Chapter 6: Led Astray

On the other side, Yu Mozhi—who had never held a child before—moved stiffly and awkwardly. But the little culprit in his arms didn’t notice at all. Her tiny mouth kept chattering away.

“Daddy, what are we going to do next?”

“Daddy, did you bring the little flower Mianmian gave you? Mianmian looked for a long time to find it.”

“Daddy—”

The little dumpling’s face had been wiped just a moment ago, but not entirely clean. She looked like a little flower cat, her long curled eyelashes fluttering, cheeks dotted with dimples and tinged red—probably from the cold. Her tiny hands instinctively burrowed under Yu Mozhi’s collar, eyes sparkling like stars. One would never guess she had just been crying.

Yu Mozhi looked down and saw the small hand cautiously tucked under the thin layer of fabric around his collar. When he looked up again, those big, round eyes were carefully watching him, full of nervous anticipation.

Yu Mozhi cleared his throat again, his voice low and hoarse. “Yu Mianmian?”

“Daddy should call me Mianmian! Mianmian is Daddy’s little baby!” The little koi fish tightly hugged his neck and declared loudly.

This little dumpling wasn’t shy at all. Even though he clearly wasn’t her father, she showed no hesitation. He would have to talk to her properly about this “Daddy” thing later.

“Daddy, are you not feeling well?” The little dumpling looked at Yu Mozhi with worry.

She had heard that regular people get sick easily. Could Daddy be sick?

Yu Mozhi instinctively cleared his throat and hoarsely replied, “I’m fine.”

Considering the current situation, Yu Mozhi had originally leaned toward staying somewhere remote. But with a child in tow, that wasn’t going to be convenient. Yet if they went somewhere with heavy foot traffic, he’d be more likely to be recognized—and that wouldn’t be safe for the little dumpling either.

While he was lost in thought, Yu Mozhi suddenly felt the little dumpling squirming in his arms, trying to get down.

What now?

Since she didn’t want to stay in his arms, he didn’t force her. He set her down, and she immediately grabbed his hand and began leading him forward.

Yu Mozhi simply let her lead him by the hand.

When they reached the steps ahead, Yu Mozhi finally looked up—a pharmacy?

Inside the pharmacy, the on-duty physician watched as a little dumpling led a grown man inside. The dumpling was so short that the man had to bend slightly at the waist to accommodate her.

What a strange pair. Normally, kids that age avoided pharmacies like the plague, but this one marched right in. Meanwhile, the adult looked less than enthusiastic.

Still, the pharmacist couldn’t shake the feeling that the man in the hat and mask looked vaguely familiar—as if she’d seen him somewhere before.

Before she could place him, the little dumpling had already let go and ran up, her soft and delicate features utterly adorable.

“Auntie, my daddy is sick! Please give him some medicine!”

Yu Mozhi froze where he stood.

The little dumpling had already struck up a full conversation with the pharmacist.

“What are the symptoms?” the pharmacist asked, clearly charmed, smiling brightly as she glanced over at Yu Mozhi.

“Coughing, dizziness, no fever,” Yu Mozhi responded hoarsely after a light cough.

“Sounds like a cold. I’ll get you something…”

When it came time to pay, the pharmacist kept chatting away.

“Your daughter is so cute, and she really cares about you! Unlike my kid—what a little tyrant. Ah, it must be nice to have a daughter.”

“She’s not…” my daughter, Yu Mozhi tried to correct her.

But his low, raspy voice didn’t manage to cut through the pharmacist’s enthusiasm.

“But I think your daughter’s a bit thin. She needs more nutrition. Otherwise, it’ll affect her growth. Isn’t she a little shorter than kids her age? You’ve got to feed her better.”

Yu Mozhi’s thoughts were instantly derailed. He glanced over at the little one sitting quietly nearby. She was a little too thin…

And just like that, he found himself swept into a full-blown parenting discussion, completely forgetting to correct the misunderstanding. Silent, he carried the medicine, watching as the pharmacist instructed the little dumpling to make sure he took his meds. She even handed over two small packets of milk powder supplements that the girl had insisted on taking.

Yu Mozhi fell into deep self-doubt.

Had he… just been led astray?

He must have been.

Definitely.

(End of Chapter)