Chapter 71: Mine

Chi Xiao’s hand, which was loosely draped over Ming Can’s shoulder, suddenly tightened. His slender fingers gripped her shoulder, the veins on the back of his hand bulging and throbbing visibly.

He bent down slightly, pulling her even closer, and whispered, “Say it again.”

It was as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Although he had liked her for many years, it hadn’t been long since he started openly pursuing her.

He had prepared himself to taste bitterness and face setbacks—enduring such things was what he did best.

But now.

He hadn’t felt like he had suffered much, yet here he was, holding her so effortlessly.

No.

It was more accurate to say that she was holding him.

It felt like an unearned windfall, like winning the lottery.

At times like this, one can’t help but check the lottery numbers over and over, just to confirm that it’s real.

Ming Can heard his words but didn’t want to respond.

Her face had been buried for too long, and she was starting to feel suffocated.

Finally, she let go. Her cheeks were flushed from lack of oxygen, and she gasped for breath, her eyes fixed on his collar as she said indignantly, “I’m still mad. Why should I say it again? How can someone like you exist? You hid your allergy from us just because you were worried it would ruin Miaomiao and my excitement about raising a cat? Why didn’t you just wait until you were cured before showing up?”

Once she had vented, the knot in her chest loosened considerably.

Chi Xiao replied, “Didn’t I promise to spend the Lantern Festival with you?”

Ming Can shot back, “Did you think you could be cured before the Lantern Festival?”

Chi Xiao said nonchalantly, “I thought I’d try treating it first. If it didn’t work, then I’d tell you.”

Before he could finish speaking, his chest was met with a solid punch.

“Covered in rashes, chest tightness, shortness of breath… Is this how you planned to tell us you couldn’t have a cat?”

“I’m sorry,” Chi Xiao said. “I’ve never been in close contact with cats before, so I didn’t know the symptoms would be this severe.”

Plus, he had learned from Miaomiao that in the future, he would have two cats.

This meant that, as Miaomiao’s father in the future, he must have overcome his allergy.

So, the present version of him should also strive to overcome it.

Ming Can let out a lukewarm “hmph,” unable to muster much more to criticize him.

The core of a person’s character isn’t so easily changed.

Just looking at Chi Xiao’s appearance—cold and aloof—who would have thought he’d do such pitiful things?

But it didn’t matter.

From now on, she’d have his back.

“Where do you live? Send me your address,” Ming Can said, pulling out her phone and urging him, “Go home and rest.”

Chi Xiao replied, “I’m feeling much better already.”

“You can’t go back to my place in that condition,” Ming Can insisted. “Hurry up and send me your address. I’ll update the restaurant’s delivery info and have them send dinner to your place instead.”

They were still going to spend the Lantern Festival together.

If her place wasn’t an option, they’d just change locations.

After saying this, Ming Can felt his gaze on her face and looked up. “Why are you staring at me?”

“Nothing,” he shrugged. “Just noticing how red your face is.”

After a pause, he added with a light chuckle, “It looks… really cute.”

Ming Can’s ears burned, and she turned slightly away, wanting to explain that her flushed face was due to lack of oxygen. Just then, her phone rang. It was Miaomiao calling, asking how his dad was doing and sounding very worried.

“He’s much better,” Ming Can said gently. “Mom’s coming to pick you up now. We’re going to eat somewhere else.”

They each hailed a cab. The car Ming Can called had just pulled up to the curb ahead, its hazard lights flashing.

“I’m leaving,” she said quickly, then hurried over to the car and got into the back seat.

Just like that, she was gone?

He hadn’t even finished confirming his lottery numbers yet.

Chi Xiao stuffed his hands into his pockets, watching the car drive off. After holding it in for so long, he finally bent over and coughed violently.

–

Ming Can’s place wasn’t close to Chi Xiao’s house. After nearly two hours of back-and-forth, she finally arrived at his doorstep with Miaomiao and rang the doorbell.

The door opened from the inside. The man stood there wearing a mask, his hair slightly messy as if he had just taken a shower. His fair forehead was fully exposed, with only a few small red spots scattered near his hairline.

Ming Can stepped into the entryway, not taking the time to look around the house, and hurriedly led Miaomiao into the bathroom. There, she used a mite remover and antibacterial spray to give them both a thorough “spa.”

