Chapter 69 Do Spoiled Women Have All the Luck?

Cheng Guanzhi finally pushed himself up from the couch. "What kind of trip costs tens of thousands of yuan? Do you think this is the ruble? Did you borrow money from someone behind our backs?"

Instinctively feeling that something was wrong with his daughter while she was out, Cheng Guanzhi could no longer remain indifferent. Today's kids were truly out of hand—did she spend a fortune on mobile games, or did she break someone else's expensive possession?

"No, Dad!" Yaoyao quickly protested. "I didn't borrow any money. It's for a study tour. We're going to Europe, to see the Grand Canyon and visit historical universities."

Instead of pulling out the brochure issued by the school for the study tour, Yaoyao showed them the digital photos she had saved on her phone.

After all, the final page of the brochure bore the true price of this journey.

"Europe?!"

Cheng Guanzhi had never expected this. No wonder it cost tens of thousands—that was Europe!

"Have you lost your mind?! The suburbs aren't enough for you? China isn't big enough for you? Even the whole of Asia can't contain you, and now you have to go to Europe!"

Yaoyao pouted. Given her temper, she could just turn around and walk away right now; she didn't need to beg anyone! But all her classmates at school were waiting, and words spoken could not be taken back—she certainly didn't want to become the laughingstock.

"It's organized by the school, and everyone is going."

In truth, she had no real concept of how far Europe or Asia actually were; she simply wanted to go! Besides, you never pay attention to me anyway. Didn't you say you spend all day working hard to make money for me? Well, then fork over the cash!

"Your school is just trying to swindle parents out of money! What month are you even going to Europe? You'll freeze to death! What ancient universities? At your tiny age, what could you possibly appreciate? Do you think you can even get admitted there or something?"

Yaoyao swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to throw a tantrum on the spot, and instead put on a pitiful, endearing expression.

"Dad, didn't you just say that you're busy making money to give me the best? If you had time to accompany me, I wouldn't want to go anywhere else—even just hanging out at the fitness plaza downstairs in our apartment complex would make me happy!"

The rest of Cheng Guanzhi's scolding withered away in his throat.

She was his own flesh and blood; how could he not care for her? With his daughter looking at him with tear-filled eyes and speaking so reasonably, even if he held ten thousand grievances, he could no longer find it in himself to flare up.

"Go discuss it with your mother! I'm not the one who makes the final call."

At that, Yaoyao started to cry.

Children who have never been truly pampered learn to read the room quickly. She knew all too well how to manipulate her parents. She knew precisely how to exploit the guilt her mother and father felt over their absence in her life.

"It's always been like this, ever since I was little. I'm just a burden to you both, nothing more than dead weight.

"Other kids have their parents drop them off right at the school gate, but I've been taking the subway by myself since the first grade. Other kids go play in the park with their moms, dads, and grandparents after school, while I'm stuck in after-school care until very late at night.

"When I want to see the world's most famous universities, Dad says I could never get in anyway. I'm wrong about everything, I don't measure up in anything, my grades aren't good, and I can never be a good student.

"Whenever holidays roll around, other children are picked up early by their moms and dads to go play outside. I dream of the day my teacher tells me I can leave early, but it has never happened—not even once. I've never been anywhere, and the only family photo the three of us have together is from before I turned five..."

"No, wait, don't..." Seeing his daughter like this, how could Cheng Guanzhi not feel his heart ache? He reached out to hug Yaoyao, but she stepped back to avoid him, crying even harder.

Yaoyao's mother finally hurried out of the bathroom, still holding a dripping shoe brush. "What is it? What's going on? Why is she crying?"

Yaoyao took another two steps back, dodging her mother's outstretched hand as well.

"I don't have anything anyway! Just let everyone else go on the trip! I've never fit in anyway—at the Children's Day sports meet, no parents came to join me in the parent-child activities, and everyone laughed at me. My parents don't love me anyway!"

"What nonsense is this child spouting!"

Her mother took a few quick strides forward and pulled Yaoyao tightly into her arms. "Mom and Dad love you the most! Tell Mom what's wrong, and we can solve any problem together! Whatever other families have, we aren't lacking a single thing."

Cheng Guanzhi felt a familiar headache coming on. "It's a school study tour to Europe, costing tens of thousands of yuan. I said I wouldn't let her go."

"Tens of thousands, so what?! What's wrong with a daughter going on a trip with her classmates? What do you think you're killing yourself working away from home for all day? If we aren't spending it on our daughter, are we supposed to keep a mistress outside?!

"You can't be bothered to accompany your daughter, and now you're too stingy to even shell out the money for a school trip? At most it's forty or fifty thousand yuan, what of it? Is it really breaking the bank for you?

"I've followed you for all these years and never been anywhere nice, and now you want to keep our daughter trapped at home forever too? All her classmates are going, why can't she? What's wrong with a girl wanting to broaden her horizons?

"When she went to international school, you said you wanted her to travel all over the world, and now you won't even let her go on a simple trip. Saying our daughter can't get into a good university—with the way you educate her, you're the one ruining her future!"

"Fine, go, go, go! Sign her up, let her go!"

Cheng Guanzhi had no desire to argue any further. Was every single thing his fault now? Who did he work himself to the bone for every single day? This woman who couldn't even earn a few thousand yuan of her own was certainly quick and cheerful when spending tens of thousands!

"Stop putting on that gloomy face! Using your money, are you? You think you're high and mighty again? If I hadn't stayed home to take care of you and this family, it's hard to say whose salary would be higher today!

"Yaoyao, Mom will pay for it. We don't need to look at his stinking face. Wherever you want to go, Mom will scrape the money together and make sure you go! My daughter is no worse than anyone else!"

Yaoyao still had tears clinging to her face, her voice sounding pitiful and meek. "Forty... forty-eight thousand."

She had heard her mother say earlier that it would be at most forty or fifty thousand, so that was her mother's absolute limit. Now that she had finally reached this stage, she couldn't ask for too much more.

Sure enough, her mother didn't hesitate at all. "Alright, isn't it just fifty thousand yuan? Mom will pay for it. You go ahead and sign up, and this weekend Mom will take you to get your passport. Don't cry, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Mom."

Yaoyao returned to her room and wiped the tears from her face.

Mission accomplished, a narrow victory.

No matter what, they had finally agreed. Now the only hurdle left was the remaining gap of ten thousand yuan.

Yaoyao opened her WeChat. There were still a little over 5,000 yuan in her wallet, and the breakthrough app probably had a few hundred more, but she hadn't linked a bank card to it yet, making withdrawals difficult. If she had known, she wouldn't have spent money so recklessly before.

There was still a month left before the study tour, but she had no idea when the tuition and fees were due. Could she really scrape together that much money just by shaking her hips on camera?

As a third-grader in primary school, borrowing money from others was extremely difficult. Yaoyao's gaze finally settled on her list of WeChat contacts.

It seemed... that Director Song fellow had rather deep pockets.

"Hello? Are you looking for any new custom content? I'm in immediate need of funds, and private commissions are welcome."

Even Yaoyao hadn't expected the big director to be so idle; he replied to her in a matter of seconds.

"What kind of custom content can you make?"