In the living room, a man cowered as he sat kneeling on the floor, subjected to the gaze of two figures—one large, one small—seated on the sofa. The man was Muchen, an eight-star Saint Craftsman, who was currently being punished by his wife. At the same time, the gaze of his daughter made him feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles.
After a long while, Muxi's expression finally softened considerably.
"So, this younger sister is Dad's new apprentice?"
Once Yuan Bao'er, his wife, returned home and she and her husband gave a joint explanation, Muxi finally understood the whole story from beginning to end.
Because she had recently started learning forging, her father had been in a good mood and went out for a walk, which was how he happened to run into this exceptionally talented little girl.
"That's right, Xiao Xi! When your dad came back, he told me all about it. I was the one who changed the girl's clothes—we just didn't tell you because we were afraid you'd overthink things..."
Seeing that her daughter was beginning to understand, Yuan Bao'er immediately shot Muchen a look: *I'll leave our daughter to you for now; I'm going to go talk to that young lady.*
In truth, Yuan Bao'er could completely understand the girl's perspective. The child had been forging just fine when she suddenly lost consciousness and woke up in a strange place, and moreover, the guy who brought her here looked a little... wild? Well, he was a forging master, after all, and once he got absorbed in his work, he easily lost himself in it. Besides, being a man, he was used to being a bit slovenly in his daily life.
If she continued to let Muchen communicate with the young girl, it would definitely frighten the child even more. Nine times out of ten, the girl would refuse to become his apprentice, and it might even backfire entirely. If the girl ended up running away, that would be a disaster—after all, a genius like this might never be found again.
Therefore, Yuan Bao'er planned to go calm the girl down first and casually mention Muchen's background. After all, with a Saint Craftsman's identity out in the open, the perks of being a Saint Craftsman's apprentice were something people could only dream of!
Having received his wife's tacit permission, Muchen immediately stood up from the floor, sat on the couch, and began soothing his daughter's emotions while casually bringing up some topics related to forging.
Since his own daughter loved forging, Muchen as a father naturally couldn't be unaware of it. By changing the subject at a time like this, perhaps his daughter would forget all about her anger before long?
*Not bad, the boy is teachable!* Watching her husband's approach, Yuan Bao'er smiled and nodded, then turned and left the living room. There was still a guest waiting for her in the study!
"Hello there, little one!" The moment she opened the door, Yuan Bao'er saw Heita sitting upright on the sofa, seemingly having been there for quite a long time. "I'm so sorry, it took me a little while to deal with that 'bad guy' just now. He didn't scare you, did he?"
Since Muchen was already cast as the bad cop in this child's eyes, she would play the good cop! Clearly, Muchen had just been thrown under the bus.
"..." However, Heita didn't speak, simply looking at Yuan Bao'er in silence.
The atmosphere seemed somewhat awkward, but Yuan Bao'er wasn't about to just sit back and do nothing; she immediately opened her arms and pulled Heita right into her embrace.
"Mph! You are just too cute!"
"Where are your parents? How could they bear to let such a cute child like you out on your own? What would you do if you were abducted by bad people?"
"...Auntie, I don't have parents." Heita turned her head away, refusing to look at Yuan Bao'er any longer. "They left a long time ago."
As the original soul, Yao Lan had lost both parents before transmigrating, leaving her all alone in the world. Heita was currently manifesting Yao Lan's consciousness, so this was a completely genuine outpouring of emotion.
*Ah, this is a bit troublesome.*
Before she had even said a few words, Yuan Bao'er had stepped right into a landmine. Yet she didn't panic, knowing there was still room for remedy.
"I see..." Her expression turned somewhat regretful, but Yuan Bao'er quickly adjusted her mood and once again opened her arms to pull Heita into her embrace. "If you're willing, would you like to call me Mom?"Using the same hugging method as Muchen, Yuan Bao'er, as a young mother, clearly looked much more approachable than Muchen, invisibly lowering the girl's guarded resistance.
Coupled with that final sentence, not only did it play the emotional card, but it also let Heita voice her own opinion, subtly respecting her autonomy. It could truly be called killing many birds with one stone...
She really is full of tricks!
Even Heita couldn't help freezing for a few seconds. Still, she had no intention of refusing. After all, wasn't staying here the very way to get what she wanted?
Now it seemed she wouldn't just become the "disciple of Saint Craftsman Muchen", but had the chance to go even further: "adopted daughter and disciple"... That status was even better! A flash of red light swept across the depths of Heita's eyes, a sign of her simulating Nous's calculations. Whether it was Yuan Bao'er or Heita, both were now putting their acting talents to work to achieve their own ulterior motives.
"Mom..."
"Hey!" The moment Heita spoke, Yuan Bao'er pulled her into an embrace once more. "Since you've already called me Mom... then Mom won't stand on ceremony! Sniff sniff!"
A relaxed approach could dispel the gloom in one's heart. Over the time that followed, Yuan Bao'er used playfulness to completely bond with Heita.
"Oh, so little Heita is this amazing? Even though you're only a little younger than my Muxi, you already have the skills of a Level 5 blacksmith, and you taught yourself? Even that big baddie wasn't as impressive as you when he was little!"
Clearly, Muchen had been sold out once again.
"If it's little Heita, it won't be long before you become a God Craftsman, right?"
"Hmph hmph! Of course! Because I'm a genius!"
Amidst Yuan Bao'er's expressions of amazement, Heita had completely shaken off her previous state of unease and sorrow, developing in a positive direction.
"By the way, does little Heita know anything about higher-level smithing?"
"This... does Bao'er Mom know?"
From their previous conversation, Yuan Bao'er knew Heita was a child from the slums. Despite her outstanding talent, her future development would very likely be limited by her surrounding environment, which was why Yuan Bao'er cast out the bait at this moment...
"Remember that big baddie from earlier?"
"Of course I remember. That ba—that uncle who didn't look like a good person brought me here without a word. Fortunately, I met you, Bao'er Mom!"
The original word "baddie" was swallowed back just in time, replaced by a much milder phrasing. Heita did this deliberately, and as for the effect...
She really is just a child! Seeing Heita check her own words, Yuan Bao'er confirmed that she already held a certain standing in Heita's heart, which meant she could proceed to the next step.
"Mm, even though that uncle brought you here, he was just worried about you! What if you'd been left all alone there and snatched up by bad guys to be sold?"
"Still, it really was wrong of him to just drag you away like that. How about we make him compensate you? Don't let that uncle's rough appearance fool you, he's an eighth-level blacksmith! When it comes to smithing, there's only one person in the entire world who is better than him."
"How about he guides you in smithing techniques as compensation?"
Yuan Bao'er cleverly framed "taking a disciple" as "compensation", making it that much harder to refuse. Yet, seeing Heita hesitate, Yuan Bao'er knew she needed to give her one final push.
"Don't worry, if that uncle bullies little Heita, just come tell me, and I'll make him kneel on a washboard tonight! Let's pinky swear!"
"Mm, pinky swear!"
With Yuan Bao'er going to such lengths, a radiant smile finally bloomed on Heita's face as she held out her little finger.
One side gained a genius daughter, and the other side gained a perfect family. This round...
Yuan Bao'er: The advantage is mine!
Heita: No, it's mine!