When they came out of the bathroom, Ming Can slowly walked back to the living room and said to Chi Xiao, “You can take off your mask now.”

Chi Xiao raised an eyebrow, then casually removed the mask with one hand. The hives on his face had mostly subsided, leaving his complexion with a faint, sickly pallor.

“Such a cold, empty house,” Ming Can remarked as she glanced around. “There’s nothing here. Good thing I didn’t let Miaomiao live with you.”

Chi Xiao gave a slight smirk, standing up from the couch and glancing toward the dining area. “The food’s been delivered for a while now. If we don’t eat soon, it’ll get cold.”

Several insulated food containers were piled on the dining table. Chi Xiao began unpacking the dishes, setting out bowls, chopsticks, and arranging the table, not letting Ming Can lift a finger.

The table was laden with an extravagant spread. After taking a few bites, Ming Can was quite pleased with the quality and flavor of the food. She couldn’t help but ask Miaomiao, “How does this compare to the New Year’s Eve dinner your dad made?”

Miaomiao, despite her young age, had already developed a bit of a mischievous streak. He said, “Mom, didn’t you tell me on the way here to be nicer to Dad? Why are you picking on him again?”

Ming Can’s hand holding the chopsticks froze. “How is this picking on him? I’m just trying to motivate him to improve his cooking skills, okay?”

Chi Xiao, ever the good sport, nodded and said, “Noted.”

It was as if he was enjoying the “exploitation” by this heartless capitalist.

Ming Can felt herself drifting further away from her goal of “being nicer to him.”

She silently ate a few more bites of her food. After a moment of quiet, Miaomiao suddenly asked where they were going to send Xiao Zhu.

Ming Can had already explained to her that Chi Xiao’s health condition made it impossible for him to keep a cat. Although Miaomiao was a little disappointed, he cared more about his dad’s well-being and agreed to find a new home for Xiao Zhu.

Ming Can said, “I’ve already contacted a few friends who have cats. We’ll find a great new home for Xiao Zhu.”

The atmosphere grew quiet for a moment. Then, Chi Xiao suddenly spoke up. “Tell your friends it’s just a temporary arrangement.”

Ming Can asked, “Why?”

“I’m going to continue with desensitization therapy. It’s for the sake of my health, to completely eliminate this allergen,” Chi Xiao said calmly. “Once the desensitization is successful, we’ll bring Xiao Zhu back.”

“Yay!” Miaomiao immediately cheered up.

Chi Xiao, however, poured a bit of cold water on his excitement. “The desensitization process is long. It might take a year or two.”

Miaomiao groaned, “Ah…”

Ming Can couldn’t help but laugh at the way his expression changed so quickly. “Haha, I did some research, and actually, we can still have a dog. We could get a small one that doesn’t need much exercise, the kind you can just walk around the house. After all, our place is big enough.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Chi Xiao. “You’re not allergic to dog hair, are you?”

Chi Xiao shook his head. “My family has a Samoyed.”

“I know!” Miaomiao exclaimed. “She’s Dashuai’s girlfriend!”

Chi Xiao looked at him, confused. “Who’s Dashuai?”

Miaomiao scratched his head. “He’s Zihao’s dog, a super cool German Shepherd.”

“Well, we can’t have dogs like Samoyeds or German Shepherds, and your favorite Corgi is probably out of the question too,” Ming Can said, pulling out her phone and showing Miaomiao a few pictures. “It has to be at least this small.”

…

The sky was overcast, and the moon of the Lantern Festival was nowhere to be seen. Inside the house, however, it was warm and lively, full of holiday cheer.

After dinner, Chi Xiao cleaned up while Miaomiao took Ming Can on a tour of the sprawling, several-hundred-square-meter house.

“Did you used to live here?”

“Yep,” Miaomiao said, pulling Ming Can into a room in the living area. “Ta-da! This is my bedroom… uh… wait, I think I got it wrong… no, this is definitely it…”

The room was empty—no toys, no pretty nautical-themed wallpaper. Miaomiao barely recognized it.

“Of course, things from the future aren’t here now,” Ming Can said with a laugh. “But the layout of this room is perfect for a kid’s room.”

