But Qi Sen was a boy, and Can-Can, small as she was, was still a little girl.

These days, the news online was terrifying—there were all sorts of twisted people out there. The police couldn’t just let a little girl keep living alone with a teenage boy, no matter how responsible he seemed.

Qi Sen knew there was no use arguing. He said softly,
“I’ll book a hotel near the station for her to stay in temporarily. This girl, Tao-Tao, will take care of her. Is that alright? There’s surveillance in hotels—everything is recorded and trackable.”

At the mention of surveillance, the officers exchanged a few glances and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Can-Can, completely unaware of what was going on, thought everything was resolved. She was all ready to go home happily with her brother—only to find herself being taken to a place where her brother wouldn’t be.

The moment she stepped into the hotel room, her eyes welled up with tears.

She’d only just found her big brother again—why was he leaving her already?

Can-Can sobbed, heartbroken.
“I want my brother… wuwuwu…”

Qi Sen crouched down, speaking to her gently.
“Sister Tao-Tao will be with you, okay?”

“I don’t want her. I want my brother.”

Qi Sen pulled ten yuan from his pocket, stuffed it into her tiny hand, and said seriously,
“Second Brother will come pick you up first thing tomorrow. Don’t be scared, okay? Use this to buy yourself some candy. Sweet things—your favorite.”

Can-Can pouted and shook her head hard.

Sweat beaded on her little forehead from crying too hard. Her small hands clung desperately to the hem of Qi Sen’s shirt, weeping as if her heart would break.

Qi Sen gently peeled her fingers away, turned, and walked out without looking back.

Even outside the door, he could still hear her gut-wrenching cries echoing from the room.

In that moment, a decision quietly settled in his heart.

He didn’t even realize it—but it was the same decision he had made in his past life, when he left Can-Can and the Boundless Sea behind to ascend to the heavens as an immortal.

In the end, it was still him… shouldering everything alone.

—

It was eleven o’clock at night when Tao-Tao stepped out of the hotel, holding a round plastic toy in her hands.

The October wind howled, and she tightened her coat as she jogged toward the stone bench under a tree in the park next door.

Qi Sen sat there silently.

“Did she fall asleep?” he asked.

“Mhm. After you left, she cried for half an hour straight. Then she got too tired and quieted down. I took her to the supermarket after that. This time, the little princess didn’t buy rainbow candy—she was overjoyed to find something called a ‘Dragon Egg’ toy instead.”

She handed the toy to Qi Sen.

“She loves it. Wouldn’t let go of it even once. I was curious what kind of treasure it was, so I brought it to show you.”

Qi Sen glanced at it and said lightly,
“Never seen it before.”

“Oh.”

“…Still no answer from the Emperor?” Tao-Tao asked.

“Mn.”

Silence fell again.

The night breeze rustled the treetops, sending leaves fluttering to the ground like a quiet rain of gold. They blanketed the earth, adding a quiet desolation to the scene.

Qi Sen stared at the drifting leaves, then finally asked the question that had been buried deep in his heart:
“When I was a god… did I never go home?”

Tao-Tao froze, then slowly nodded.

“The immortals in the Nine Heavens all said you had cut off emotions and attachments. Only people like that could achieve great things.” She stole a glance at him and said quietly, “But I never thought you were heartless.”

Tao-Tao pursed her lips, her face earnest.
“Even though I was just a peach that never managed to take on immortal form, I still heard many things. So many immortals came to the Peach Grove to enjoy the view.”

“After the little princess was born, the Boundless Sea and the Nine Heavens severed all contact. I don’t know the full reason why, but rumors of her and the young celestial heir fighting for the title of future Heavenly Lord spread across the Four Seas and Nine Realms. The current Heavenly Emperor, who’s ruled for tens of thousands of years, would never allow the Dragon Clan to take his place. But the heavens decreed that the little princess would be the next Little Heavenly Lord. Of course that stirred up trouble. That’s what Lord Jingyou said.”

“The other immortals who don’t know the truth say you abandoned the Boundless Sea and came to the Nine Heavens for status and power. But those are all lies,” Tao-Tao said, voice trembling with emotion.
“I think you came to the Nine Heavens as a hostage. You were protecting the peace of the Four Seas and Nine Realms—and your clan.”

Qi Sen said nothing. His gaze lingered on the starry sky above.

Tao-Tao grew anxious and rushed to add,
“Everything I said is true!”

“The day the Third Prince descended to take the heavenly tribulation in her place, you rushed to find him. He was covered in blood when he stood before you. Do you remember what he said?”

‘Second Brother… you’ve carried so much for our clan. Let me give something in return this time.’

Qi Sen’s brows twitched. At last—he reacted.

“Covered in blood?”

Tao-Tao bit her lip.

“The little princess had to leap into the Sea of Lost Immortals and endure several bolts of heavenly lightning. She was only three hundred years old—if she didn’t die, she’d still be severely wounded. The Third Prince gave her a Dragon Scale Armor made from his own scales to help her survive.”

Thinking back on it, Tao-Tao’s eyes shimmered with tears.

“Even I, who wasn’t in the Nine Heavens, heard of how scared of pain he was. That story about the Third Prince of the Boundless Sea fearing even a splinter is famous across the realms. To rip off his own dragon scales… it must’ve hurt so much.”

Tao-Tao sniffled, then laughed a little through her tears.
“I spent eighteen years in the Boundless Sea with the little princess. Before I met her, I always wondered why the High God, the Third Prince, the Eldest Prince—every one of them—leapt into the Sea of Lost Immortals to bear tribulations for her. Why would an entire family defy the heavens just to trade her a lifetime of happiness? Was she really worth it?”

“But once I met her, I understood. Family love can never be measured with a word like ‘worth.’”

“She loves gold and silver more than anything, but she doesn’t even know what they’re for. She just heard someone say you climbed to the Nine Heavens for riches and glory, so she saved every single birthday gift year after year, hoping to turn them into mountains of treasure—just to give them all to you. That way, maybe… you wouldn’t leave again.”

“She’s never even seen you before, but she already loves you so, so much. How could something like that ever be weighed on a scale of ‘worth it’ or not?”

Qi Sen stayed silent for a long time.

A breeze brushed past once more. He finally stood and said softly,
“Go sleep.”

After Tao-Tao left, he took out his phone and made a call.

“If I go back home… you’ll let someone adopt Can-Can?”

Jiang Ying smiled faintly on the other end.
“Yes. My cousin’s family won’t interfere in her life. She’ll still live with your friends. They’ll even be given a generous sum of money, enough to live comfortably.”