Chapter 67: Oh No, I’ve Become a Boring Adult

After finishing their meal, Jiang Yun glanced at Little Daze. “Can we go back now?”

Little Daze shoveled the last bite from her bowl, dabbed her lips with a tissue, and replied, “You’ll have to give me a ride. My car’s still at the repair shop—I took a cab here.”

Jiang Yun raised an eyebrow. “Was that because you parked illegally last time?”

At this, Little Daze looked at him, exasperated. “How many times do I have to say it? That was a car accident, not illegal parking.”

“Oh… but you weren’t allowed to park there. So technically, you were parked illegally.”

Little Daze was speechless.

“Fine, fine. Illegal parking, whatever you say!” she huffed.

“Let’s go then.” With that, Jiang Yun left the spicy hotpot shop and headed next door into the convenience store.

“Do you need to buy something else?” Little Daze followed, curious.

“A pack of cigarettes,” Jiang Yun replied, asking the cashier to fetch him a pack. He tore it open right away and lit one up.

His sudden action startled Little Daze, who quickly averted her phone camera. “Hey! Don’t you know you can’t smoke on livestream?”

Jiang Yun let out a long puff and pointed at his drone. “I already turned the camera away.”

“You could have warned me! What if my stream gets shut down?” Little Daze looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s your stream, not my problem.”

Little Daze was left speechless again.

Just as she was still puzzling over Jiang Yun’s antics, a young girl’s voice piped up nearby. “Mommy, I’m ready!”

Both Jiang Yun and Little Daze instinctively turned toward the sound.

They saw a young woman holding a little girl’s hand. The girl was pointing excitedly at the snack shelves.

The woman smiled down at her. “Sweetheart, remember, since you scored ninety on your test, you only get nine seconds to pick your goodies.”

“I know, Mommy.” The girl nodded eagerly.

Hearing this, Jiang Yun and Little Daze understood the situation. The little girl had done well on her test, and her mother was rewarding her with a treat at the convenience store.

A soft smile tugged at Jiang Yun’s lips. He remembered the old days at the orphanage, when the director would reward the well-behaved kids with lollipops… though that never really had anything to do with him. After all, he’d always been the most mischievous one there.

Being a handful was simply in his nature since childhood. That was why the director had been so surprised the last time Jiang Yun came back to visit.

As his thoughts drifted, the girl’s mother began timing her. The girl dashed straight to the shelves stacked with potato chips and started grabbing as many as she could.

Nine seconds flew by, and soon the girl’s arms were overflowing with chips.

“How wonderful—children are so easily pleased,” Little Daze sighed wistfully.

“That’s kids for you,” Jiang Yun agreed.

He glanced at the streaming chat, expecting the viewers to be just as touched by the child’s innocence.

Instead, criticism poured in.

“Potato chips are cheap and unhealthy. What’s so great about them?”

“That kid is clueless. Why not grab some expensive toys?”

“There’s a toy section right next to the chips—she didn’t take a single doll.”

“Her mother probably let her pick chips because they’re cheap.”

“She should’ve at least gone for something pricier, like beef jerky. Chips aren’t worth much.”

Reading the barrage of complaints, Jiang Yun couldn’t help but mock them. “Children don’t care about what’s valuable or which choice is the most profitable. She just grabbed what she loves to eat, something she earned through her own efforts. If you can’t understand that, maybe you boring adults should keep your mouths shut.”

Little Daze heard him and glanced at her own chat, which was just as judgmental as Jiang Yun’s.

She couldn’t help but chime in, “None of you were like this when you were kids. You all grew up and turned into dull adults, didn’t you? So what if she likes chips and takes a bunch? They’re light enough for her to carry home herself—she’ll be happy the whole way.”

She turned to meet Jiang Yun’s gaze, and they both shared a knowing smile.

Their words seemed to wake up part of the audience.

“Oh no, I’ve turned into a boring adult.”

“Kid: Mind your own business!”

“To those telling her to pick expensive things—why not have her grab rice and cooking oil while she’s at it?”

“Boring adults, can you leave the stream? Stop projecting your childhood disappointments onto other kids.”

Soon, the chat was on the verge of an argument. Jiang Yun quickly intervened. “Alright, enough. I’m ending the stream now—it’s time. I’ll be back tomorrow at the same time… well, maybe I’ll stream during the day. These late-night streams are taking a toll on me. See you all.”

He ended the stream and packed up his drone.

Little Daze looked over at him. “So you’re changing your streaming schedule?”

“Yeah, these late-night streams are a bit much lately.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Weren’t you the one who said streaming late at night would mean fewer viewers?”

Jiang Yun shrugged. “But it’s bad for my health.”

Little Daze eyed the cigarette still burning between his fingers. “Bad for your health, huh?”

Not missing a beat, Jiang Yun took another drag and replied, “This is my war budget, you wouldn’t understand. Let’s go.”

He headed for his car, and Little Daze followed close behind.

They got in, and as soon as they did, Little Daze saw her stream’s viewer count skyrocket.

“Hey, old lady, don’t turn off the stream!”

“That’s right! Yun’s stream is over—if you end yours, I’ll start to think something’s up with you two!”

“Don’t you dare stop! I want to see some excitement!”

“Money’s not an issue—I’ll pay for premium content!”

“If you end the stream, I’ll start spreading rumors!”

Little Daze could tell exactly where these viewers had come from—Jiang Yun’s stream.

After he went offline, his fans, unwilling to go to bed, had flocked to her channel.

She teased Jiang Yun, “Hey, your fans have invaded my stream. They want to see something special.”

Jiang Yun glanced at her chat and grinned. “What? Are you going to put on a premium show for the guys?”

She rolled her eyes. “You wish.”

Jiang Yun chuckled quietly and didn’t say anything more, starting up the car.

If you enjoy the stream: “A Song for the Dancing Girl” — please add it to your favorites.