Chapter 17

By expanding the view, Annie noticed that most of the items Jin Hyuntae had bought were for infants, and a faint, satisfied expression appeared on her face.

Originally, she thought Jin Hyuntae had bought things for himself, but upon discovering that everything was for the child, she felt extremely satisfied.

At least it showed that Jin Hyuntae wasn't frivolous with his money and placed great importance on the child, not the unreliable young father she had imagined.

From the expanded view, it was clear that Jin Hyuntae had bought clothes for the baby to wear while sleeping, as well as pretty outfits for going out, and diapers.

Moreover, the small car the child was sitting in seemed to be a new purchase, as it wasn't there when Jin Hyuntae moved in.

Annie quickly made a guess.

Annie looked thoughtful, recalling the information file Nord had given her, which described Jin Hyuntae's difficult life over the past six months, even taking his daughter to work to earn money.

"Truly, it's not easy. The little one has to endure the harsh conditions of the car wash just like her father."

Seeing the little one sitting quietly in the car, Annie couldn't help but feel a surge of sympathy.

Unaware that everything she was doing was being watched through hidden cameras, Jin Hyuntae, after arranging the items he had bought, took out a card from his pocket.

It was a delivery card from a Chinese restaurant near the supermarket, which he had picked up while passing by with his daughter.

By now, it was already afternoon, and he hadn't eaten anything, while his daughter had only had a bottle of milk. So, he was now starving.

Fortunately, he had finished everything he needed to do for the day. Even if there were some things left, he could continue tomorrow, so there was no rush.

Therefore, Jin Hyuntae decided to order takeout.

He took out the contract phone he had bought at the supermarket for 50 yuan, called the restaurant, and ordered a Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu meal. He also specially ordered a vegetable and meat porridge for his daughter and gave the restaurant his address before hanging up.

Taking his daughter to the garden, the little one immediately became excited.

Seeing how happy the little one was, Jin Hyuntae picked her up from the car and let her play on the thick, comfortable artificial grass.

At this moment, the little one couldn't stand yet, so she could only crawl. However, the artificial grass was soft and comfortable, so there was no need to worry about any harm coming to her. Therefore, Jin Hyuntae let her be.

After all, his daughter was very happy.

Standing in the garden, Jin Hyuntae looked through the fence covered with ivy and saw the beach, which appeared silver under the moonlight, and the distant view reflecting the silver moonlight.

The crescent moon was bright, and the stars dotted the night sky. There were still many local residents on the beach.

Of course, most of them were young men with bare torsos or young women in bikinis, mostly children from the local community.

Jin Hyuntae's eyesight was very good, a benefit of his mutation, so he could tell that the boys and girls playing on the beach were not much older than he was, around fifteen or sixteen years old.

However, what surprised Jin Hyuntae was that the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls were wearing very daring bikinis, which were essentially just strips of fabric, or even lines, showing a great deal of boldness.

Jin Hyuntae even saw a few couples kissing on the beach in the dim light, and it was unclear whether they were doing anything else.

This is America!

This is America!

Jin Hyuntae silently sighed in his heart.

At this moment, the delivery person from the Chinese restaurant, who had the address Jin Hyuntae had given, found the backyard.

After confirming and paying, Jin Hyuntae took the takeout he had ordered and walked to the lounge chair, calling out to his daughter, who was playing happily.

"Koko, eat your porridge."

Although the little one was happy crawling around without toys, she completely ignored her father's call and continued to crawl around the spacious garden, showing no signs of fatigue.

It must be said, children have a lot of energy.

Seeing this, Jin Hyuntae smiled wryly and stopped paying attention to his daughter, who was playing happily.

As someone who had already experienced his daughter's growth once, he knew that at this stage, his daughter didn't care about anything. Only when she was tired from playing would she stop and eat obediently.

Therefore, Jin Hyuntae put the vegetable and meat porridge he had ordered for his daughter aside and started eating his Mapo Tofu rice.

The taste was quite good, with a hint of Sichuan flavor, unlike other Chinese restaurants in America that altered the taste to cater to American palates, making it unrecognizable.

Outside the garden was a long pedestrian path along Monica Beach, specifically for running, cycling, and walking.