She walked around casually, pinching Miaomiao’s sad little face. “We’ll have your dad decorate it for you later. Come on, let’s check out the rest of the place.”

Miaomiao remembered another spot that might be interesting and led Ming Can to the very end of the hallway. He pushed open a heavy door, and the motion-sensor lights flickered on.

“Dad’s workshop!” Miaomiao said, gesturing as she introduced the space. “It hasn’t changed much from what I remember, except there’s less stuff now. There used to be a table here just for me.”

Ming Can stood under the light, staring at the incredibly professional-looking workshop, momentarily stunned.

The workshop was immaculately clean and tidy, and the space was vast—arguably the largest room in the entire house. There was a long workbench, tall display shelves, professional storage cabinets… Ming Can’s eyes swept the room twice, but she only spotted a few items that looked like violin-making tools.

Were there no spare parts or half-finished pieces lying around?

Ming Can had seen Teacher Leting’s workshop before. It was much messier than this, filled with violin-related elements everywhere.

She wandered slowly through the room, her gaze suddenly landing on a brass door with a combination lock in the corner.

“What’s behind that?” Ming Can asked Miaomiao.

Miaomiao replied, “I think it’s a storage room.”

“You’ve never been inside?”

“Nope,” Miaomiao said, not particularly interested. “What’s so interesting about a storage room?”

Kids were easy to fool. They wouldn’t think about why a storage room would be so important as to warrant a brass door and a combination lock.

Miaomiao soon led Ming Can to explore other parts of the house.

“Ugh, this house is so boring right now,” Miaomiao complained. “Mom, I really wish you could see what it looks like in the future. It’s full of my toys everywhere, and you’ve never seen it before.”

Ming Can was taken aback. “In the future, I’ve never been here?”

“Nope,” Miaomiao nodded. “Today is your first time here.”

Ming Can looked down at Miaomiao’s fluffy hair, lost in thought.

This little one’s arrival had truly changed a lot of things.

After Chi Xiao finished cleaning up the dining area and walked into the living room, he saw Miaomiao holding the TV remote, looking bored as he searched for cartoons to watch. It seemed like he was about to yell, “This place is so boring! I want to go home!”

Chi Xiao walked over to the TV cabinet and pulled out a VR headset. “Want to try this?”

Miaomiao’s eyes lit up. “Does it have games?”

“There are a few,” Chi Xiao said. “I’ll teach you how to play.”

Ming Can leaned over, concerned. “Won’t this affect his eyesight? He’s just a kid.”

Chi Xiao reassured her, “It has a kids’ mode. As long as he doesn’t play for too long, it should be fine.”

“Oh,” Ming Can murmured, then added after a pause, “You two go ahead. I’ll wander around a bit more. I ate a little too much.”

After saying this to Chi Xiao, the awkwardness of roaming around someone else’s house lessened a bit.

She strolled through a few bare rooms before finding herself back in the workshop.

The air was filled with the scent of wood, a hint of fresh cleaner, and a faint trace of paint.

Ming Can picked up a few carving tools from the workbench, careful not to mess with them. She tested their weight and feel before placing them back where they belonged.

A moment later, she stopped in front of the password-locked door.

She really wanted to see what was inside.

But since it was locked, it probably meant it wasn’t meant for others to see.

As she hesitated, a deep, magnetic voice suddenly came from behind her. “You can try the password.”

Ming Can’s heart skipped a beat. She turned around to see Chi Xiao, who had somehow entered the room unnoticed. He leaned casually against the workbench, his long legs crossed at the ankles, watching her with an amused expression. “If you get the password right, you can go in.”

Ming Can felt a rush of embarrassment, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. Her heart raced, refusing to calm down.

She bit the soft inside of her lip, pretending to be composed. “How many tries do I get?”

Chi Xiao replied, “Five.”

Ming Can deliberately ignored the string of numbers that popped into her mind and said seriously, “I did the math. The probability of guessing a six-digit password correctly within five tries is about 0.0005%. That’s way too hard.”

Chi Xiao couldn’t help but laugh. “Since you think it’s hard, I’ll give you a hint.”

He straightened up and said casually, “The password is my girlfriend’s birthday.”

Ming Can’s breath caught in her throat.

