Shanshan’s cheeks flushed red from the pinching, but she still thanked them obediently.

Ling Anxun was bubbling with joy, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

But as he watched his daughter become the center of a crowd’s attention, his brows gradually furrowed.

Before long, he made the excuse that "the child is sleepy," scooped her up in one motion, and left.

’Sleepy?’

Shanshan wasn’t the least bit sleepy. Her head swiveled back and forth, still eager to watch the excitement.

But before she could utter a single word, her father had "abducted" her.

She could only squirm in his arms and wave, shouting "Goodbye!" to her grandmother and the others.

After the birthday, things at home finally settled down.

Jiao Qin said she wanted to visit her parents, and she planned to bring some homemade pastries to show her filial devotion.

Since it was the weekend, Ling Zhiwei insisted on going with them, dragging Shanshan along for the ride.

Ling Anxun had originally planned to take his daughter for a picnic in the countryside.

He had already checked the weather, prepared a picnic blanket, and even taken time off from work specifically for it.

But as it turned out, his unit was assigned a last-minute mission. There was an emergency assembly, and he had to return to base immediately.

He didn’t even have time to go home and change, so he could only make a hurried phone call.

Not wanting his daughter to be disappointed, he had no choice but to entrust Shanshan to his sister-in-law to take out for the day.

He repeated his instructions over the phone.

"Jiao Qin, I’m sorry for the trouble. Shanshan loves strawberries, and please don’t let her have any drinks that are too cold. Make sure she takes a nap in the afternoon."

To his surprise, Shanshan didn’t make a fuss at all. She even comforted him.

"Go on, Dad, you have to get to work! It’s important! I’ll have a great time with Auntie! Just come back soon, and I’ll be waiting for you to tell me stories about your mission!"

But she never expected that this so-called "fun weekend" would be nothing like what she had imagined.

Her heart had been set on parks, grassy fields, and swings.

But what greeted her instead was the concrete jungle of the city.

Jiao Qin lived in the city, surrounded by tall buildings and busy roads.

The moment Ling Zhiwei got there, he bolted off to find his old "buddies."

He paid her no mind at all, simply leaving Shanshan with Jiao Qin.

Shanshan tagged along for the entire morning and was completely exhausted.

That afternoon, Ling Zhiwei wanted to drag her out again, saying they should go check out the interesting things at the market.

He burst through the door excitedly, holding a small, woven straw hat.

"Shanshan, put this on. Want to go out and explore some more?"

Shanshan immediately shook her head.

"Fourth Brother, I’m just going to rest here at home. I really don’t want to move. We walked all morning, I feel like my bones are going to fall apart."

The moment he was gone, Shanshan shot up from the bed.

In a few quick steps, she ran to the window, poking her head out to look.

Only when she was sure her Fourth Brother was a good distance away did she breathe a sigh of relief.

’If I’d told him I wanted to sneak out and play by myself, Fourth Brother would have worried himself sick and never let me go.’

’But I just want to walk around by myself in peace, look at the little stalls on the street, and not be constantly babied like a little kid.’

’So, to have a little bit of freedom to play, I had no choice but to tell a small lie.’

Shanshan walked slowly along the flagstone path.

A few steps away, under a large tree, several figures were huddled in a circle, muttering to each other.

Curious, Shanshan tiptoed closer for a look and saw that they were playing a board game.

A worn-out wooden table sat in the shade of the tree, a game board laid out on top of it.

Several gray-haired old men were engrossed in a match.

"Well now, look who we have here! You’ve been watching for a while, little lady. Have you figured it out yet?"

An old man wearing reading glasses looked up, asking her with a warm smile.

He held a black game piece in his hand, hesitating to make his move.

"I have."

Shanshan had been standing to the side, silently observing how they moved the pieces and deliberated over their moves.

She was naturally bright and had an excellent memory. Just by watching, she had already figured out most of the rules.

’In her mind, if you understood the rules, you knew how to play.’

Hearing this, all the old men broke into laughter.

"My, my, this little girl sure talks big!"

"Alright then!"

The old man with the glasses was intrigued.

"How about a game with this old man? Talk is cheap. You have to show me you can actually play."

"Why not?"

Shanshan blinked, agreeing without a moment’s hesitation.

"If I win a game, I’ll treat you to some candy afterward."

"Come, come, sit right here!"

Another old man in a gray shirt quickly moved his own little wooden stool aside, motioning for her to sit down.

"This spot has good feng shui! You’re guaranteed to win if you sit here!"

She plopped down onto the stool and gave a proper little bow.

"Hello, Grandpa. My name is Shanshan. Please guide me."

’She remembered her grandpa back in the countryside always saying that when you’re out in the world, you can never go wrong by being polite to your elders.’

The old man’s face broke into a wide, delighted smile.

"What a good child! So polite and well-mannered. My surname is Hu, so you can just call me Grandpa Hu. No need to be so formal."

"Hello, Grandpa Hu!"

Shanshan said sweetly.

"This is my first time playing, so if I make a mistake, please don’t laugh at me. Just teach me, and I promise I’ll listen carefully."

The two of them quickly set up the game board.

Grandpa Hu carefully arranged the black and white pieces in their starting positions, then graciously let Shanshan make the first move.

Her first move was a little hesitant and unpracticed.

The other old men watching exchanged glances, assuming this was just a case of a child trying to show off.

But over the next few rounds, the atmosphere began to change.

As the game progressed, the relaxed smile on Grandpa Hu’s face slowly faded.

He realized that the girl was improving at an astonishing rate.

A clever move he had used in one round, she would learn and use right back against him in the next!

What was more shocking was that she wasn’t just copying his moves; she was adapting them, making them even more devious.

"Incredible!"

Grandpa Hu slapped his thigh.

"You take the strategy I just used, and in the next round you not only copy it, but make it even trickier! That mind of yours is something else! You’re a little chess prodigy!"

"The young are truly a force to be reckoned with!"

Shanshan smiled at the praise, pressing her lips together as her cheeks flushed faintly.

She lightly raised her hand and placed her piece on the board, smiling as she waited for his response.

But just as Grandpa Hu opened his mouth to speak, his expression suddenly changed, and his lips rapidly turned a purplish blue.

His hands flew instinctively to his throat, clutching it tightly, before his entire body went rigid and collapsed to the ground.

"Oh no! It’s Old Hu’s heart! Quick, call 911!"

Someone immediately turned and sprinted toward the small store on the corner.

"Quick! Call an ambulance! Uncle Hu collapsed!"

In a panic, Shanshan quickly knelt to help him.

Her hand was halfway there when she froze.

’Dad told me never to show my skills in front of people, especially not the healing stuff.’

’If Dad finds out I interfered again...’

’Will he be furious with me?’

But when she looked down, the old man’s face was ashen, and his breathing was shallow and ragged.

’Forget it. Saving him is more important!’

She shot her hand out, pressing on several key acupressure points on the old man’s chest.

Then, taking a deep breath, she applied gentle pressure just below his sternum.

In just a few seconds, a miracle occurred.

Grandpa Hu’s gasping slowly subsided, and his chest began to rise and fall in a steady rhythm.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Heavens! You... you’re just a child, how did you bring him around so quickly?"

The surrounding crowd erupted in an uproar.

"I... I don’t really know."

Shanshan lowered her head.

"My second aunt is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. I saw her save someone like this once, so I secretly memorized what she did. I never thought it would actually work."

But to the old men who heard this, it sounded like nothing more than a hastily fabricated excuse.

How could a little girl, only a few years old, possibly understand such things?