Justin was taken aback when he heard the voice. It sounded vaguely familiar. However, when he lowered his head and saw his son beside him, he suppressed his doubts.
Back in California, Pete had worn girls' clothing from time to time as if he had a split personality.
However, after they returned to New York, apart from the first day he went to practice martial arts at the Quinn School of Martial Arts where he had returned in a princess dress and became a little princess again, he had been normal the past few days.
He must be too high-strung. Otherwise, why would he find the voice just now so similar to his son's when he was having relapses previously?
What was Chester doing, though? Why was there a child's voice in his live stream?
Justin's deep-set eyes narrowed as he watched on sullenly.
It took only a few seconds for him to figure out what was going on with the so-called 'contest'. He let out a cold laugh right away.
His younger brother sure was making a good showing. To think he was being suppressed by a nobody streamer.
It wasn't an issue as long as no one knew, but should there come a day where it became known that Chesty the game streamer was a Hunt, it would be a huge embarrassment to the family!
At the thought, Justin immediately topped up $300,000 into his account.
He was about to tip his younger brother when he suddenly heard the tender voice say,
"Do you know who discovered radium? It's Johnny Depp!"
Justin, "??"
His fingers instantly paused, and he felt a sense of familiarity welling up in him.
He impulsively entered the live stream hosted by 'sweetcherry'.
The screen showed both streamers facing off, but neither of their cameras was turned on. Instead, they were streaming their gameplay. In a crisp and clear voice, the little girl said, "Sponsor Grandpa, I didn't get it wrong. I have a really awesome memory, yeah! If you don't believe me, I can tell you more!"
"Do you know the famous playwright who wrote Romeo and Juliet? It's Chris Hemsworth!"
"…"
These insignificant trivia whose answers were all handsome actors and celebrities… Why did they sound so familiar?
Justin couldn't help but glance at Pete again.
He coughed and cast his eyes down, but an inexplicable sense of intimacy suddenly surged up in him.
He had always been a loner since he was a child. He didn't have many friends and on top of that, there was a lot of scheming and trickery among his relatives. Even his grandfather had tricked him right before his death…
Therefore, there were times when he felt lonely, too.
Pete was a boy, so he had always taught him to be independent and self-reliant since he was a baby.
He hadn't liked the Pete who wore a princess dress, but to be honest, when he grasped his big hand with his soft little hands and looked at him with those big, damp, and innocent eyes of his, his heart had felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring.
Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder—how nice would it be if he really had a daughter?
"Aren't I clever, yeah? I see everyone in the comments laughing. Is it because I'm so smart? But why isn't anyone tipping me?"
"…"
With a flick of his fingers, Justin immediately sent out a tip worth 9,999 airplanes, which was the most expensive virtual gift purchasable.
Cherry immediately exclaimed "I must have done really well! Someone has tipped me again!"
She didn't know how much money that was at all, but she nevertheless said in a rather troubled manner, "But it's only because Mommy's Daddy is a very bad man that I got her a Sponsor Daddy. I can't have two at the same time! I can only choose one to be my Sponsor Grandpa."
As soon as she said that, another account also gave her a tip worth 9,999 airplanes!
Cherry shouted, "Sponsor Grandpa! Love you!"
Justin opened the list of fans and found that the top fan in sweetcherry's fan list was a person named 'Grandpa'.
He sure knew how to take advantage of others.
He let out a cold laugh and sent another 9,999 airplanes.
In other words, he had given her a tip of $150,000 right away.
Troubled, Cherry lowered her voice and asked Chester seriously, "Chesty, who should I call Sponsor Grandpa?"
Seeing that his points that had just increased greatly were firmly suppressed again, Chester entered her live stream huffily and said, "Let me see who's the bastard that actually tipped you $300,000 straightaway…"
As he spoke, he opened her fan list.
As user accounts of the live stream platform were linked to their Facebook profiles, the users' Facebook profile pictures would also show in the live-stream platform. At the sight of that familiar profile picture on Cherry's fan list, the words at the tip of Chester's tongue changed and he stuttered, "J-J-Justin?"
Cherry immediately understood what he meant and she exclaimed softly, "Daddy?!"
Justin, "??"
Cherry's voice immediately became excited, though she also did an obvious turnaround and added, "I meant Sponsor Daddy!"
Justin, "!!"
That familiar voice and way of speech… He turned and looked at Pete, who was next to him, again.
Pete, "??"
The tyrant was using his cell phone and also had earphones on, but he kept glancing at him from time to time. A resigned Pete raised the book in his hand and said, "I really am reading."
