Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 40

Chapter 118: If He Had A Child

Cherry, “???”

Her eyes widened big and round as she stared at her cell phone long and hard.

If she hadn’t requested Pete to ask Daddy about it, she would have believed him for sure!

However, Pete had already asked him about it. Stinky Daddy had done it on purpose.

There were serious consequences to be had when Cherry got mad.

Thus, Cherry very decisively rejected the friend request.

The motherly fans in the comments also started to mock Sponsor Daddy at this point:

‘This is killing me. Who was it who said that he isn’t Sweetie’s dad just now?’

‘He wanted the live-streamer to ask him for help before he would help just now.. After that, he left the live-stream. Here I was, thinking that he’s already left, but as it turned out, he had gone off to top up his account?’

‘Aaaahhh! I love Sponsor Daddy! He’s so bad-ass!’

‘Am I the only one who feels more secure with Sponsor Grandpa?’

‘I also feel that Sponsor Grandpa is mightier and more bad-ass!’

Then, someone started a poll in the comments: ‘Who do you prefer—Sponsor Grandpa or Sponsor Daddy?’

Cherry looked at the comments and declared in her soft, tender voice, “I like Sponsor Grandpa more! But you mustn’t give me any more gifts, okay? You’ve given me too much, Sponsor Grandpa. Mommy says that I mustn’t just take things from other people!”

Grandpa wrote: ‘It’s not that much. I’m happy to give it to you.’

Cherry, however, put on a stern look and said seriously, “No, you mustn’t. I’ll get mad if you send me any more!”

Left with no other choice, Grandpa could only sigh and reply: ‘Alright, then.’

Their interaction made Sponsor Grandpa’s vote count visibly increase, whereas Sponsor Daddy only had a few miserable votes.

Justin, “…”

After being rejected both on f*******: and in the live-stream, Justin looked a little sullen at the moment.

There were a lot of ways to coax children, though. Wasn’t it precisely because her No. 1 fan had descended from heaven and saved her from defeat in the face-off just now that she was being so friendly with him?

In that case, he would also become a hero and save the damsel in distress the next day! This way, he would definitely be able to get the little fellow to acknowledge him too!

While he was thinking, Lawrence passed him the information he found. He said, “I’ve found sweetcherry’s personal information. Due to her age, her account was registered with her parent's IDs. Her mother’s name is Queenie and her father’s name is d**k… What a strange name.”

Justin, “!!”

Her mother was a queen while her father was a d**k… How discriminatory!

He clenched his fists and tried to suppress the urge to beat someone up.

As he gnashed his teeth in fury, he said coldly, “Go and investigate Nora Smith’s background again!”

A surprised Lawrence said, “We’ve already checked Ms. Smith’s background several times, Mr. Hunt. It is indeed like the information that we’ve already found.”

As soon as he said that, a displeased Justin countered, “Did you find out that she’s Anti?”

“…”

Lawrence lowered his head, daring not to speak any more. Then, he said, “I’ll go and investigate her background right away.”

At night.

“Huh? Did Daddy really say that?”

Cherry hid in the toilet and spoke to her brother over the phone secretively.

Although Pete’s voice was also young and tender, for some reason, it gave people a sense of security. He said, “Yeah, he’s trying to find out where you are, but it seems like he’s run into some trouble, so he can’t find any info.”

Cherry pursed her lips and said, “Of course. I’ll let you in on a secret— Mommy is actually a hacker~!”

Cherry looked very proud at the mention of her mother. Then, right after, a look of disdain came over her face and she said, “Daddy is such a dummy, Pete!”

Pete said, “I also think so, so I gave him my vitamins so that he can boost his brainpower.”

“Great job, Pete! That’s awesome! In that case, I can continue to live-stream with peace of mind now. Daddy’s a dummy who can’t find me anyway!”

Pete replied, “Alright.”

After the two finished chatting, Cherry finally walked out of the bathroom. Nora had washed up and was already in bed.

Cherry thought for a moment. Since Daddy couldn’t find them for now anyway, that meant that she didn’t have to tell Mommy about it, right?

Otherwise, Mommy definitely wouldn’t allow her to live-stream anymore. She happily made her mind.

Cherry got onto the bed and sent some cute stickers to Sponsor Grandpa on Messenger.

