Yu Yingze suddenly remembered that he wasn’t the only one in the room. There was also a little one so quiet that she seemed to have disappeared.

He turned his chair and was just about to ask her what she’d been playing with when he saw a messy drawing proudly held up by the little round-faced girl.

“Second brother, look! I drew this!” Her excited voice was filled with the unspoken plea of “Praise me!”

Yu Yingze decided to take a break and carefully examined the drawing. Stroking his chin, he commented, “Hmm, this Godzilla is pretty good. You might have a talent for drawing.”

“…” The little girl was speechless for five seconds before pointing weakly at the “Godzilla.” “Second brother, that’s not Godzilla. That’s supposed to be you.”

Thanks for making me look like Godzilla!

Yu Yingze fell silent, staring at the drawing in deep thought.

The lines on the paper were chaotic but held the innocent charm of a child’s work.

After looking at it several more times, he still couldn’t quite believe it. Unable to resist, he asked, “Why did you draw me as Godzilla? Am I that scary?”

“What’s Godzilla?” The little one didn’t understand and took the drawing back to explain earnestly, “This is the claw… I mean, the hand, the feet, the head, and the belly…”

Alright, if she hadn’t pointed them out, he wouldn’t have realized those were supposed to be hands.

Such terrifying claws—no, hands—looked scarier than Godzilla’s.

Though it felt strange being portrayed as a monster, Yu Yuan’s drawing was full of imaginative creativity, with colors and lines that flowed surprisingly well.

Looking at her masterpiece, Yu Yingze couldn’t help but feel the urge to draw. He sat down on the floor to join her.

Seeing that her second brother didn’t seem to like the portrait she’d drawn of him, the little girl insisted on drawing another.

Not to be outdone, Yu Yingze decided to draw her as well, using his textbook to hide his work until it was finished.

By 4 p.m., when Yu Mingxi returned, he had imagined countless possible scenarios.

The entire way home, he had been silently praying that the two children hadn’t gotten into a fight and that, at the very least, their relationship hadn’t worsened.

Entering the villa, the aroma of spicy fries in hand, his steps quickened, almost breaking into a run as he breathlessly pushed open the door.

His breathing was a bit labored, and his chest felt tight again. Yu Mingxi quickly took his things to his room, fished out his medication, and took a few puffs.

After sitting in his chair to rest for a moment, he grabbed the spicy fries he’d promised Yu Yingze and headed toward Yuanyuan’s room.

The door was slightly ajar, sunlight spilling onto the carpet, but the room was empty. There was only noise coming from Yu Yingze’s room.

Yu Mingxi pushed the door open a little with his fingers. The room was somewhat dim, the curtains half-drawn, billowing in the wind.

On the thick carpet, two little figures lay sprawled out.

Yu Yingze lay in a starfish position, his mouth slightly open. The breathing sound Yu Mingxi had heard earlier was his, resembling the hissing of a leaky machine.

The little girl was curled up into a ball, resting her head on Yu Yingze’s stomach. It was hard to tell if she was cold or just used to sleeping like that, but from a distance, she looked like a small, round ball.

Yu Mingxi’s heart finally settled.

It seemed the two children were getting along better than he’d imagined when he wasn’t home.

Quietly, he covered them with a blanket before leaving the room.

They both slept until dinner. Yuanyuan was woken up by the delicious smell wafting up from downstairs.

Yu Yingze was groggily awakened by her pushing at his face. Both of them, still sleepy, squinted and stumbled down the stairs.

“Brother! You’re back!” The little girl, upon seeing Yu Mingxi, dashed toward him like a vacuum cleaner set to turbo, her short legs hugging the floor as she quickly zoomed over to his side.

After placing her in a chair, her first move was to grab her spoon, ready to eat.

But suddenly, she looked around with wide eyes, searching for someone. “Where’s Daddy?”

Aunt Chen placed the last dish on the table and glanced upstairs. “Mr. Yu is in his study. He seems to have something to deal with and said he wouldn’t be joining us for dinner.”

In fact, Yu Mingxi had seen their father return earlier.

But Dad’s expression had been terrifying. Mingxi hadn’t even dared to greet him, as it seemed Dad had been seriously angered by someone.