“That’s your d-d-d-d-daughter?!”

Chu Yao was so shocked he could barely get the words out. Zhiyuan was such a cute girl, and she looked barely thirteen or fourteen—right in the prime of her youth. And she already had a daughter that old? What heartless bastard had done this to her?

But the next second, he realized he’d misunderstood.

After all, Mo Xiaoxiao looked about a year older than Mo Zhiyuan. How could that be possible? Unless they’d, uh… done that while she was still in the womb...

Either I heard that wrong, or she wrote it wrong.

“Mm. My daughter.”

Ah, damn it! She really was!

“N-n-n-no, your daughter?! Y-you, you, you…?!”

Chu Yao tried desperately to say something, but every word died on his lips.

Even if she wasn’t Mo Zhiyuan’s biological daughter and had been adopted, just how old did Mo Zhiyuan look? Which one of them was raising the other?!

“Sit down. We’ll talk.”

“...O-okay.”

Chu Yao sat down at the dining table in the living room, fidgeting uneasily. He couldn’t quite figure out how he’d ended up here, and his head was starting to feel muddled.

Mo Xiaoxiao had just washed her hands and came over to the table. She sat down primly, and only then did Chu Yao have a chance to take a good look at her.

At a glance, she really was a beauty in the making—

She wore a pure white dress, white as snow, and snow-soft stockings. Even her long, flowing hair was silver-gray. The breeze drifting in from the balcony stirred it, making her look like a little snow doll swaying in a snowfield—like she’d melt if you breathed a puff of warm air on her.

At the same time, Chu Yao noticed the distinctive ahoge sticking straight up from the top of her head...

Just then, Mo Zhiyuan brought over the food she’d gone to reheat and gave the ahoge on Xiaoxiao’s head a light flick with her finger.

“Time to eat.”

It bobbed twice, with an almost lifelike intelligence.

Just like someone nodding.

“Uh... haha... well, that’s certainly...” Chu Yao had no idea what to say.

As they ate, Chu Yao kept glancing at the mother and daughter sitting together (that was what he was going to assume for now). They really did make a stunningly beautiful picture.

The daughter ate in tiny bites, quiet and graceful. The mother was a little more hearty by comparison, but that only added to the girl’s youthful charm... Ahem. I’m getting off track.

Anyway, having two pretty girls for company made the meal an extremely pleasant experience.

But Chu Yao’s mind was nowhere near the meal. He was thinking, “Wait… who did I buy this pork cutlet rice for again?”

Turns out this heartless guy had seen a pretty girl and forgotten all about his buddy.

A little while later, he suddenly remembered what he’d come here for—and realized there was a very serious problem.

—Who exactly was sitting at his table?

The thought killed his appetite. He set down his chopsticks and suddenly put on a serious face.

“Ahem. Let’s talk business first.”

Without even looking up, Mo Zhiyuan immediately picked up her little notebook and flipped straight to the last page: “Eat first.”

“Oh. Oh, okay...” Chu Yao deflated at once.

Mo Zhiyuan had no intention of dealing with him until she’d finished the pork cutlet rice. Her stomach had been so empty for ages, it was practically cooing like a pigeon.

Coo, coo! She was starving!

So no matter how important it was, it could wait until after the meal.

That was the Mo family’s ironclad rule.

......

“Mmm, mmm, mmm~~ Mmm, mmm~~”

Mo Zhiyuan swallowed her last bite, but it had only just taken the edge off her hunger. It was nowhere near enough to fuel her for the rest of the day.

As it happened, Mo Zhiyuan felt a little wronged.

What the heck! Was her appetite really that big? She still wasn’t full!

Oh my gosh, this was awful. Did this mean she’d have to spend money on an extra meal every day from now on?!

So the idea that girls have a second stomach wasn’t made up after all?

Not really. Mo Zhiyuan was simply worrying about it—she was far too anxious about how she’d manage in the future.

The portions in these boxed meals weren’t very big to begin with. They were just enough to leave you hungry if you ate one, but too much if you ate two. Was the owner just very good at business, or was that simply how it worked...?

Anyway, Mo Zhiyuan felt as if she hadn’t eaten in a day and a night. One box definitely wasn’t enough for her.

Without realizing it, Mo Zhiyuan’s gaze had started drifting toward Xiaoxiao’s lunchbox.

Xiaoxiao noticed her brother’s gaze and obediently picked up a piece of pork cutlet. She set it on a spoonful of rice and held it out to her brother.

“Aaah~”

Mo Zhiyuan could read those words in her eyes.

Aww... Xiaoxiao! You really are my precious daughter!

Mo Zhiyuan was filled with emotion. She opened her little mouth and took the whole front end of the spoon inside.

“Mmm~~”

Maybe it was because her daughter was feeding her, but that bite tasted especially delicious. She let out a satisfied little hum, her cheeks practically melting, while her legs in pale blue stockings swung beneath the table.

How should I put it... She was so cute she could make bubbles.

Mo Xiaoxiao and Chu Yao thought the exact same thing.

Oh, wait. Looks like I’ll have to make another trip.

Chu Yao came back to himself and stood up of his own accord. “Looks like that still wasn’t enough. I’ll go buy another one.” With that, he started to head out.

“No need. I’ll go.”

“Haha, don’t be polite. It’s fine. Leave this kind of grunt work to us big guys.”

Chu Yao remembered how Mo Zhiyuan had climbed the stairs earlier and pictured her having to go through it all again. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

Now that he thought about it, how could he let Mo Zhiyuan go downstairs to buy it herself? That would be downright cruel.

But Mo Zhiyuan was remarkably firm. She practically pressed him back into his seat, and the words in her little notebook were like an order of pardon, sending his butt right back down.

“Think calmly about what I told you earlier.”

Before she left, Mo Zhiyuan made sure to warn Chu Yao: “Don’t get any funny ideas about my daughter.”

“I wouldn’t...” Chu Yao leaned back awkwardly, sweating.

As if! From the moment the door opened, Chu Yao had already decided that no matter how pretty Mo Xiaoxiao was, he’d better keep his distance...

Nope. Not messing with her...

Clang!

The door to the hallway shut.

“...”

Once Mo Zhiyuan had left, Chu Yao suddenly realized how awkward things had gotten. It was just him and Mo Xiaoxiao now, and she was still eating in silence.

The atmosphere was ice-cold.

Maybe he should think about what had just happened.

Chu Yao: reasoning mode activated!

Was that girl really Chuanzi? How could that be?!

Even if it was a prank, it should’ve ended by now. But things hadn’t gone the way he’d imagined. Instead, he’d learned several more things that had left him completely stunned.

The truth was, once you calmed down, a lot of things that had seemed shrouded in fog at first became clear.

Mo Zhiyuan wasn’t the only one who needed time to prepare. Chu Yao did too.

Once they’d both thought things through, it’d be much easier to talk.

Mo Zhiyuan—a beautiful girl who claimed to be Mo Yuchuan.

That was right. If she lived here, would climbing the stairs really have worn her out like that? You’d think she’d have gotten used to it after all this time, but she’d clearly looked like it was her first time climbing stairs.

And then there was Mo Xiaoxiao, whose background was a mystery. She was Mo Zhiyuan’s daughter, but that seemed impossible just from their appearances—unless Mo Zhiyuan was a twenty-something legal loli with a steady income.

But now that he thought about it, if Mo Zhiyuan really was Chuanzi, wouldn’t that make sense?