He replied very quickly: ‘Have an early night.’

sweetcherry replied: ‘Okie-Dokie! You should also go to bed early. Mommy says that people who go to bed early and wake up early will be more energetic!’

At the Smiths.

Ian rested weakly on the bed and replied with difficulty: ‘Okay.’

He put down the cell phone and stared at the ceiling.

Outside the door, Yvonne Smith, his adopted daughter, lowered her voice and said, “Dad has a poor appetite, so make sure to cook liquid food instead. Add a bit of minced meat so that it’ll be more nutritious. Understand?”

The caretaker replied, “Don’t worry, Ms. Yvonne. I’ve already committed all these to memory.”

“Good.”

Ian sighed when he heard the exchange.

She ultimately wasn’t his real daughter. Her concern for him always came across as rather superficial.

His eyelids drooped and he closed his eyes. Life suddenly felt very meaningless.

When Yvette Anderson suddenly disappeared more than twenty years ago, he had personally searched for her for a very long time. However, he hadn’t found her. By the time he finally found her in California, he discovered that she had already married someone else and even given birth to a child.

At that time, Yvette had said, “Forget me, Ian. I’ve let you down, but Henry and I are truly in love with each other. If you really love me, then let me go.”

‘Let me go’…

He was fully capable of bringing her back, putting her under house arrest, and forcibly keeping her with him at that time. He had indeed also considered doing so.

Thus, he had sent people to capture her. But on the way back to New York, the strong and stubborn woman had broken down in front of him.

His heart had ached terribly.

In the end, he had let her go.

Before she left, she had looked at him and said, “Find someone else and marry her instead. You will have a wife and children of your own. Forget me. I’m sorry…”

He had pretended to stay strong after he returned to New York, but he never entertained notions of getting married ever again. Later, he adopted a daughter.

This was because he heard that she had given birth to a daughter.

After that, he never bothered himself with her again.

Looking back, he still regretted his actions. Why had he relented back then? Why hadn’t he forcibly taken her with him?

That way, she wouldn’t have died from postpartum hemorrhage during labor. She probably died when the child was a year old,right?

If they had been together, and if they had had a child, would that child have been as adorable as sweetcherry?

It was exactly such a thought that made him fascinated with sweetcherry’s live-streams.

In fact, he even developed the urge to meet her. It was sweetcherry who gave him the will to live. After all, their spark of friendship was growing stronger and stronger.

sweetcherry had said that she hoped it would become a little boat or a giant ferry one day.

He closed his eyes.

Suddenly, someone pushed the door open. Then, soft footsteps padded toward him and someone called out, “Grand-uncle Ian…”

Ian opened his eyes and saw tiny little Mia standing next to him. He asked, “What’s the matter?”

Mia lowered her head and asked, “Grand-uncle Ian, can you give me $150,000?”

Ian was taken aback.

Little Mia was usually the most sensible child around. Why was she suddenly asking him for money?

Mia lowered her head and said timidly, “I just discovered that my classmate Cheryl Smith is live-streaming, but she’s having a bit of trouble. I want to help her… Her live-streaming alias is sweetcherry, by the way.”

Chapter 119: My Father Is Justin Hunt!

Cherry?!

Ian’s eyes flew open abruptly. Light even shone in his usually listless eyes.

He looked straight at the little Mia, who lowered her head and said, “Grand-uncle Ian, I know I shouldn’t be borrowing money from you, but my money is all with Mommy. She doesn’t let me ask Daddy for money, either. Brandon has a loose tongue, so he’ll definitely tell Mommy if I borrow money from him. After thinking about it, you’re the only one I can ask.”

Mia glanced at him in embarrassment and said, “But if you don’t have any, it’s okay…”

As soon as she said that, Ian smiled and said, “I do. I’ll give my little Mia some.”

Mia’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Grand-uncle Ian!”

Ian then asked, “Can you tell me about this classmate of yours?”

Mia nodded. With a look of admiration on her face, she said, “Cheryl Smith is amazing! Not only can she turn into a little boy, but she can also turn into a little girl!”

Ian, “?”

“She also dances really well. Sinead Lowe was originally the lead dancer for the dance in the school’s 50th anniversary celebrations. She’s really unlikeable and often bullies everyone in school!”

Ian asked, “Does she bully even you?”

