Inside the car.

Chi Xiao glanced at Miaomiao through the rearview mirror. His hand, resting on the steering wheel, suddenly reached out to grab a small object from the center console and asked Miaomiao, “Want to play with this?”

It was a lifelike wooden hedgehog.

Miaomiao took it with both hands: “Wow! Such a cute little hedgehog! I love it!”

He acted with great enthusiasm, as if he had never seen such a fascinating and fun thing before, utterly enchanted.

In another timeline.

His room was filled with all sorts of exquisite toys made by his dad, so he was long used to such things!

Ming Can didn’t know that Chi Xiao could do handicrafts. The little trinket in Miaomiao’s hands was indeed very beautiful, and even she found it somewhat novel, so she didn’t realize that Miaomiao’s excitement was just an act.

Chi Xiao, however, felt that Miaomiao was a bit too excited—it was just a wooden hedgehog, after all.

After spending this half-day together, he even began to feel that Ming Can’s little cousin was inexplicably very close to him, seemingly very fond of him as an older brother.

In Chi Xiao’s impression of himself, he was definitely not someone who would endear himself to children.

Nor did he need any children to like him.

Before today, he thought children were annoying creatures, and the farther they were from him, the better.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a feeling sprouted in his heart—a desire to please a certain child, hoping he would like him even more.

“If you like it, I have others,” Chi Xiao said. “I’ll give them to you another day.”

“Yay,” Miaomiao accidentally forgot his current identity again and immediately asked Chi Xiao to make him some, “I want a dog, like a Corgi, and two kittens, one black and one white!”

Ming Can’s temple twitched, and she wanted to cover his mouth, but it was too late.

Chi Xiao: “Okay.”

Seeing him agree so easily, Ming Can instinctively thought he must have some ready-made ones on hand, or that the ones Miaomiao wanted could be easily bought.

Then, she heard Miaomiao ask, “So when will you give them to me?”

Chi Xiao thought for a moment.

The air was quiet for a few seconds, and the rearview mirror reflected the girl’s helpless face and the child’s unrestrained smile.

Chi Xiao took a light breath and said softly, “Add my contact, and I’ll let you know when they’re done.”

Hearing this, Miaomiao was stunned for a moment, unsure if he had activated his superpower or not.

But one thing he was sure of—

Dad really loves adding people’s contacts!

“You made this yourself?” Ming Can finally couldn’t hold back anymore. “This hedgehog, you made it too?”

Chi Xiao: “Yes.”

Ming Can was astonished: “Impressive.”

Chi Xiao’s eyes flickered inexplicably, and through the rearview mirror, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment.

“139********,” he recited his phone number.

It was the same number as in the future, which Miaomiao had already saved in his smartwatch.

Miaomiao pretended to fiddle with his smartwatch, dialing a call to the contact named “Dad.”

“This is my number, brother, make sure to save it.”

“Okay.”

Just as they reached their destination, the car came to a stop. Chi Xiao picked up his phone and saved Miaomiao’s number.

For him, getting Miaomiao’s contact information was already a significant gain.

There were some things he wasn’t afraid to say to her.

But saying them would be meaningless, as there would be no outcome.

Ming Can silently watched them exchange contact information, showing no intention of getting involved.

Nor did she interfere.

Chi Xiao was the first to get out of the car, walking around to open the door for them and help with their bags.

Very gentlemanly, very proper, though his expression management was lacking, failing to make one feel at ease, as if he still owed them eight million.

“Today was really too much trouble for you, senior.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Really, thank you so much.”

“No problem.”

After a round of superficial exchanges, Ming Can led Miaomiao into the building’s entrance. Once the automatic glass door closed behind them, both she and Miaomiao turned back to look at the tall young man standing in the cold wind.

Miaomiao waved goodbye with a bounce in his step.

Ming Can, however, had a complex expression. Her warm social mask had faded, and her eyes were filled with obvious curiosity and wariness, just like the look she gave him during their first meeting at the lecture—like a scalpel, ready to dissect him piece by piece, analyzing every detail.

Back home.

Auntie Zhang had already prepared dinner and placed it in the refrigerator. Ming Can reheated a few dishes that Miaomiao liked, made sure he ate, washed up, and then went to bed.

It was still early, so Ming Can sat at the living room bar with her laptop, tackling her homework with high efficiency, meeting deadlines as soon as they appeared.

Late into the night, the city’s neon lights faded, and the floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a pitch-black outside, leaving only the sound of silence breathing around her.

Ming Can closed her laptop, propped her chin on one hand, and began to think about issues beyond her studies.

Before today, she had been completely resistant to the idea of Chi Xiao joining her and Miaomiao’s life.

But now.

Her thoughts had shifted ever so slightly.

What happened today felt like an unintentional test she had set up—meaning she hadn’t planned to test him, but simply wanted to introduce Miaomiao to him. Yet, after spending a few hours together, she realized he had unknowingly crossed the lowest threshold in her heart, making her no longer entirely resistant and starting to consider other possibilities.

In other words, someone who was originally destined to be eliminated had suddenly jumped onto the shortlist, with a chance to enter the probationary period.

Ming Can sorted out her thoughts and concluded that, indeed, Chi Xiao had entered the probationary period in her heart.

Although this probation was one-sided—he hadn’t asked to be evaluated, and she wasn’t sure if someone like Chi Xiao could accept a biological son who appeared out of nowhere.

But that was a matter for later.

