"Xu Yan, I believe we don't know each other, right?"
At the corner of the hallway, Wen Ning turned around.
She forced herself to calm down, her chest rising and falling slightly. "What's the point of playing such a prank?"
Only when observing the school belle up close did Xu Yan once again marvel at her beauty.
With a bare face and no makeup at all, wearing nothing more than a pair of white canvas shoes, she still possessed an undeniable, striking beauty.
No wonder everyone secretly called her a natural-born White Moonlight Saint Body.
Xu Yan countered, "So you think it's a prank, then?"
"What else?"
Wen Ning frowned deeply. "Don't you think you've gone too far?"
She was blessed with good looks and a somewhat proud personality; it wasn't as if nobody had ever secretly slipped her love letters before.
Yet this was the first time someone had handed her a family portrait.
Returning to the classroom after the lunch break, Wen Ning had caught sight of the photograph pressed beneath her books at a single glance.
The very next instant, her gaze had been completely captured by the woman in the picture.
Even though the woman's features and figure were much more mature, and her face wore a gentle smile the likes of which Wen Ning had never once produced...
An irrepressible thought had still welled up inside Wen Ning's heart.
*This is me.*
It was a deeply bizarre sensation.
Then, she had uncontrollably begun to study the little girl and the man standing beside her in the photo.
She didn't recognize the man, other than thinking he looked like an immensely pleasant uncle-figure.
Yet why on earth did she feel a sense of closeness toward this excessively pretty little girl who looked just like a porcelain doll?
Was it a computer-generated composite photo?
Although Wen Ning was convinced in her heart that this was a truly malicious prank, she had been unable to shift her thoughts away from the photo for the entire afternoon.
She had drifted through all four classes in a daze.
She hadn't even listened properly during the lessons and had been called upon by the teacher twice.
"Xu Yan, this is already harassment, so please explain yourself."
Wen Ning's voice dropped lower, her lips pressing into a straight line, and she clearly didn't look happy. "Where on earth did this photo come from?"
In her hand, she was clutching that family portrait.
Waiting for an explanation.
"......"
Alright, Wen Ning's reaction was well within his expectations.
After all, Xu Yan had reacted the exact same way when he first saw the photo.
"...Though you might not believe me when I say this."
Xu Yan pointed at Xu Miaotong in the photo. "But this little girl calls me Dad."
"......"
Wen Ning thought about it for a moment, failing to make any sense of it.
You're a high school student, and you have a daughter this big?
"Adopted?"
"No, she says I'm her biological father."
"......"
"She also says her mother's name is Wen Ning."
"?"
Wen Ning's pretty eyes widened slightly.
The pure school belle instinctively parted her lips, her expression blank, radiating an air of pristine, adorable cluelessness.
At this point, Wen Ning was forced to consider another possibility: "Are you... under too much academic pressure in your third year of high school? How long has this been going on?"
No one with a sound mind would ever utter such words.
"Classmate Wen is quite polite, huh."
Xu Yan said helplessly, "My mental state is completely fine, though."
Wen Ning was dumbfounded.
What was even more absurd was that she actually felt like Xu Yan wasn't lying.
Perhaps it was because this boy's gaze was far too clear, or perhaps because the three people in that photo weighed far too heavily on her mind.
Looking closely, the boy in the photo looked almost identical to Xu Yan.
Except that the current version of him possessed a bit more youthful vigor, with his cheeks still retaining a trace of greenness.
"No..."
Wen Ning snapped back to her senses and shook her head violently. "What kind of joke are you playing?"
This sort of thing sounded entirely like a fantasy.
"I didn't believe it at first either, but Tongtong gave me this photo."
Xu Yan said with great patience, "Once you meet the child, you might have a different perspective."
That sense of blood being thicker than water simply couldn't be faked.
"I don't believe it."
Wen Ning gradually calmed down, her tone turning rigid once more. "A single photo proves nothing."
