Chapter 49: Breakfast

Four consecutive messages, each logical, well-reasoned, and righteous.

Between the lines, there was also a hint of irritation, like a cat with its fur puffed up, desperately trying to appear calm.

Chi Xiao looked at his phone and smiled, typing a reply: 【I have no issues with that.】

It seemed he completely agreed with her domineering statements, submitting wholeheartedly.

Ming Can’s fingers swiped back and forth on the screen.

Even after saying all that, she still felt a bit indignant and asked Chi Xiao: 【How did you know I was watching you?】

Within seconds, she received a response—

cx: 【I didn’t.】

Ming Can: 【?】

He didn’t know?

So, the camera’s indicator light hadn’t flashed or changed color? Or maybe this model didn’t even have an indicator light?

Ming Can suddenly had a feeling she’d been tricked and asked again: 【Then why did you suddenly ask me, ‘Enjoying the view?’】

Chi Xiao explained: 【Your account was online in the monitoring app.】

Ming Can thought to herself, But I could’ve been watching Miaomiao or checking other cameras.

Then she saw Chi Xiao add: 【I looked into customer reviews of this camera model before. Many people mentioned that when someone is monitoring from the backend, the camera’s automatic tracking might lag.】

So, when he had walked from the living area to the living room and inexplicably glanced at the camera, it was because he noticed the thing was lagging while turning? He had already suspected she was watching from behind at that point?

Sun Moon Volcano: 【The camera lagging could just mean it’s broken.】

cx: 【True.】

cx: 【So, I was just asking casually.】

Casually asking.

And he had managed to expose her as the big genius she was.

Well played.

Ming Can had tried to predict her opponent but ended up being outmaneuvered. In this round of psychological warfare, she had lost completely.

At this point, she could only stick to her earlier “robber logic” to save some face.

Ming Can hugged the thick, soft blanket, her body tilting sideways as she lay down. Her legs pedaled furiously under the covers, as if venting her frustration, while her hands held up her phone to type: Even though you were just asking casually, I’ll answer you sincerely: It’s just so-so. I was just killing time, and it’s not that interesting to watch.

Her phone screen was split into two parts—the top showed the monitor, and the bottom was the chat box.

After sending the message, Ming Can glanced at the monitor and saw Chi Xiao holding his phone, typing. The next second, his message arrived.

cx: 【Sorry to disappoint you.】

cx: 【How about I perform coding until dawn for you?】

Ming Can let out a soft laugh, rolled over onto her stomach, and replied: 【Boring. Change it up.】

cx: 【What kind of excitement are you looking for?】

Just from the text, Ming Can could imagine Chi Xiao saying this.

His face would still be cold and expressionless, but the corner of his mouth would be annoyingly curved, his tone carrying that classic Beicheng accent. Just imagining it made Ming Can want to hit him.

She glanced at the boy on the monitor. He was sitting casually, legs spread, leaning back against the sofa. The thin fabric of his clothes clung to his body, faintly outlining the firm, smooth lines of his muscles. It was… quite exciting.

Ming Can pursed her lips and decided not to take the bait, replying: 【You guess.】

cx: 【Can’t guess.】

cx: 【How about this—whatever you need,】

cx: 【we can discuss it face-to-face tomorrow.】

After sending those messages, he got up from the sofa, holding his laptop in one hand, and walked slowly forward.

Closer and closer, until he stopped right in front of the camera.

Ming Can suddenly held her breath.

Chi Xiao bent down, his handsome face suddenly close to the camera. He raised his hand and covered the top of it, making it look like he was patting her head. His lips moved, forming two words.

“Good night.”

The sound coming through the monitor was low, with a mechanical quality.

Ming Can instinctively replied, “Oh.”

It wasn’t until he walked away that she realized she hadn’t turned on the microphone.

—

The next day, before dawn, Ming Can dragged herself out of bed.

She had been having a series of dreams before waking up, leaving her feeling hot and sticky. After drinking a sip of cold water, she headed straight for the shower.

After showering, her mind felt much clearer. She went to her closet and picked out a bright yellow puffy down jacket she had never worn before, pairing it with a light green knit dress and white snow boots. She looked like a walking ear of corn—today’s eccentric outfit, check.

Ming Can had originally planned to curl her hair into a frizzy mess, but as she sat in front of the dressing table and stared at herself for a while, she suddenly decided against making herself look too ridiculous. Without realizing it, she switched the curling iron to a larger size and slowly curled her hair into soft waves, then applied a light, fresh makeup look.

She had agreed to meet Chi Xiao and the others at eight, and it was only seven now. Ming Can was already ready and headed downstairs for breakfast.

The family chef had prepared a lavish breakfast, and Ming Zheng was sitting at the head of the dining table eating. When he saw Ming Can, he was momentarily stunned, then chuckled at her eye-catching outfit.

“Going out so early?”

“Yeah, I made plans to hang out with some high school classmates.”

Chi Xiao was also her high school classmate, so this wasn’t exactly a lie.

Ming Zheng nodded and asked, “Are you free tomorrow or the day after? Last night, you mentioned wanting that property. We can handle the transfer before the New Year, and it’ll be yours after.”

Ming Can thought for a moment: “Tomorrow works.”

After a pause, she smiled at Ming Zheng: “Thanks, Dad.”

Ming Zheng: “What’s there to thank? I’ve already said, everything I have is yours.”

Ming Can nodded lightly and continued eating.

To be honest, her father had always treated her well over the years, both before and after her mother’s passing. He had never mistreated her as his daughter. Although his past private life had been less than ideal, he had never brought home any half-siblings to compete for her affection.

Moreover, in the past decade, as her grandfather had promoted him to oversee part of the family business, his responsibilities had grown heavier. He was no longer the idle playboy he once was. His personality had gradually become more steady, and he had become more family-oriented. By all appearances, he was a rare and good father.

But.

Ming Can had no reason to forgive him on behalf of her mother.

Her once-happy childhood was gone forever. The scars of the past couldn’t disappear; they would always be there. But as Ming Can grew older and became an adult, she no longer wore her sharp anger on her face as she had when she was a child.

The adult world wasn’t black and white. Ming Can could now coexist peacefully with her father. As long as her core interests weren’t touched, the two of them could continue like this, forever compromising and pretending.

At exactly eight o’clock, Chi Xiao sent a message in the group saying he had arrived, and Ming Can finally headed out.

Today was sunny, with no harsh winds, so Ming Can could free her hands from her sleeves. She walked while playing with her phone—or more accurately, while listening to voice messages from Miaomiao.

In the group chat 【Has Chi Xiao Learned to Cook Today?】

Ming Meow Meow: Mom, hurry up, hurry up! We’ve been waiting for three minutes~

Ming Meow Meow: Mom, I miss you so much! It’s been… ummm… so many hours since I last saw you!

Ming Meow Meow: Mom mom mom, mom mom mom…

Ming Meow Meow: Hey, are you having trouble finding us? I’ll take a photo with Dad’s phone to show you.

cx: 【[Picture]】

cx: We’re right here, next to a big supermarket that just opened. Oh, it just opened, and so many people are rushing in!

cx: Mom, you’re so slow. Dad’s getting impatient and has started typing on his computer.

Ming Can listened to each message, finding them utterly adorable. After listening, she translated each voice message into text and saved the screenshots.

To avoid being seen by acquaintances, Ming Can had asked Chi Xiao to park the car about 500 meters away from the neighborhood. Her family’s villa was located deep within the community, and it took nearly a kilometer to walk out, which was quite time-consuming.

At that moment, Miaomiao, using his dad’s profile picture, sent over a video.

In the video, the man sat in the driver’s seat, looking down at the laptop on his lap. His side profile was sharp, exuding a natural coolness.

“Mom, look what he’s doing!”

Before the words finished, the man turned to look at the camera, his indifferent eyes softening with a hint of helpless amusement. He reached out toward the camera, as if trying to grab the phone.

