Can-Can finally remembered and scratched her nose in a daze. “Okay then. I’ll stay home and protect Third Brother.”

She still felt a little sulky about not being able to follow Second Brother to meet the treasure parents made of gold and silver. Puffing up her little cheeks, she glared at Pei Shen and huffed, “Aren’t you supposed to be a grown-up? Why are you scared to stay home by yourself? You really make people worry!”

Pei Shen: …

Wasn’t it her who had said last time that if someone’s scared, they should say it out loud? And wasn’t it her who had proudly declared she’d protect him?

Now he used the same line to coax her into staying home—and ended up getting lectured?

Pei Shen couldn’t help tapping her on the forehead, making her puff up her cheeks like an angry little pufferfish before finally relenting.

Qi Sen pointed out one by one all of Can-Can’s daily essentials to Pei Shen—her favorite toys, her special blanket for drinking water, her little plastic potty.

Pei Shen was stunned for a moment.

It had only been a few days, and yet the kid’s setup was complete. Qi Sen was way more thorough than he was.

He had just come to play. Qi Sen, clearly, was raising a child.

Also… what the heck was a “sweat pad”?

“Can-Can sweats a lot and loves to run around. When she’s all sweaty, just tuck the pad behind her back so she doesn’t catch a cold,” Qi Sen explained patiently.

Pei Shen nodded seriously, giving him a thumbs-up.

“Impressive. In just a few days, you’ve turned into a child-rearing encyclopedia.”

Qi Sen ignored the teasing, bent down, and tapped Can-Can’s pout with a gentle smile. “Don’t be mad. Second Brother will bring you back an Elsa puzzle.”

Her little face lit up instantly, and her baby voice was sugary sweet. “Gege come back quick. Can-Can misses you sooo much.”

“I will.”

Can-Can trailed behind Qi Sen for a few steps, then stopped right at the edge of the stairwell. She waved obediently.

As Qi Sen was waving back and turning to go, a soft, sticky voice floated from behind.

“Second Brother, Can-Can’s papa and mama from before are the best in the whole wide world. When you meet the treasure papa and mama made of gold and silver, don’t stop liking the old papa and mama, okay?”

Qi Sen froze for a few seconds, then replied softly, “I won’t.”

He would never forget the emperor and empress she called her parents. And he wouldn’t forget the reason behind this trial by tribulation.

His celestial ascension had been different from Can-Can’s.

She’d once said that after becoming a god, he never came home. He just enjoyed luxury and grandeur in the Ninth Heaven.

Qi Sen pressed his lips together and shook his head with a self-mocking smile.

Was this punishment for abandoning his family in his past life? Was that why he was now fated to endure beatings and bitterness under adoptive parents, to taste a lifetime of familial suffering?

In a private dining room at Haida Hotel, Qi Sen sat up straight, silently staring at the two people he’d only ever seen on TV.

The staff today were unusually energetic.

Those who came in to serve dishes couldn’t hide their excitement upon seeing Jiang Ying and Qi Xiuming.

Jiang Ying’s personal assistant politely declined autograph requests with a practiced smile. Once the table was set, the assistants all bowed and quietly retreated, leaving the room to the three of them.

Qi Sen was a little dazed by the spectacle.

It was suddenly quiet.

Jiang Ying put down her phone and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, work’s been crazy lately.”

Qi Xiuming didn’t waste time. “When will you do the paternity test?”

Jiang Ying’s smile twitched. She pursed her lips and gave him a small shake of the head—clearly disapproving of his bluntness.

Then she turned to Qi Sen with a gentle voice. “When our son was two, he was kidnapped because of a nanny’s negligence. We’ve been searching for him ever since. After we got your information, your father and I pulled some strings to check your background. Your age matches, and from the photos… you look just like our son when he was little.”

“We’ve searched for so long. Your dad’s probably just too anxious, so he asked right away about the paternity test.”

“You know how things are in our family. Doing a test now will help prevent misunderstandings down the road.”

Her voice was warm and pleasant.

But to Qi Sen, it all felt a little strange.

Distant.

There was a kind of polite detachment threaded through her words.

Even after finding him, everything they’d done so far had been measured and cold. They’d looked into his background so thoroughly that they even had childhood photos.

Qi Sen felt like a fish that had been hauled into the sun, left flapping and gasping under the burning light.

Jiang Ying’s voice broke through gently. “Can you go do the test tomorrow?”

“Just take half a day off. The sooner the better. I know school matters a lot to you, but half a day shouldn’t hurt.”

Qi Sen suddenly frowned.

That file—they knew too much.

He hadn’t even met them yet, but they already knew how seriously he took school, just like his adoptive mom did.

He shifted uncomfortably, then after a long pause said, “Okay.”

Qi Xiuming’s eyes warmed a bit. He reached out and patted Jiang Ying’s hand. “I heard you’re taking care of a little girl?”

Jiang Ying instinctively covered his hand with her own, subtly shook her head, and replied smoothly, “Her name’s Can-Can, right? A very cute little girl.”

She gave a conflicted smile, her tone still gentle. “If the test confirms you’re ours, you’ll need to move out of that house. As for Can-Can, I’ll have a well-off family adopt her. She’ll have a good education and environment.”

Qi Sen’s expression darkened. He looked at them blankly and said in an even voice, “I want to stay with my sister. If someone’s going to adopt her, I want it to be you. She’s my sister. Also, there’s someone else…”

Before he could finish, Qi Xiuming cut him off coldly. His voice had the quiet authority of someone used to being obeyed.

“No. Only you are our child. Your mother and I aren’t responsible for anyone else.”

They hadn’t lived together. Naturally, there wasn’t the kind of bond most families had.

Driven by logic and benefit, Qi Xiuming rejected the idea without hesitation.

“You’re not living well right now. You just escaped from your adoptive parents, you’re in a run-down little place, and this year is your crucial gaokao prep year. But you can barely support yourself, let alone a child,” Qi Xiuming said bluntly. “If you come home, that girl you picked up can be adopted by a wealthy family, and you won’t need to work tutoring jobs to get by. Even if your college entrance exam isn’t great, I can send you abroad. Anything you want, you’ll get.”