I'll Tell You Every Day

When Liu Jin returned to the room, he saw Zhihao hunched in a corner, rubbing his shoulder while Daiyu sat with her arms crossed, pouting.

He raised a brow.

"What's going on?" He asked. They were fine when he left.

"Ask her!" Zhihao pointed towards Daiyu.

"Hmp!" She puffed her cheeks and looked away.

Liu Jin gently approached Daiyu.

"Xiao Yu, what's wrong?"

Daiyu remained silent.

"Xiao Yu?" Liu Jin kissed her chubby cheek, trying to coax her.

Daiyu hesitated a bit before finally relenting.

"Zhihao-gege is a liar!"

"I am not!" He gritted his teeth.

"Zhihao, what happened?"

""

"Zhihao."

" I told her."

" Told her what?"

"Bout Xiulan."

""

""

"WHY?!" Liu Jin burst into anger.

"She threatened me! Look! She bit me multiple times!!!" Zhihao showed him his shoulder that had small bite marks.

Liu Jin buried his face onto his palm before sighing.

"Xiao Yu, why did you do that?"

"Because Zhihao-gege won't tell Daiyu!" She huffed.

"Of course I didn't want to tell you! It's for your own good!"

"But Daiyu wants to know!" She retorted, her cheeks red from anger.

Liu Jin paused, trying to figure out a way to appease the two of them.

"Xiao Yu, why did you force your Zhihao-gege to speak? That's not nice, you know."

Daiyu looked down, still angry but also conscious of her mistakes.

"But Daiyu wants to know. Daiyu has to know." She pouted.

"Xiao Yu, we were keeping it a secret to protect you."

Daiyu shook her head vigorously.

"Jin-gege doesn't understand! Daiyu pwomised you!" She stretched her arms and cupped his cheeks with her little hands.

"Remember? Daiyu pwomised to protect Jin-gege too! Daiyu needs to know! Daiyu doesn't want doesn't want Jin-gege to hurt anymore. And and Daiyu can't do that if Daiyu doesn't know!" She spoke, her eyes filled with worry.

Liu Jin's eyes widened.

'She was worried about me?'

He looked down and smiled, his eyes beginning to water.

"Right. I'm sorry Xiao Yu. Your Jin-gege was wrong."

Daiyu nodded before speaking.

"Then pwomise Daiyu?"

"Mmm?"

"Pwomise Daiyu to not keep secwets?"

" I can't promise you that Xiao Yu"

Daiyu pouted.

"But I will try to tell you everything from now on."

Daiyu hesitated before nodding.

"Jin-gege and Daiyu are teammates. And and teammates should trust each other. Daiyu is not vewy smart. And Daiyu is not vewy strong. But Daiyu works hard! So Jin-gege doesn't have to work hard alone anymore. Daiyu will help you!"

Liu Jin smiled at her warmly.

"Mmm. Thank you, Xiao Yu. I'm sorry."

Daiyu smiled and gently kissed his lips.

"Jin-gege should always remember! Jin-gege has Daiyu." She beamed.

Liu Jin hugged her tightly.

"Mmm!"

Daiyu hugged him back before letting go. She then hopped off the sofa and approached Zhihao, her cheeks still puffed in anger.

"Zhihao-gege!"

"Y-yes?"

" Daiyu is sorry."

"Oh. Sur

"But if Zhihao-gege lies again Daiyu will bite you!" She threatened.

Zhihao nervously sweated.

"Hahaha. Okay. I won't lie again! Won't lie again!"

Daiyu looked at him straight in the eye.

"Pwomise?"

"Promise! I promise!"

" Owkay." Daiyu nodded.

She then hugged him and softly kissed the shoulder where she bit him.

---

Inside the hospital suite, Xiulan laid on the bed, watching as clouds passed by from her window.

Her grandfather had visited her this morning and they had a long talk.

Wang Jing had told her that he was sorry for being harsh but that he still wouldn't take her back in.

She clenched her fists in frustration and sighed.

Her grandfather said that he was willing to help her. He gave her two choices.

First, she could choose to prosecute Qiaoling for child abuse.

If she chose that route, she'd be able to free herself from her mother right now. But she wouldn't be able to avoid her in the long run. If successfully prosecuted, that woman would only spend a few years in jail. Who knows what she'd do to Xiulan once she gets out?

Second, she could choose to abandon her identity as 'Xia Xiulan.'

