The day I almost starved to death on the street, I found myself a dad. Shawn, sporting a shock of bleached yellow hair, pointed at himself and roared furiously: "I'm only eighteen! Do I look like your dad?!" Snot running down my face, I looked up at him pitifully and refused to say a word. Defeated by my silence, Shawn had no choice but to take me home. From that day on, everyone knew the local punk had adopted a daughter. Later, the fated day arrived when he was supposed to meet the heroine. The heroine danced gracefully in the rain, just to attract the hero's attention. Shawn, who was supposed to be heartbroken and rush to hold an umbrella for her, instead hugged me and lectured: "See that? People like that have issues. If you ever do that, I'll spank you until you can't sit." I nodded, snuggling obediently in his arms. Project: Save the Tragic Second Male Lead. Success. 1 I transmigrated into a cliché romance novel. The System tasked me with saving the deep, unrequited love interest—the second male lead. The original text described him as: Handsome features, elegant temperament, every gesture exuding the sexiness and romance of a mature man. I stared at the boy in front of me with bleached yellow hair and a thick iron chain around his neck, sniffing. Did I get the wrong guy...? While I hesitated, the boy finally lost patience. "Whose kid are you? Why are you blocking my way?" I shivered, startled. I'd been here a week and barely eaten a full meal. This was the slums. No one was rich. Being a little girl, even kind souls would only spare half a steamed bun. I had been hungry for so long. The more I thought about it, the more aggrieved I felt. I couldn't help pouting and bursting into tears. "Wahhh!" Shawn froze instantly. "Hey, I didn't scold you! Don't blame me for crying." Seeing the situation turn south, Shawn tried to slip away. I wiped my snot and tears, chasing after him with my short legs. Shawn went left; I went left. Shawn stopped, pretending to admire the peeling paint on a wall. I stood by his leg, looking up at him pitifully. Shawn squatted down, swallowing his anger, the iron chain clanking. He put on a fierce face. "Spit it out. What do you want?" I rubbed my little belly and whispered that I was hungry. Shawn dug in his pockets for a long time. Finally, gritting his teeth, he spent a fortune buying me a ham sausage. I wolfed it down, then looked at him pitifully again. "You ate! Why are you still following me? I'm warning you, follow me again and I'll beat you up!" Shawn shook his fist and walked away without looking back this time. Seeing he was really leaving, in desperation, I opened my mouth and yelled, "Daddy!" Shawn stumbled. Seizing the chance, I trotted to catch up. "Daddy, don't leave me." Shawn walked faster. I had to run. "Daddy! I eat very little! Don't throw me away!" Passersby started whispering and pointing at Shawn. Shawn's face turned green. "I'm not! I'm really not her dad!" Frustrated, Shawn pointed at his own nose and yelled: "I'm only eighteen!" Great. Now the suspicious looks turned into disdain. 2 Shawn dragged me away. He probably wouldn't come back to this area for a while. I gripped his bony hand tightly, not daring to let go. Finding Shawn hadn't been easy. The System only showed me his photo when assigning the mission to change his fate. But something went wrong during the transfer. I arrived as my three-year-old self. Even my mind was affected by my physical age. I had to dodge human traffickers while searching for Shawn door-to-door. I found him, but he wasn't the man described in the book. Now, I was clueless about this world. After so much fear, I wouldn't let go even if I died. "Easy on the grip. Where does a kid get such strength?" Shawn wiggled his fingers. I realized I was squeezing his hand so hard his fingers turned white. I lowered my head in shame, thought for a moment, and hugged his thigh instead. "Hey, how am I supposed to walk like this?" Shawn seemed to lose his temper with me. He looked weary, sighed, and scooped me up into his arms. Muttering under his breath. "Guess you're stuck to me now." I stared at his suddenly close, handsome face. My nose stung, and I wanted to cry again. Two lines of tears rolled down. On my dirty face, two comical tear tracks appeared instantly. Shawn frowned and awkwardly wiped them with his finger. "Stop crying. I brought you home. If you really have nowhere to go, stay at my place for now." My eyes widened in surprise, tears stopping instantly. Shawn took me to his small courtyard. The rusty iron gate creaked. Inside, piles of junk scavenged from trash heaps lined the path. Broken TV screens, shattered phones, discarded appliances. Inside the house was a large desk. Covered with parts and blueprints I didn't understand. The book said Shawn would encounter a fateful turning point at twenty. By twenty-three, he would be a tech mogul worth millions. Because he knew poverty, he extended a hand to the future heroine. He funded her education, guiding her growth personally. But the heroine only cared about romance, not tedious learning. She used Shawn's money for dance lessons, piano classes, and even breast augmentation, just to catch the hero's eye. Even when rejected brutally, she persisted. Shawn tried to guide her, but she got angry. "Love is selfish. Even if you do everything for me, I won't love you." After officially getting together with the hero, she told him about Shawn as a joke. The hero, jealous, bribed Shawn's people, bankrupting him and driving him out of Beijing. I watched Shawn tidying the room. Thinking, such a good Shawn. If only he never met the heroine. 