But before he could ask, she smiled, a small, warm, and radiant smile that made his chest tighten.
"Well," he said finally, trying to hide the emotion rising in his throat. "If you love me, then Daddy loves you more."
"No, I love Daddy more!" Chi Huaijin puffed her small cheeks as she said more confidently this time.
"Daddy loves you way more!"
"NO! I love Daddy way, way more!!"
"..."
There was a moment of silence between the two of them before they suddenly burst into laughter. None of them wanted to admit defeat, being as stubborn as a mule.
Finally, he reached out and hugged her, pressing her small frame against his chest.
And in that moment, time seemed to stand still.
For Huaijin, that single embrace was everything she had longed for in two lifetimes.
***
After breakfast, her father left for work.
He was a mid-level researcher at a local university, brilliant but humble, always underpaid and overworked. In her past life, she hadn't realized how much he had sacrificed to keep their small family afloat. She had only understood it after his death, when she found the old, creased tuition receipts and the notebooks filled with his calculations and sketches for a project he had never been able to finish.
Now, as she stood by the window watching him leave, she noticed everything: the way his shirt cuffs were frayed, the slight stoop in his shoulders, the careful way he locked the door as if every small object inside mattered.
'You gave me everything, Dad. But never told me,' she thought silently. 'Now it's my turn.'
She pressed her small palm against the cold window glass and whispered under her breath, "Have a safe day, Dad."
When he returned that evening, the house was unusually tidy. The toys that usually littered the floor were neatly stacked in a corner. The table was wiped clean. Even the books she usually left open were placed in a careful pile.
Chi Yuanfeng blinked, setting down his bag.
"Huaijin?" he called.
She ran out of her room, her small face glowing with pride. "Welcome home, Dad!"
He laughed, the fatigue from his long day melting away instantly. "Wow, look at this, did my little princess clean up the house?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "Because you worked hard, I wanted you to come home to a clean house!"
For a second, he didn't know what to say. He just stood there, staring at her, his eyes softening until they almost turned misty.
He crouched down and placed a hand on her head.
"You've really grown up," he murmured.
"But don't do so much work next time. You barely recovered from your illness. What if you fall sick again?"
"I'll keep growing!" she said seriously, puffing out her chest. "So I can protect you."
He froze again, taken aback.
"Protect me?" he repeated with a smile. "That's Daddy's job, not yours."
But Huaijin only shook her head, her eyes firm. "No. This time, I'll protect you."
He chuckled lightly, ruffling her hair again, thinking it was just childish talk. "Alright then. We'll protect each other, deal?"
"Deal!" she said, grinning.
Their pinkies hooked together, and that tiny gesture, light as air, sealed the promise she had carried across two lives.
"Huaijin, look at Daddy," Chi Yuanfeng said with all his seriousness he could gather before her as he took a deep breath and said, "Right now, your main worry isn't to look after Daddy, okay? You have many more works that need to be done. Like playing a lot, eating a lot, growing up healthy, your study, going on trips with Daddy, and many more things. Before you do all that, you can't grow up to become a fine adult, and you won't be able to protect Daddy either!"
Chi Huaijin knew that Chi Yuanfeng saw her as a child; it was normal to say these things to her. But for Chi Huaijin, acting like a spoiled baby when she was a grown-ass adult was too cringy!
Regardless, no one actually knew that her soul was inside this little child's body is adult, so it's fine to act like one, right?
"Yes, Daddy! I'll eat the broccoli too!" Chi Huaijin purred like a kitten as she hugged her father's neck, feeling his body stiffen a bit before he relaxed, hugging her back.
"That's my good girl." Chi Yuanfeng awkwardly patted her back as he tried to sooth her. And this made Chi Huaijin realize soemthing, their reality that she ignored back then.
'Ah, we are such a clumsy pair of father and daughter, we didn't know how to love and take care of each other then and now...'
That night, after he went to sleep, Chi Huaijin sat by her small desk, a pencil in hand. Her handwriting was still childish, but she carefully began writing a small note on a torn page of her notebook:
Things to do:
Make Dad smile every day.
Help Dad rest more.
Stop Dad from getting sick.
Learn more about his research (so I can help him later).
Never forget to say "I love you."
...
She stared at the last line for a long time, her small fingers brushing over it.
In her past life, she had always thought love was something that didn't need to be said, something that existed quietly between family members. But she was wrong. Love left unsaid was often love lost.
In this life, she would say it as many times as it took.
The next morning, when her father woke, he found her curled up beside him, fast asleep. A small hand was resting over his chest, and her tiny mouth was slightly open.
Something inside him softened completely.
He brushed her hair back and whispered, "You really are my little miracle."
Huaijin stirred, half-asleep, and murmured, "Love you, Daddy…"
He froze, then smiled helplessly, that tender, overwhelmed kind of smile that only fathers know.
"Love you too, sweetheart," he whispered back.