...What does this... mean?

Peppa Pig’s oinks filled my ears, along with Xiao Xian’s silver-bell laughter. But right then, I heard none of it.

All my attention, all my focus, was locked on the smartphone screen in front of me. On the chat window between me and Senior, there was only the system notice saying she had withdrawn a message.

She obviously had something she wanted to tell me.

Something she wanted to say to me.

But because of some feeling—or maybe because she regretted it the instant she sent it—she took it back...?

I fell into a tangle of conflicting thoughts.

All because I hadn’t seen that message.

If I had read it, then maybe I would’ve known why she withdrew it.

I wouldn’t be feeling like this now either, as if countless ants were crawling and biting inside my heart, leaving an unbearable itch.

...

Should I reply and ask what she had said?

Or... should I pretend I never saw it?

After all, since Senior chose to withdraw the message, she must’ve wanted to erase those words. To make it as if nothing had happened, and keep our current state and relationship unchanged.

I couldn’t make up my mind.

But deep down, I already vaguely understood what choice I would make.

I probably wouldn’t make things hard for her. Maybe it wasn’t anything that serious.

Maybe Senior had simply sent the message to the wrong person, then withdrew it in time...

Thinking of it that way did make me feel a little better.

But Senior was absolutely not the kind of person to be that careless.

And when another possibility crossed my mind, the mess in my heart didn’t fade at all. It only grew worse.

So much so that even Xiao Xian noticed how my expression had turned heavy without me realizing it.

“Daddy...” She looked a little lost. Tilting her head up, she looked at me with eyes that were much clearer than before. Even with the silly pig noises beside us, Xiao Xian was obviously more concerned about me.

Only then did I snap out of it.

I’d gotten lost in thought without noticing. And when I thought about it again, something this small really shouldn’t have caused such a huge reaction from me.

So this was what people meant by panic born from caring too much.

“It’s nothing.” I set my phone aside, but sharp-eyed Xiao Xian noticed the contact name on the chat window.

“Her Highness Senior...” she read it out, one word at a time.

Then she puffed up in anger.

“Daddy! You’re not allowed to chat with other women!”

Maybe because she was too anxious, she directly climbed over my legs and onto me. In other words, girl on top, boy on bottom. She sat on my hips, then grabbed my jacket collar with her fair little hands, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

“Daddy is only allowed to like Mommy... and Xiao Xian! Other women... none of them are allowed!”

The moment I heard that, I knew this was bad. This was a sign of yandere symptoms flaring up. So in order to properly teach Xiao Xian, I couldn’t care about much else. I grabbed her slender arm at once, then turned over and pinned her beneath me.

Xiao Xian let out a cry of surprise.

Now our positions had become boy on top, girl on bottom. Somehow, using the word position here felt a little weird, but it also wasn’t exactly wrong. Xiao Xian’s legs opened into an M-shape, hooked around my waist on either side. Her face flushed red, and her cherry-like little mouth panted quickly.

At first, I wanted to lecture her and tell her not to say such strongly possessive things again.

Or maybe explain to her what yandere meant.

But after thinking about it, what could a little kid really understand? It was probably just childish possessiveness. Like how a child wouldn’t let others touch their favorite toy. And the daddy she liked was the same.

Still, I had to admit it.

Xiao Xian really did have the potential to become a yandere.

That worried me a lot.

After hesitating for a while—mainly because this position was just way too strange—I decided to tell her the truth, then get up from her.

“You misunderstood. Her Highness Senior is Jiang Yueyan, which is to say...”

I realized I still had a hard time connecting Jiang Yueyan with the word mother.

She was the school goddess, the student council president...

But the moment Xiao Xian heard it, she shouted excitedly—

“Mommy!”

Then she lunged for my phone!