Seeing me head toward the living room, Xiao Xian immediately shuffled her little butt to make room on the sofa. I didn’t stand on ceremony and sat right beside her.

In no time, she’d already reached episode five of *Peppa Pig*. On screen, Peppa still rocked that street-smart vibe before bursting into looped, meme-style oinks.

At the sound, Xiao Xian giggled—and I couldn’t hold back a chuckle either.

Xiao Xian seemed to cherish this quiet moment watching cartoons together. She snuggled closer on her own. I gently stroked the soft fox ears atop her head and asked casually,

“Who bought these for you?”

She hesitated. I felt the delicate ears tremble slightly beneath my fingers. Then she whispered,

“Dad bought them… I really like them.”

“…”

How to put it? Cat ears and dog ears have fans—but fox ears? Honestly, among everyone I know, I’m probably the only one obsessed. Which only proved Xiao Xian really was my future daughter.

Wait—why the heck would my future self give our daughter such a weird gift?! Damn it, get over here! I swear I’ll punch you!

Somehow, without noticing, I’d split my present self from my future self. Right now, I’m a doting dad. But him? So heartless. I’d started seeing him as a total stranger—not me at all.

I pulled my hand back. Xiao Xian stayed engrossed in *Peppa Pig*. I pulled out my phone. For modern youth, phones are indispensable—chats, socials, games, time-killing apps. No wonder we’re glued to them.

Right now, I opened QQ to check messages.

Then I froze. A notification chimed.

*Probably Fang Liancheng*, I thought. The chat popped to the top—and my pupils shrank sharply.

Note: Senpai-sama

*Ahem*, don’t mock the note. But remembering Senpai’s grace and poise? I just had to add “-sama.” Like “senbei-sama”—senpai. Honestly, the idea that I’d someday fall for, marry, and even have a cute loli like Xiao Xian with the beautiful Senpai-sama still feels surreal.

But if I accepted a time-traveling daughter like Xiao Xian… why not Senpai? If anything, it fired up my confidence. I’d stand out among all those jerks crushing on my future wife—and win her heart.

I *am* qualified. Otherwise, how’d I compete for freshman rep? Just bad luck running into that freakishly talented girl: Gu Qianqian. I’ll remember this. What stung most? Losing face in front of Senpai…

Enough. Past is past. What did Senpai send?

Since swapping contacts, our chats stayed casual—neither frequent nor rare. And yeah, I usually messaged first. So why was *she* reaching out now? Curiosity prickled.

I tapped the chat window.

Only to see:

— The other party recalled a message.