Rented room.
Lin Fan hadn't slept all night.
The rain had stopped, but the storm inside his heart was raging even harder.
With dark circles under his eyes, he sat on the creaky old chair.
His gaze was complex as he stared at the little bundle curled up on the bed—Lin Mengmeng.
The little one was fast asleep, tear stains still lingering on her flushed cheeks.
Her long eyelashes, like tiny brushes, trembled gently with each breath.
She was wearing Lin Fan's old, washed-out white T-shirt, which was so oversized it looked like a cloth sack.
Her two slender legs were exposed, looking small and pitiful.
A little... comical.
Lin Fan irritably ran a hand through his hair.
It was too absurd!
A father at eighteen?
And the other party was that legendary top student and campus belle?
He wouldn't dare dream up something so outrageous!
Yet Mengmeng knew about his secret stash of hidden money!
Only heaven, earth, and he knew about that.
Absolutely no third person!
That thorn pricked at him so sharply he couldn't ignore it.
Could it... really be his future daughter who had traveled back in time?
Once the thought arose, it grew wildly.
Curiosity, mixed with a trace of absurd anticipation, overwhelmed all the chaos.
He abruptly stood up.
The chair let out an "inak" of protest under the unbearable weight.
True or false, he had to verify it!
He looked at Mengmeng, then glanced at the broken clock on the wall.
Six o'clock.
Mu Qingxue... if Mengmeng wasn't lying, she should be right now...
"Hey, little one, wake up." Lin Fan gave her a gentle nudge.
Mengmeng rubbed her eyes and sat up in a daze.
The oversized T-shirt slipped down, exposing her rounded little shoulders.
"Daddy?" Her voice was soft and sweet.
Lin Fan steadied himself and put on a stern face: "Mengmeng, Daddy... no, Uncle is going to take you to find someone."
"But you have to promise me, when you see that big sister, don't just go shouting randomly!"
"Take your cue from me, understand?"
Mengmeng blinked her large eyes, half-understanding.
She obediently nodded: "Mm! Mengmeng will listen to Uncle."
A flash of cunning darted swiftly through her clear eyes.
It was so fast Lin Fan thought it was just his imagination.
A quick wash.
He hid that eye-catching princess dress away.
Dragging Mengmeng along, looking like he was leading a doll playing dress-up in adult clothes, Lin Fan walked out of the rented room.
The early morning air was damp and slightly cool.
Dawn was just breaking.
Based on Mengmeng's disjointed "intellect," combined with school rumors—the top student Mu Qingxue never missed her morning study sessions.
The location was the small grove in front of the teaching building.
Timing it carefully, Lin Fan brought Mengmeng and lurked near the edge of the woods.
Like two scouts preparing for an ambush.
His heart beat a little fast, his palms sweating.
Nervous? Or was it because he was about to face that "legend"?
Not long after.
A white figure appeared at the end of the tree-lined path.
The faint morning light fell softly upon her.
A white dress, long hair draped over her shoulders, holding a few books.
She walked quietly with her head lowered, her pace gentle and unhurried.
The light cast a hazy halo around her.
Her temperament was cool and distant, like an elf who had strayed into the mortal world.
Lin Fan's breath caught.
Was this Mu Qingxue?
She was even more stunning than the rumors, more stunning than he had seen from afar.
His heartbeat skipped a beat.
"Is that her?" Lin Fan lowered his voice.
Mengmeng's eyes instantly lit up, her little head nodding frantically: "Mm-hmm! Mommy!"
"I told you not to yell!" Lin Fan hurriedly covered her mouth.
Too late.
He took a deep breath, feeling as if he were heading to his execution.
Smoothing out his crumpled school uniform, he bit the bullet and walked forward.
"Mu... classmate Mu, hello." Lin Fan blocked her path, his voice dry and trembling.
"Um... I, I have something I'd... like to ask you..."
