Chapter 85: The Scarf

The moment the question slipped out, Chi Xiao himself found it somewhat amusing.

But he didn’t take it back. Instead, he quietly looked up at her, hoping to use this rather cliché question to figure out what exactly she liked about him.

Ming Can was clearly caught off guard by the cheesiness of the question. She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment before saying, “If I cared about those kinds of things, I wouldn’t have turned you down when you were chasing me in high school.”

Chi Xiao nodded slowly, his hand gently caressing her waist as he asked with a smile, “Then, Miss Ming, what exactly do you see in me?”

His touch made her whole body tingle, and her feet instinctively tensed. She looked down at him, feigning a stern expression but failing to fully suppress her amusement. “What I see in you is… naturally, your ability to take care of children.”

With a sly smile, she switched to a more relaxed tone. “As for other qualities, they’re just bonus points. If they’re not there, it’s not a big deal.”

“Pack up and prepare to marry into my family. You’ll be serving me tea and water for the rest of your life.”

As she spoke, Ming Can pinched Chi Xiao’s chin, her fingertips brushing against his skin, which felt slightly rough—he must not have shaved today.

She leaned down and kissed the stubbly spot on his face. Chi Xiao took the opportunity to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. His tongue ventured into the depths of her mouth, insatiably tangling with hers, savoring the sweetness. The heat seeped through their veins, wrapping around their hearts as if to bind them together..

In the quiet room, the soft sounds of their kisses and the rhythm of their breaths filled the air. Since Miaomiao was still in the middle of his lessons in the next room, they kept it simple, just kissing. Occasionally, they would open their eyes and meet each other’s equally burning gazes, seeing their own reflections, flushed like the hues of a sunset.

Chi Xiao’s hand rested on the back of Ming Can’s neck, his touch restrained as he caressed her warm skin.

After returning home and talking with his father, he had a clearer idea of what the future might hold.

If Miaomiao hadn’t arrived ahead of time and disrupted the timeline, Ming Can would never have fallen for him.

This life they had now felt like a miracle.

And he was ready to protect that miracle, even if it meant losing everything else.

–

The next morning, just before six o’clock at dawn, Chi Xiao woke up.

He walked through the dimly lit hallway and entered Miaomiao’s room, intending to check if the little one was sleeping soundly and whether he had kicked off his blankets. But as soon as he stepped inside, a pair of round, puppy-like eyes peeked out from the other side of the toddler bed, staring at him warily.

Seeing that the little creature was about to bark, Chi Xiao quickly made a shushing gesture.

Surprisingly, the little one understood and didn’t make a sound. Instead, it happily scampered over to Chi Xiao’s legs, circling around him.

Chi Xiao bent down, picked it up, and carried it out of the room. With nothing else to do, he decided to put on the dog leash and take it for a walk around the neighborhood.

The young puppy, still smaller than his shoe, trotted alongside him as the sun began to rise. The thin morning light filtered through the mist, casting the shadows of Chi Xiao and the puppy onto the ground. The comical height difference between them was enough to make anyone laugh.

By the time they returned, Miaomiao had just woken up. He sat on the bed rubbing his eyes, his cheeks slightly puffy, suggesting he hadn’t slept very well the night before.

After he finished washing up and put on his school uniform, Chi Xiao fetched his backpack from the small study. He checked its contents against his schedule for the day.

“You have P.E. in the afternoon,” Chi Xiao said. “Still playing basketball?”

“Mhm.”

Chi Xiao walked over to the wardrobe and opened a drawer, pulling out the sports headband Ming Can had made for Miaomiao. He wrapped it around his head once, tied a slightly tight knot at the back, and then took it off, handing it to him. “Put this on before class. Just slip it over your head, with the puppy pattern facing your forehead. That way, sweat won’t drip into your eyes.”

“Got it,” Miaomiao said, tucking the headband into a small pocket in his backpack. “Dad, Mom gave you one too. Have you used it?”

Chi Xiao: “Of course.”

Chi Xiao: [I haven’t used it.]

Chi Xiao: [I’m afraid of getting it dirty.]

Miaomiao: “…”

So you’re not afraid of getting mine dirty, huh!

Chi Xiao looked down at his inexplicably puffed-up little face and noticed his eyes were still slightly swollen. He walked into the bathroom, soaked a towel in cold water, and gently washed Miaomiao’s face again.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” he asked as he wiped his face.

“Just a little,” Miaomiao replied, yawning. “I had a dream where Mom was talking to me, and she brought Xiao Er to play with me.”

