“Brother, are we going home now?”

At the mention of “home,” Qi Sen’s steps faltered.

He didn’t move forward.

Keeping Can-Can by his side, keeping her trusting gaze firmly fixed on him, was already selfish and despicable enough. But taking her to that kind of home…

Qi Sen frowned deeply.

He recalled Can-Can’s earlier words:

“Daddy and Mommy are no longer in the human world.”

He hesitated, then asked:

“Do you have any other family?”

“Like Daddy and Mommy’s brothers and sisters, or uncles and aunties who visit you often—where are they?”

Can-Can answered obediently:

“They’re all up in the sky… or down underground!”

Qi Sen froze.

They’re all gone?

That couldn’t be.

He frowned, thinking she was lying just to stay by his side, and said seriously:

“Little kids shouldn’t lie.”

Can-Can quickly waved her hands in panic:

“Lying gets you sent straight to the underworld! Can-Can would never lie!”

The underworld sounded terrifying! She definitely didn’t want to go there!

“Master Yama is in the underworld, and God Yichen is up in the heavens,” she explained earnestly.

“Underworld? Heavens?” Qi Sen repeated, confused.

Seeing his blank expression, Can-Can remembered that her Second Brother was now a mortal, someone who didn’t understand the ways of gods and immortals.

She patiently explained:

“We immortals can live in the mountains, the seas, the earth, or the skies! All of Daddy and Mommy’s friends—except Master who lives underground— live up in the heavens.”

Seeing Qi Sen still unmoving, Can-Can thought he didn’t understand the concept of “immortals,” so she added sweetly:

“Second Brother, have you ever watched Journey to the West?”

“The ones who fly super high and are really powerful—those are us immortals!”

She puffed up her tiny chest, full of the pride of a vendor boasting about their finest melons.

Qi Sen helplessly rubbed his forehead. Journey to the West was a show everyone had seen, but Can-Can’s level of immersion… was next-level.

Choosing his words carefully, he said gently:

“Can-Can… there are no real immortals in this world.”

Just as the words left his mouth—

BOOM!! A roll of thunder split the sky.

Can-Can, with perfect timing, said in her soft, milky voice:

“See, Second Brother? You said nonsense, and the heavens got mad~”

Qi Sen: …

Headache.

These days were just stormy— the thunder was pure coincidence. It definitely wasn’t because of anything he said.

He didn’t bother arguing with a kid who looked barely three years old. Even if he explained, she wouldn’t understand.

Above them, dark clouds rapidly swallowed the sky, and thunder boomed so loudly it shook people’s hearts.

Pedestrians on the street clutched their ears, nervously waiting for the next crack of thunder.

Qi Sen knew he couldn’t waste time worrying about where to send Can-Can right now. First priority: Get her somewhere safe before the storm hit.

Nearby, there was a bus stop where many Shangshi High students were waiting.

As thunder rumbled overhead, one boy looked up at the sky and laughed:

“Wonder which immortal is undergoing tribulation today?”

It was a popular online joke lately.

Whenever thunder rolled in dramas or real life, people would joke that some immortal must be “crossing a tribulation,” summoning heaven’s wrath with their training.

The students chuckled among themselves.

But—

Can-Can’s eyes lit up visibly, like someone cranked up her brightness by 800%.

Qi Sen immediately felt a bad premonition.

The moment his fingers brushed her sleeve, the little bun sprang forward like a colt, dashing up to the boy who had spoken.

Tilting her small face up, she said excitedly:

“It’s Can-Can!!”

The boy: ???

“Dragon Clan’s Can-Can is undergoing tribulation here! May I ask, noble immortal friend, your name?”

Everyone at the bus stop turned in unison: HUH??

When they realized what she was saying, the entire bus stop erupted in uncontrollable laughter.

What the heck?! Did a little kid just… take it seriously?!

—

When Qi Sen finally dragged the stubborn, protesting Can-Can back toward home, he still hadn’t gotten over the secondhand embarrassment.

“Sorry, sorry, she’s just playing make-believe,” he had said who knows how many times before the laughter around them finally died down.

Even while tugging her along, the students behind them were still whispering things like: “That little kid is so cute!”

Can-Can’s make-believe game had gone from playing “parents” to playing “immortal lords”— and her creativity only made her even more adorable.

Beside him, the little bun was still pouting, her tiny face scrunched up into an angry ball, looking like a fierce but harmless Shiba Inu puppy.

So angry. Yet so incredibly cute.

“Can-Can didn’t lie…” After grumbling for a long time, Can-Can finally huffed out her grievance.

Qi Sen sighed and rubbed her soft hair helplessly.

There was no point arguing. The little one was completely lost in her Journey to the West role-play fantasy.

Better just to go along with her.

“You’re right. Can-Can didn’t lie,” Qi Sen said.

Just those few words— and Can-Can’s mood flipped like a switch. In an instant, her frown was replaced by a brilliant smile.

“See! I said I wasn’t lying~!”

Her little voice stretched into a sugary drawl, making anyone who heard it want to laugh.

—

But when they reached home, Can-Can’s good mood vanished completely.

The tiny, cramped living room smelled of stale smoke and grease.

Foster mother Xu Zhen was sprawled on the couch watching TV, barely sparing them a glance.

Instinctively, Qi Sen pulled Can-Can behind him protectively.

On the dark red wooden table were two greasy plates of leftover food, cold bones piled up in an unappetizing mess.

Xu Zhen called out lazily without turning her head:

“Food’s on the table.”

Qi Sen glanced at the plates— nothing but a few strands of wilted greens and some oily shredded potatoes.

His face stayed blank.

Turning back, he silently made a “shh” gesture at Can-Can.

Before coming home, Qi Sen had already imagined every possible terrible reaction his foster parents might have upon seeing Can-Can.

Even so, he still braced for the worst.

But Xu Zhen was so glued to her TV dramas that she didn’t even notice the extra child.

Good. While she was distracted, he could sneak Can-Can upstairs to his room.

Can-Can tilted her head in confusion but obediently nodded.

Why is Second Brother telling her to be quiet? Her little brain spun quickly, but before she could figure it out—

Another sharp voice stabbed through the air:

“After you eat, clean the kitchen, tidy the living room, and wash the clothes in the bathroom! And wash my blouses gently!”

Since junior high, Qi Sen had been treated like a free housekeeper by his foster parents, responsible for all the chores big and small.

Whenever the school asked for fees, they would curse him out, refuse to pay, then gleefully grab their wallets and jackets to run off and gamble.

They would rather lose money to strangers than give him a single penny.