Before she could muster the courage to speak, Ling Anxun had already crouched down and started counting the bills one by one.
He folded the bills in half, neatly tucked them into an envelope, and said in a low voice, "This is too much money for a child to be carrying. What if you lose it, or a bad person sees it? That would be so dangerous."
"I'll save it for you for now. When you go to college, you'll need it for tuition, books, and rent. I'll give it back to you then, okay?"
Shanshan's face went pale and her heart sank. She froze completely.
Before she could even react, Ling Anxun raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Is it... that you don't trust me?"
"No, no!"
Shanshan hurriedly shook her head.
"I do trust you! Of course I trust you, Dad!"
She bit her lip, trying to calm herself down, and tentatively asked in a small voice, "But... c-could you maybe, just save half? I could... keep the rest, to buy candy?"