Chi Xiao was momentarily stunned by his words.

Xiao Er wasn’t a dog from this world, so the “mom” in his dream probably wasn’t the mom from this world either.

Chi Xiao: “What did your mom… say to you?”

Miaomiao: “She asked me if I still wanted to be a dog expert. She said she’d take me to find the best teacher who could teach me how to understand what dogs are saying.”

Chi Xiao didn’t quite understand what Miaomiao was saying. Moreover, if it was just a dream, he should have forgotten most of it upon waking up. How could he remember so clearly what the person in his dream had said?

Chi Xiao: “Why did she say those things to you?”

“Because…” Miaomiao thought for a moment, then said, “Maybe because, before I came here, the last thing I said to her was that my dream was to understand dogs and become a dog expert.”

“I see,” Chi Xiao nodded, not saying anything more.

He stood up with the towel in hand and saw Xiao Xiao trotting over with a small frisbee in its mouth, ready to play with Miaomiao. Miaomiao told it to climb onto the bay window to catch the frisbee, but Xiao Xiao barked twice at the window, seemingly unable to jump up. Miaomiao laughed and said, “You can’t climb up, huh?” Then, he slipped on his slippers, ran out of the room, and brought back a small step stool. Xiao Xiao climbed up using the stool, and the two began playing frisbee.

It was as if the child and the dog could understand each other perfectly.

Chi Xiao walked into the bathroom to wash the towel.

The fact that Miaomiao had crossed over into this world was undeniable, so Chi Xiao’s acceptance of extraordinary events had grown significantly. At this moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if Miaomiao had truly heard a voice from another world in his dream.

He had no idea what was happening in that other world.

If things were resolved there, would he leave this world and return to his original place?

Chi Xiao and Ming Can had discussed this topic before.

If Miaomiao were to return to his original world, they would undoubtedly be heartbroken. At the same time, their lives would gradually return to their original routines. They would have more time to focus on things appropriate for their age—studying, working, improving themselves… So, it was a bittersweet possibility.

He also wasn’t sure whether Ming Can’s words to him last night were meant as a joke or if she truly meant them.

If his value to her was solely tied to taking care of the child, then once her life returned to its normal course, would he still be a part of it?

“Why are you all up so early?” Ming Can appeared at the door of Miaomiao’s room, stretching lazily. Seeing that Miaomiao was already dressed and his backpack was packed, she blinked twice and glanced at her watch to confirm that it was 6:30, not 7:30.

Chi Xiao snapped out of his thoughts and walked over, ruffling Ming Can’s hair. “You stay with him. I’ll go make breakfast.”

“Be gentle, I just combed it,” Ming Can glared at him. “Whoever messes it up has to fix it.”

Chi Xiao smirked. “No problem.”

With that, he ruffled her hair a few more times, turning her smooth, straight locks into a lion-like mane before finally stopping. Ming Can glared at him fiercely, but as soon as Chi Xiao withdrew his hand and casually walked out of Miaomiao’s room, she immediately shifted her gaze and transformed into a gentle, loving mother. She sat on the edge of the bed and began playing frisbee with Miaomiao, teasing Xiao Xiao.

Miaomiao glanced at her and giggled. “Mom, your hair’s exploded.”

“…” Ming Can said, “I’ll deal with your dad later.”

The mother and son played together for a while, and Ming Can seized the opportunity to say, “Sweetie, Mom’s going home for a couple of days this weekend. You’ll need to be good and listen to Dad, okay? And behave during your extracurricular classes, got it?”

“Okay!” Miaomiao looked up at Ming Can, then after a moment, asked proactively, “Mom, is there anything else you want to say?”

Ming Can was taken aback. She did have something else she wanted to ask Miaomiao, but she was hesitant and unsure how to bring it up.

This kid was way too perceptive.

“Mom has something she wants to ask you,” Ming Can finally decided to speak up. “Do you know if Grandpa and Grandma have any other children besides me? Like a little uncle or a little aunt?”

Miaomiao thought for a moment. “There’s a little uncle, but no little aunt.”

Ming Can couldn’t help but feel nervous. “What’s the little uncle’s name? How old is he?”

Seeing Miaomiao’s blank expression as he struggled to come up with an answer, Ming Can realized the question might be too difficult for the child. So, she rephrased it: “How tall is the little uncle?”

This was something Miaomiao could answer. “He’s taller than Mom but shorter than Dad.”

