Chapter Four: Snow White Has Been Taken!

"Why the heartbreak? You might find yourself doing the same thing later on."

Shen Jin'an's heavy mood was abruptly interrupted. "Skinny Dog, aren't you ashamed of bullying a child?"

[It was you doing the bullying, not me! Besides, my name is not Skinny Dog!]

"Heh, I look down on you, Skinny Dog."

[...]

[It seems the host has already adapted to the role of a vicious stepmother. Now, let's proceed with the mission.]

[Mission 1: Make the little villain experience the agony of falling from heaven to hell. Time limit: 24 hours.]

The system's cold, mechanical voice carried a hint of gloating. It hadn't expected its host to have such poor luck, drawing such an abstract mission right out of the gate.

Shen Jin'an muttered to herself, "Must I complete this within a single day?"

[Don't think the time is too short; subsequent missions will have even tighter deadlines.]

"Oh, no," Shen Jin'an stretched, showing no desire to complete the task. "I just think it's still early. I should be able to take a nap before I figure out a way."

A wave of sleepiness hit her. Shen Jin'an set her sights on Gu Lili’s ultra-luxurious, two-meter-wide toddler playpen bed. The original owner's mattress was as hard as a rock; she had previously mistaken it for a nursery bed, assuming it was for the child's developmental needs. Only after sorting through her memories did she realize it was part of the original owner's strict posture management.

The bed in front of her looked far more comfortable than the one in the original owner's room. Sleeping on it must be heavenly!

Seeing that her host was leaning toward slacking off, the system hurriedly added, [As long as you complete the mission on time, you will receive a cash reward of ten million for each task! Plus, the bonus will increase along with the difficulty of the mission.]

Upon hearing this, Shen Jin'an's eyes lit up. "Ten million! Does that money still count even after I complete the mission and leave this world?"

[Of course.]

Seeing her host finally show some interest, the system breathed a sigh of relief. Hmph, humans really are easy to manipulate. It truly is a top-tier system that has held the "Excellent Employee" title for years!

However, the very next second, it heard Shen Jin'an say, "Lili, how about I take a nap in bed with you later?"

By now, Gu Lili had stopped crying under Shen Jin'an’s repeated assurances, but the way he looked at her still resembled a frightened little deer.

"Why?"

Dinosaur-clad Lili clutched his tail and retreated cautiously, his little milky voice filled with unease. In the past, his stepmother would also smile and ask if he wanted to sleep in a more comfortable place, only to lock him in a dark cupboard.

"No reason. A little cub as small as you needs an adult to accompany you while you sleep. I can even tell you bedtime stories."

Hearing the mention of bedtime stories, Gu Lili’s eyes brightened. Before his stepmother arrived, the nanny always told him bedtime stories, which he loved dearly, and she would often pat his little belly to soothe him to sleep. But once his stepmother came, she took over the bedtime routine, and he never heard those fairy tales again, nor did anyone soothe him to sleep.

Seeing an opening, Shen Jin'an pressed her advantage. "I'm very good at telling stories."

Gu Lili struggled, picking at his little dinosaur tail. He wanted to hear a story, but he was worried this was just a new way for his stepmother to bully him. Finally, the two-year-old cub couldn't resist the temptation of a story. He pursed his little bun-like face and nodded solemnly. "Then... alright, I allow you to sleep with me."

Ignoring the protests in her mind from the system, Shen Jin'an hopped onto the bed. Fearing she might scare the wary child by getting too close, she consciously occupied only a third of the bed.

Gu Lili clutched his fluffy green tail, glancing back at his stepmother every now and then, thinking he was being stealthy. He didn't notice anything strange, only that his stepmother looked like she was about to fall off the edge at any moment. He remembered his own painful experience trying to climb out of the playpen to explore, only to go "thud" onto the carpet and cry his eyes out. His little brows knit together.

The cautious little dinosaur glanced once more at Shen Jin'an, who was lying on the very edge of the bed. Feeling awkward, he muttered, "You can move in... a tiny bit."

Hearing this, Shen Jin'an felt a warmth in her heart. "A mature adult wouldn't fight a child for space. Don't worry, I won't fall off."

She cleared her throat, drawing upon her "Champion of the Third Grade Storytelling Contest" skills.

"Once upon a time, Snow White accidentally dropped a crystal slipper, which was snatched away by a prince right in front of her. She sat by the river, weeping, and her tears turned into pearls that fell into the water, waking the sleeping River God."

"The River God asked, 'Little girl, did you lose golden tears, silver tears, or pearl tears?' Snow White cried even louder, shouting that she hadn't lost tears, but her crystal slipper. Her wailing annoyed the River God so much that he took out all three types of tears to cheer her up, but he didn't expect the aura of the jewels to attract an evil dragon!"

"Ah!"

The little cub was completely entranced, his large eyes unblinking as he let out an involuntary gasp, breaking into a cold sweat for Snow White.

*Run away, Snow White!*

"The evil dragon snatched Snow White away. The Emperor, who had been tricked into wandering around naked by swindlers, saw his daughter being kidnapped and hurriedly offered a massive fortune as a reward to anyone who could save her. The Seven Dwarfs in the forest heard the news, transformed into the Seven Calabash Brothers, and embarked on a journey to rescue the princess."

Gu Lili clenched his small fists tightly, waiting to hear how the princess would be saved. But instead of the rest of the story, he heard the rhythmic, steady breathing of his stepmother. He looked closely and realized she had actually fallen asleep!

Gu Lili, the target who actually needed to be coaxed to sleep: ...

He knew it was a stepmother's conspiracy!

Shen Jin'an had a rare, wonderful sleep. When she woke up, she received a notification from the system in a bizarre tone: her first mission had been completed! Yet, she hadn't done anything.

"Skinny Dog, did something happen while I was asleep?"

Before she could get an answer, she noticed her own heroic sleeping posture, which took up most of the baby bed, and Gu Lili sitting in a tiny corner, his eyes wide and round, his entire face filled with accusation.

Shen Jin'an only then realized that her sleeping posture was indeed not very elegant. A wave of intense guilt hit her.

Just as she was about to sit up to soothe Gu Lili's wounded heart, the door was suddenly pushed open. Thus, Gu Yichao’s gaze fell upon Shen Jin'an, who was hogging most of the bed and "looming" over Gu Lili, while the cub sat huddled in the corner, looking aggrieved.

To make matters worse, the moment Gu Lili saw Gu Yichao, his mouth puckered, his eyes turned red and watery, and he burst into tears.