「The next morning.」
Having finished getting ready, Xu Yiyi, dressed in a clean white dress and carrying her small backpack, sat in Ruan Tang's white BMW 3 Series sedan. The little girl was clearly overjoyed, chattering happily the entire way.
At the kindergarten entrance, Ruan Tang received a call from her secretary. She had planned to witness her beloved daughter's first day of school, but now she hesitated.
"If the company is busy, you should go," Xu Lai said with a smile. "After I drop Yiyi off, I'll go look for a job anyway."
"Okay. I'm counting on you, then." Ruan Tang kissed her daughter's forehead before reluctantly driving away.
Xu Lai tried to enter the kindergarten holding Xu Yiyi's little hand, but he was stopped by the four guards at the gate. After all, he was an unfamiliar face.
When the burly captain of the guards learned that Xu Yiyi was a new student enrolling, he smiled and said, "The doors don't open until 7:30, but the teachers arrive at 7:00. I'll take you inside."
"Okay." Xu Lai nodded.
On the way to the office, he and the captain made some idle chit-chat. It was only then that Xu Lai learned that his daughter's kindergarten had a tremendous reputation in East Sea City. It offered an aristocratic, elite-style education, with annual tuition exceeding 300,000 and a limited number of enrollment slots. Money alone wasn't enough to get in; it also required extremely powerful connections. This was precisely why the guard captain was so affable and personally leading the way.
The enrollment process went very smoothly.
The kindergarten teacher, a recent college graduate, offered a gentle smile. "Yiyi's dad, you must leave the kindergarten before 7:30."
The unspoken message was that he still had another fifteen minutes or so with his daughter.
"Thank you." Xu Lai nodded, planning to show his daughter around.
Galaxy Kindergarten was vast. It had a private playground, a spacious library, and even a small amusement park.
Just as they stepped out of the office building, a five- or six-year-old boy with a crew cut, decked out in designer brands, blocked their path.
Holding a rainbow-colored cotton candy, he postured arrogantly. "You're the new student? What's your name?!"
He sized up Xu Yiyi as he spoke, muttering, "Not bad-looking at all."
Xu Yiyi hid behind Xu Lai, timidly saying, "Xu… Xu Yiyi…"
"I am Qian Xiao, the boss of Galaxy Kindergarten and the overlord of East Sea!" Qian Xiao announced, puffing out his chest. "From now on, you have to call me Brother Qian. That's the rule, understand?!"
"No," Xu Yiyi whispered.
"Woman, your ignorance has successfully captured my attention," Qian Xiao said with the gravity of a much older man.
He was the kindergarten principal's son, the sole heir to the Qian Group, a being destined to one day stand at the pinnacle of all "Wealthy Families." For a little girl to actually resist his charm… incredible!
Xu Lai: "…"
Are you seriously hitting on my daughter? I have a sudden urge to beat someone up! But as The Supreme Emperor… wouldn't it be far too humiliating if word got out that I taught a six-year-old a lesson?
As Xu Lai pondered, Qian Xiao raised the rainbow cotton candy in his hand, attempting to both bribe and threaten her. "Call me Brother Qian, and I'll share some of this cotton candy with you. Otherwise—HMPH!"
Xu Yiyi remained hidden behind Xu Lai, silent.
"Ever heard of Candy Studio?" Qian Xiao boasted smugly. "This is their rainbow cotton candy. It's limited to ten a day. You can't get one without connections, even if you have the money."
No one could resist the taste of rainbow cotton candy! Qian Xiao had used this exact trick to capture the hearts of countless little girls in his class.
Xu Yiyi's eyes widened. She gulped quietly and said, "I haven't heard of it, and I don't want any."
"Oh." Qian Xiao took a bite himself. "Delicious! It tastes just like a cloud!"
After a pause, he added with a hint of regret, "Do you want to know what a cloud tastes like? You'll probably never get the chance in this lifetime, since you can't buy this."
"Yiyi, do you want some?" Xu Lai smiled.
Though Xu Yiyi's bright eyes kept darting toward the cotton candy in Qian Xiao's hand, she shook her head repeatedly. "I'm scared of getting cavities."