In any case, she would no longer reject Chi Xiao and, based on Miaomiao’s wishes, would try to let him see his father a few times each month to ease his longing.

Then, during this process, she would carefully consider whether to tell the man the truth and pull him into co-parenting with her.

For Ming Can, who had always been fiercely independent and avoided getting involved with the opposite sex, this was an earth-shattering change.

There were many reasons for such a significant shift in her mindset, but one of the most important was—

Chi Xiao could drive! And he drove really well!

Heaven knows how much Ming Can wanted to hire a driver, but because of Miaomiao’s existence, she didn’t dare let outsiders peek into her life, so she had to painfully get her own driver’s license.

Unexpectedly, today, a ready-made, driving-capable biological father for Miaomiao had popped up.

If possible, Ming Can really wanted to hire him as a family driver. First, it would fulfill Miaomiao’s wish to see his dad every day. Second, even if Miaomiao’s identity was accidentally revealed to him, it wouldn’t cause much social impact, since he and Ming Can were essentially in the same boat.

Thinking this, Ming Can hopped down from the bar stool, tiptoed into Miaomiao’s room, picked up the children’s smartwatch on the nightstand, opened the contact list, and found a certain someone’s phone number.

Before exploiting his labor.

Shouldn’t they at least build some rapport first?

–

At University A, in the male dormitory.

Chi Xiao sat hunched over his seat, his desk cleared of clutter, replaced with a cutting board, several blocks of pear wood and sandalwood, and a pile of cutting and carving tools. He buried himself in his work, skillfully and meticulously crafting the small object in his hands.

His roommates were already used to this scene.

Compared to chatting and socializing with people, the taciturn Chi Xiao preferred to “waste” his time on the pile of wood in his hands.

The only odd thing was that earlier that evening, during the basketball game, he had played the entire match as a starter, dunking so hard that the opposing team was left disoriented. Logically, he should have been exhausted after the game, and woodworking is also physically demanding. No one knew where he found the energy to tirelessly work on his craft so late into the night.

As lights-out approached, Zhu Yida, the roommate closest to Chi Xiao, came over to see what he was working on.

“Kittens and puppies?” Zhu Yida said. “Didn’t you finish that thumb piano last time?”

Chi Xiao: “No.”

Zhu Yida: “Why not keep working on that? Kittens and puppies don’t require much skill. I think you’re really amazing at making instruments.”

Zhu Yida had been fortunate enough to visit Chi Xiao’s off-campus apartment last year. The woodworking setup there was on a whole other level, resembling a professional studio, with many rare woods drying out, supposedly for making instruments. Unfortunately, Zhu Yida never got to see where the finished instruments were stored.

Chi Xiao shifted to the side: “You’re blocking my light.”

Zhu Yida: “Alright, carry on.”

A few minutes later, the lights-out bell rang. Chi Xiao put down his tools and went out to wash up. When he returned, he heard one of his roommates wailing loudly: “Damn it—I messed up again! This thing is seriously cursed! How the hell do you even do this?!”

Winter had arrived, and this guy had decided to knit a scarf for his girlfriend by hand. The original plan was to finish it in two weeks, but now, after nearly a month, he was only halfway done, and progress was slow and frustrating.

Chi Xiao happened to walk past him just then.

Perhaps because he was in a good mood today, Chi Xiao didn’t just walk away. Instead, he stopped and glanced at the scarf in his roommate’s hands, offering some advice: “You looped it wrong here. No need to undo it, just reverse the knitting to this point, then use a crochet hook to pull it through…”

“Oh… like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Pull it through and loop it here?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy crap! It’s fixed! Brother Xiao, you’re a genius!”

The other two roommates had somehow gathered around, eyeing the two of them with strange looks, their faces gradually breaking into odd smiles.

Zhu Yida: “Old Chi, you can even knit scarves? Did you make one for a girl before? Who was it? Who? Who?”

Chi Xiao’s lips twitched: “Get lost.”

Zhu Yida stared intently at his expression, his mouth slowly forming an “O”: “Holy shit, what’s with that look? Did you give someone a scarf and still not win them over?”

“What? What? There’s actually a girl that even Xiao couldn’t win over?”

“Damn, that’s some next-level cold-heartedness! I really want to meet her!”

…

Chi Xiao, thoroughly annoyed, reached out and slapped the dorm’s main light switch, plunging the room into darkness. He then sat back down at his seat, expressionless.

The room instantly fell into darkness. With the main subject gone, the boys quickly lost interest and quieted down.

After lights-out, the dorm became unusually cold. Two of the boys quickly burrowed into their blankets, leaving only Chi Xiao and Zhu Yida sitting below. The latter was scratching his head in frustration, while the former sat like an ancient ice sculpture, exuding not a single trace of warmth. One hand held his phone as he indifferently scrolled through academic papers, skimming ten lines at a time, though it was unclear what he was actually reading.

At that moment, Chi Xiao’s phone vibrated twice, and a new message popped up.

【WeChat Message: Sun Moon Volcano requests to add you as a friend】

…

The silence after the noise was the most palpable.

Even the tiniest molecular movement in the air seemed detectable.

Zhu Yida, who had been reading a paper, suddenly turned his head: “What are you smiling about?”

Silence again.

A moment later.

Chi Xiao: “Was I smiling?”

“Were you not smiling?” Zhu Yida lunged over to grab his neck. “I thought you were in a bad mood, but here you are, smiling?”