Madam, Please Behave

The first day of the Lunar New Year.

A new year, a fresh start.

In a half-dreaming state, Liu Changqing felt a warm breath repeatedly blowing on his cheek—it tickled. Instinctively, he raised a hand to scratch it.

As soon as he did, a burst of silver-bell-like laughter echoed in his ears. That laughter pulled him out of his sleep.

He opened his eyes sleepily, only to see a big face full of smiles right in front of him. Just having woken up, Liu Changqing was momentarily confused about what exactly was going on.

“Daddy, wake up~”

Liu Xiazhi was lying on her stomach at the head of Liu Changqing’s bed, her little butt sticking out. Just as she was about to sneak out a hand, she noticed he was already awake and quickly pulled it back.

Now fully awake, Liu Changqing struggled a bit before sitting up from under the blanket.

He scratched the back of his head and instinctively glanced at the spot next to him.

“Mom’s been up for a while now! You’re the only one still being lazy!”

As she said this, Liu Xiazhi climbed down from the bed, her feet landing on the floor with a soft thud. She reached out and straightened her clothes.

Dressed in her brand-new outfit, she looked especially adorable.

After doing that, Liu Xiazhi suddenly seemed a bit bashful. Her little hands kept fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, her eyes sneaking glances at her father who was still under the blanket. She looked like she had something to say but didn’t know how to bring it up.

Liu Changqing noticed everything. After a brief daze, he decided to ask directly.

“You need to poop?”

“No, I already went!”

Liu Xiazhi, who firmly believed she was the cutest girl in the world, was clearly displeased by such a crude question from her dad. She immediately protested, then with a “might as well go for it” attitude, stretched out her little hand toward him.

“Daddy! Happy New Year!”

“Mm…”

“So… Grandpa and Grandma already gave me…”

“……”

“Uncle and Aunt too…”

Seeing her dad staying silent, Liu Xiazhi grew more and more uncertain. She slowly pulled her hand back.

Her lips pouted.

“New Year’s money…”

“Oh, right, that’s a thing… I almost forgot if you hadn’t brought it up.”

Liu Changqing replied with a look of sudden realization.

In his previous life, he was always the one receiving red envelopes. Now that the roles had reversed, it honestly hadn’t even crossed his mind.

After responding, Liu Changqing quickly grabbed his pants from the nightstand, pulled out his wallet, hesitated between a fifty and a hundred, then finally handed over a hundred-yuan bill to his daughter.

“Here, your red envelope.”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

The moment she saw the cash, Liu Xiazhi’s frown turned into a full-blown grin. Her tiny hands reached out at once.

But just as she was about to grab it, her dad suddenly pulled his hand back.

This completely confused Liu Xiazhi.

She looked up at her father in the bed, full of question marks.

Liu Changqing had paused because something had just occurred to him.

“How much did they give you in total?”

“……”

The question made Liu Xiazhi freeze. Her big eyes darted around, and then she blurted out a lie full of holes.

“Fifty!”

“I’ll give you one more chance—tell the truth.”

“Mmgh…”

She made a reluctant sound, then lowered her head and grumbled.

“Grandpa gave me five thousand… Grandma gave me five thousand… Uncle and Aunt gave me six thousand…”

“Pssshhh!”

Hearing the numbers, Liu Changqing couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

That side of the family was way too generous!

She was only ten! To receive that much money at such a young age…

His own measly hundred suddenly felt pretty pathetic.

As that thought crossed his mind, he glanced down at the red bill in his hand—it now looked downright stingy.

His grip on the bill hesitated, fingers twitching to pull it back. But then, for some reason, Liu Changqing thought of his little niece—Liu Fang.

Back when he was visiting the old home, he’d given that niece a hundred to wake him up. That girl looked like she didn’t even dare take it, saying it was too much.

She was only two years older than his daughter.

The more he thought about it, the more he wondered—if a child this age carried that much cash, would it mess with her values? Would her environment teach her that money came easy?

Would it… twist her?

Liu Changqing froze.

In those few seconds, his mind spun fast. Just from this topic of red envelopes, he imagined his daughter slowly developing the wrong outlook on money…

For someone who cared deeply about raising his kid right, that was definitely a bad sign.

There was no doubt—Liu Changqing loved his daughter.

He knew her personality well. If he let her keep all that money, she’d probably go buy some weird and unnecessary things when they got home…

Thinking this far, he looked at his daughter.

After a short pause, he forced a kind smile onto his face.

He reached out to pat her little head.

Then, in the most gentle voice possible, he said the most diabolical thing a parent could say to a child:

“Xiazhi… you’re still young. How about you let Daddy hold on to your red envelopes for now? I’ll keep it safe for you, and when you grow up, I’ll give it all back. Sound good?”

With a face full of warmth, he said it like he was doing her a favor.

Xiazhi stared blankly.

Silent for a long time.

Downstairs.

An Yuanyao had flour on her hands. She was helping make dumplings, while her siblings and mom were prepping other dishes. It was a peaceful and festive scene—until it was shattered by the faint sound of someone crying.

The three women in the kitchen all paused what they were doing, the sound gradually growing clearer.

As it got more and more distinct, they looked at each other, then all turned their eyes toward the kitchen door…

About five seconds later, a small figure burst in from outside, face covered in tears.

Liu Xiazhi ran in crying loudly, didn’t say a word, and threw herself into An Yuanyao’s arms, wailing.

As she sobbed, she gasped out broken phrases:

“My… my money… Daddy took it all!”