Wang Jing said that he was going to help her fake her death. In a few weeks' time, the police were going to tell her mother that 'Xia Xiulan' was hit by a car that night she ran away. The driver, upon discovering that the child had died from the impact, disposed of her body in a nearby creek. Found only after her body was already severely decomposed, her corpse was cremated and laid to rest. The only link to prove her identity were the clothes she wore on the day she ran away from her mother.

With no traces left of her existence, Wang Jing would then send her abroad where she can start anew.

Of course, while this choice seemed ideal, the downside was that she'd lose her only stake at the Wang inheritance. If she takes on a new identity, she would effectively be abandoning her only way back into the Wang household.

She clenched her fist tightly.

The old man was practically blackmailing her! What help?! He just wanted to get rid of her once and for all!

---

Meanwhile, Liu Jin, Daiyu, and Zhihao had arrived back at the Wang Mansion. Ye Shun had agreed to help them but before that, there was something they had to do first.

"Xiao Yu."

Daiyu nodded. Her Jin-gege had promised her that he would try his best to explain the situation to her once they got home. Right now, they were sitting in her room, facing each other.

"Remember your evil witch?"

Daiyu nodded again.

"Well, she's here now."

Daiyu nodded.

"So your Jin-gege is trying to keep her away to protect you."

Daiyu paused.

"Why?"

"Uh" Zhihao looked at Liu Jin.

"Because she wants to hurt you."

"Why?"

" Because she's greedy."

"Gweedy?"

"Mmm. It means she wants what's yours."

"Like Zhenzhen?"

"Yes." Zhihao nodded.

"Its owkay. Daiyu knows how to share."

Both boys smiled.

"I know Xiao Yu. You're a good girl." Liu Jin gently patted her head.

"But she doesn't know how to share. And she wants to take away everything from you."

Daiyu pouted.

"Then then Daiyu has to teach her how to share!"

"Well, that clearly didn't work that's why we're here right now in our second lives." Zhihao sighed.

Daiyu tilted her head to one side. She didn't understand.

"Xiao Yu, she's not a nice person. If you approach her, she'll probably only hurt you."

Daiyu pouted.

"Then Jin-gege shouldn't approach her too! Daiyu doesn't want her to hurt Jin-gege!"

"But someone has to stop her." Zhihao chimed in.

"We have grandpaw! Grandpaw is strong! And and grandpaw always protects Daiyu!"

Liu Jin nodded. Under normal circumstances, he too trusted Wang Jing. But right now, with how pitiful Xiulan was, who knew if the old man would cave?

"We will leave it to your grandfather to do the job. Me and Jin will just help him." Zhihao explained.

"Daiyu wants to help too!" She raised her hand, volunteering herself.

Liu Jin chuckled.

"Mmm. We'll call for you when we need help, Xiao Yu."

"Owkay. Nao Nao will help too." Daiyu hugged Nao Nao who was currently resting his head on her lap.

Just then, Zhihao's phone rang. He then excused himself and answered it. After a while, he came back.

"It's Bob. He said that Qiaoling had beaten Xiulan repeatedly. She ran away and came to Wang Jing for help."

Liu Jin sighed.

"So she wasn't lying."

" But now Wang Jing can't send her back to Qiaoling. Will he take her in after all?" Zhihao worriedly asked.

" Let's ask Uncle Tang. There's no reason to panic yet."

If it turns out that Wang Jing wasn't planning to take her in after all, then weren't they just tiring themselves out?

---

While all this was happening, Wang Jing began executing his plan. He already knew that Xiulan would choose the second option. That child was smart. She knew the risk that would come if she chose to prosecute her mother. Still, he respected her decision and waited for her reply.

He sighed.

for visiting.

While admittedly, his heart was shaken when he saw how bruised and battered Xiulan was, he still could not take her back in.

He was not willing to risk hurting Daiyu for the sake of easing his conscience. He had seen how scheming Xiulan was and he had no confidence that the child would not hurt her half-sister in the name of greed.

Besides If he takes Xiulan back in, Qiaoling would have more reason to use her. She would never be free. As long as Xiulan had a claim to the Wang inheritance, Qiaoling would never let her go.

While his actions may seem cruel, he knew that he had to cut her off from her mother. That woman was poison. And that was why he gave her the choice of choosing a new life with a new identity one that she chose for herself and not one her mother forced onto her. If she took this chance to change, perhaps in the future, Xiulan would realize that her grandfather was truly wishing for her happiness after all.

But for now, Wang Jing was willing to be the villain for the sake of protecting not only Daiyu, but Xiulan as well. He could only hope that through this momentary pain, the future would be kinder to them.