The next morning, Qin Xi, still in the midst of her dreams, was startled awake by Xiao Xiao's crying.
"Don't cry, don't cry, Mommy's here!" Qin Xi quickly hugged her daughter to comfort her.
At that moment, the first light of dawn had just begun to appear on the horizon, and the alarm clock hadn't even rung yet.
"Daddy! I want Daddy!" Xiao Xiao sobbed sadly.
Only then did Qin Xi realize why Xiao Xiao had suddenly started crying—she had woken up to find her father gone.
"Xiao Xiao, Daddy is right here!"
Just as Xiao Xiao was crying, Yang Chen's voice suddenly reached her ears.
Her crying stopped immediately. Xiao Xiao scrambled up and threw herself into her father's arms, sniffling, "Daddy, I thought you didn't want me anymore."
Yang Chen felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. It was because she had missed out on five years of paternal love that Xiao Xiao clung to him so desperately.
Qin Xi's heart ached as well. She also wanted to give Xiao Xiao a complete family, to have her daughter sleep in her father's arms every night.
But she simply couldn't overcome the emotional barrier in her heart. She had resented Yang Chen for disappearing for five years, but after accidentally hearing him mention bits and pieces of his past, that resentment had dissipated.
Still, it wasn't enough for her to love this man. At most, she felt some goodwill toward him. After all, their relationship had only resulted from an accident—Xiao Xiao's birth—and there was no real emotional foundation between them.
Yang Chen held Xiao Xiao for a long time before her emotions finally settled.
By now, Yang Chen had already returned from his morning workout and was wearing a tracksuit.
"Xiao Xiao, Daddy is all sweaty. Let him take a shower first, then he can hold you again, okay?" Qin Xi suddenly suggested.
After crying for a while, Xiao Xiao was fully awake and no longer as clingy as when she had first woken up. She nodded and said, "Daddy, go take a shower, and then take me out to play, okay?"
Yang Chen glanced at Qin Xi, who gave a slight nod. "It's Saturday today. We'll take Xiao Xiao out to play during the day, and Xiao Yi is treating us to dinner tonight."
"Alright, no problem. I'll go shower first." Yang Chen sat Xiao Xiao down on the edge of the bed. Just as he stood up, he suddenly remembered something and hesitated slightly.
Qin Xi was about to ask when she realized what was on his mind. "You can shower in my room," she said.
Yang Chen was staying in the storage room, where there was only enough space for a small sleeping mat—no shower facilities.
After grabbing a change of clothes, Yang Chen had just stepped into the bathroom when Qin Xi suddenly paled and shouted, "Wait!"
But by the time she spoke up, Yang Chen had already entered.
The bathroom wasn't large. Inside, there was a small front-loading washing machine, and on a clothes rack in the corner hung several delicate undergarments.
How could Yang Chen have anticipated such a scene?
The bathroom was also filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Though he had a daughter, it had only taken one "shot" to conceive her. In all his years, he had only been intimate with Qin Xi that one drunken night—and even then, he had been unconscious.
Being a young man in the prime of his life, the sight of those delicate undergarments made his breathing grow uneven.
"You're still looking?!"
When Qin Xi rushed in, Yang Chen was staring fixedly at her undergarments. Blushing furiously, she hastily gathered them all up.
Watching Qin Xi flee as if escaping, Yang Chen broke into a bright smile and murmured to himself, "I guess this counts as living together, huh?"
---
"Sis, breakfast is ready!"
Qin Xi was brushing Xiao Xiao's hair when Qin Yi barged in without warning.
"Got it. You guys eat first. We'll be down soon," Qin Xi replied.
But Qin Yi showed no intention of leaving. Instead, she smirked and stared at Qin Xi. "Sis, I just went to call for Brother-in-law, but he wasn't in his room. Where do you think he went so early in the morning?"
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced toward the bathroom.
Qin Xi's face immediately flushed with panic, but she forced herself to stay calm. "I just took a shower and forgot to turn off the faucet."
"Oh!" Qin Yi feigned sudden understanding, then eyed Qin Xi's dry hair and teased, "Since when did you start showering without washing your hair?"
"I—I just forgot to turn off the faucet! Hurry up and go eat, or Mom will get mad again," Qin Xi snapped, her face burning with embarrassment.
