The drive itself was monotonous, an endless stretch of unchanging road choked with bustling crowds. To make matters worse, I was unlucky enough to hit the evening rush hour.
Unfamiliar with the route, I navigated with my phone like an elderly person, constantly annoyed by reckless drivers who seemed to be in an absurd hurry to be reborn.
Only after I had casually parked the car in the apartment’s underground lot did Aya Tone’s string of curses finally subside.
‘Damn it, next time I’m just going to teleport back. Driving? Only a fool would drive.’
****
The sky was now painted with the faint glimmer of starlight.
Stepping into the elevator, Aya Tone felt his anxious mood slowly calm. Whatever vexations the outside world held, once home, they became utterly irrelevant.
“Mmm, something smells wonderful! Big White, what are we having for dinner tonight?”
The moment he pushed open the door, the rich aroma of food wafted to his nose. After a tiring afternoon, his stomach had been rumbling for ages.
Now, at the sudden scent of delicious food, his belly loudly protested its hunger.
“Daddy~ You’re so slow!” Tiny feet pattered across the floor with soft thumps.
Before Aya Tone even saw her, the sweet, childish voice had already reached his ears. Hearing it, the entire afternoon’s exhaustion transformed into a mere prelude to this delightful moment.
Suddenly.
Aya Jiu’s small head peeked out from behind the screen.
With every step she took, her twin pigtails bounced from side to side, her face alight with a carefree smile.
“Daddy~!”
With a soft ‘thump,’ she launched herself at Aya Tone in a full-blown charge.
Aya Tone gently opened his arms, letting the little ‘piglet’ crash into his embrace. However, he had severely underestimated his daughter’s current physical strength and overestimated his own.
Aya Jiu collided with his chest, the impact forcing a small grunt from him.
‘Is that all? I can still take it!’
He then forced a smile. “Were you a good girl at kindergarten today?”
He had spent the entire day busy with matters concerning the dungeon, leaving him no time to check the class group messages.
“Yes, yes!” Aya Jiu nestled in her father’s arms, vividly recounting the interesting things that had happened at kindergarten.
“Wow~ Aya Jiu even helped her friends, how wonderful!”
Slipping on his indoor shoes, Aya Tone carried his daughter further into the apartment.
However, upon entering the living room, he blinked in utter disbelief.
He leaned down, whispering into his daughter’s ear. “Who are these older sisters?”
“Hm?” Her little head tilted in confusion, then she spotted the several people seated in the living room. Understanding dawned on her face.
Hugging Aya Tone’s neck, she whispered conspiratorially, “Daddy, let me tell you, when I came home today, I met these older sisters.”
“They seem to know Big White really well, and Aya Jiu invited them to play at our house. Isn’t that great?” She finished, her small face sporting an expression that clearly demanded praise.
Aya Tone: “…”
‘Hmph, truly my little troublemaker. Bringing a nuclear bomb home—isn’t she afraid her dad will explode on the spot? There’s definitely black-hearted cotton stuffed inside her!’
Despite his internal grumbling, he still offered words of praise aloud. “Mmm, Aya Jiu is so clever. You can bring your friends over to visit us anytime, Aya Jiu.”
As he spoke, Lin Ling and the others also noticed the owner of the house had returned. They quickly sat up straighter, looking over with anticipation.
Yet, upon seeing that the newcomer was a man, they couldn’t help but feel a touch of disappointment.
‘It’s not the teacher…’
Under Fire Wushuang’s guidance, they had quickly found Destiny Apartment. Fire Finch had given them keys to a well-renovated apartment that had been vacant for a long time.
But what they never could have anticipated was this.
While waiting for the elevator, they had coincidentally run into Big White, who was picking up Aya Jiu from school.
Big White had been startled, intending to pretend not to know them and discreetly slip away. However, Lin Ling had recognized them at a glance.
There was no escaping, and so, the situation had devolved into its current state.
Aya Tone: “…”
His gaze fell upon Big White, who was trying to hide in the shadows. ‘This is all your doing!’
“Hello everyone, I’m Aya Tone, Aya Jiu’s father.” He introduced himself quite naturally. When he had introduced himself to these ‘little overlords’ at the academy, he had only given his surname, so he didn’t believe there was any risk of exposure.
On the contrary, acting evasive would only raise suspicion. Speaking openly might even lower their guard.
Indeed, the truth proved his thoughts correct; they were only slightly surprised before returning to normal. All except Lin Ling, whose thought process was rather unique.
“Speaking of which, Uncle, you and our teacher have the same surname! Could the teacher be your sister!?” Her question had opened the very topic he had hoped to avoid, exposing it in an awkward, direct manner.
Aya Tone: “…”
‘I should have known better than to heal this brat today! I should have sent her to the hospital for a brain check! Can’t they see I’m trying so hard to play along? And I’m only twenty-four! What ‘Uncle’?!’
“Is that so? Perhaps it’s just a coincidence.”
‘You’re finished! Next practical lesson! No! Tomorrow, I’ll find a goblin nest and throw you in, so you can learn about the wickedness of human hearts.’
Just then, Fire Wushuang pointed at Big White, who was still trying to hide in the shadows, her voice calm. “Our teacher looks just like that. Do you have any impression of her, Brother Aya?”
She, too, had remembered that the man before them was the same person who had been sitting next to her on the way home last time. She had heard her mother seemed to be trying to set him up with her sister, so calling him ‘Brother’ now seemed perfectly normal.
“…” Aya Tone furrowed his brow, unsure how to directly answer the question. When one tells a lie, it inevitably leads to countless more lies to cover it up. He was now at the critical juncture of whether to tell that first lie.
He simply couldn’t fathom it. He had explicitly told them to stay in a hotel, so how had they ended up at the apartment, and even encountered Big White? Yan’an City was vast, with millions of residents; the probability of such an encounter was less than 0.01 percent.
Yet here it was, a probability lower than winning the lottery, unfolding right before his eyes.
‘Heh, I’m tired. Just destroy everything.’
He genuinely didn’t want to get tangled in this. He was already exhausted, and now his head was throbbing. He knew his own limits; he couldn’t handle explaining this. Too many words would easily lead to exposure.
It would be better to end the topic from the start. But how could he silence them? That was the problem.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, and Aya Tone instantly felt a wave of relief. He maintained a normal expression, however. “I’ll see who it is. Please make yourselves comfortable.”
With that, he took Aya Jiu and walked back to the doorway. Simultaneously, he prayed internally that it wasn’t some food delivery person, or tonight, either they would perish, or he would move out overnight!
The door opened.
Perhaps Aya Tone’s prayer had been accepted by some unknown entity.
“Aya Jiu~ Big sister missed you so much~” Li Jia completely ignored Aya Tone, snatching Aya Jiu from his arms and affectionately rubbing the little girl’s chubby face.
The sight filled Aya Tone with jealousy. ‘Aya Jiu is mine! If you want one, have your own!’