Justin kept quiet. Then, he nodded and continued to watch the live stream.
Everyone in the comments was laughing at the streamer. She had said just now that she wouldn't call anyone 'Sponsor Daddy', but a moment later, she had given in for the sake of tips!
Not only did she have a Sponsor Grandpa, but she also had a Sponsor Daddy now!
Justin's eyes darkened slightly. His expression turned cold and even the beauty mark at the corner of his eye seemed to be giving off an icy chill.
Little did he think that he, who had always been hard-hearted, would actually fall for a nobody streamer's charms.
He was about to close the live stream when the tender voice said, "Sponsor Daddy, do you wanna watch me play games? I'm super good at it, yeah! I'm even better at games than trivia knowledge!"
"…"
His fingers suddenly paused and he started to watch her play just like that.
The streamer sounded like she was only five or six years old. Her voice was soft and tender, and she liked to play as a particular female hero in the game.
The hero was a very cute little girl who carried a huge cannon. However, not only did she diss people mercilessly in the game, but she also had a lot of firepower.
Before he knew it, he had spent an hour and a half watching the live stream.
This continued until…
"Sponsor Grandpa, Daddy. I'm going offline. By the way, what are you having for lunch today? We're gonna have beef steak! That's my favorite food, yeah!"
At some point, she no longer addressed Justin as 'Sponsor Daddy' but just 'Daddy'.
It was only after the live stream ended that Justin finally came back to his senses.
He couldn't help looking at Pete again.
An expressionless Pete looked back at him.
Justin kept quiet for a while. Then, he said, "Pete, say 'Daddy'."
The way that little streamer kept calling him 'Daddy' was so adorable that even his heart had softened. Were all children that cute?
Pete pursed his lips. His little face was serious as he looked at him. After contemplating for a while, he asked, "Daddy, have you seen the doctor?"
"…"
Justin also felt that he was acting rather ridiculously. He stood up and said, "Let's go home for lunch."
When the two returned home, the nanny brought out plates of piping hot food.
Chester automatically sat at the dining table.
Justin suddenly looked at him and asked, "Who's that kid you were doing a live-stream with today?"
Chester's fork-holding hand stopped moving and he froze all over.
Chester grew up with Justin, so his elder brother had always inspired awe and respect in him as though he was his father.
Therefore, he actually felt very guilty about hiding the truth from Justin.
If Justin didn't ask, he wouldn't say anything. But now that he had, he mustn't lie!
As such, he stammered, "I-it's your daughter…"
His daughter? Well, the little streamer had called him Daddy for two hours, but he was indeed her true blue Sponsor Daddy.
At this time, a calm voice reached them. "What live stream are you talking about?"
Pete sat with his back straight. Although his voice still had a childish quality to it, it nevertheless gave off a calm and steady feeling.
Chester replied, "My team leader in the game hosted a live stream today…"
Justin snorted coldly. "You're actually acknowledging a five or six-year-old girl as your leader? How promising of you."
Pete, "…"
Uncle Chester's team leader in the game was Cherry.
He stilled his expression and started spouting nonsense with a straight face. "Uncle Chester, you must have been tricked. A lot of people use voice changers these days."
Chester, "?"
However, Justin said, "It didn't sound like she was using a voice changer."
He didn't dwell on these, though. Instead, after casting a glance at Chester, he asked dispassionately, "Are you intending to play games for the rest of your life?"
Chester shook his head. "Actually, I want to be a professional e-sports player and start my own team, but I don't have that much money. I—"
"Is eight million enough?" Justin's voice was cool and crisp as he casually cut a piece of his steak.
Chester was stunned.
As he looked at Justin, his eyes suddenly reddened. It was just like back when he was still a child. When he said that he didn't want to study, no one in the family had supported him. Everyone had called him a good-for-nothing. Justin was the only one who had asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
Justin had always respected his dreams.
Chester lowered his head. His voice sounded a little choked as he replied, "Yes."
"Well, I think that little girl has a bright future ahead of her," Justin said, "You can recruit her into your team."
Chester, "?"
All his emotions from just now evaporated in an instant.
If Justin knew that was his daughter, he probably wouldn't think so anymore!
He stammered, "Justin, you s-seem to like my team leader quite a bit?"
"She's fine, I suppose."
Justin speared another piece of steak and said, "This tastes pretty good."
"…"
At the Smiths.
Before one knew it, it was already noon. Joel entered the room and saw Ian staring at the screen of the live stream that had already ended.
