I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?

At this, Gao Qi’s eyes instantly lit up. He tilted his small face upward, full of joy. "So... will you go tomorrow? I can wait for you at the foot of the mountain."

"I’m not sure what time."

Upon hearing this, Gao Qi’s joyful expression immediately fell.

"Why does it matter to you whether I go or not?" Ye Qianning couldn’t help but ask.

"Uh... I... I don’t really have any friends."

’Ye Qianning had noticed this at the academy before. Almost no one ever spent time with him. In the modern world, he would be a textbook case of being ostracized.’

’Prime Minister Gao had a poor reputation, so many officials and students were unwilling to associate with his son. The prestigious noble families seemed to disdain him, and even kids his own age refused to play with someone who was so short he looked like a child.’

’He was actually quite pitiful!’

"They all look down on me. You’re the only one who’s different. You let me copy the Disciple’s Rules, you give me pastries... we even talk..." Gao Qi really cherished those times.

"..."

Ye Qianning recalled their time at the academy. ’Giving him pastries? That was just because I didn’t have the heart to bully a kid. Chatting together? Didn’t he just butt into our conversations? And in the end, didn’t we just pawn off the task of copying the Disciple’s Rules onto him?’

"So we’re already really good friends. Without you... the academy is so boring." Gao Qi’s voice dropped a little.

"..."

’Ye Qianning was starting to wonder if he was seeing her through some kind of rose-colored glasses...’

Gao Qi sat huddled in a small ball, his head drooping like a bean sprout as he snuck occasional glances at her.

"Here... for you." Ye Qianning started to ask something, but hesitated and held her tongue. Instead, she retrieved a small bottle of pills from her pocket dimension and handed it to him.

Gao Qi looked up, then slowly reached out to take it. "What’s this?"

"Candy."

Gao Qi immediately opened it, tipped one out, and popped it into his mouth. It was slightly bitter, but also a little sweet, and a pleasant fragrance filled the air around him.

Seeing how trusting he was, Ye Qianning couldn’t help but think, ’This kid is really something else.’ She reminded him, "You can’t eat too much of this candy. Take one every seven days. Just have one on your day off from the academy."

"Okay."

"Oh, and don’t let anyone know about the candy. This is our secret."

"I know. I won’t let anyone see it." Gao Qi immediately tucked the bottle into his robes. An image of the Crown Prince snatching his pastries flashed through his mind, and he pressed a small hand to his chest, hiding it more securely.

"No one can know. Not even your father," Ye Qianning stressed.

Gao Qi nodded emphatically. "Don’t worry. This is a secret between us kids. We can’t let the adults know, otherwise you could be in danger."

"Hm?"

Ye Qianning looked at him, surprised.

Gao Qi clutched his chest with a small hand, his expression exceptionally solemn. "My lips are sealed."

"I believe you."

Gao Qi was overjoyed, his eyes filled with determination.

"I’m not going back to the academy tomorrow. I’ll be back after the rest day after next."

"The rest day after next?" Gao Qi began to calculate on his fingers. "Today is the twenty-fifth of the fifth month, so the day we return to the academy after the next rest day would be the eighth of the sixth month. Okay! On the eighth of the sixth month, I’ll wait for you at the foot of Lou Mountain, and we can go to the academy together."

"Alright." Ye Qianning nodded.

"It’s a deal, then. Pinky promise." Gao Qi held out his little finger.

’So childish...’

Ye Qianning was about to refuse, but then she met Gao Qi’s expectant gaze. She turned her head away slightly and hesitantly extended her own pinky.

’Oh, whatever—’

Gao Qi was ecstatic. He hooked his small finger around her soft one. "Pinky swear, for a hundred years, no take-backs!"

Ye Qianning couldn’t bear to watch. ’Where in the world did that rhyme even come from?!’

"Alright, I’m heading back now. Don’t forget—the eighth of the sixth month, we go to the academy together."