“All the other little kids can go to school, but she doesn’t even have the right to enroll. Isn’t that just heartbreaking?”

“And you—can’t even afford Pei Shen’s hospital bills now, right? What happiness are you still dreaming of without money?”

Jiang Ying’s words hit harder with each line.

Qi Sen clenched the bank card in his pocket, saying nothing.

The doctor said Pei Shen needed proper care. The best way was to bring him home.

But if he did that, he’d need to rent another apartment. The ten thousand yuan or so he had left would barely cover their daily needs—there’d be nothing left for Pei Shen’s care.

Qi Sen lowered his head, closed his eyes, and found himself utterly speechless.

Qi Xiuming waited a long while without hearing a word from Qi Sen. He checked his watch again, his patience thinning.
“Qi Sen, how much longer do you plan to stay in that shabby little place? Do you even realize how many people dream of being our child? Don’t be ungrateful.”

His tone was thick with disdain.

Qi Sen’s heart clogged up with frustration, just about to retort—when a lazy, unhurried voice chimed in from nearby.

“Hmm? How many people dream of being born into what kind of family, exactly?”

Gu Chi strolled over with a bag of rainbow candy, smiling cheerfully.

He’d gone to deliver some candy earlier but found no one at Qi Sen’s place. After a quick call to Tao-Tao, he learned Pei Shen had been hospitalized.

Figuring Can-Can was probably bawling her eyes out by now, he hadn’t even eaten—just grabbed the candy and came straight here. The hospital elevators were packed, so he’d climbed seven floors by foot, only to hear someone belittling Little Radish’s big brother in the hallway.

Little Radish called him “Dad.” By generation ranking, that made Qi Sen… his “son.”

And when your kid’s getting bullied—you step in.

Gu Chi handed the candy to Qi Sen, casually straightened his collar, then dramatically raised his arm to show off the ultra-rare, global limited edition watch on his wrist. He beamed smugly.

“Qi Sen, if you’re gonna pick a dad, at least use your brain, okay?”

“You see how Can-Can chose me as her daddy? Am I not way more stylish than those two over there?”

“You should really learn from Can-Can—don’t go calling every cat and dog ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’. If you embarrass your sister’s dad, which is me, you’re embarrassing your whole family.”

Author’s Note:
Gu Chi: Looks like this whole family still depends on me to keep it together.

—

Chapter 14

Qi Xiuming knew Gu Chi.

That brat was infamous for being wild and unruly. Aside from his father, Gu Jueyan, he didn’t care about anyone. Still, the Qi and Gu families had decent ties, and Qi Xiuming was a senior—he never expected this little punk to straight-up mock him.

If Gu Jueyan had come personally, Qi Xiuming would’ve held back a bit. But this snot-nosed kid? Who did he think he was?

Qi Xiuming’s expression darkened as he barked,
“Gu Chi, I’m dealing with family matters here. What right do you have to butt in?”

Gu Chi stepped in front of Qi Sen and gave Qi Xiuming a thoroughly unimpressed look.
“Did he ever call you ‘Dad’? Then don’t flatter yourself thinking this is your family’s business. That’s like forcing your warm face on someone else’s cold behind. You ever hear of that?”

Qi Xiuming’s face turned bright red. Just as he raised a finger to lash out, Jiang Ying quickly grabbed his hand and stepped forward, her voice gentle.
“We know your father, Gu Chi. Our families are close. Let’s not make a scene at the hospital—it’ll look terrible if this gets out.”

But Gu Chi wasn’t about to let it go.
“Oh? And back when you were standing here threatening people in the hallway, you weren’t worried about how it would look, huh? But now that I show up, suddenly you’ve grown a conscience?”

He gave a sarcastic chuckle.
“Wow. Didn’t know I had that kind of moral influence.”

Jiang Ying’s ever-gentle smile stiffened slightly. But she was an actress, after all—her control over facial expressions was leagues above the average person. In mere seconds, she was back to her usual serene self.

As if she hadn’t heard a word of Gu Chi’s mockery, she smiled sweetly.
“Gu Chi, Qi Sen is our child. Can we have a calm conversation with him?”

Gu Chi shook his head with a regretful sigh.
“Can’t do. The daughter I claimed calls him ‘Big Brother.’ That makes me his dad, if you round it up.”

“Tell you what,” he turned to Qi Xiuming, eyes glinting,
“Why don’t we have a little dad-to-dad chat?”

Qi Sen: …

Qi Xiuming gave a cold snort, shot both Gu Chi and Qi Sen a fierce glare, and stormed off.

Let’s see how long this punk can keep acting cocky.

As for Qi Sen… just get rid of that kid. Problem solved.

Jiang Ying’s brows twitched slightly, but she said nothing and followed after him.

Once they were gone, Gu Chi gave a smug little laugh.
“Hah, what kind of tolerance was that? Not even one-third of what my dad puts up with. Couldn’t even last through a full conversation. Boring.”

Qi Sen, who hadn’t said a word since Gu Chi showed up, paused. For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the “dad” Gu Chi kept talking about.

Sounded like that man probably dealt with a lot of stress…

—

After handing the rainbow candy to Can-Can, Gu Chi didn’t even get a chance to chat before his dad called with a death-threat-level phone call, dragging him home.

As he left, he sighed loudly the whole way down the hall.

Can-Can hugged the candy and watched her dad’s figure slowly disappear, still standing there pitifully even after his shadow was gone.

“You really like him?” Qi Sen asked.

Can-Can nodded hard, voice soft and sweet.
“When Can-Can’s tummy hurt and she didn’t wanna take medicine, Daddy held Can-Can and rocked me and told stories. Even when Mommy scolded Daddy, he just smiled and never got mad.”

The little dumpling’s cheeks were round and tender, and the moment she said the word “Daddy,” her eyes sparkled like they held galaxies—bright and dazzling.

“Daddy said, no matter what trouble Can-Can or Big Brother runs into, he’ll protect us.” She lifted her head, serious as could be.
“Daddy is super brave.”

Qi Sen’s gaze lingered on the empty hallway. In his eyes was a softness even he hadn’t noticed.

—

That night, Qi Sen went home to get some study materials for Pei Shen. Can-Can and Tao-Tao went home with him.

Can-Can sat backward on a little stool, rocking it back and forth like she was riding a horse, all while dutifully reciting what Qi Sen had taught her:

“You can’t open the door to strangers. Gotta ask Big Brother first before opening the door.”

“Right, Big Brother?” she asked proudly, tilting her little head up.

“Right,” Qi Sen said with a smile.

Can-Can giggled.
“Then why don’t I get a reward for getting it right?”

Qi Sen couldn’t help laughing.

This little brain of hers—always scheming for more candy.