From the age of five, after hearing him say she was "unpromising," from childhood onward, Little Shuying carried a single belief deep in her heart: Shine as early as possible. That belief became the driving force of her life. She even regarded Yu Ye as the enemy she had to surpass.
And so, standing before people inside the stadium, facing countless cameras and flashing lights, she calmly declared before the world: "The enemy of my life."
Many years ago, leading educational institutions once conducted studies attempting to understand how, in an age of peace and stability, a girl of such astonishing brilliance could emerge. She seemed tireless. Fearless. Relentlessly climbing upward. Breaking through one barrier after another. Crossing industry after industry. Defying limits that ordinary people could not even imagine.
And now, perhaps some scholars finally understood, the first imaginary enemy in her life… Had always been her father. No matter where Yu Shuying stood, she possessed an unwavering determination to soar. That was the truly terrifying thing about her.
Now the picture from fourteen years ago returned once again, and Cheng seemed startled awake. He rubbed his eyes hard and stared at the young woman before him. He simply could not connect the adorable fairy-like child from years ago with the breathtaking woman standing here now. She had grown too much and changed too much.
Could someone truly become this extraordinary without formal guidance? Cheng silently asked himself. Then he laughed bitterly. Guidance? What guidance could Ye possibly provide? Yet reality stood before him.
"You are the true Chosen One. No. You are a hundred times more powerful than those privileged children raised with perfect resources. Because you truly achieved it. You walked beside the sun and moon." Cheng wasn't flattering her; he meant every word.
He could feel it. There was an indescribable aura surrounding Shuying. It was as if endless energy burned inside her. Her values had shaped her character. Her perseverance forged her discipline. Her talent allowed every part of herself to shine perfectly into the world. And because of that, there was only one Yu Shuying in the entire world.
At that moment, beneath the stadium stage, countless fans shouted wildly.
"This is a true goddess!"
"No privileged upbringing!"
"No perfect father!"
"She rose against fate itself and stunned the world!"
"She's unbelievable!"
"I've never seen someone this exceptional in my entire life!"
"People who copy her fail."
"People who imitate her fail."
"Because there can only be one Yu Shuying!"
Others spoke more quietly.
"I wonder…"
"If her father is watching television right now…"
"How would he feel?"
"Seeing such an incredible daughter?"
But not everyone watching was blindly passionate. The production team was preparing a historical family documentary. Several historians participating in the live discussion fell strangely silent. Because after watching everything unfold, they had begun thinking deeply.
Among them, famous historian Zhang Cihai slowly spoke. "I'm curious. In an era where many people in the slums themselves lacked education… How could someone like Yu Shuying appear? Not merely talented but possessing extraordinary ability. Character. Discipline. Determination. Can all of this truly have nothing to do with Yu Ye?"
Unlike excited fans, Zhang Cihai approached everything with rigor. With caution and with evidence.
But the livestream comments exploded immediately.
"Professor, come on!"
"He only gave her good looks."
"Everything else was earned by herself!"
"Exactly!"
"What kind of father says those things to his daughter?"
Zhang Cihai remained silent because he still remembered one scene. Ye, looking at a child, calmly said: "You have to shine as early as possible."
He remembered something else, too. That day, Ye was enduring overwhelming pain from illness, and three children came looking for Little Shuying. At first glance, everything looked normal. Ordinary and harmless. But Yu Ye noticed something, something no one else saw.
"No. Replay that footage. The scene with those three children." Cihai immediately instructed his assistant.
The recording replayed. Three children stood outside the old door. Smiling and acting naturally. Nothing unusual.
But after zooming in, the truth changed. One child kept lowering his head, and fear lingered in his eyes.
Another looked toward Little Shuying with unsettling intensity. Greed and possessiveness. Something deeply uncomfortable.
The third child smiled, but not with innocence. There was intent behind it. Purpose and calculation. Ordinary people would never notice, but Yu Ye had. At the time, he sat there with a towel wrapped tightly around his head, enduring unbearable pain.
Yet despite everything, his attention remained entirely on his daughter. He appeared indifferent, but in truth, every part of him followed her. Protected her and guarded her.
The replay zoomed further, and he saw it. Ye's eyes. Cold. Sharp. Dangerously focused.
Because Little Shuying stood nearby, he restrained himself. Didn't explode or lose control. He simply drove the children away. Calmly and quietly.
But when the image zoomed in to its limit, those eyes no longer looked ordinary. They resembled a falcon locking onto prey. Fierce. Protective. Dangerous. Then, a suppressed murmur escaped his lips. "Find trouble somewhere else. Or suffer the consequences."
Zhang Cihai inhaled sharply, and he stopped the replay. Silence filled the room. He slowly turned toward his assistants and toward the other professors. "Keep watching. I have a feeling that behind Yu Shuying… There may truly be a great father."
His certainty stunned everyone, and an older professor immediately frowned. "Old Zhang. Have you lost your mind? The whole world already knows what kind of person Yu Ye is."
But Zhang Cihai slowly stood and lit a cigarette while smoke drifted upward. His gaze traveled far away, back toward that forgotten past. Toward a poor man living a difficult life. Toward someone who had lost almost everything.
Yet still refused, absolutely refused, to abandon protecting his child. Or educating her. Perhaps, he had simply chosen a different method. A stubborn method. A lonely method. An imperfect method. But maybe, buried beneath everything was something truly extraordinary.
He wasn't certain. Not yet. But he could feel it. If his guess proved right, then what stood behind Yu Shuying… Would not simply be a father. But a man whose character approached greatness. Humility. Endurance. Vision. Wisdom. Those words might only scratch the surface. Some people are too complicated to summarize. Too difficult to judge.
In the end, he spoke only one final sentence. A sentence firm enough to express everything he believed. "The world… Has misunderstood him."