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 Facebook 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 parents' IDs. Her mother's name is Queenie and her father's name is Dick… What a strange name."
Justin, "!!"
Her mother was a queen while her father was a dick… 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."