Mia shook her head. “She doesn’t dare to bully me because I’m a Smith. She doesn’t dare to make trouble for me, but she doesn’t talk to me either. She started bullying Cherry the moment she came to the school, but Cherry’s Mommy is really amazing. She got Ms. Tanya Turner over, so Cherry became the lead dancer after that.

“Cherry also became Brandon’s boss. He follows her around every day and serves her water. He also asked her when she can become a little boy again.”

At this point, Mia added softly, “I also hope that Cherry will become a little boy.”

Ian was taken aback. “Why?” He asked.

Mia smiled gently and timidly. Her small oval-shaped face was adorable and delicate. She answered, “Cherry is very cool when she’s a boy. I like talking to him.”

Ian felt like he understood what she was saying, but also not really at the same time. He casually transferred $150,000 to Mia’s bank account and then closed his eyes.

Mia left quietly when she saw that he wasn’t talking to her anymore.

Grand-uncle Ian wasn’t in good health. Daddy had told her earlier that she shouldn’t disturb him.

In the evening, Joel came over to visit Ian as usual after he knocked off from work.

However, when he did, he saw Ian, whose eyes were always half-lidded, seated upright on the bed as if he was waiting for him.

Surprised, Joel asked, “Is something the matter, Uncle Ian?”

Ian cast his eyes down and said unhurriedly, “Is Mia’s school holding their 50th-anniversary celebrations soon?”

Joel nodded. “Yes, I’ve already received an invitation.”

He wasn’t planning to go. After all, it didn’t really matter whether he went to an event like that or not. Besides, Mia was timid and frail, so she wasn’t performing, either.

While thinking about it, he heard Ian say, “I want to go and have a look.”

Joel was surprised. “What?”

Ian repeated, “I want to go and have a look.”

Joel was a little in disbelief, but he nevertheless said, “Okay, I’ll make the arrangements.”

After leaving Ian’s bedroom, Joel looked back at the door and frowned.

A moment later, he asked the caretaker, “Did something happen at Uncle Ian’s today?”

The caretaker stood up straight. Although Joel seemed friendly and approachable, she treated him with ever-increasing respect. “I think Ms. Mia was here.”

At the mention of Mia, Joel’s expression softened.

“I see.”

It seemed like Uncle Ian was going to the kindergarten because of Mia. He would also go with him, then.

_

The next afternoon.

After dealing with work matters in the Hunt Corporation, Justin left his office. However, he didn’t go home. Pete was at the Quinn School of Martial Arts today, but when he got in the car, he didn’t instruct the chauffeur to head to the school.

“Where would you like to go, sir?” asked the chauffeur.

“To the Golden Sunshine Kindergarten.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the kindergarten.

It was the 50th-anniversary celebrations soon, so the twenty children participating in the opening ceremony dance had to practice for an hour more than usual.

At four o’clock in the afternoon.

Cherry and her friends entered the dance studio and stood in line.

Sinead was next to Cherry. Even though she had been warned not to provoke Cherry, she was pouting and glaring at her from time to time today.

In the past, even though Sinead was bad-tempered, everyone was afraid of the dance teacher, so they were very tolerant of her.

But now, everyone was playing with Cherry and ignoring her instead.

After putting up with it for several days, Sinead finally couldn’t stand it anymore. She suddenly reached out her arm and pushed Cherry.

Cherry stumbled backward a couple of steps. She looked at her in surprise and asked, “What are you doing, Sinead the Doggy?”

Sinead yelled, “You’re the dog, Cherry the Doggy! I’m not Sinead the Doggy!”

Cherry said, “But you were barking like a dog that time! Like this!”

She bent over into a different pose from what Sinead had done the other day and called out, “Moo, moo~”

Sinead immediately scoffed and said, “You’re doing it wrong! It should be like this!”

She imitated a puppy’s pose again and stuck out her tongue while saying, “Woof! Woof!”

A giggling Cherry straightened her back and said, “Great job, Sinead the Doggy!”

Sinead stood up straight and raised her chin.

However, the children around them suddenly burst out laughing.

After a while, Sinead finally realized what had happened. She immediately became so angry that she placed her hands on her hips. Then…she let out an ear-piercing wail and started crying.

Cherry clapped her hands over her ears and looked at her wryly.

Was she crying just because she couldn’t win the argument?

While she was thinking about it, Whitney walked in and heard Sinead crying. She frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?"