3 Shawn finally cleaned his doghouse of a bed. He pulled out one of his faded shirts and stuffed it into my hands. "I'll fill a bucket. Wash yourself. Let's be clear: I won't baby you. If you don't like it, leave." I nodded vigorously. "I'm very good. I won't disturb you. I can eat and sleep by myself." Shawn chuckled, waved his hand, and sent me to bathe. My three-year-old self was tiny. I'd been in an orphanage as long as I could remember. Other kids bullied me. Starved, sleep-deprived, thin as a bean sprout. So whenever adopters came, they thought I was sickly and chose the chubby kids instead. I scrubbed my little arms hard, washed my face clean, and put on Shawn's shirt. When I returned to the room, Shawn glanced at me. "Hey, pretty little girl." He dug two rubber bands out of a drawer. "Come here. Let me do your hair." I ran over happily. A few minutes later, two crooked pigtails were born. I looked in the mirror. Pouted. So ugly. Shawn coughed, unobtrusively pulling the bands off. "It's dark. Time to sleep. Uncomfortable to tie them." I climbed into bed quickly, eyes closed tight. If I'm obedient, he won't kick me out. Don't know how long I slept. I frowned, peeking through one eye. In the blurry vision, Shawn was facing the mirror, tying pigtails on himself. Curse-muttering while experimenting, he finally found the trick. I chuckled involuntarily. Shawn threw the rubber bands away like hot potatoes, pretending to draw blueprints. I smiled, drifting back to sweet sleep. 4 Shawn was rarely home. He spent half his time patrolling, dumpster diving for usable parts. The first time I secretly followed him, he didn't notice. Until he came home and found me gone, panicked. When I followed him in, Shawn's eyes were red with anxiety. Suppressing his anger, he acted casual. "If you don't want to stay, leave early. Saves me trouble." I walked up carefully and took his hand. "Daddy, was I bad?" Shawn shook me off. "Don't call me Dad! Never mind that, where did you go?" I sniffled. "Followed you. I'm scared alone." A sourness rose in my heart. I only knew Shawn in this world. I was terrified he'd get annoyed and leave me one day. So I had to follow him everywhere. Shawn froze. He looked down at my bare feet, soles covered in grit and dust. His lips moved, but he said nothing. Silently, he fetched water and made me wash my feet clean. The next day, Shawn waited for me to wake up, then carried me out without a word. He spent a few bucks on slippers for me and hung a plastic bag on me. Whatever useful junk he found went into my bag. Hand in hand, we walked from the west alley to the east. When I got tired, he'd scowl but reluctantly carry me. Lunch was one steamed bun for two. Shawn gave me the bigger half, eating his with water. Watching me eat heartily, he'd mutter about me being a little debt collector. I grinned at him, devouring the bun. Delicious. That day, Shawn had to cross the street to the recycling station. Besides making things, he sold scrap metal there. "Stay here. Don't go with anyone. If you get lost, don't expect me to find you. Hear me?" I nodded seriously, sitting obediently on the side. Shawn pinched my cheek and left. I watched his back recede, squatting to watch ants. Minutes later, a shadow fell over me. 5 I looked up. Several older kids from the neighborhood blocked me, hands on hips. Rich kids. Clean clothes, chubby bodies. One boy pointed at me, grinning widely. "You're the little beggar raised by that hooligan Shawn. I heard he has no future, doesn't go to school. Play with me, I'll give you two bucks a time." I stood up angrily. "He's not a hooligan!" "He is! I'm talking to you 'cause you're pretty. Don't be ungrateful." I glanced at the recycling station. Shawn wasn't out yet. Didn't want trouble. I turned to walk away. But the fat kid wouldn't let up. He grabbed my pigtail! "Hey, don't go! We came to play! Why are you so naughty? My mom says naughty girls don't get married. No one wants you!" The kids found it fun, each pulling my hair. Chanting around me: "Nobody wants you, nobody wants you! Crybaby, puppy pees!" It hurt. Tears fell. Memories of orphanage bullying overlapped with the present. I pouted, crying loudly. "Wahhh!" Suddenly, a furious roar came from afar. "Stop it!" A fast wind blew past! I opened my teary eyes. The chubby kids were pushed aside, landing on their butts. Shawn stood before me like a mountain. I grabbed his shirt, crying louder. The fat kid fell and started wailing too. Soon, several burly adults came out, cursing at Shawn. "Who are you? Touching kids!" Shawn rubbed my messed-up hair, looking at the hostile group, voice cold as ice. "I'm her dad."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "387382", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel