Actually, over the past few nights at school, I’d thought about questions like “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” more than once before going to sleep.

Bi Xinxue’s six-year-old memories told me that, when she was little, her father had taken “me” to the city for a paternity test. The result showed that I had no blood relationship with my father, Bi Zhizhe.

That was the direct reason “Dad” chose to divorce.

The village where I’d been born placed great importance on “reputation” and “chastity.” Once something like this got out, both my mother and father would become the village’s laughingstock.

Perhaps he couldn’t bear the humiliation. Dad told no one except Grandpa and Mom.

“I never did anything to betray you.”

I remembered it clearly. After we returned home, Dad had angrily questioned Mom about the test.

Her answer had been utterly firm.

“If I didn’t, then why isn’t Xiaoxue my daughter? Tell me!”

My father’s entire face had turned red with rage.

“Do you even want to keep living this life?”

“If I didn’t, then I didn’t. I gave birth to my own daughter. How could I not know?”

Strangely, no matter how much my father shouted or pressed her that day, Mom insisted that “I” was his child.

“The test results are right here. Since you refuse to tell me who that man is, we’re getting a divorce. Go live with him.”

And so, not long after I started first grade, my father left the family.

According to the hazy memories in my mind, what had forced Dad to take his daughter for a paternity test seemed to be the neighborhood gossip—

“Xiaoxue is so cute. But she doesn’t look anything like her dad.”

“Exactly. Look at Zhizhe. He has a square face, while his daughter has a textbook melon-seed face.”

“Her features don’t look alike, either…”

“Zhizhe, why don’t you get a test done? I saw on TV that hospitals in the big cities can do it…”

When Dad had taken me there that day, he’d still been laughing and joking.

“Xiaoxue, we’re getting a test to shut those gossiping people up.”

“When we’re done, I’ll buy you a little cake.”

But after the results came out, he’d gone completely numb.

He sat silently in the hospital for over an hour. Then he took my hand and led me home without saying a word.

A few months later, after the divorce certificate had been processed, Dad left my life with Grandpa.

Just like when they had arrived, they left in a hurry.

They were gone for ten years.

For those ten years, Dad cut off all contact with the family. Mom and Grandma rarely mentioned him, either.

Because of that, my classmates often mocked me.

“You don’t have a dad. You’re like a weed.”

I became even more withdrawn and closed-off.

To be honest, I was surprised that Dad had come looking for me now.

I’d thought he’d already given up on Mom and me.

Not many men could accept raising a child with all their hard work, only to discover that she wasn’t theirs.

From Dad’s point of view…

His hometown had been swallowed by a flood, and many of his relatives had died. After finally escaping, he found a new home and prepared to live a proper life.

He had even raised the child to this age.

Then he suddenly discovered that his wife had betrayed him, and that the child wasn’t related to him by blood.

How could anyone not break down?

…

“People’s Sixth Hospital, right?”

In the dorm room, I listened to Dad’s voice through the phone. After staying silent for a long while, I said, “I understand.”

“What’s the exact ward and bed number? I’ll come over soon.”

The Sixth People’s Hospital happened to be near the rental home where Grandma lived, in “Liao Family Village.” I knew the roads and terrain there very well.

“Second floor of the inpatient building. Oncology, bed 441.”

Dad’s voice on the other end seemed slightly choked.

“Xiaoxue, you…”

“It’s fine, Dad. We don’t have class tonight.”

I softened my voice to comfort him.

“Xiaoxue can take the bus. I’ll be there in half an hour at most.”

“Oh, okay… Then be careful on the way.”

“I will.”

After hanging up, I walked onto the dormitory balcony and leaned against the bathroom door.

Then I tilted my head back.

On my left, I could see the beautiful sunset.

On my right, the balcony ceiling was covered with all kinds of girls’ clothes and underwear.

Down below, a couple was flirting along a pebble path.

“Come here, wifey. Give me a kiss.”

“Stop it. What are you doing in broad daylight?”

Farther away, the basketball court had been dyed red by the setting sun.

Several boys were playing three-on-three street basketball, sweating as if they were caught in a downpour.

The basketball struck the hard concrete, bounced up, and was thrown toward the hoop.

Smack.

Smack.

I shifted my gaze.

A Tokisaki Kurumi cosplay outfit swayed gently on the rack above me in the evening breeze.

I picked up my phone again, opened the Hualimao app, and called the reserved number for “Lu Yun.”

“Hello?”

The call connected quickly. Lu Yun’s voice belonged to the gentle, soft-spoken type of young man.

“Are you the boss? I’m the one you booked through the app… um, Xiaoxue.”

“I am.”

He hesitated.

“What’s wrong? I already left all the specific requirements in the message. I’m easygoing. You just have to show up…”

“No. Something unexpected came up on my side.”

I spoke with some apology in my voice.

“My grandfather was suddenly hospitalized, and I need to visit him. Could we reschedule the date for tomorrow evening?”

“Uh… but I’ve already bought two movie tickets.”

“I’ll pay for tomorrow’s tickets, popcorn, and drinks. Then… the night after tomorrow, I’ll take another booking. Would that work for you?”

“No, no. It’s really fine.”

Lu Yun’s voice was filled with concern.

“You should spend more time with your family. Being sick is hard. Just contact me whenever you’re free again. I’ll watch the movie with my friends tonight.”

“I’m really sorry. I apologize…”

“It’s okay. Go on. I don’t mind.”

“Thank you…”

After I hung up, a cancellation notice appeared on the Hualimao app shortly afterward.

【Boss “Lu Yun” has requested to cancel the booking. Reason: A family matter came up, so I can’t make it. 】

I clicked “Agree to Cancellation,” then sent a friend request to Lu Yun on QQ.

【User “Quan Quan” has accepted your friend request】

Lu Yun’s QQ avatar was a fox-eared shota biting down on a bone. Its art style was somewhat fresh and delicate.

It didn’t fit the guy from the Graphics Card Forum and Tulading Forum at all—the one who called himself a “junk collector” while bantering with foolish netizens every day.

On the dormitory balcony, I lowered my head and glanced at the bear hoodie I was wearing.

I straightened my clothes slightly, then returned to my desk.

From beneath the bed, I took out a pair of casual shoes and short socks. I changed out of the round-toed Meruru shoes and lace-trimmed socks on my feet.

To be honest, I’d always found the fact that I wasn’t Dad’s biological daughter highly suspicious.

In Bi Xinxue’s memories, my mother, Bi Shuangyue, wasn’t that kind of person.

She was very unlikely to cheat.

Besides, even after she and Dad divorced, I hadn’t once seen her have close contact with another man during those ten years.

Normally, if Mom really had been having an affair, wouldn’t that man—the biological father—have come forward to claim me after the divorce?

What kind of man could endure seventeen years without seeing his own daughter?

After changing my shoes, I touched up my makeup in front of the mirror.

Then I slung my little backpack over my shoulder and left the dormitory.

I currently had two guesses.

The first was that my biological father was a married man. Because he feared damaging his reputation, he hadn’t dared show his face for seventeen years.

Perhaps he had only contacted Mom while she was working away from home. He didn’t want to acknowledge me as his daughter.

If that were true, then my biological father was a complete scumbag.

Calling him a scumbag was already being generous.

Our family had always been extremely poor. During the years when they struggled to pay my tuition, Grandma could only eat pickled vegetables and radishes most days.

If Mom really had another man, what kind of feelings had this biological father possessed while watching our family live frugally for all those years without offering even the slightest help?

Besides, Mom had always been honest and simple by nature.

So I thought this possibility was very unlikely.

That left only the second possibility.

I wasn’t Mom’s biological daughter, either.

It was a bold idea.

It had come from all the subtle clues in my surroundings.

Bi Xinxue was beautiful—beautiful like an otherworldly little fairy untouched by the mortal world.

She was prettier than any girl I’d ever seen in my previous life, even those enhanced with beauty filters and Photoshop.

Her figure was perfect, too.

From childhood to adulthood, she had remained healthy despite often lacking enough food or warm clothing. She rarely got sick.

Those genes were unquestionably extraordinary.

They couldn’t have been inherited from my plain-looking mother.

I thought of a melodramatic television plot.

A baby mix-up.

In Bi Xinxue’s memories, neither Dad nor Mom had ever mentioned which hospital she’d been born in.

But considering the terrible circumstances back then, I couldn’t help wondering whether something like a “switched-at-birth” incident had happened.

So no matter what, I had to meet this “Dad” and “Grandpa” today.

I had to find out exactly what had happened back then.