That moment seemed to stretch on forever. The air moved slowly, the scene breaking into frame after frame, and the sound was cut into deep, resonant particles that forcefully invaded Ming Can’s senses.

Then, the rapid beeping of buttons being pressed filled the room.

Ming Can entered six numbers, and with a soft “beep,” the lock clicked open.

Crisp and decisive, the door revealed the world behind it.

Ming Can stepped into the dark room. The lights here weren’t motion-activated, and she had no idea where the switch was.

The smell of paint grew stronger, and the scent of wood became more intense.

By the light from the doorway, Ming Can saw countless violin parts, half-finished pieces, and discarded items.

But what caught her attention the most was the row of finished violins hanging high above.

Ming Can tilted her head back and counted. Ten in total, and if you added the one he had given her, that made eleven.

She had guessed he had made more than one violin, but she never expected there to be so many.

Each violin bore her name.

Ming Can felt her heart pounding in her chest, deafeningly loud.

She looked at the first violin. The craftsmanship was very immature. She didn’t know at what age he had made it.

The door opened wider, and light rushed in from outside.

Chi Xiao stood at the doorway, watching Ming Can inside the room, his emotions indescribable.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t imagined her finding this place.

But now that the day had actually come, the scene before him felt surreal.

He let out a deep breath, as if a weight had been lifted.

Then, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he said softly, “Strange. How did you know my girlfriend’s birthday?”

“I thought I hadn’t caught her yet.”

Ming Can turned to look at him.

Though she stood in the shadows, every strand of her hair seemed to glow.

“She is quite hard to catch,” Ming Can said.

It wasn’t just that she was hard to pursue.

No matter how intense the pursuit, even if it involved daily surprises, serving tea and water, or even baring one’s heart and soul, none of it would work on Ming Can.

She only cared about whether she was interested in the other person.

If she was, she would take the initiative herself, claiming everything she wanted.

Why wait for someone else to chase her?

Ming Can tried her best to ignore her racing heart. She lifted her chin slightly and said to Chi Xiao, “I want everything in this room.”

Chi Xiao replied, “It was all meant for you anyway.”

Ming Can’s clear, bright eyes stared straight at him. “And you.”

This.

This was what she wanted most.

Chi Xiao met her gaze and slowly nodded, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He willingly offered himself up, saying, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

In that moment, Ming Can even forgot to maintain her usual proud and aloof expression, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

A moment later, she belatedly felt a wave of nervousness.

She clasped her hands behind her back, fingers curling slightly. As she tilted her head to examine her violins, she heard footsteps approaching slowly.

The room was still dark, and Ming Can guessed her face must be burning red. She wondered how much the darkness could hide.

As the man’s presence drew closer, an overwhelming sense of unreality washed over her, as if she were standing on clouds, her body and mind feeling weightless.

Ming Can had never experienced anything like this before. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she softly confirmed, “So… you’re my boyfriend now?”

“Mm,” Chi Xiao replied naturally, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t believe it?”

“It feels a little strange,” Ming Can admitted honestly. “Like it’s not real.”

For Ming Can, this was an absolute first.

No matter how bold and confident her personality was, at this moment, she couldn’t help but feel a little lost.

What she had gained wasn’t just a thing, but a brand-new relationship.

How to face it, how to adapt, how to feel it—she had no idea.

Ming Can couldn’t help but feel as though she had forcibly claimed a magical artifact she didn’t know how to control, and now its power was dazzling her eyes.

“It’s real, absolutely genuine,” Chi Xiao said, looking down at her. “But it’s still missing something.”

Ming Can asked, “What?”

Chi Xiao glanced at the violin. “Your things should all bear your mark.”

Ming Can’s violins all had her name engraved on them.

But the person she had just claimed did not.

It was a blatant provocation, yet Ming Can found herself swayed by his words.

She really did like the feeling of leaving her mark on her possessions.

Slowly, the girl tilted her head up, and her fingers clutching the front of his shirt.

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, her movements slow, as if she were battling her own nervousness and inexperience.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the faint red spots still lingering on Chi Xiao’s collarbone. Ming Can seized on this as an excuse for her hesitation and asked softly, “Allergies aren’t contagious, right?”

Chi Xiao looked down at her, his gaze deep and unreadable. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he said, “Why don’t you try kissing me and find out?”