“Second Brother, Can-Can will protect you!”

A small pair of arms hugged Qi Sen’s leg tightly.

He looked down—

There, clinging to him, was a little girl with twin pigtails, her round cheeks still a little baby-plump.

When she smiled, soft dimples bloomed on her cheeks, and her bright almond eyes shimmered like little stars. She looked just like a fluffy little bunny.

Qi Sen froze.

Second Brother?

The buzz-cut thug had no patience for this touching “long-lost siblings” reunion. He jerked his chin toward Can-Can and said impatiently: “Who even are you? Mind your own business and scram!”

But Can-Can stood her ground, puffing up proudly, placing her little hands on her hips:

“I’m your Ancestor!”

The thug: ???

At first, he’d thought this cute little girl wasn’t worth bothering with. But now she dared stomp all over his face metaphorically — this could not be tolerated.

He took two steps forward, trying to scare her off.

Can-Can frowned.

Bad people weren’t acting like Yuanling had said — no respect at all!

The little bun thought for a second, then dropped her hands, stood up straight like a good student, and recited crisply:

“‘Can-Can’s Growth Manual,’ Rule Nine: Respect your elders. Be a good baby. Those who don’t follow this rule are big stupid heads!”

Tilting her little head, she asked curiously, “Are you the ‘big stupid head’ Daddy was talking about?”

The buzz-cut thug almost blacked out from rage. You’re the stupid one, you little—!!

Just as he was about to yank Can-Can aside, her sweet little voice sounded again:

“Rule Ten: All debts have their rightful owner. If you get mad and want to hit someone, Daddy says—hit him, not me.”

The thug was stunned into silence.

Who the hell was teaching a kid this kind of nonsense?!

Still, seeing her dressed in a frilly princess dress, her cheeks chubby and rosy, he could tell she was a pampered, well-loved child. And with a crazy dad who clearly had a talent for dodging responsibility, it was risky to touch her.

“Where’s your dad?” the thug demanded.

He had to at least know who to avoid.

Can-Can, trained in human customs by her third brother, understood what he meant. Hearing “Dad,” the little princess’s face drooped. She said in a soft, low voice:

“Daddy… is probably in the ocean.”

Before her tribulation, her parents had disappeared.

The thug froze….The ocean? Like on a boat or something?

He snickered.

Either way, that “crazy dad” wasn’t around to protect her now.

The four boys exchanged looks, silently reaching for Can-Can’s shoulders, ready to drag her away so she wouldn’t interfere.

Can-Can, lost in sadness over her missing parents, didn’t notice.

Their hands were about to touch her when—

Qi Sen suddenly stepped in front of Can-Can, blocking her completely.
His voice was calm:

“The money’s in the discipline office.”

The thugs blinked, confused.

Money? What money?

Without changing expression, Qi Sen reached back, pressing down on the curious little head behind him. He glanced at the buzz-cut thug and added coolly:

“The note you passed me during the exam — that’s there too.”

Finally, the buzz-cut thug realized: He meant the bribe money — the five hundred yuan they stuffed into Qi Sen’s desk drawer.

His face turned pale.

“W-what?! In the d-discipline office?!”

The discipline director was famously strict — absolutely zero tolerance for cheating. If this had gone through a normal homeroom teacher, maybe they could talk their way out, but now…

They were dead.

The four thugs’ faces drained of color.

Qi Sen calmly grabbed his book in one hand, and the small hand of the little bun in the other, and started walking away.

As they brushed past the stunned thugs, Qi Sen added lazily:

“The maximum score for a high school exam is 150. Passing is 90.”

“Whether you scored 10 or 55… you were still very far from passing.”

A fatal blow.

Calmly, Qi Sen threw out one final, soul-crushing insult:

“Looks like you’ve never passed anything in your life.”

The four bullies stood there, stunned stiff.

Their souls crumbled instantly.

Later, when the discipline director dragged them into the classroom and lectured them for half an hour in front of everyone,
they were completely destroyed, both inside and out.

Afterward—

Qi Sen let go of Can-Can’s hand once they reached the end of the alley.

The little bun trailed after him like a tiny chick, step for step.

Qi Sen frowned.

He liked kids, sure. But he wasn’t crazy enough to just take in a random child off the street.

Besides, he had nothing to offer her.

“Where’s your family?” he asked coldly.

Can-Can’s eyes curved into happy crescents as she pointed straight at him.

Qi Sen froze slightly, then said coolly:

“I’m not your Second Brother.”

“Stop following me.”

Each sentence colder than the last.

Can-Can’s smile froze on her face.

Her little mouth quivered, her bright eyes reddened, and she just stood there, staring at him in silence.

Qi Sen walked away without looking back.

Behind him, Can-Can remained standing alone, in a puddle left over from the rain, motionless, abandoned like a tiny chick in the cold.

For some reason, Qi Sen’s footsteps faltered.

Then—

“Da-da-da!” Quick footsteps sounded.

A pair of soft arms hugged his legs again.

The little girl looked up at him, a hint of brightness returning to her sad little face:

“Big Brother, you’re lying! The book you’re reading has Can-Can in it!”

Qi Sen stiffened.

The book in his hand was…

《The Little Mermaid》.

Nobody knew that the usually cold and silent school heartthrob Qi Sen—his secret hobby was reading children’s fairy tales.

He loved those gentle words,and the pure, untainted worlds inside them.

A nearly grown man who liked fairy tales —if anyone found out, he’d be laughed at endlessly.

Awkwardly, Qi Sen rubbed his earlobe, unsure where to look.

After a long pause, he pretended to be calm and said:

“The book doesn’t have you in it.”

But even as he spoke, he remembered— 

Didn’t Can-Can say her father was in the ocean?

Then… wasn’t she technically the daughter of the sea?

What kind of nonsense was this?!

Can-Can pointed seriously at the book’s cover —at the little princess in a blue dress standing by the sea.

She said with absolute conviction:

“That’s Can-Can!”