“It doesn’t hurt,” Qi Sen said as he stood up, gently taking Can-Can’s hand to lead her home.

But Can-Can pulled her little hand back, tears still falling.

“Second Brother,” she sobbed, “how can a daddy hit his child?”

A daddy was supposed to love their child the most. Just like her own father did.

Pei Shen froze in place.

—

That night, while Pei Shen was tutoring a middle school girl in chemistry, his mind kept drifting back to Can-Can’s tearful little face.

No matter how he tried to focus, that last heart-wrenching question echoed in his mind:

How can a daddy hit his child?

Maybe the rumors at school were true after all.

Qi Sen’s family… really wasn’t great.

Thinking about it that way, it was honestly kind of pitiful.

“Senior Pei, what’s wrong today?” the girl asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Pei Shen replied.

“Pei Shen, coming to tutor my daughter even during the National Day holidays, you’re really working hard,” the girl’s mother said with a smile, bringing over a plate of cut fruit.

Pei Shen was famous for being a chemistry prodigy. The fact that they’d managed to hire him as a tutor made the whole family overjoyed. Their daughter’s grades had improved noticeably too, so now they practically treated Pei Shen like their own son.

Especially since everyone knew Pei Shen’s parents had passed away early, and he lived alone.

Their buildings were only two apart anyway— it felt like fate.

Pei Shen nodded politely. “It’s nothing.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a noisy argument erupted in the living room.

The woman explained with a frown:

“My father’s visiting during the holidays. A lot of his old coworkers from the factory are coming over too. They’re selecting a new accounting supervisor soon, so they decided to have a little meeting here. Old men being stubborn as usual, they’re arguing.”

She hesitated. “Is it disturbing your lesson?”

Pei Shen shook his head. “No.”

The noise in the living room continued.

“I said it before, Xu Zhen is no good!” someone roared. “I passed by her house once, and a little girl named Can-Can ran over and told me Xu Zhen was trying to beat her son!”

“You all say she’s sweet and mild at the factory, but at home she’s like a different person! It’s all an act! How can we let someone like that be promoted?”

“Come on,” someone else scoffed. “You’re really taking a kid’s words seriously? Old Liu, you’re too stubborn.”

Pei Shen’s hand paused mid-writing.

Can-Can?

In the living room, several old workers sat around arguing.

Their textile factory was one of the biggest in the city. An accounting supervisor was an important position. Whoever got it would have a lot of authority— and opportunity to skim profits too. No wonder they were being cautious.

Just as the argument heated up again, a clear teenage voice cut through the noise.

“What that old man said is true.”

—

Pei Shen’s words brought a rare silence to the room.

A moment later, soft murmurs began to rise.

An old man sitting on the sofa, his hair fully silver, smiled kindly.

“Child,” he asked, “how do you know?”

This old man had been a department head at the factory for decades. The moment he spoke, everyone else fell quiet and turned to look at Pei Shen.

Supervisor Liu, the one who had accused Xu Zhen earlier, gave Pei Shen an encouraging nod.

“Go ahead and tell us.”

Pei Shen spoke calmly.

“Qi Sen moved out on his own. The place he’s renting is right downstairs from me. This afternoon, he had a fight with his foster parents. I didn’t see it happen, but I heard what the little girl said afterward.”

The old man’s expression grew serious.

“If you didn’t see it yourself, how can you be sure Xu Zhen tried to hit someone?”

Pei Shen’s eyes darkened slightly as he remembered Can-Can’s tearful words.

“Because,” he said slowly, “I heard Can-Can crying and asking— ‘How can a daddy hit his child?'”

The old man’s smile disappeared.

His heart ached. He couldn’t help but think of his own sweet little granddaughter, who often sang songs like “Daddy and Mommy love me the most.”

If even a small child like that could understand how wrong it was to be hurt by their parents, how much pain must that little girl, Can-Can, have felt?

“You don’t need to worry,” the old man said firmly. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

—

Meanwhile, Xu Zhen and Qi Hai were walking on eggshells, paranoid every second.

Factory supervisors summoned them one by one for questioning. Even the local women’s association came knocking, coldly interrogating them.

“Why did Qi Sen move out?”

Xu Zhen forced a smile. “He’s a teenager. Kids that age don’t like being nagged. We tried to discipline him a little, but he wanted to move out.”

The visitors’ faces stayed cold.

“Funny. That’s not what we heard.”

…

One question after another, like mountains pressing down on them.

In public, Xu Zhen and Qi Hai kept up a sweet, mild image. Behind closed doors, they spewed endless curses at Qi Sen and Can-Can.

Their dreams of promotion completely shattered.

That evening, Xu Zhen called Qi Sen. Her voice was sharp and laced with cruel amusement.

“The household registry’s still with us, isn’t it? I remember you need it to register for the college entrance exams, right?”

Her voice was shrill, almost gleeful.

“I know how much you care about your stupid exams. But if my promotion is ruined, you think I’ll let you have an easy time?”

She laughed coldly.

“And that stray kid you picked up— you haven’t handed her over to the police, have you? If I call the authorities, what do you think will happen?”

Qi Sen’s face darkened instantly.

He said nothing— just cut the call off coldly.

—

Meanwhile, Can-Can was lying on the sofa, kicking her little legs back and forth while watching Frozen 2.

She hummed happily, “Brother, I want an Elsa princess dress too!”

Qi Sen ruffled her soft cheeks, his voice gentle.

“Tomorrow, I’ll take you shopping.”

Since Can-Can arrived, she only had the one outfit he’d bought her from a street stall. It was time she had some real clothes.

That night, after Can-Can fell asleep, Qi Sen sat at the old desk in the corner of the living room.

He stared at his phone’s locked album for a long time— then finally, he opened it, flipping through the photos one by one.