Lin Fan leaned his back against the cold, rough wooden door, his chest heaving violently. The frantic mix of coaxing, carrying, and jogging all the way back still had him gasping for breath.
The room was dimly lit, save for a weak, feeble white glow from a single energy-saving bulb that barely illuminated the meager ten-square-meter space.
An empty instant noodle bucket lay tilted in the corner of the desk, surrounded by a few crumpled exam papers. The air was thick with a complex mixture of instant noodle seasoning, sweat, and cheap air freshener.
This was his temporary "haven"—a chaotic and oppressive little world belonging to a high school senior.
Yet, at this very moment, an out-of-place presence had broken into this little world.
The little girl, who had been crying her lungs out outside just moments ago, had finally stopped.
She released her small grip on Lin Fan's leg, curiously turning her head to scan the room like a tiny radar.
Those clear eyes, devoid of the slightest impurity, swept first over the crooked instant noodle bucket and crumpled papers on the desk, then lingered on the slightly worn gaming poster taped to the wall, before finally landing back on Lin Fan.
Then, amid an eerie silence, she tilted her head slightly, letting out a soft sigh like a little adult, her tone carrying a trace of imperceptible... disdain?
"Daddy, the place you live in is so small."
This sudden calmness and critique gave Lin Fan an even greater scalp-tingling sensation than her earlier wails.
He could even hear the deliberate, lowered whispers of neighbors outside and footsteps lingering right by his door.
"Stop!" Lin Fan rubbed his throbbing temples, struggling to steady his chaotic thoughts.
He walked over to the desk, pulled out the only relatively clean chair, and gestured for the little girl to sit. Maintaining a cautious distance, he crossed his arms and looked down at her judgmentally.
"Little one, cut the act," he said in a low, serious voice. "Spit it out, who on earth are you? Who sent you? Was it that jerk Zhang Wei playing a prank? I knew it had to be him! Who else could be so bored and come up with such a rotten idea?"
Zhang Wei was his best friend and the biggest prankster in the class. Lin Fan's first suspicion for something this absurd naturally fell on him.
However, sitting in the chair with her feet still dangling above the floor, the little girl merely blinked her innocent, big eyes and shook her head like a rattle-drum. "It wasn't Uncle Zhang Wei! Mengmeng doesn't know him."
"Then you..." Lin Fan started to press further.
The little girl cut him off, her tone firm yet tinged with a hint of grievance, "I am Mengmeng! I'm Daddy and Mommy's daughter! Daddy, how can you not recognize Mengmeng, or Mommy either?"
"Mommy?" The word struck Lin Fan like an electric shock. He lunged forward, nearly bumping into the corner of the desk, his voice cracking with a hint of urgency and trembling he didn't even realize was there. "You're saying... you're the daughter of me and your 'Mommy'? Who is your mommy?! Where is she?!"
This question was the most crucial one right now!
If this wasn't a prank, then who on earth was the "Mommy" spoken of by this "daughter" who had dropped out of nowhere? Could it be that at some moment he had no recollection of...
Lin Fan didn't dare think any further. His heart hammered wildly against his ribs, a mix of absurdity and an indescribable... nervousness?
Mengmeng watched Lin Fan's rapidly changing expression, her big eyes blinking as if wondering why he was getting so worked up.
Instead of answering right away, she rested her chin in her small hand, as though seriously weighing her words.
"Mommy is Mommy, of course!" she stated matter-of-factly, before adding with a little touch of pride, "Mommy is so, so pretty! And she's the coolest top student goddess in the whole school, you know!"
A top student goddess? A few hazy figures flashed instantly through Lin Fan's mind—all top-achieving, exceptionally attractive girls in school, but...
"However," Mengmeng tilted her head and added a detail that left Lin Fan even more baffled, "Mommy definitely doesn't know you yet, Daddy. You're going to have to work hard to chase her!"
She doesn't know him yet? What on earth was going on here? Lin Fan felt like his brain was about to fry.
The little thing was rambling incoherently, dropping a massive amount of information, yet everything about her reeked of weirdness.
Looking at the exquisitely sculpted, logically eccentric little girl before him, he didn't even know where to begin his complaints.
Pretty? A top student goddess? And she didn't even know him yet? That narrowed down the suspects to practically the entire female population!
Just as Lin Fan furrowed his brow, feeling crushed by the sheer weight of the mystery, Mengmeng watched his conflicted and bewildered expression and finally seemed to relent on keeping him in suspense.
She cleared her throat and said clearly, in a tone that sounded almost like a grand announcement, "Oh, Daddy, why are you so silly?" A look of "there's just no helping you" crossed her little face. "My mommy's name is Mu Qingxue! She's that super pretty, always freezing-cold number-one student at your school!"
"Mu... Qing... Xue?!"
These three words struck Lin Fan like a thunderbolt straight to the top of his head!
He froze completely, his eyes wide and round, his mouth parted just enough to fit an egg.
His brain buzzed, turning entirely blank.
Mu Qingxue?!
The Mu Qingxue who permanently occupied the top spot in their grade, possessing an ethereal, cold beauty and an iceberg temperament, privately dubbed the "high-cold flower" and "iceberg goddess" by all the boys in school?!
The Mu Qingxue who, aside from absolute necessities, rarely uttered more than a single word, her gaze forever detached and aloof, as if she were a celestial being untouched by mortal food?!
She was... his future wife?
The "Mommy" of this little squirt in front of him?!
This was even more unbelievable than being told the college entrance exams were canceled next year!
Lin Fan felt less like he had been struck by lightning and more like he had been precisely hit by a meteorite falling from the sky.
He instinctively took a step back, his spine slamming heavily against the cold wall just so he could regain a shred of reality.
He stared at Mengmeng's delicate, miniature-figurine-like face, trying to find even the slightest trace of resemblance to Mu Qingxue.
Now that he looked closely, the aloof and spirited look in those eyes seemed... well, maybe it actually did have a tiny bit of...
No, no, no! Lin Fan shook his head violently. He must be seeing things! This was sheer absurdity!
Yet, how was he supposed to explain the fact that Mengmeng had accurately pointed out where he hid his secret stash of money just moments ago?
Lin Fan felt a splitting headache coming on. Everything that had happened tonight had completely shattered the boundaries of his eighteen years of life experience.
Mu Qingxue...
Tomorrow... should he go to school... and check things out?