Pei Shiyi's expression darkened instantly. He rose to his feet and headed for the rooftop with long, purposeful strides.
Jing Meng stood frozen for a long moment. Listening to the cacophony outside growing more intense by the second, an inexplicable sense of panic gripped her heart. She quickly gathered herself and followed him toward the roof.
On the top floor, a tiny figure sat perched on the high ledge of the rooftop. The small body turned around, glaring warily at the crowd surrounding him. The bodyguards and maids of the Pei Residence watched him with rapt attention, terrified that he might slip.
"Little Young Master! Please, come down! If the Master finds out, he'll give you a lecture again!"
"I won't! Just leave me alone!" Pei Cheng turned his head away, his small chin tilted up as he wept "golden beans." His pitiful gaze, however, kept darting toward the rooftop door. "That big baddy is going to find me a new mommy. Why does he care what I do? I want to be alone! I want to be alone!"
"What is this nonsense now?"
A sharp, imposing figure appeared at the rooftop entrance. The man's voice carried the freezing chill of the night.
The small sobs hitched for a beat. In the next moment, as if he had been abandoned by the entire world, Pei Cheng began to wail even louder.
His old man was going to find him a new mommy; he definitely wouldn't pamper him anymore! He was going to make a scene! He would make such a fuss that the whole world would have to come and dote on him!
"Little Young Master, please, just come down! If the Master calls for the Family Rules, none of us will be able to stop him!" a middle aged maid pleaded, her face full of anxiety. She kept stealing glances at Pei Shiyi. It was true that the Master doted on the Little Young Master, but he had always been a strict disciplinarian. If he truly lost his temper...
The clever little treasure shrank his neck at the sight of the newcomer. As he watched Pei Shiyi walk onto the balcony and stare at him, he assumed his father felt guilty for being in the wrong. This realization gave his heart a meager boost of courage.
It was only fair! Finding a new mommy behind his back his stinky dad was the absolute worst in the entire universe!
At that thought, Pei Cheng became even more emboldened. He tossed his head back, swinging his little feet so fast they looked like Wind Fire Wheels.
"I'm going to make a scene! Don't you try to lie to me! I'm already a big boy of four! I'm not a three year old child anymore!"
Pei Shiyi frowned. His son had been brilliant since infancy, but he was far too lively and prone to mischief. Every day, he was like a small cannonball of pure energy; he had no idea who the boy took after.
"A-choo!"
A loud sneeze cut through the crying on the rooftop. Everyone turned toward the stairs to find Jing Meng rubbing her nose with an embarrassed smile.
"Humph!" Pei Cheng tossed his head again, letting out a heavy, nasal snort.
To say the three of them were in a state of awkwardness was an understatement; even the crowd of bodyguards and maids felt embarrassed for their Little Young Master.
But since he was the "group treasure" of the Pei family, they had no choice but to keep doting on him.
Jing Meng caught the eye of the impatient Pei Shiyi and motioned for him to come closer.
She had just learned Pei Shiyi's identity from the servants, and now a smile played at the corners of her eyes.
"Mr. Pei, this happened because of me, so I should take some responsibility. This is a life and death situation. Help me prepare a few things; I have a way to persuade the Little Young Master. Consider it repayment for you helping me earlier."
Pei Shiyi arched an eyebrow. He looked at the woman before him, whose face was as bright as a peach blossom, and thought back to the earring that had been vibrating frantically in his pocket during the press conference. He paused for a moment.
"Very well." Pei Shiyi nodded and gestured to the butler behind him. "Uncle Wei, prepare whatever she needs."
While Uncle Wei went to gather the items, Jing Meng took off her Snowdrop necklace and activated a secondary chip within the Snowdrop robot.
This was an ordinary chip she had discarded during previous experiments. All its command settings were relatively simple and lacked high intelligence, but it was more than enough to coax a crying child.
The inner core of Snowy had been depleted during the press conference. She would have to find a way to obtain more Narman Metal to keep it running soon.
Uncle Wei returned quickly with the materials. Jing Meng dismantled the shell of a toy frog and secured the Snowdrop robot inside. She then used a few springs to create four legs and initiated the robot's program. The toy frog, now equipped with spring legs, transformed into a simple robot that could speak and jump.
The tension on the rooftop had reached a boiling point, looking as though it might explode at any second.
Suddenly, a toy frog went hopping toward Pei Cheng at the edge of the roof.
"Chengcheng, Chengcheng, don't cry. Come and play with me."
A sweet, mechanical voice echoed from the frog's belly. Pei Cheng's crying stopped abruptly. He turned his head and stared in shock, his little mouth hanging open. "A frog? A talking frog?"
Seeing that it worked, Jing Meng spoke a string of words into her terminal's sound collector. The little frog on the rooftop immediately let out a burst of laughter. "Hehe, that's right! I'm a talking little frog. Baby Chengcheng, come down and play with me."
Pei Cheng was stunned, his eyes shimmering with crystalline tears.
He had heard many people call him Baby Chengcheng, but the voice of this ugly little frog seemed to possess a magnetic quality. It was pleasant and clinging, making him want to rush over and hug it.
He pushed himself up from the ledge with his short arms and stood, looking down at the little frog on the ground. Slowly, his gaze drifted to the woman who had quietly approached.
Her face was very beautiful, and her smile was warm. If if she was a little nicer to him, he didn't think he would mind her being his mommy...
As Jing Meng walked slowly toward him, she coaxed him softly through the little frog. "Baby Chengcheng, come. Come here."
"I'm not your baby." Pei Cheng pouted with an arrogant air, yet he reached his tiny hands out toward Jing Meng anyway.
Jing Meng was overjoyed to see him drop his guard. She stepped forward to scoop the little "soft bun" into her arms, failing to notice the malicious glint in the eyes of a maid standing beside her. The woman reached out and gave Jing Meng a sharp shove at her waist.
Jing Meng tripped forward abruptly, her body lunging uncontrollably. Pei Cheng was standing right in front of her, already leaning inward. Though she tried her best to throw her weight to the side, she still accidentally collided with Pei Cheng's small frame.
Pei Cheng was knocked backward. His foot hit empty air, and in an instant, he began to plumment from the roof!
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