Lu Lin hesitated for a moment.
This wasn’t just a little bit of money, and the risks were high, with strict technical requirements.
How could a three-year-old child possibly come up with this idea?
“How did you even think of this?”
He frowned slightly.
Bai Xia pouted.
“Forget it, forget it. Just looking at you, I can tell you have no vision. I’ll go find Great-Grandpa instead.”
She had originally planned to save up enough money to do it herself.
After all, artificial intelligence was bound to be the next big trend.
Since she knew where the wind was blowing, of course she could figure out what the market needed and avoid detours.
But as far as she knew, the Lu family company just happened to have talent reserves in this area.
Wasn’t that a ready-made resource?
“Great-Grandpa is old now, he can’t handle the trouble.”
Lu Lin’s brows twitched slightly.
“How much investment do you need? I’ll cover it all myself.”
Although artificial intelligence was difficult, the prospects were excellent.
He’d had the idea for a while now.
As expected, his daughter was a genius.
This was good, too.
She might not want to take over the family business, so why not let her do what she wants?
If she lost money, so be it—he’d always be there to catch her.
“I’ll put together the project proposal first before we talk. I definitely won’t let you lose money.”
Bai Xia spoke earnestly.
Lu Lin looked at the now-empty milk cup, then nodded with a smile.
“Alright.”
After speaking, he didn’t disturb his daughter’s rest and turned to leave.
He was also quite curious—what kind of project proposal could a three-year-old possibly write?
Staring at the door that hadn’t been closed, Bai Xia was speechless.
He’d learned to knock, but not to close the door behind him?
Sure enough, manners weren’t something you could develop in just a day or two.
This plan had been circling in her mind for a long time.
Still, she needed to conduct detailed market research.
She couldn’t just write something casually just because it was for the male lead.
She had to show some respect for her investor.
The next morning, just after she finished breakfast, Lu Shuo came downstairs hugging a book, bursting with excitement.
“I’ve memorized it! I really am a genius!”
He slammed the book onto the dining table, lifting his chin proudly.
“Test me!”
Lu Jinnian, who was eating breakfast, was stunned.
It was the first time he’d ever seen his grandson holding a book.
This was as rare as red rain falling from the sky.
Lu Qihui frowned even more deeply.
He couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Why was his son acting so crazy first thing in the morning?
Bai Xia propped up her chin and looked at him.
“Then try reciting it backwards.”
Lu Shuo’s eyes widened in anger.
“You’re cheating! You only said I had to memorize it, not that I had to recite it backwards!”
Lu Qihui almost wanted to say something.
Asking his son to recite the multiplication table backwards was like asking the sun to rise in the west.
“You can recite it forwards, so why not break out of your habitual thinking and try reciting it backwards?”
Bai Xia said calmly.
At her words, Lu Shuo’s face instantly fell.
But since things had already come this far, he couldn’t just give up halfway.
So what if he had to recite it backwards?
He’d do it!
He grabbed a sandwich from the table and marched upstairs.
Lu Qihui was surprised by the scene.
His son usually ate two bowls of beef congee and a pork chop for breakfast, but today he’d eaten so little.
Could studying really affect a person’s appetite?
Only Lu Jinnian looked quite pleased.
As expected, only Xiaxia could keep this boy in line.
He didn’t expect his grandson to become some prodigy, but at least he had to know the basics, or else he’d be a laughingstock outside.
“Xiaxia, do you want to go out and have some fun during summer vacation? Come fishing with Great-Grandpa?”
He looked kindly at the girl.
Bai Xia shook her head.
“I want to read.”
After saying that, she toddled upstairs on her short little legs.
Lu Jinnian was at the age of enjoying his retirement, but she was still young—of course she had to contribute to the country’s development and economic growth.
Actually, she wasn’t intentionally making things hard for Lu Shuo.
Even if he memorized it this time, he’d probably forget it in a few days.
Only by deepening his impression would it really stick with him.
