Was it “Black Uncle” and “White Uncle”…

Or—

“Hey, Uncle.” “Bye, Uncle.”

—

But now was not the time to get tangled up in that.

The twenty thousand yuan sent from the underworld gave Qi Sen a little bit of breathing room.

The next morning, he took Can-Can out to look for a place to live. By afternoon, they had moved into a rented apartment.

Because of the strange events from last night, Qi Sen had slowly begun to believe in all this talk of gods and immortals. Since he was supposedly Can-Can’s immortal Second Brother, their relationship naturally grew a little closer. He no longer mentioned sending her to the police station.

Can-Can was overjoyed.

The new apartment wasn’t big—just a cramped one-bedroom, one-living-room unit— but there were no bad people here to yell at her brother. Can-Can happily ran around inside the apartment, asking about every new thing she saw.

Qi Sen patiently answered every one of her questions while setting up the bookshelf.

No one needed to play with her. Can-Can could entertain herself.

With just a simple toy pony, she could happily amuse herself for ages.

Sometimes the pony ran for a long time and needed water, sometimes it found an elephant friend and they had to race together.

Qi Sen finished arranging his books, leaned back against the desk, and quietly watched Can-Can crouched on the floor, seriously playing her make-believe games.

His hand rested on the newly bought chemistry workbook, “Test Question Drill”, his finger tapping lightly on the cover. After a moment, he closed the book with determination.

In a calm voice, Qi Sen said:

“Can-Can, do you want to go out and have a look around with me?”

Can-Can immediately lit up, her energy doubling. She ran over with a da-da-da, waving her little hand with the toy pony above her head:

“Brother, Can-Can is ready! The pony is ready too!”

Qi Sen couldn’t help but chuckle.

“How about we leave the pony at home? You might lose it outside.”

Can-Can shook her head seriously:

“But if the pony stays home all alone, it’ll be scared.”

Just like her.

Though now she had found her brother, so she could be brave.

“Alright,” Qi Sen smiled, “we’ll take the pony out for a walk too.”

—

The apartment Qi Sen rented was a bit far from school, and because it was an old complex, the rent was cheap. Only 1,200 yuan a month— which was considered a bargain in a major city.

As for the “super-rich daddy” and “movie-star mommy” that Can-Can kept mentioning— he was just an ordinary person. There was no way he could even get close to those kinds of people.

There were a few students with powerful backgrounds at school, and Qi Sen figured that maybe through them, he could eventually find his biological parents.

—

There was a park near the apartment. Qi Sen took Can-Can there for a walk.

On the way, Can-Can asked:

“Second Brother, can you sleep with Can-Can tonight?”

Qi Sen answered:

“Can-Can is so brave, right? You should sleep by yourself. The pony will stay with you.”

Even if he really was her so-called immortal brother, there were still boundaries to be kept. Children these days learned about gender awareness early, and he didn’t want to confuse her.

He could just sleep on the living room sofa.

But the bathing issue was a bigger headache. Last night he had only washed Can-Can’s feet, very casually.

He’d have to figure that out soon.

Although Can-Can was a little disappointed, she still nodded obediently.

—

Ahead, a lush stretch of green trees came into view, making anyone who saw it feel lighter at heart.

Under the shady path, Can-Can ran about wearing a light blue fall dress. On top was a soft knitted sweater, and the skirt was dotted with little star patterns.

A sheer, gauzy cape was attached to the dress, fluttering behind her as she ran, making her look even more lively and adorable.

—

Far away, Pei Shen noticed the little figure dashing back and forth under the trees.

When his gaze moved to the adult following behind, his steps slowed.

It looked like Qi Sen?

Pei Shen and Qi Sen were very different.

Pei Shen loved browsing the school forums and keeping up with gossip. He was lively by nature.

On the forums, the posts comparing him to Qi Sen had practically been combed through by him personally, looking for flaws.

Every time he read them, his mood soured— but he still couldn’t stop himself from looking.

He hated being compared to someone like Qi Sen, who always wore a deadpan face like some “too-cool-for-school” bigshot.

What annoyed him even more—

was that in the new campus prince election, he still hadn’t beaten Qi Sen.

Pei Shen just couldn’t understand.

A guy who had to cram for chemistry using “Test Question Drill” deserved to be compared with him?

No way.

After confirming that it really was Qi Sen up ahead, Pei Shen decisively turned around to leave.

—

He had barely taken two steps when—

The little girl suddenly darted toward him, hugging his arm and swaying from side to side affectionately.

While swinging, she said sweetly:

“Third Brother! You’re here too! Can-Can already found Second Brother!”

Pei Shen frowned and pulled his arm away.

What third brother?

If he was her third brother, wouldn’t that make Qi Sen his brother too?

No way. Even if Qi Sen knelt in front of him and begged, he wouldn’t recognize him as family.

“I don’t know you,” Pei Shen said coldly.

Can-Can grew anxious.

“Third Brother! I’m Can-Can! I’m your little sister!”

Pei Shen hated kids who cried and threw tantrums. He stepped back, frowning:

“I don’t know any Can-Can.”

Can-Can stood frozen, staring at him for a long, long time.

In the past, Third Brother had always hugged her, feeding her little bites of food while praising her—

“You’re the best little princess in the whole wide world.”

Daddy and Mommy loved calling her “Can-Baby,” Big Brother called her “Can-Can,” but Third Brother always called her—

“Little Princess.”

—

Can-Can thought hard, then lifted her chin proudly:

“I’m Little Princess! You really don’t remember?”

Pei Shen looked her up and down— this tiny girl in a blue dress—

and for some reason, her appearance began to overlap with a princess he vaguely remembered.

After a moment, he muttered:

“I do know a princess…”

“You’re pretending to be Elsa from Frozen, right?”

—

Author’s Note:

Pei Shen: Elsa— the superstar idol of the children’s world, the queen every little kid wants to imitate.

Can-Can stood there, stunned.

It took a while for the meaning to sink in.

When she understood, her mouth crumpled in pure misery.

They had only been separated for a few years—

and now Third Brother already had a new Little Princess.

All those sweet words he used to say, about how she was the best little princess in the world—he must have been lying to her!

Can-Can’s heart was filled with sorrow.