Miracle Cutie Chapter 16: Nelson Smith

Nina was the sweetest little thing.

She held the boy's hand, clearly dying to play with him. But she said softly, "Nina play wif you. Nina like you!"

That blunt, sugary confession was so innocent it actually melted the boy's cool, detached expression.

He wasn't the type who knew how to say anything that cute in return… so he just kept quietly feeding her snacks.

And Nina, being the little foodie she always was, couldn't have been happier.

Watching the two of them get more and more glued together, Daniel finally raised his voice, trying to reel her back.

“Sweetheart! Come here! Let's go do something else. How about I take you shopping, hmm?"

He was trying to tempt her away, but the second Nina heard him, she blinked her big eyes—and clapped her hands over her ears.

Daniel froze.

"Sweetheart, don't you dare pretend you didn't hear me!"

He was absolutely at his wits' end.

He asked a staff member to bring Nina over, but before the woman even touched her, Nina's lips wobbled, her eyes filled up, and she looked one sniffle away from a full meltdown.

Daniel sighed in pure defeat.

"Alright, fine. Forget it. You can keep playing."

He was so frustrated that he could barely stand there without collapsing.

So he could only watch helplessly as the two little ones played in that castle for another two whole hours.

Finally, Nina got tired—and hungry.

All the snacks the boy fed her weren't nearly enough to fill her tiny belly.

"Come on, go eat," she said, tugging the boy's hand as she waddled back to Daniel.

Seeing them still holding hands made Daniel's eyes twitch.

"Sweetheart, why are you still holding his hand? We're leaving now. Say goodbye."

"No!" Nina tightened her grip, her soft little voice suddenly firm. "To-ge-der!"

She wanted to eat lunch with the boy.

Of course, Daniel wasn't having that.

"Sweetheart, be good. He's got parents too. I can't just take him with us. If you really want to play with him again, I'll bring you back next time."

He tried bribing her with promises, but Nina lifted her chubby face, shook her head hard, and protested,

"No, no!"

Her tiny voice was loud and crystal clear.

She repeated it again and again, and when Daniel still didn't agree, she sniffled and gave him a serious warning:

"Un-coo Dan'el… Nina cry! Nina cry a lot!"

And—true to her word—she did.

Her eyelids went red in an instant, her little nose too, her whole face scrunching up pitifully. Daniel could only throw up both hands, completely surrendering.

He stared at her, hopeless and defeated.

For the first time, he realized taking care of a kid was not all fun and games.

The little boy turned to Nina, startled when he saw her actually crying.

"Hush, don't cry," he said softly, his cool façade finally cracking.

He gently wiped the tears off her chubby cheeks, then looked at Daniel.

"Sir, I can go eat with her. I'll pay for my own meal."

Daniel blinked.

"Your parents will let you?" he asked, shocked.

The boy lifted his eyes, tone calm and steady.

"I don't have parents watching me. I came here by myself."

Daniel froze, unable to believe what he just heard.

He went to the staff to double-check, and when he mentioned the boy, the staff member let out a sigh.

“Mr. Graham, he's not lying. He always comes alone. He visits often, but just sits around for a long time every time. There's never any adult with him."

Daniel was stunned.

The kid didn't look older than three or four—still so tiny.

How could someone that young be left alone like that?

That was insane.

From the conversation, Daniel also learned the boy's name—Nelson Smith.

Daniel had never met him, but he definitely recognized the surname Smith.

An old, powerful family—extremely private, extremely discreet.

But Daniel simply couldn't imagine this boy belonging to that Smith family.

If he did, there was no universe in which he'd be wandering around unsupervised.

After confirming everything with the staff, Daniel had no choice but to give in.

He brought both Nelson and Nina up to the seventh floor for dinner.

The seventh and eighth floors were lined with restaurants.

Daniel set Nina down and told her to pick whichever one she wanted. Once she chose, they headed in and ordered.

With Nelson there quietly keeping an eye on her, Nina was uncharacteristically well-behaved.

They sat by the window. Nina refused the little "sweetheart chair," insisting on squeezing into the cushioned two-seater right beside Nelson.

"Sweetheart, stay right here, okay? I'll be back in two minutes. Just going to the restroom."

Daniel gave her a quick reminder, then asked a waiter to watch the kids.

But the moment Daniel walked away, Nina pressed her round face against the window—

and spotted two people walking past outside.

Both were dressed inconspicuously, wearing hats and masks.