Sinead pointed at Cherry and said, “She’s bullying me!”

Cherry shook her head and said, “I’m not.”

The rest of the students also testified and said, “Cherry didn’t bully Sinead. It was Sinead who pushed her.”

During this recent period of time, everyone could tell that Whitney was unusually scared of Cherry, just like how she was also scared of the two children from the Smiths.

Therefore, she definitely wouldn’t dare to bully Cherry.

But unexpectedly, Whitney suddenly shouted, “Cherry, apologize to Sinead immediately!”

Cherry was taken aback for a moment. Then, she shook her head and said, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“How dare you be so unrepentant! Come out here with me!”

Whitney grabbed Cherry by her arm and dragged her out of the dance studio.

As she did, she said fiercely, “Cheryl Smith, I’ve already figured it all out. Mr. Hunt only has a son; he doesn’t have any daughters at all! How dare you lie to me for so long! I’m going to teach you a good lesson today! As punishment, you are to stand in the sun for two hours and give up your center position in the dance!”

Then, she dragged her over to a corner of the wall and threw her there. Her fierce appearance frightened Cherry so badly that her eyes widened.

The little fellow, who had never allowed anyone to give her the short end of the stick, hastily said, “My father really is Justin Hunt!”

Whitney scoffed derisively and said, “What a stubborn girl you are. If your father is really Justin Hunt, then why don’t you give him a call and have him pick you up from school?!”

Chapter 120: You Might As Well Just Say You’re The Lord Himself

The light in Cherry’s eyes dimmed a little.

Stinky Daddy didn’t even know she was his daughter, so how was she going to ask him to pick her up?

However, this wasn’t an issue when it came to quarreling. She straightened her back, placed her chubby little hands on her hips, and said, “If you don’t believe me, then why don’t you give Daddy a call and ask him if Cherry is his daughter?!”

Whitney, “?”

The woman, who looked a little fierce, was so stunned by her words that she didn’t know what to say. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before she sneered, “I’m not going to bother Mr. Hunt just because of trivial matters like this!”

“Oh, I see. You must be afraid of my father!”

Was there even anyone who dared to mess with Justin Hunt in New York’s business circle?

Whitney found herself lost for words. However, she braced herself and said, “How can that be? I just think you’re using his name, that’s all!”

Cherry tilted her head.. “How does my father’s identity have anything to do with whether I’m taking center position or not, though?”

Whitney was about to reply when Cherry took out her cell phone and said, “Mrs. Lowe, I accidentally turned on the audio recorder just now!”

The audio recorder?

Whitney’s eyes suddenly widened. Never would she have expected that a five-year-old would actually be so devious and have so many tricks up her sleeve!

She clenched her fists and snatched Cherry’s cell phone from her. She sneered, “Don’t you know that students are not allowed to bring cell phones to school?”

Cherry wasn’t bothered though. She glared at her with her big round eyes and said, “I know that, so I’m willing to hand over the phone. But Mommy’s afraid that people will bully me in school, so I think she also placed a surveillance camera and an audio recorder on me~”

She patted herself here and there and said, “Was it this big button here on the name tag? I don’t quite remember anymore~ Mrs. Lowe, do I go to the field and stand there now?”

Whitney, “!!”

She balled up her fists. She knew very well that Cherry was lying, but in the event that she wasn’t, if she was filmed punishing Cherry for no reason, it would be terrible if the recording was uploaded to the Internet or used against her.

The look on Whitney’s face changed a few times before she finally forced a stiff smile and said, “Why would you need to do that? I was just joking with you.”

She cast her eyes down. As she walked back into the classroom, she said, “Let’s go back for class!”

Cherry followed after her obediently. When the pair entered the dance studio, they saw Sinead talking triumphantly to the rest of the children. She said, “Did all of you see that? If anyone bullies me, Mommy will definitely teach them a lesson! Cherry the Doggy is a good example of that!”

But as soon as she said that, she heard a voice coming from behind her: “Hello there, Sinead the Doggy!”

Sinead turned and looked over. When she saw Cherry, she pursed her lips, ready to cry. However, Whitney called out, “Cherry, get back into position!”

Sinead swallowed back down the wail about to escape her mouth and suppressed the tears in her eyes.

