of dog shit, it has to be mine."