As the only child of Gu Yuan—and a daughter at that—Gu Xun'er was deeply doted on.
After all, your precious little cotton-padded jacket (a beloved daughter) should only be cherished by you. Can you really count on others to do it?
Precisely because Gu Yuan spoiled her so much, afraid she'd suffer even the slightest harm or grievance, no one in the Gu Clan dared to play with her.
Like Hun Xiu, Gu Xun'er was lonely in her clan. But unlike Hun Xiu's chosen solitude, Gu Xun'er's loneliness was caused entirely by Gu Yuan.
Now that Gu Yuan realized this problem, he planned to use this opportunity to send Gu Xun'er to the Xiao Clan as an "undercover agent."
Of course, the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Jade was part of it—but more importantly, Gu Yuan hoped his daughter could enjoy a happy childhood.
In truth…
What Gu Yuan didn't know was that Gu Xun'er had no intention of going to the Xiao Clan at all. She simply wanted to stay with her "Brother Hun Xiu."
Everyone in the Gu Clan treated her with distant respect. Only Hun Xiu was willing to play with her.
Especially that time two years ago—Hun Xiu had let her ride on his back like a toy horse just to cheer her up. That left a deep impression in her young heart.
After all, not even anyone in the Hun Clan had been willing to play with her. But this big brother did, and even acted as her "horse."
As for why Hun Xiu became her toy in the first place? That he had made her cry beforehand—Gu Xun'er instinctively chose to forget that part.
How it started didn't matter anymore. What mattered was the result and the process.
"Really?"
Hearing Hun Xiu's promise, the little one instantly stopped crying. Her large eyes blinked as she looked at him, teary and innocent—utterly adorable.
"Of course. Brother Hun Xiu would never let Xun'er become an undercover agent," Hun Xiu said, ruffling her hair with a warm smile.
Would he just stand by and watch himself get cucked? Absolutely not.
He wouldn't have minded if he didn't know. But now that he did—there was no way he'd allow it.
"But… Father…"
Though Gu Xun'er was happy inside, she remembered that it was her father's decision. Even if Hun Xiu promised her, it wouldn't matter.
Thinking of this, she felt even more wronged. Tears she had just stopped now welled up again, threatening to fall at any moment.
Hun Xiu noticed the worry and grievance in her face and quickly reassured her before she could speak further. "Don't worry. I'll talk to your father."
"Mm-hmm…"
Gu Xun'er sniffled and nodded cutely.
Hun Xiu wiped away her tears and said gently, "No more crying, alright?"
"Leave it all to Brother Hun Xiu. If it's something Xun'er doesn't want to do, no one can force you."
"Mm-hmm…"
She nodded again, sniffling, eyes still shimmering with leftover tears.
But then—
"Waaaah—!!"
Just as Hun Xiu was feeling satisfied for calming the little one, she suddenly burst into tears again—this time sobbing bitterly.
He was caught completely off guard.
One second she was fine, and the next—what happened?
Someone explain this to him—what exactly changed in those few seconds?
Why did she suddenly cry again?
He wanted answers.
He needed the truth.
"Xun'er, what's wrong?"
From confused to guilty, Hun Xiu quickly changed his expression and admitted fault: "Xun'er, Brother Hun Xiu was wrong. Please don't cry, okay?"
In his past life, he had been a shut-in and rarely interacted with girls. So now, faced with a crying little girl, he had no idea what to do.
But even if he didn't understand, he wasn't dumb.
When a girl cries, it doesn't matter who's right or wrong—the boy has to apologize. Even if he doesn't know what he did wrong.
Because—she's crying!
Even if she's still young, she's a girl nonetheless. If there's anyone who should apologize, it's him.
No reason needed—he just didn't want to see her cry.
"If you keep crying, you'll turn into a big tabby cat. That won't be pretty, will it?"
Beauty, it turned out, was a girl's ultimate weakness—and greatest concern.
Sure enough, at the mention of becoming an ugly "tabby cat," Gu Xun'er stopped crying immediately.
Still sniffling, she looked at Hun Xiu with a pout. "But Brother Hun Xiu, if you tell my father, he'll know it was me who told you. He'll scold me…"
Hun Xiu: "..."
Now he understood.
That was why she started crying out of nowhere.
Smart. Very smart little one.
He silently gave her a thumbs-up in his heart. Clever—so clever.
When he was her age, he'd still been playing with mud. Of course, that was in his past life.
In this life, he had been reborn into the Dou Qi Continent. No fancy or flashy magic here—only Dou Qi honed to the pinnacle.
And he'd been born as the son of the Hun Clan leader, Hun Tiandi.
Knowing how the story would unfold, he lived each day in fear—afraid the protagonist might show up and wipe them all out, or worse, get used as "nourishment" for his father's ambitions.
So from the age of three, he started cultivating diligently, working to prove his value, desperate not to be cast aside.
He couldn't help but admire her. No wonder she was a daughter of a great clan—this level of awareness at such a young age spoke volumes about her upbringing.
In the Hun Clan, aside from him with his "cheat-like" intelligence, even people like Hun Yu and Hun Feng had matured early.
He smiled gently and said, "Xun'er, be good. Brother Hun Xiu has his own ways. He won't let you go be an undercover agent."
"Come, let's make a pinky promise."
"Pinky promise? What's that?" Her face was full of confusion and curiosity.
Hun Xiu: "..."
He immediately realized—this was another world. "Pinky promise" wasn't a thing here.
But that didn't matter. Gu Xun'er didn't know what it was anyway. He could just teach her.
And so, under Hun Xiu's guidance, Gu Xun'er learned what a "pinky promise" was.
"Pinky swear, hang it high,A hundred years, no change.Whoever breaks it is a puppy dog…"
That night.
Hun Xiu went to see Hun Tiandi in his study. He was prepared to talk to him about something important.
Inside the study.
"Hmph…"
As soon as Hun Tiandi saw Hun Xiu, he snorted coldly. "What are you doing here?"
From his tone, it was obvious—he wasn't very pleased with this son of his.
"Huh?"
Hun Tiandi's attitude left Hun Xiu momentarily stunned. Had he offended this father of his somehow?
Why did it feel like Hun Tiandi was always annoyed just by seeing him?
Was it just his imagination?