Chapter 13: The Password

Chi Xiao clearly didn’t know how to hold a child. He held Miaomiao like a sandbag under his arm for a while before realizing he should support the child’s bottom with his arm to keep him steady.

Miaomiao was lifted even higher. He wrapped his arms around Chi Xiao’s neck and kicked his legs excitedly.

It had been so long since Dad last held him!

Dad was tall, and his arms were strong. When he held Miaomiao, it felt like being lifted high in an instant, like riding a roller coaster—so thrilling! That’s why Miaomiao had always loved being held by Dad since he was little.

Unfortunately, after starting elementary school and becoming a “big kid,” Dad rarely held him anymore.

The two of them, one big and one small, locked eyes.

Chi Xiao lowered his gaze slightly, staring into Ming Miao’s eyes.

Those dark, clear pupils, glistening under the lights, reflected his own face.

Around them, Chi Xiao’s teammates and the spectators were stunned. No one expected that someone as averse to trouble as him, after being “accosted” by a little kid, wouldn’t immediately push the child away but instead kindly pick him up.

Could it be that they knew each other?

Chi Xiao shifted the child in his arms and asked in a low voice, “Where are your parents?”

His tone was still emotionless, cold, and detached.

You’re my parent.

Miaomiao answered in his heart, but out loud, he said softly, “I don’t know…”

As he spoke, he looked around. Logically, Mom should have followed him by now…

Suddenly, the little one in his arms kicked his legs again and twisted around, pointing toward the diagonal behind them: “She’s over there!”

Chi Xiao followed his gaze.

From the crowd, a girl with a bare face, her hair tied in a mid-height ponytail, wearing a beige cotton jacket and carrying a large black backpack, slowly squeezed her way out. Her outfit was extremely plain.

She kept her head slightly lowered, pushed up the plain black-framed glasses on her face, and quickly walked over to Chi Xiao and Ming Miao.

Chi Xiao’s gaze landed on her face, and he paused for a moment.

Ming Can remembered that she and Chi Xiao didn’t have much interaction—they had only met a few days ago. He probably didn’t have a deep impression of her usual appearance, so even though she had changed her look today, he shouldn’t find it too strange.

“Sorry, Senior,” Ming Can apologized softly. “He’s my cousin, Ming Miao. He’s a bit mischievous and loves to run around. I couldn’t hold him back just now.”

Ming Miao pouted, muttering, “I’m not mischievous.”

In his heart, he secretly complained that Mom was being sneaky, deliberately trying to make Dad not like him so she could keep him all to herself!

Also.

What’s with the “Senior” title? It sounds so formal.

In the other timeline, Mom was much more casual with Dad, always calling him by his full name, “Chi Xiao,” or sometimes even skipping the name altogether and just calling him “Hey.”

Chi Xiao’s gaze shifted between Ming Can and Ming Miao’s faces, then he said indifferently, “It’s fine.”

Just then, a few substitute players passed by them.

The sight of the notoriously aloof Academic God Chi holding a child was too bizarre to ignore.

One of them smiled and asked Chi Xiao, “Brother Xiao, is this your little brother?”

Chi Xiao: “No.”

“No? You two look so alike. I thought he was your relative.”

“How do they look alike?” Ming Can suddenly interjected. “All little kids look like this.”

The guy scratched his head: “Yeah, I guess.”

Chi Xiao’s gaze returned to Ming Miao’s face, scanning his narrow, deep-set double eyelids, his delicate nose bridge, and his well-defined lips.

Now that he thought about it.

The kid did look a lot like him when he was young.

Seeing Chi Xiao scrutinizing Ming Miao, Ming Can quickly stepped forward and reached out her hands: “Let me take him.”

Chi Xiao nodded, leaning slightly to hand the child over.

A five-and-a-half-year-old kid was quite big. Ming Can spread her arms and, as she took Miaomiao, she also briefly held onto Chi Xiao’s arms as he passed the child over.

Under his basketball jersey, he wore a short-sleeved black workout shirt that clung to his well-defined biceps. The skin below his elbows was exposed to the air, the lines of his muscles tight and smooth.

As Ming Can took Miaomiao, her wrist brushed against his forearm, the touch warm.

Ming Can had seen how effortlessly Chi Xiao held Miaomiao and momentarily forgot that the child weighed forty jin (20 kg). When Miaomiao threw himself into her arms, she almost couldn’t hold him, her arms dropping slightly. Fortunately, the young man in front of her reached out to help lift the child, allowing her to barely steady herself.

Ming Can thanked him.

She hadn’t planned to hold Miaomiao for long—she just wanted to take the child out of Chi Xiao’s hands.

So, just ten seconds later, Miaomiao slid out of Ming Can’s arms like a free-falling object, his little feet hitting the ground with a thud, leaving him a bit dazed.

The game was about to start in ten minutes, and most of the starting players were already on the court warming up. Several people called out to Chi Xiao to join them.

Someone tossed a basketball to him from a distance, and Chi Xiao caught it with one hand, dribbling it casually a couple of times.

As if remembering something, he turned and asked, “You two…”

His words abruptly stopped.

The space beside him was empty. Ming Can had already taken Miaomiao and left without him noticing.

As the game time approached, the gym grew even noisier, the excitement reaching a fever pitch.

Ming Can led Miaomiao along the sideline, looking across to where they had originally been standing, but she couldn’t spot Xu Jiayun anywhere.

Just as she was about to give up, Xu Jiayun came running toward them.

“Oh my gosh, how did you bump into Senior Chi Xiao?” Xu Jiayun exclaimed, her voice full of concern. “Is Miaomiao okay?”

Ming Can waved her hand: “He’s fine.”

“That’s good.”

Xu Jiayun peeked over at the Computer Science team’s rest area a few meters away and said, “Let’s not go back. We can just watch from here.”