After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Is there anything you would like for lunch today, Uncle Ian?"
He had initially thought that he wouldn't have any appetite as usual and would just patronize him a little, but unexpectedly, Ian actually answered, "Steak, I suppose."
Joel was taken aback.
His uncle hadn't had meat for several years. Because he had lost all will to live, he had lost interest in everything, including eating.
What had happened?
Joel couldn't figure it out, so he simply decided not to think about it anymore. It was fine as long as Uncle Ian was willing to eat!
…
"Mmm!"
Cherry put a piece of steak into her mouth, which was stuffed so full that her cheeks were bulging. Her lips were all greasy and her big black eyes were filled with a rich sense of contentment. Her speech was unclear as she said, "This ish delicious!"
Her adorable appearance gave Melissa, who had cooked the meal, a sense of satisfaction. She patted her on the head and said, "If Cherry likes it, Grand-aunt Melissa will make some for you again!"
"Okie!"
Cherry nodded repeatedly as she dished out compliments generously. "Not only is Grand-aunt Melissa pretty, but she's also kind and a great cook! Aunt Sheril is so blessed to have a mommy like you!"
As soon as she said that, she spied Nora coming downstairs. Cherry blinked and added, "But my Mommy's also super awesome!"
Nora raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Which part of me do you think is awesome?"
Cherry thought hard for a while. Then, she tilted her head and answered, "You're awesome at sleeping!"
"…"
Nora decided not to hold it against the little fellow. After stretching and yawning, she walked over, took a seat, and finished her meal in just a few bites.
There was a rare guest at the table today—Logan Anderson.
He ate slowly and gracefully. When he saw Nora wolfing down her food, he inadvertently curled his lip.
The way his cousin ate as if she had never eaten anything in her life before…
He lowered his beautiful almond-shaped eyes. However, there wasn't any disdain in his eyes but just a thoughtful look.
After lunch, Nora went upstairs and packed Cherry's school bag for her. By the time she went back down, Cherry was also almost done with her lunch.
At the sight of the schoolbag in her hands, a dazed Melissa asked, "Where are you going, Nora?"
Nora replied, "For an interview."
"At the International Golden Sunshine Kindergarten?"
"Yeah."
Melissa said apologetically, "But we don't have any interview spots. Give me some time; I've already asked my family about it, though they haven't given me any answer yet…"
As soon as she said that, the piercing sound of the chair dragging against the floor rang out.
Logan stood up abruptly. "Mom, did you go back to the Woods and let them bully you again?"
As though she was afraid that Nora would realize something, Melissa frowned at Logan and said, "Logan, shut up!"
Logan snorted. "Mom, have you forgotten what you told Sheril and me in the past? Does attending that kindergarten even bring any meaning?"
Melissa had never been one to care about superficial formalities like that.
When Sheril and Logan didn't get places for the interview to enroll in the kindergarten, she had told the two children, "Enrolling into the kindergarten doesn't make one noble. What gives you a noble character is when you value and respect yourselves."
Melissa, however, frowned.
She grabbed Logan, lowered her voice, and said, "Nora is different from the two of you! She grew up elsewhere. If Cherry can't even attend that kindergarten, I'm worried that Nora won't be able to hold her head up high in the circle in the future!"
Logan understood all of this.
But the moment he thought of his elegant and graceful mother returning to the Woods to be mistreated by others…
He said in an unruly manner, "Do you really think she can enroll Cherry into the kindergarten even if she has a recommendation letter? There's no way she'll pass the interview!"
Melissa patted him on the shoulder and said, "That's why I got you back here. I want you to take them there and accompany Nora for the interview."
Logan was stunned.
He clenched his jaw. His features, which were similar to Nora's, carried an air of unruliness and defiance. He said, "But the Woods haven't sent the recommendation letter yet!"
Melissa sighed. She knew that her sister-in-law must be making things difficult for her again. She said, "I'll call them and urge them."
Rather than saying she was 'urging' them… It was actually probably more like she was begging them instead.
Logan's expression turned even colder. It was at this moment that the two of them heard a cool and indifferent voice: "You don't have to beg them for one. I already have an interview spot."
Taken aback, Melissa looked at Nora and asked, "How did you get the spot, Nora?"
Nora was about to give her a simple explanation when her cell phone rang.
When she picked up, she heard the voice of Lisa, her cousin in California, reaching her through the phone. She said, "Nora, I suspect you aren't Uncle Henry's daughter at all!"