Where is Dad?
Looking at the empty room, Muxi's expression gradually turned peculiar. Some strange things had been happening at home recently, and the source of it all was...
Dad!
As Muchen's daughter, Muxi had possessed a clear understanding of her status since childhood. Compared to ordinary children, she was the type born with a golden key. After all, her father was a top-tier blacksmith on the Douluo Continent, an eighth-rank Saint Craftsman! Countless people tried to butter up Muxi and get on her good side simply because of her father's identity, which meant Muxi had grown up amidst a chorus of praise.
From birth until now, practically everything Muxi wanted, she got. After all, her father loved her so much; even when it came to something as unsuitable for a girl as blacksmithing, her father had agreed.
Normally, she should have grown up smoothly, blossoming into a new star of her era, but recently... everything had changed! Ever since three days ago, when her father came home carrying something wrapped in a black robe, his care and attention toward her had dwindled.
Muxi was right at the age for fantasies and was extremely sensitive to changes in her father. She immediately sensed that her father seemed to be up to something important.
At first, Muxi didn't think it was a problem; once her father finished whatever he was doing after a while, things would return to normal. But that comforting thought was shattered today! Muxi squatted on her living room carpet, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor.
Right there lay a brown hair!
"It's not mine, it's not Mom's, and it certainly isn't Dad's... Whose is it?" Muxi's gaze suddenly sharpened. "I have to tell Mom about this..."
She had planned to do just that, but remembering her father's usual demeanor, Muxi felt something wasn't quite right. What if it was just an accident? Wouldn't that ruin her relationship with her mother?
No, I need to verify this first.
Muxi's expression instantly turned resolute. The only one left who could save this family was her!
"Then the first place to investigate is Dad's study!"
It was a home Muxi had lived in for several years, and being at an age where even dogs found her annoying, she knew the household layout inside and out. Yet there was one single place she had never set foot in: the study.
After all, that was her father's workspace; even her mother rarely went in there, let alone Muxi, who knew nothing at all about the layout of the study.
If the house was hiding a person, it could only be that room.
Looking at the door blocking her path, a flash of hesitation crossed Muxi's eyes, but it quickly hardened back into determination.
"I just want to prove Dad's innocence, I have no other motives... That's all."
Because of the study's sensitive nature, it used a combination lock requiring the correct code to enter. Logically speaking, there was no way Muxi could know it, but that couldn't stump her! As her father's favorite little girl, Muxi knew perfectly well what her father would use as a password.
It had to be her birthday or her mother's! When she pressed the confirmation key, the door swung open as expected. But before Muxi could even step inside, her eyes widened in shock.
Well, there was no need to look any further—right in the middle of the study sat a large sofa, and a little brown-haired girl draped in a black robe was lying on it! "Who is she? Why did Dad keep her in the study?"
After closing the door properly, Muxi hurried over to the brown-haired girl, none other than Heita. Yet even so, she still couldn't understand her father's actions.
If she were a guest or a member of the guild, wouldn't it be easier to bring her into the house openly? Why be so secretive about it? Could there really be something shady going on?
Muxi fixed her gaze on Heita's face and pouted involuntarily.
The girl was very beautiful, and she seemed to possess an indescribable temperament. Muxi couldn't help thinking that her father shouldn't be attracted to a child around her own age... right?
Muxi shifted her gaze away from the girl toward the desk not far away, wondering if she could find the answers she wanted there. Little did she know that the exact moment she turned her head toward the desk, Heita's head tilted slightly, her left eyelid parted into a tiny slit, and the corner of her mouth curved upward.
Everything was starting to get interesting!
Thud! Just then, a faint vibration reached Muxi's ears—it was the sound of the front door closing. Clearly, Muchen was back! "Why is Dad back so early today?"
Muxi's expression turned panicked at a visible rate. Since her father had already entered, she definitely wouldn't have time to leave; she had no choice but to find a spot to hide inside the study.
"Right, the cabinet!"
The space inside the cabinet wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either. It was big enough to hide a little girl like her, and she could even peer through the crack in the doors to see what was happening outside.
Muxi had made up her mind: no matter the outcome, she had to tell Mom about this! Almost the instant the cabinet doors clicked shut, the study door opened, and Muchen walked in holding a large, mysterious box with an excited expression (?), walking straight toward the sofa.
Muxi saw it all crystal clear through the crack in the cabinet!
Muchen: "She looks pretty cute when you look at her like this?"
Muxi: ？？？ The bold and brazen words suddenly tumbling out of her father's mouth made Muxi cover her mouth in shock. Could it be that her father really...? If things just kept progressing peacefully like this, it wouldn't be fun at all. So at that exact moment, Heita opened her eyes.
"Oh? Little one, you're finally awa—"
"What did you do to me?"
A cute voice instantly echoed through the room. Heita hurriedly clutched her arms, shrinking back on the sofa in apparent fright as she stared at Muchen.
"No, let me explain..."
"Where are my original clothes? You bad guy!"
The girl before him was a top-tier genius in the field of blacksmithing. Muchen didn't trust leaving her with anyone else, so he brought her home, had his wife change her clothes, and conveniently left the deeply unconscious girl resting in the study. Besides, with her Spirit Power, she wasn't going to die from missing a few meals.
The only reason he hadn't told Muxi was because he was afraid his daughter would overthink things and worry that someone else would steal away her parents' love.
And now, with Heita "waking up," it was time for Muchen to explain the situation to her. But with his wide-open, muscular arms, he looked like a total boss-level villain in the eyes of any young girl!
"Don't come near me—!"
Thud! Heita screamed in front of him, but Muchen heard a sound coming from behind him instead.
Could a burglar have broken in? Muchen turned around fiercely, only to be greeted by the sight of his own daughter, tears streaming down her face.
"Dad, how could you do something like this?" Muxi's current expression was an exact replica of Heita's on the sofa. "To actually prey on a child my age—you have no shame!"
Muchen: ？？？