Behind him, Mengmeng poked her little head out from beside his leg.
Curious and excited, she gazed at Mu Qingxue.
Mu Qingxue looked up.
Her clear eyes met Lin Fan's, carrying the confusion of being disturbed.
She recognized him—that mediocre student from the same grade who occasionally caused trouble.
Lin Fan was racking his brain, trying to figure out how to speak without sounding like a lunatic.
A sudden change occurred!
Mengmeng suddenly broke free from his hand!
Like a little cannonball, patter-patter-patter, she charged straight at Mu Qingxue!
"Mommy!" A loud, sweet, and tender cry pierced the quiet of the morning.
Mengmeng threw her arms around Mu Qingxue's white-dress-clad calf!
She lifted her exquisitely carved little face, looking up at her with those big, melting eyes.
Her voice was full of filial attachment: "Mommy! Mengmeng missed you so much!"
Lin Fan: "!!!" It's over!
Mu Qingxue's body visibly stiffened.
She lowered her head to look at the little girl hugging her leg tightly, wearing an oversized T-shirt and calling her "Mommy" in a milky voice.
Her brows instantly furrowed.
A flash of blankness crossed her pretty eyes.
Her gaze immediately shifted to Lin Fan, who was standing nearby, flustered and horrified.
The blankness was quickly replaced by iciness and displeasure.
Her gaze was like tempered ice, carrying vigilance and scrutiny.
"Classmate Lin Fan," Mu Qingxue's voice was cold, like shattering ice hitting a jade plate, devoid of emotion yet brimming with pressure.
"If you want to use this kind of boring trick to get my attention,"
"Then, your goal has been achieved." She paused, a hint of mockery in her tone: "How childish. Please step aside."
A clumsy prank!
Using a child to get close to her?
Insulting her intelligence!
"No! It's not like that! Classmate Mu, listen to my explanation!" Lin Fan was sweating profusely, waving his hands wildly.
"This child, she... she..." Say "my future daughter"?
That was insane!
Say "she knows my secret"? That would make things even more tangled!
Under Mu Qingxue's ice-cold gaze, Lin Fan's tongue tied itself in knots, making things worse the more he tried to explain.
And yet Mengmeng continued to sabotage her poor dad!
Clinging to Mu Qingxue's leg and refusing to let go, she tilted her head up and continued to sweet-talk: "Mommy! Mommy, hug me! Mengmeng wants Mommy to hold me!"
Scattered early-arriving students in the distance cast their gazes over and began whispering.
Lin Fan's cheeks burned; he wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground.
Mu Qingxue clearly had no patience to listen.
Her delicate brows furrowed even deeper.
Gently, but firmly, she pried open Mengmeng's little hands.
Her movements weren't rough, yet they radiated unquestionable alienation.
"Boring," she dropped two cold words.
Without sparing Lin Fan another glance, she walked around him and headed straight for the teaching building.
In the morning light, her white figure looked aloof and resolute.
As if everything that had just happened was merely dust clinging to the hem of her skirt, which she casually flicked away.
Lin Fan froze in place.
Watching her disappear into the entrance of the teaching building.
A slightly cool wind blew past, but a fire was burning inside his heart.
He felt angry, anxious, and deeply helpless.
First head-on clash: total defeat!
This "mom" was a million times harder to handle than he had imagined! The difficulty of this dungeon was Hell-tier!
"Daddy..." Mengmeng's aggrieved voice reached him.
Rubbing her eyes, her little mouth pouting, she looked on the verge of tears.
"Mommy... why won't Mommy pay attention to us?"
Lin Fan looked down at the little one's tearful expression, feeling even more blocked up inside.
What now? Give up? Was that even possible?
Looking into Mengmeng's huge eyes, which resembled a collectible doll's, he couldn't harden his heart.
This suddenly popped-up "daughter" and that ice-cold "mom" had turned his already chaotic senior year of high school completely upside down.