Even if the photo is real.
The little girl probably just happens to look a little bit like me.
"Can you wait for me at school for a little while?"
Xu Yan felt a minor headache coming on. "Just a moment. Believe it or not, just meet her once."
Wen Ning was probably still trapped in a state of chaos. "......"
Xu Yan couldn't help but give her another look or two.
When a normal person heard such a thing, wouldn't their very first reaction be anger?
Yet Wen Ning was actually able to maintain her composure.
The fact that this girl had come looking for him today was proof enough that the moment she saw the photo, something had begun to weigh on her mind as well.
Without saying anything further, Xu Yan shouldered his backpack and left the school.
Wen Ning stood where she was with a blank expression, her hand resting instinctively on the railing, the ponytail at the back of her head swaying gently in the wind.
That boy didn't look like some kind of weirdo, either.
The fact that he was able to test into Number Four High School was proof enough that the education he'd received growing up should be decent.
He didn't seem like the type to pester someone with outrageous lies.
Yet what Xu Yan had said...
Even for April Fool's Day, this was a terribly clumsy joke, wasn't it?
Roughly twenty minutes later, Xu Yan returned.
He was holding the hand of a little girl carved out of pink jade, her long, dark, glossy hair hanging loose, as cute and pretty as a porcelain doll.
With a combination like that appearing at school, it was hard not to draw the gazes of others.
The very second she caught sight of Xu Miaotong, Wen Ning was suddenly plunged into a state of panic.
She retreated a couple of steps as if trying to escape, yet her gaze refused to tear itself away from the little girl for even a second.
*Why do I have this...*
*Urge to scoop her into my arms and shower her in kisses?*
"Mom!"
Xu Miaotong's eyes instantly lit up.
Throwing her arms open, she lunged toward Wen Ning. "Mom hasn't hugged Tongtong in days!"
In truth, as a daughter, she was somewhat closer to her dad.
After all, Dad never scolded her, whereas Mom was usually gentle yet would sometimes put on a stern face to lecture her.
Still, Tongtong loved Mom just as much!
Daddy and Mommy were both the people Tongtong loved most in the world!
"I—I'm not your mom..."
Wen Ning tried to duck away, but the little girl threw her arms around her slender, straight legs.
That porcelain-white, milky, pretty face tilted up as she looked at her happily. "Mom, why are you so pretty today?"
Wen Ning completely froze. "......"
Instinctively, she wanted to push the little girl away.
Yet she couldn't bear to do it.
Xu Miaotong continued with innocent artlessness, "Mom, kiss me."
At a total loss, Wen Ning looked toward Xu Yan for help, only to find that fellow standing far away.
Squinting, Xu Yan appraised the two beauties—one large and one small.
Wen Ning was dressed simply with plain styling, while Xu Miaotong was as exquisite and adorable as a little princess.
Standing together, the two of them looked practically like an aesthetic and pure painting.
There was no denying that Xu Miaotong's face bore far too many traces of Wen Ning.
She was like the most perfect combination of Xu Yan and Wen Ning, taking the absolute best physical traits from both of them.
"Little one..."
Wen Ning crouched down, meeting her bright, wide eyes. "I am not your mother."
"You *are* my mother!"
Xu Miaotong couldn't understand why Daddy and Mommy were suddenly refusing to acknowledge her.
Having never suffered such a grievance since she was little, she instantly reverted to a crybaby, tears pattering down her face as her cheeks turned flushed and red.
It was enough to melt anyone's heart to look at her.
Wen Ning panicked instantly, feeling as though her heart was being squeezed tight.
With a mixture of fluster and clumsiness, she used her hand to wipe the little girl's face. "Don't cry, don't cry..."
At that moment, she finally understood what Xu Yan had meant when he said she would feel differently once she saw the little girl.
Why is it that when she calls me Mom...
I feel a sense of such profound happiness and fulfillment...?