The screen shook wildly, accompanied by the little kid’s gleeful laughter. Ming Can could vaguely see Chi Xiao squinting as he playfully wrestled with his son. Then, it seemed Miaomiao had grabbed the phone and hidden it under the seat, the screen turning black as the video ended.

Ming Can hesitated for a moment but eventually saved the video as well.

A few minutes later, she got into the car, greeted by a wave of warm air and an excited little boy who was so warm he was sweating around his neck, throwing himself at her.

Ming Can pulled out a few tissues and reached into Miaomiao’s sweater to wipe his sweat.

Miaomiao looked up at her: “Mom, why do you have dark circles under your eyes?”

“Didn’t sleep well last night,” Ming Can said, suddenly remembering what had happened in the early hours of the morning. She quickly changed the subject, “Go sit in your car seat. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be late.”

Miaomiao didn’t move, his eyes wide and curious as he heard his mom’s inner thoughts: [Your dad’s too much, making me unable to sleep at night. Even when I did fall asleep, I had strange dreams and woke up way too early.]

Miaomiao didn’t quite understand what “too much” meant, but it didn’t sound like a bad thing?

Anyway, Mom’s dark circles were Dad’s fault.

Mom’s suffering, Dad’s bad!

After the car started, Ming Can checked her face in the mirror. There were indeed some dark circles, but they weren’t too noticeable and didn’t affect her beauty.

The man in the driver’s seat focused on driving, his side profile cold and detached. When he wasn’t speaking, he still seemed like an eternal iceberg. Ming Can glanced at him and felt her eyes freeze. She looked away and asked Miaomiao what he had eaten for breakfast.

“Sandwich, made by Dad.”

“Really? What’s in it?”

Miaomiao had a good memory and listed them one by one: “Salmon, smoked beef, avocado, egg, tomato. It was really good!”

Ming Can nodded: “Not bad.”

Miaomiao suddenly remembered something: “This morning, because I said it was delicious, Dad went back to the kitchen and made another one. It must be for Mom, right!”

As soon as he finished speaking, both Miaomiao and Ming Can looked up at Chi Xiao.

Chi Xiao acted as if he hadn’t heard. The car stopped at a red light, and he rested his hand on the steering wheel, turning to look out the window.

Miaomiao: “I bet Dad brought it. It’s probably in his laptop bag. Dad, hurry up and give it to Mom to try!”

Seeing that his dad wasn’t moving, Miaomiao pretended to climb out of his car seat to rummage through the bag in the front passenger seat. Chi Xiao sighed helplessly and said in a flat tone, “Your mom has already eaten.”

Ming Can remembered that around seven, Chi Xiao had sent her a message asking if she had eaten. She had woken up early and had just finished breakfast, so she had replied truthfully.

Ming Can smiled: “It’s fine. I can eat a little more.”

Since she had said so, Chi Xiao had no choice but to pull out a sealed plastic container from his bag and hand it back.

Truthfully, Ming Can was already full. She picked up the sandwich from the container, unwrapped the plastic wrap, and took a bite. Compared to the breakfast made by the professional chef at home, this sandwich was quite ordinary.

The light turned green, and the car moved forward. Chi Xiao kept his eyes on the road, his expression indifferent, as if he didn’t care about what was happening in the back seat.

Seeing his aloof demeanor, Ming Can remembered how he had outmaneuvered her last night. She had to reclaim some ground today. So, while eating the sandwich, she asked softly, “Senior, I’ve already eaten breakfast. Why did you bring this?”

Chi Xiao: “It’s for me.”

Ming Can: “Oh, so it wasn’t specially made for me. No wonder it tastes so bad.”

Chi Xiao glanced at her through the rearview mirror and, very tactfully, changed his answer: “It was for you. How do you find it?”

Ming Can smiled: “It’s bad. Didn’t I just say that?”

Chi Xiao: …

“But,” Ming Can changed her tone, “today’s flavor is special. I just feel like eating something bad.”