Ming Can: “Sure.”

With a child in tow, the two of them shamelessly squeezed their way to the front row, easily securing a good spot to watch the game.

This new position was closer to the basketball hoop, and the Computer Science players were warming up right in front of them.

Xu Jiayun turned her backpack around to the front, unzipped it, and pulled out bottled water, a dry towel, chocolate, bandages, and ointment—fully stocked with supplies.

Ming Can glanced at it and was about to tease her, but then she remembered that her own backpack was stuffed with Miaomiao’s jacket, water bottle, hygiene kit, snacks… and her study materials were crammed into a tiny corner. She suddenly felt too embarrassed to mock Xu Jiayun.

Cheng Xiuyan was also a starting player and came over before the game to greet Xu Jiayun.

Xu Jiayun tossed him a piece of chocolate, which he caught. His gaze then fell on Miaomiao, and he smiled: “What a cute little kid.”

Miaomiao: “Hi, big brother~”

Cheng Xiuyan’s eyes curved as he gently said to him, “The game’s going to last a while. Can you stand for that long?”

Ming Can was startled, realizing she had overlooked this issue—adults like them had plenty of stamina and could stand through the entire game without issue, but Miaomiao was only five and a half. The environment here was crowded and noisy, and making him stand the whole time wasn’t ideal.

Reluctantly, Ming Can turned to Cheng Xiuyan for help: “Do you guys have a small stool or something in your team?”

Cheng Xiuyan thought for a moment: “Old Yan might have a small folding stool. Let me go ask for you.”

Ming Can: “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Cheng Xiuyan walked over to the rest area. Old Yan was the team manager and was sitting on a bench playing on his phone.

“Brother Yan,” Cheng Xiuyan tapped him, “Can I borrow your folding stool?”

Old Yan looked up, his expression awkward: “What’s with today? So many people asking to borrow the stool.”

“Huh?”

“You’re too late,” Old Yan said. “The stool was just borrowed by Brother Xiao.”

Cheng Xiuyan: “Oh…”

Old Yan patted the bench he was sitting on: “Do you want this instead?”

The bench doubled as the substitute seating, and there were already three people sitting on it. Cheng Xiuyan shook his head: “Never mind, I’ll ask someone else.”

After asking around with no luck, Cheng Xiuyan returned to Ming Can feeling a bit embarrassed, only to find a small folding stool already placed behind the little boy.

He stared at the stool for a while, feeling it looked more and more familiar: “Huh? This looks just like Old Yan’s.”

Hearing this, Ming Can was puzzled: “Didn’t you ask Chi Xiao to bring it over?”

Cheng Xiuyan looked completely confused: “No, I didn’t. I didn’t even see him.”

Ming Can was even more baffled.

Just moments ago, Chi Xiao had strolled over, carrying a small folding stool. He set it up on the ground without a word and then walked away.

At the time, Ming Can had assumed he was bringing it over for Cheng Xiuyan, so she casually said “Thanks,” though he probably didn’t hear her.

On the court, the Computer Science players were taking turns practicing free throws.

It was Chi Xiao’s turn. Dressed in red and black, his jersey number 22, the loose fabric hinted at the smooth, defined lines of his muscles.

He held the ball with both hands, raised his arms, flicked his wrists, and the basketball arced through the air.

Swish—nothing but net.

Even though it was just a warm-up, the stands erupted in deafening cheers, with countless fans screaming.

Ming Can rubbed her ears, suddenly feeling someone tugging at her sleeve.

She looked down and saw Miaomiao standing stiffly, pointing at the folding stool: “Sister, you sit.”

Ming Can shook her head: “You sit.”

Miaomiao: “I’m not tired.”

Ming Can: “You’re not tired now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be later. If you can’t walk home tonight, I’m not carrying you.”

Miaomiao wanted to argue further but suddenly remembered his conversation with Uncle System earlier that day—

“Uncle 33, I’m going to see Dad today,” Miaomiao had said excitedly. “I’m going to choose him as my translation target. My ability points should be enough, right?”

[Barely enough to select another adult human,] the system said. [But I don’t recommend activating your superpower on him too soon.]

Miaomiao: “Why?”

System: [Based on my estimates, when facing someone as difficult to translate as your mother, your stamina is only enough to understand about a dozen sentences. If your father is similarly hard to read, activating your superpower on him too eagerly could drain your energy too quickly. You might fall asleep before the game even starts.]

Miaomiao: “…That won’t do!”

System: [So, I suggest you wait until after the game to activate it.]

Miaomiao: “Okay.”

Thinking of this, Miaomiao deeply understood the importance of conserving his energy. He finally stopped arguing with Ming Can and obediently sat on the folding stool, saving his strength.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game officially began.

Both teams were filled with tall, strong players, and the game started with intense competition. The red and white jerseys clashed repeatedly, the screech of sneakers against the floor piercing the air, and the noise from the sidelines grew louder and louder.

Ming Can had taken basketball as an elective in gym class and had a decent understanding of the rules, so she was thoroughly enjoying the game.

Miaomiao, on the other hand, only had a vague understanding and kept his eyes fixed on his dad.

Chi Xiao, tall and long-legged, played as a center with strong one-on-one skills. In less than a minute, he scored the first goal of the game with a powerful dunk. The moment the basketball hit the ground, the cheers were so loud they could’ve lifted the roof.

“Dad… I mean, big brother is so cool!” Miaomiao clapped enthusiastically.

The ball changed possession.

Chi Xiao retreated to the defensive line, and a teammate ran over, patting his shoulder with a laugh: “Why are you going so hard today? Architecture isn’t that strong. You’re dunking right off the bat?”

Chi Xiao: “It’s the elimination round, after all.”

Teammate: “True.”