Taking care of a kid was just a small favor.
She earned her tutoring fee, Lu Shuo improved his study skills, and the whole family was happy—why not?
Back in her room, she continued working on her project proposal.
Maybe the male lead was a jinx, because within a couple of days, she saw a lot of reports online about unsanitary conditions in milk tea shops—things like hair in the drinks, and the stories were getting quite a bit of attention.
But the female lead hadn’t told her, probably not wanting her to worry.
Still, this was obviously someone trying to frame them.
If they didn’t fight back, people would start treating them like pushovers.
She immediately told the female lead to notify the company and contact a top law firm in the industry.
Money was no object.
The shops all had surveillance cameras, recording exactly who bought what and who made which drinks.
Any attempt to sling mud should be countered with evidence.
Her own media company had a bunch of marketing accounts, too.
Now was the time for some reverse publicity.
“I memorized it! I memorized it!”
After two days of living like a hermit, Lu Shuo finally burst out at dinner, beaming with pride and slamming his book on the table, waiting for Bai Xia to quiz him.
She was eating, and just glanced at him sideways.
“Got it.”
Lu Shuo stared at her in disbelief.
“Aren’t you going to test me?”
He could even recite it backwards now!
Once he did, Grandpa and Dad would definitely praise him as a genius!
“You’ve already memorized it, so what’s the point of testing you? There should be basic trust between people. I believe in you, and you should believe in yourself too.”
Bai Xia picked up her little spoon and sipped her soup.
Lu Shuo panicked.
“But… but…”
Yao Yun looked at the girl with a strange expression.
She hadn’t expected her son to one day be able to recite the multiplication table backwards.
Fine, it was okay for him to learn from this little girl—at least she wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
“Alright, alright, look at you sweating all over. Grandpa will buy you a game console.”
Lu Jinnian smiled lightly, then called toward the kitchen, “Make him some lamb legs.”
This was the first time Grandpa had ever bought him a game console.
Lu Shuo felt odd inside.
He’d always thought Grandpa didn’t like him, but it turned out that if he studied well, Grandpa would care about him too.
But studying was just too hard.
He had no idea how Bai Xia managed to study so much every day, even during summer vacation, with so many classes.
How did her brain work?
After sitting down obediently to eat, it wasn’t long before he finally got to eat the lamb legs he’d been craving.
For some reason, they tasted especially good today.
After dinner, he went to the game room to reward himself.
But just as he tore open a bag of chips, the door was pushed open.
Yao Yun walked in carrying a plate of fruit.
“Why are you playing games again? Didn’t Xiaxia give you more homework?”
Yao Yun took away his chips.
“You’re already overweight. Your grandpa wants you to eat less. In the future, if you want to please Grandpa like Xiaxia does, you’ll get more things. Otherwise, everything will go to Xiaxia and you’ll be left with nothing.”
Lu Shuo pouted, flopped on the sofa, and turned on the game console.
“I can’t do it. Having so many classes every day—I’d rather go bang my head on a block of tofu. Anyway, Dad has so much money. One painting can sell for millions. I’ll definitely have money to spend in the future.”
Hearing this, Yao Yun glanced back, then took the game console from his hands, her expression rarely stern.
“Naive! How much are those few paintings worth? The Lu family’s company is worth tens of billions. Even a small share would be enough for you to live comfortably. As long as you keep Grandpa happy, not only will you get game consoles, you’ll get whatever you want. Otherwise, everything will go to Xiaxia and you’ll be left with nothing.”
Lu Shuo frowned, took a bite of apple from the table.
“I’m Grandpa’s grandson, he’d never leave me with nothing. Besides, I don’t care about the company. If Xiaxia wants it, give it to her—I won’t have to study then.”
Whoever likes studying can do it.
He certainly didn’t.
“Nonsense!”
Yao Yun was so angry she almost cursed, but then remembered her son was still young and didn’t understand these things.
