Qi Sen’s fists clenched unconsciously.

Qi Xiuming’s tone was firm, sharp as a blade—like he was presiding over a corporate meeting where no dissent would be tolerated.

Qi Sen stood up, his voice frosty. “No need for tomorrow’s paternity test. Goodbye.”

As he opened the private room door, he vaguely heard Qi Xiuming mutter a scolding and Jiang Ying’s soft reply.

“This child, so stubborn.”

“Let it go. We’ll talk to him next time.”

Qi Sen shook his head and walked out without hesitation.

If they wouldn’t accept Can-Can and Pei Shen, there would be no next time.

Outside the restaurant, the street buzzed with traffic and crowds.

The cool touch of autumn wind rustled his short hair.

He looked up at the endless stretch of sky and thought of the Ninth Heaven Can-Can always talked about—and let out a laugh.

Though he was laughing, there wasn’t a single trace of joy in his eyes.

So this was the punishment for chasing glory and turning his back on family?

Looked like in this lifetime, when it came to kinship, his sentence had only just begun.

Qi Sen gave a bitter laugh.

Even so, on his way home, he didn’t forget to buy Can-Can the Elsa puzzle she liked.

**

As soon as he stepped through the door, Pei Shen appeared like a man at the end of his rope. The moment he saw Qi Sen, he practically begged, “Let’s take Can-Can to the amusement park, please.”

Then, afraid Qi Sen would say no, he added with a sycophantic grin, “Bro~”

In the two hours Qi Sen had been gone, Pei Shen had been stuck watching TV with Can-Can.

When a commercial came on for a castle-like Disneyland, Can-Can had tugged on his sleeve and started cooing and pleading with her syrupy baby voice.

To stall her, Pei Shen had promised, “If you can be quiet for two whole hours, we’ll go to the amusement park.”

Normally, no toddler could pull that off.

But Can-Can… did.

Because she… fell asleep.

Pei Shen was doomed.

He’d made a promise to a child, and you couldn’t break those—what if she learned to do the same in the future?

At Wuyue Plaza, Pei Shen looked at his wallet and winced.

Sigh.

Disneyland was out of the question for both him and Qi Sen. The best they could do was trick the little princess into thinking the kiddie zone in a department store was a real castle.

It cost 98 yuan per entry. Can-Can, completely unaware she’d been bamboozled, gleefully dashed around as if this was a magical kingdom.

Slides, bounce castles, balloons—everything a kid could want.

Qi Sen and Pei Shen stood just outside the barrier. Among the chatting parents and nannies, the two of them silently took out test prep booklets in sync. They glanced at Can-Can, then solved a problem.

The nearby adults were stunned: “Wait, what? High schoolers are this intense now? That’s the level?”

Qi Sen watched Can-Can burst into giggles as she tumbled into a ball pit. A faint smile touched his eyes.

He patted Pei Shen on the shoulder. “I’m going to grab some water.”

Pei Shen gave a noncommittal “Oh” and didn’t dare ask how the lunch meeting had gone.

By the vending machine, there was a toy shop. In the window, a chubby pink dragon plush was curled up on a branch like it was asleep—utterly adorable.

Qi Sen remembered Can-Can calling herself the little dragon princess, and the smile in his eyes deepened. He stood there, hesitating.

Eventually, he walked in and picked up the pink dragon, turning it over in his hands, still unsure whether to buy it.

Then, without warning, a hand reached in and snatched it from him.

Gu Chi lazily glanced at Qi Sen, shrugged, and said, “Sorry bro, I’m taking this.”

Qi Sen stepped forward to block him, staring at the vaguely familiar face. He couldn’t quite place it, but it definitely rang a bell. He didn’t think too hard and coolly tugged at the plush’s tail. “I saw it first.”

Neither budged.

Gu Chi rolled his eyes.

As the son of the richest man in the country, he was used to throwing his weight around. No one ever talked back.

But today, he’d run into someone with absolutely no sense.

“Qi Sen! Weren’t you getting water?” Pei Shen finally arrived, holding Can-Can by the hand.

When he saw Gu Chi, his eyes widened in shock.

Little Can-Can, her hair messy and face flushed from all the excitement, cheerily called out, “Second Brother!”

Then she turned her head and spotted Gu Chi. Her little body shuddered.

Both she and Pei Shen shouted at the same time:

“Holy crap! That’s the son of the richest man?!”

“DAD!! DADDY!!!”

Gu Chi: ???

All this over a pink dragon plush, and now someone was trying to claim him as their dad?

Qi Sen froze, face twitching.

This college student who looked maybe a year or two older than him… was his… dad?

Gu Chi was completely baffled.

He was used to people online jokingly calling him “dad.” Every day, there were fans on Weibo yelling things like “Where’s our daddy?” and “When are we getting our allowance?”

But this was the first time a real-life tiny radish-head had tried to call him dad.

And honestly? This particular radish-head—who looked as clueless as a little pink piglet—was way sharper than all those netizens.

What was the point of being Gu Chi’s sibling, fighting over inheritance?

Aim higher.

Be his child.

Then everything would be yours by default.

Huh. This little radish might be onto something.

Gu Chi awkwardly pried off the tiny arms wrapped around his leg, thinking as he pulled, She doesn’t look that chubby, but her hands are seriously squishy.

Can-Can obediently stepped back, her face full of practiced heartbreak like she’d seen this before. “Daddy, you forgot Can-Can too?”

She waved her little hand as if comforting herself. “It’s okay, Daddy. You’ll like Can-Can again someday.”

Just like Second Brother and Third Brother did~

Gu Chi’s rejection didn’t rattle her in the slightest. She didn’t pout, didn’t tear up, nothing like when she first met Qi Sen and got snubbed.

Instead, she cheerfully grabbed both Qi Sen and Pei Shen’s hands and hopped away.

Before leaving, she gave the pink dragon a friendly pat and generously shoved it toward Gu Chi with a humph.

“Can-Can is an ancient ancestor. I’m not gonna fight you for a toy.”