“Oh.”

Ming Can did some quick mental calculations. Miaomiao had traveled back from about thirteen years in the future. If the little uncle were Ming Zheng’s biological child, the oldest he could be in Miaomiao’s time would be around ten years old. A ten-year-old boy was unlikely to be taller than him, so the little uncle Miaomiao mentioned must be Jiang Yichu’s child from her previous marriage.

Ming Can let out a long sigh of relief.

If Miaomiao hadn’t misremembered, then Ming Zheng and his new wife probably hadn’t had any other children together.

As long as they didn’t give her a younger sibling, the stepmother’s threat to Ming Can would be significantly reduced. Of course, just because they hadn’t had children in the other world didn’t mean they wouldn’t in this one. She still needed to do her best to prevent that woman from marrying her father.

A faint smile appeared on Ming Can’s face as she reached out and pinched Miaomiao’s cheek. “You’re such a clever little one!”

Miaomiao looked a bit dazed. While his mom had only spoken a few words, his superpower allowed him to hear a long string of thoughts—full of twists and turns he couldn’t quite understand. It left his little brain feeling overwhelmed and impressed, even if he didn’t fully grasp it all.

But in the end, his mom seemed happy again.

Miaomiao smiled too. “Mom, actually, I wanted to say earlier that your hairstyle looks just like Xiao Xiao’s. Dad didn’t brush its hair today either.”

Ming Can: “…”

Ugh, this kid. I take back what I just said about you being clever.

–

In the blink of an eye, Friday arrived. After her classes, Ming Can got into the car sent by her family to pick her up from school and rode home under the glow of the evening sunset, returning to her house in the city.

Inside the villa, the chef had already prepared dinner. Ming Zheng was still at a company meeting and hadn’t returned yet, so Ming Can sat alone at the long dining table meant for eight, quietly eating and thinking.

Ming Zheng almost always asked her to come home for the weekends, and Ming Can, who had been wanting to probe his thoughts recently, decided to comply and return home.

Chi Xiao’s stepmother had also returned to the country a couple of days ago, though it wasn’t clear if her cousin had come back as well. Ming Can had a feeling that the two of them must have discussed matters related to the Ming and Chi families while abroad. Perhaps it was this very opportunity that led Jiang Yichu and Ming Zheng to connect and eventually take an interest in each other…

Ming Can propped her head up with one hand, while the other held a spoon. She absentmindedly scooped downward, only to hear a crisp ding as the spoon hit the bottom of the empty bowl of seafood porridge.

“Miss, would you like another bowl?” a servant asked from beside her.

“No, thank you,” Ming Can replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin before standing up and leaving the dining room.

Upstairs in her bedroom, Ming Can stood by the window to let her food settle. The room felt a bit stuffy, so she cracked open the window to let some fresh air in.

The cold wind from outside brushed against her face, and Ming Can instinctively shrank her neck. Suddenly, she remembered something very important.

She hurriedly rushed into the walk-in closet and made her way to a rarely used cabinet filled with clothes and accessories from her middle school days. Bending down, she began carefully rummaging through its contents.

Before long, she pulled out a plain burgundy wool scarf from a pile of various luxury-brand scarves.

Even without taking it home to compare it with Miaomiao’s scarf, Ming Can’s intuition told her that this was the scarf Chi Xiao had knitted.

In an instant, memories from her first year of high school came flooding back—wearing this so-called “lucky scarf” during exams.

Not only that, but she also recalled that on the day Chi Xiao confessed his feelings to her, she had been wearing this very scarf.

After moving up to her second year of high school, she had acquired many new, trendy, and beautiful scarves, and over time, this one had been pushed to the corner of her closet, eventually forgotten.

By the end of March, spring had returned, and the city had stopped its heating supply. Fewer people were seen wearing scarves now.

Ming Can held the scarf in her hands and walked over to the full-length mirror. Carefully, she wrapped it around her neck.

Then, she walked to a spot with good lighting, found the perfect angle, and took a few selfies.

After selecting the most flattering one, she opened WeChat and clicked into the pinned chat at the top.

The contact’s nickname was a bit long, something she had changed just last week—【AAA Driver Chef Pet Groomer Xiao Chi】.

Even now, Ming Can couldn’t help but laugh when she saw this nickname.

She rubbed her face, her fingers dancing across the screen as she sent the freshly taken photo.

Sun Moon Volcano: 【[Image]】

Sun Moon Volcano: 【Just bought this scarf. What do you think~?】