“In the future, you should play with her less. Learn from her strengths, but don’t let her corrupt you, understand?” Yao Yun said earnestly.
Lu Shuo munched on the apple, completely puzzled.
What did “corrupt” mean?
Knowing he’d worked hard these past two days, Yao Yun could only return the game console to him and leave the game room.
Her feelings toward Bai Xia were complicated.
She hoped Bai Xia would help improve her son’s studies, but also feared her son would be “corrupted” by her, leaving her heart in turmoil.
Bai Xia spent half a month finishing the project proposal.
She’d done quite a bit of research and had to write it in detail—she couldn’t let the male lead think she was just pulling strings for investment.
Fortunately, the male lead was now home most evenings.
When she went to knock on his door, no one answered for a long time.
At last, a cold voice came from inside.
“What is it?”
“Can’t I come find you even if there’s nothing?”
Hearing the childish voice outside, the door quickly opened.
Lu Lin seemed to have just come out of the bathroom, casually toweling off his hair.
When he saw the girl standing at the door, he squatted down.
“You can come in anytime from now on. No need to knock.”
Bai Xia frowned.
“You have no manners. Are you trying to make me as rude as you?”
Who teaches children like this, anyway?
She handed him the project proposal.
“Take a good look. I’m still little, so the company registration has to be under my mom’s name. It can’t be you.”
Lu Lin took the project proposal from her.
It looked pretty decent.
A kid shouldn’t know anything about this, but as he flipped through it, his expression suddenly turned serious.
“Take your time reading. I’m going to bed.”
Bai Xia rubbed her eyes and turned to walk back to her room.
Lu Lin didn’t know how long he read for, but when he looked up, the girl was already gone.
Still, his heart was in turmoil.
He’d known his daughter had started a company, and assumed Ruan Wen had helped her out.
But only now did he realize his daughter wasn’t joking.
She’d completed all the data analysis, cost ranges, international trends, and development steps in great detail.
It was hard to believe a three-year-old could have done this.
Maybe his thinking was too narrow.
There were prodigies all over the world—his daughter could be one of them.
If that was the case, maybe it was time for her to start taking finance and management classes.
The next morning, Bai Xia received word that the lawyers had already gathered evidence and sued the people spreading rumours.
The surveillance showed that all the employees making milk tea wore hats and all had black hair, but the hair in the drink was yellow—clearly malicious competition.
Early in the morning, there weren’t many people at the table, but she saw the male lead and Assistant Xu, who must have come to report something.
That’s life as a working man—up earlier than the chickens, asleep later than the dogs.
Everyone was just trying to get by.
“Uncle Xu, have you eaten breakfast?”
She handed him a sandwich.
Looking at the adorable little girl, Assistant Xu felt his heart melting.
No wonder the always-grumpy boss could restrain himself in front of her.
Who could be mean to such a cute child?
“I’ve eaten already, thank you.”
He smiled.
Bai Xia could only climb back into her seat at the table and take a bite of her sandwich, but then she noticed Lu Jinnian didn’t look too happy.
“I heard you arranged finance classes for Xiaxia?”
Lu Jinnian slapped the schedule on the table.
“Are you out of your mind? She’s not even four, and you want her to take management classes? No matter how smart she is, you can’t force the seedling to grow faster! What kind of father are you?”
Assistant Xu quietly stepped back a few paces.
He also thought the boss was being too hasty.
No matter how smart the young miss was, she still needed a solid foundation.
Most kids her age were still memorizing the multiplication table.
Lu Lin drank his water, face unchanged.
“It’s just exposure to the environment, not mandatory.”
Bai Xia quietly drank her congee.
She’d only asked the male lead for investment, not for all these extra classes.
But half an hour a day was fine—any more and she’d have no time to rest.
Lu Jinnian frowned.
“What were you doing at three years old? You’re supposed to look after a child, but you’re about to send her straight to the hospital. If anyone needs parenting classes, it’s you.”