A few parents nearby glanced over, whispering amongst themselves:

“Who’s that kid?”

“That’s Pei Shen—from Shangshi Middle School. He’s a chemistry genius. Lots of teachers say he’s practically guaranteed to win first place in this year’s competition.”

“Seriously?” one parent asked, intrigued.

Another waved their hand confidently. “Don’t doubt it. Shangshi is a top provincial key school, and they even built a special chemistry competition lab just for him. The teachers and the principal all dote on him. Sometimes they even let him teach class—he’s that good. Kids understand kids best, he knows exactly where they’re struggling. He’s got a huge following at school—my son’s a fan too.”

“No wonder you’re so informed.”

“Fat lot of good it does me. If my kid had even half his talent, I’d wake up laughing in my sleep.”

“Who wouldn’t like a kid like that?”

—

Can-Can blinked in confusion as she watched her Third Brother disappear through the school gates. Her little head tilted thoughtfully… and suddenly, admiration bloomed like a tiny flower.

“Second Brother, Third Brother is so amazing. Everyone seems to really like him.”

Qi Sen was silent, his gaze fixed far ahead.

Every student here was a top scorer back at their own school, the kind of straight-A legend teachers used as examples. Yet even among these standouts, Pei Shen moved like he owned the place—calm, collected, confident. As if this were his stage, and the spotlight was just where it belonged.

The same Pei Shen who, just a few days ago, had been hanging around them pale-faced and coughing through a fever. That same boy now looked like some untouchable deity in the eyes of the crowd.

A figure others dreamed of seeing but never got close to. Even a conversation with him depended on luck.

Today, Qi Sen and Can-Can were seeing a completely different side of Pei Shen.

One that was dazzling. Radiant. Admired by all.

He no longer looked like the foolish kid who’d smeared blush on his face to hide how sick he was.

Now he burned like the midday sun—blazing, confident, impossible to ignore.

Qi Sen snapped out of it and took Can-Can and Tao-Tao to a nearby McDonald’s for breakfast.

When Gu Chi arrived, Can-Can was handing over the meat from her burger to Qi Sen and chewing on the plain bun in tiny nibbles.

Gu Chi exploded.

This unfilial brat was eating all the meat himself and feeding his treasure daughter the scraps?!

He sat down and immediately launched into a tirade at Qi Sen. “You rotten kid! What kind of brother are you?! I would give all the meat in the world to my darling girl, and you—you—you feed her dry bread even dogs won’t eat?! Do you even have a conscience?!”

Can-Can blinked innocently and raised her bun. “Why don’t doggies eat it? Can-Can likes this bread-bread a lot.”

Gu Chi: ???

Tao-Tao hastily clarified, “It’s not what it looks like. Can-Can didn’t want the meat. She just wanted the bread, so Qi Sen gave her the bun.”

Qi Sen shot Gu Chi a look and raised a brow. “Bread is something even dogs won’t eat?”

Gu Chi swallowed hard. Heh-heh. He grinned and feigned amnesia. “Did I say that?”

Truthfully, he hadn’t expected this tiny child to have such… unusual tastes.

She didn’t want the meat, just the plain bun.

“Rotten brat,” Gu Chi muttered out of habit.

Qi Sen silently put down his burger meat, eyes cold and piercing like ten thousand ice blades bearing down on Gu Chi.

For some reason, Gu Chi suddenly felt a little scared.

Strange. Why did this brat’s face look exactly like his dad’s when he got mad?

“What did you call me?” Qi Sen asked coolly.

Gu Chi coughed and quickly corrected himself. “Qi Sen.”

When Qi Sen didn’t respond, Gu Chi knew the name had passed muster and finally got to the main reason he came.

“The police will be posting a notice in the next few days. If no one comes forward for Can-Can, it’ll be officially ruled as abandonment. Once that’s confirmed, our family can adopt her. So she’ll need to stay at the hotel a little longer.”

He turned to Can-Can. “Sweetie, you might have to stay at that hotel a few more days. But once the police give the okay, we’ll come pick you up.”

“Where are we going, Daddy?” Can-Can asked.

“To a big, big house. It has a swimming pool, a playground just for you, a little garden, and a giant doggie. Everything you could want.”

“Is it Elsa’s castle?!” Can-Can’s eyes lit up. She remembered the glittering ice palace from the movie and clutched her cheeks in excitement.

Gu Chi laughed.

This little bun was such an Elsa fangirl.

“You can think of it that way.”

In truth, the house had been specially designed by his mother—grand, elegant, full of traditional flair. Like an ancient version of Elsa’s castle.

Can-Can pointed to Qi Sen. “Will Second Brother live there too?”

They’d already discussed this, so Gu Chi nodded with a smile. “Of course.”

“And Sister Tao-Tao?”

“She’ll be there too.”

Can-Can couldn’t contain her joy. She hopped down from the bench, waving her little hands in the air to draw a big circle. “Brother and Daddy will live in the big castle with Can-Can!”

Gu Chi nodded again.

Can-Can was so happy she didn’t know what to do with herself. She twirled in place like a dancing white radish, her joy bursting from every pore.

After a few spins, a thin sheen of sweat glistened on her cheeks. Qi Sen silently took a long, soft sweat towel from his small bag and tucked it behind her back.

Ever since Can-Can entered his life, Qi Sen had started carrying a special little pouch whenever he went out. Inside were sweat towels, a change of clothes in case she spilled food, kid-sized wet wipes, her beloved rainbow candy, and a water bottle.

Qi Sen took care of Can-Can seriously, meticulously.

Gu Chi stared, slightly moved.

Qi Sen might wear a blank face all day and speak in a tone colder than a mountain breeze, but he was the one carefully raising Can-Can, patiently watching over every bit of her daily life.

Gu Chi murmured, “You’re really good at this. The title of ‘Super Nanny Big Brother’ totally belongs to you.”

Qi Sen didn’t even lift an eyelid. He just tore the bun into small pieces and fed them to Can-Can one by one.

After a beat, Gu Chi asked, “Aren’t you in your senior year of high school? How come you’ve been so free lately?”

“I took a few days off.” Qi Sen still had to catch up on the homework he’d missed.

“I see.”

Tao-Tao craned her neck curiously. “And what about you, Your Majesty the Emperor?”