Even though it was almost 10 PM, there were still many people jogging on this path.

At this moment, the little one had crawled to the wooden gate of the garden and was trying hard to stand up by holding onto the gate, her legs trembling slightly. Her eyes were curiously watching the men and women jogging past on the path.

The little one would loudly say "Ya! Ya! Ya!" to each person passing by, regardless of whether they paid attention to her or not, as she was very happy.

"Hi!"

Most of the men and women jogging past would smile and respond to the little one, then glance at the garden.

As a new resident, Jin Hyuntae and the little one were still unfamiliar to the community, so it was natural for people to be curious.

When someone responded to her, the little one would mimic them with a "Hi" and then giggle, her cute appearance making people want to pinch her cheeks.

Jin Hyuntae only glanced at his daughter interacting with strangers and then ignored it, as long as she was happy.

Since the little one was in their own garden, there was no need to worry about any accidents.

The strangers she was flirting with seemed to be local residents, so there shouldn't be any problems.

While eating his Mapo Tofu rice, Jin Hyuntae began to think about his future development and life, falling into deep thought.

At this moment, Dave's words echoed in Jin Hyuntae's mind. "You should continue your education. Only then can you have a future. Without a degree, even if you succeed in writing, you will still be looked down upon and not accepted by mainstream society." Although Jin Hyuntae had a different perspective, he didn't ignore this advice.

The reason for his different perspective was mainly due to his starting point being different from Dave's.

Dave valued the degree and whether Jin Hyuntae would be accepted by mainstream society in the future, which would allow him to gradually be accepted by mainstream society after succeeding in writing.

Otherwise, even if he succeeded in the writing field, without a proper educational background, it would be impossible to be accepted by mainstream society.

Although America appears very free, it is actually quite conservative and traditional at its core.

If a circle doesn't accept you, even if you excel in a certain field, they will still not accept you.

Based on this consideration, Dave gave Jin Hyuntae this advice, suggesting he continue his education and not waste his time.

After all, in Dave's view, Jin Hyuntae was still young and could continue his studies.

However, Jin Hyuntae himself had different considerations.

Looking at his daughter's small back, who was still flirting with strangers, Jin Hyuntae had many thoughts.

Should he find a school to study and get a degree from a prestigious university? After all, his daughter would grow up, and as a father, he would be a role model for her.

If he relied on the advantages brought by his mutation to earn a lot of money and achieve some success, would his daughter think that she didn't need to study and could still succeed like her father? If he gave his daughter the wrong impression and values, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

What Jin Hyuntae feared was that he would give his child the wrong values.

Therefore, he hoped to give his daughter the right values and be a good role model as a father.

So, he took Dave's advice to heart.

It was just that their starting points were different.

By the time Jin Hyuntae finished his Mapo Tofu rice, he had made a decision.

He would find a school and continue his studies!

No matter what, he had to be a good role model and ensure his daughter had the right values, not letting his actions lead her astray.

Of course, finding a school to study at was not possible at the moment.

He would have to wait until his novel was published and his financial situation stabilized before he could start this.

For now, Jin Hyuntae thought he should use this rare opportunity to pirate some novels and give them to Dave to publish, earning more money.

Jin Hyuntae had no qualms about pirating literary works from another timeline; he wasn't a rigid fool.

Due to his mutation, his exceptional memory could easily help him complete this task.

"Baba, porridge."

At this moment, the daughter, who had played enough, crawled to his feet and patted his leg with her small hands, interrupting Jin Hyuntae's deep thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

"Oh, Koko, are you done playing?"

"Porridge!" The daughter lifted her shirt, revealing her little belly and patted it, indicating she wanted to eat.

Jin Hyuntae quickly put her shirt back down and taught her, "You're a girl, so don't always lift your shirt, okay? It's not right, and you might catch a cold and get a tummy ache."

At this age, children often like to open their clothes and laugh, showing their little bellies. Most children behave this way.

Although Koko was different from other children, her personality and behavior were not much different at this stage.

While talking, Jin Hyuntae didn't stop and picked up the white takeout bowl beside him, opened the lid, and a fragrant aroma of porridge instantly filled the air, making the little one's eyes widen and her mouth water.