When the children got into position, Whitney narrowed her eyes and said, “I’m going to count the beat now. The first action…One, two, three, four… Five, six, seven, eight… Two, two, three, four… Five, six, seven, eight… Cherry, as the center, your movements are not up to standard. Go to the side and practice this move a hundred times!”

Cherry would definitely quit if she was being punished for no reason.

However, when it came to dance practice… Cherry stepped out obediently, stood at the side, and started to practice the dance move from just now.

The little fellow was a tenacious one. Although she was smooth with outsiders, in truth, she was actually very stubborn. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have developed a grudge against her father just because he had blocked her on f*******:.

If Whitney claimed that she wasn’t dancing it right, then she would practice until she got it right and show her a thing or two after that!

The rest of the children felt like their legs were turning into jelly as they watched Cherry jumping up and down.

The first part of the dance was rather tiring because there were several jumps involved. However, Cherry did it again and again tirelessly. In between, Whitney even occasionally came over to mock her.

“Can you really do it, Cheryl? If you can’t, then give up the center position!”

“Your physique is certainly pretty good, but aren’t you lacking a foundation in dancing a little too much? You must not have learned how to dance before, right?”

“Tsk. If I were you, I would just give up the center position.”

A malicious look flashed in Whitney’s eyes as she stared at the little girl.

She had underestimated the girl just now. Since she couldn’t take direct action against her, she would just take an indirect approach instead. She simply didn’t believe that she could endure such high-intensity training every day!

However, Cherry gritted her teeth and bore with it. Her hair was wet with perspiration, but she didn’t care.

To be honest, she knew that Whitney was right.

When her god-mom Tanya took a liking to her and wanted to teach her how to dance, she didn’t practice much because she found it too tough and tiring. Thus, her foundation was really not as solid as Sinead’s.

Although the dance didn’t require much skill, if perfection was within her means, then she would definitely do her best so that she doesn’t hold the rest back!

She practiced again and again…

One and a half hours later, the dance lesson finally ended. Cherry felt as if her legs had turned into jelly and she didn’t have even an ounce of strength left in her. She was a little unsteady on her feet as she limped all the way back to the classroom.

Brandon, who saw her from a distance away, trotted over and held her arm as he helped her into the classroom.

Mia also hurriedly fetched her a cup of water. Cherry raised her head and gulped it down. Only then did she feel much better.

Sinead watched them from the side and said, “Cherry the Doggy, if you give up the center position, Mommy won’t make life difficult for you anymore!”

Cherry ignored her.

After dinner, the children were finally let out of school. Cherry yawned sleepily and followed Ms. Lynn out of the school to the kindergarten gates.

Classes had ended five minutes early today. However, Mommy Nora was late again. This led to Cherry standing at the gates and waiting even after all the other children were picked up by their parents one by one.

Unfortunately, the kindergarten premises were being cleaned at the moment. Ms. Lynn also knew that Cherry’s mom had it tough because she had to shoulder everything all by herself and still come on time every day to pick up her daughter from school, so she stayed with Cherry as she waited at the gates.

Just as Ms. Lynn was about to comfort her, Whitney, who was holding Sinead’s hand, came up and stood in front of them. She said, “Cheryl Smith, you claim that your father is Justin Hunt, but if that’s true, why wouldn’t he send a chauffeur to pick you up after school? Why would he let you wait here for god knows how long?”

Cherry pouted. She didn’t want to pay her any attention.

Whitney sneered, “Surely it isn’t because your father doesn’t want you, right?”

Cherry, who had been blocked on f*******: by her father, was still mad at him. Whitney’s words undoubtedly rubbed salt on her wound. She looked up and shouted, “Of course not!”

At the sight of her getting worked up, Whitney smirked and said, “No? Are you finally admitting that your father isn’t Justin Hunt? People like you who use his name to lie to and trick others in school should be expelled!”

“I’m not lying!” Cherry clenched her fists and said fiercely, “My father really is Justin Hunt!”

In the distance, Justin, who was seated in the car, stared straight at Cherry.

The little fellow was wearing the dress version of the kindergarten uniform, and her face was both adorable and enchanting.

The corners of his lips curled upward uncontrollably. He got out of the car and strode over. As soon as he approached, he heard Whitney saying sarcastically, “Hah, are you still insisting that your father is Justin Hunt, even at this point? You might as well just say you’re the Lord himself if you’re that great.”