Qian Xiao mercilessly exposed her lie. "Just admit you can't buy it. Stop making excuses. But if you call me Brother Qian, I'll give you some, and I'll protect you from now on."
"Y-You're lying! My daddy is the most amazing person in the whole world! He can definitely buy it. I just… I just don't want any," Xu Yiyi retorted. Her words warmed Xu Lai's heart.
He was indeed penniless at the moment. But the taste of a cloud? That was simple.
Xu Lai snapped his fingers, and six-year-old Qian Xiao watched as—a white cloud from the sky drifted down like a wisp of smoke, coalescing in Xu Yiyi's hand to form a pure-white cotton candy.
Qian Xiao blinked hard. After confirming it wasn't an illusion, he quickly looked back at the sky. Seeing that the cloud had indeed vanished, he was utterly dumbfounded!
Making candy from a white cloud. Not even the Great Sage, Sun Wukong, could do that, right?
"Daughter, this cloud is big and white. Try it," Xu Lai said with a smile.
"Wow, Daddy's the best!" Xu Yiyi's large eyes curved into two beautiful crescent moons.
She took a huge, happy bite, then held up the cotton candy on her tiptoes. "Daddy, you have some too," she said warmly.
Xu Lai took a bite, feigning surprise. "The taste is unexpectedly good."
"…"
Qian Xiao glanced at the limited-edition cotton candy from Candy Studio in his hand. It suddenly didn't taste as good anymore, nor did it have that special flavor that symbolized his "status."
He asked eagerly, "Um, what does a cloud taste like?"
"Why don't you have your dad make one for you to try?" Xu Yiyi chirped.
"…My dad can't do that," Qian Xiao mumbled.
"But isn't the cotton candy in your hand supposed to taste like a cloud?" Xu Yiyi asked.
Qian Xiao was speechless. That had just been him bragging. Crestfallen, he lost all of his earlier arrogance. In the end, though his family background let him rule the kindergarten, he was still just a six-year-old child.
He kept gulping, drool nearly escaping his lips.
However, Xu Yiyi paid him no mind and quickly finished her cotton candy.
She tilted her little face up expectantly. "Daddy, I want more."
Xu Lai smiled. "Alright. Let's try a cirrus cloud this time."
In an instant, a large wisp of a cirrus cloud from the sky transformed into a plume of light smoke, drifting down and solidifying into another cotton candy.
As if to deliberately spite Qian Xiao, Xu Yiyi ate this one in tiny, deliberate bites, saying, "Daddy, next time, I want to eat a dark cloud. Can I?"
"You can have any cloud you want."
GULP.
Qian Xiao swallowed hard, his envious gaze fixed on her, unable to tear his eyes away.
He looked at Xu Yiyi and whispered, "Yiyi, I want some too. Can you ask your daddy to make one for me?"
"Nope."
"Yiyi… s-sister… No, I mean, Big Sister Yiyi! Please, please, I really want to try it."
"What did you call me?" Xu Yiyi's eyes curved into a grin, and little dimples appeared on her cheeks.
"Big Sister Yiyi!" Qian Xiao said without a shred of hesitation. "Big Sister Yiyi, from now on, you're the big boss of Galaxy Kindergarten!"
"Hmph." Xu Yiyi couldn't have been more delighted, but she put on a stern face and remained silent.
"I promise, in Galaxy… no, in all the kindergartens in East Sea City, you'll be the Empress! Your word will be law," Qian Xiao quickly added. "If anyone doesn't listen to you, I'll beat them up for you!"
Xu Lai: "…"
Invincible, starting from kindergarten?
Xu Yiyi cut him off. "Stop, stop, stop! Why would I go around hitting people for no reason? Daddy, what do you think? Should I give him one or not?"
Amused, Xu Lai pinched his daughter's cheek. "It's up to you."
Qian Xiao looked over, his expression pitiful. "Big Sister Yiyi…"
"Alright then." Xu Yiyi waved her small hand. "Since you want one so badly, then—"