Qin Yi pretended not to hear and cheerfully walked over to Xiao Xiao. "Xiao Xiao, you're so smart—you must know where Daddy is, right? Tell Auntie, and I'll buy you cake!"
"Daddy's taking a shower!"
Before Qin Xi could stop her, Xiao Xiao had already pointed toward the bathroom. To make matters worse, Xiao Xiao added happily, "Auntie, last night, Daddy held me while I slept."
"Wow, Xiao Xiao is so lucky—Mommy on one side and Daddy on the other," Qin Yi said, patting Xiao Xiao's head.
"Xiao Yi, it's not what you think! Yang Chen, he—"
Qin Xi grew frantic, waving her hands as she tried to explain, but Qin Yi cut her off with a mischievous grin. "Sis, no need to explain. I get it—absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? But you two should still pace yourselves. Too much of *that* isn't good for your health."
Seeing Qin Xi's expression grow increasingly murderous, Qin Yi quickly dashed out of the room.
"QIN YI!" Qin Xi's furious roar echoed even after Qin Yi had long fled.
---
When Yang Chen stepped out of the shower, he immediately noticed the murderous glare Qin Xi was directing at him.
Confused, he asked, "Xiao Xi, what's wrong?"
"Hmph!"
Qin Xi ignored him, shooting him a haughty glare before taking Xiao Xiao downstairs for breakfast.
Yang Chen stood there, baffled. "Did I do something wrong?"
By the time he made it downstairs for breakfast, Qin Yi was watching him with a knowing smirk. Suddenly, she asked, "Brother-in-law, how did you sleep last night?"
Yang Chen swallowed a mouthful of food. "Pretty well!"
"QIN YI!"
Qin Xi gritted her teeth. "Can't you shut up and eat?!"
"Brother-in-law, your wife is bullying me! Aren't you going to do something?" Qin Yi pouted.
Yang Chen broke into a bright smile. "Nope!"
"Brother-in-law, you're biased!"
Since Zhou Yu Cui and Qin Da Yong weren't around, Qin Yi felt free to joke around boldly.
For the first time, Yang Chen truly savored this kind of life. If he could live like this forever, he'd willingly trade ten years of his life for it.
The meal ended amid laughter and playful banter.
---
Yang Chen and Qin Xi took Xiao Xiao out for the day, visiting many places.
For the entire day, Xiao Xiao's smile never faded. Qin Xi had never seen her daughter so happy before.
Standing a short distance away, she watched as Yang Chen and Xiao Xiao rode the carousel together. Xiao Xiao's face was alight with excitement. "Giddy up, horsie! Faster! Faster! Yah! Yah! Yah!"
"Mommy, take a picture of Daddy and me!" Xiao Xiao shouted as the carousel passed Qin Xi.
A gentle smile spread across Qin Xi's face as she raised the camera. When father and daughter came around again, she pressed the shutter—*click*—capturing their joyful expressions forever.
The family of three spent the entire day out and about. It wasn't until dusk that Yang Chen drove them to Su Ji Restaurant, where Qin Yi had reserved a table for dinner.
"Cousin!" Just as the family entered the restaurant, a familiar voice called out.
They turned to see Fang Yue walking in arm-in-arm with Yang Wei.
"And who is this?" Yang Wei asked, feigning ignorance.
He had clearly met them before at Qin Corporation but was pretending otherwise.
Fang Yue giggled. "This is my cousin, Qin Xi. She was just promoted to general manager of Sanhe Group a few days ago."
"Oh?" Yang Wei's eyes gleamed with interest as he stepped forward, extending his hand with a smarmy smile. "Hello, I'm Yang Wei from the Yang family of Zhou City. My father is Chen Zhijun, vice president of Chenghe Group. You must have heard of him."
The Yang family was a prominent first-tier family in Zhou City, and Yang Wei clearly thought highly of himself.
But Qin Xi had genuinely never heard of them. She gave Yang Wei a cool glance and replied bluntly, "No, I haven't."
With that, she took Xiao Xiao's hand and headed straight for the private room Qin Yi had booked.
Yang Wei's outstretched hand froze mid-air, his face twisting into an awkward expression.