Chapter 85: The Scarf

Chapter 85: The Scarf

The question slipped out before Chi Xiao could stop himself, and he found it a bit amusing.

But he didn’t retract it; instead, he looked up at her quietly, hoping this mundane question would help him understand what she really liked about him.

Ming Can was clearly put off by the question, squinting at him for a moment before saying, “If I were after those things, I wouldn’t have turned you down when you pursued me in high school.”

Chi Xiao nodded slowly, gently rubbing her waist as he smiled and asked, “So, what does Miss Ming value?”

Ming Can, feeling ticklish all over, tightened her toes and glared at him, half-heartedly. “What I value is… that you’re good with kids.”

She curved her lips into a relaxed smile. “As for other conditions, they’re just bonuses. If they’re not there, it’s no big deal.”

“Clean up and move in, serve me tea and water for the rest of your life.”

As she spoke, Ming Can pinched Chi Xiao’s chin, her fingertips brushing against his skin, which felt a bit rough today—he hadn’t shaved.

She leaned down to kiss the stubble on his face, and Chi Xiao took the opportunity to hold the back of her neck, pulling her closer. His tongue invaded her mouth, entwining and exploring without end, savoring the sweetness, the heat seeping through her veins, as if it could wrap around her heart.

In the quiet space, the sounds of gentle pecks and deep swallows filled the air. Since Miaomiao was still having class in the room, they only kissed, occasionally opening their eyes to meet each other’s burning gaze, seeing their own reflections like evening twilight.

Chi Xiao’s hand rested on the back of Ming Can’s neck, caressing her warm skin with restraint.

After talking to his father, he had a pretty good idea of what the future held.

If Miaomiao hadn’t come here early, disrupting the timeline, Ming Can would never have fallen for him.

This life was like a miracle.

He was prepared to protect this miracle, even if it meant losing everything else.

-

The next morning, just before six, at dawn, Chi Xiao woke up.

Walking through the dim hallway, he entered Miaomiao’s room, intending to check if the little one was sleeping well and hadn’t kicked off the blanket. To his surprise, as soon as he opened the door, a pair of round, alert puppy eyes stared at him from the other side of the crib.

Seeing it about to bark, Chi Xiao quickly made a shushing gesture.

The little guy understood and didn’t bark, instead happily circling around Chi Xiao’s legs.

Chi Xiao bent down to pick him up, and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to take him for a walk around the neighborhood with a leash.

Xiao Xiao, the young puppy, was only slightly larger than Chi Xiao’s shoe. As they walked, the sun rose, casting a thin light through the morning mist, projecting their shadows on the ground, the stark height difference making the scene quite amusing.

When they returned, Miaomiao had just woken up, sitting on the bed and rubbing his eyes, his face a bit puffy, indicating he hadn’t slept well the night before.

After washing up and changing into his school uniform, Chi Xiao retrieved Miaomiao’s backpack from the study and checked its contents according to his schedule for the day.

“You have PE in the afternoon,” Chi Xiao asked, “are you playing basketball again?”

“Yeah.”

Chi Xiao walked to the closet, took out the sports headband Ming Can had made for Miaomiao, wrapped it around his head, tied it tightly at the back, and then handed it to him. “Put this on before class, just slip it over your head, with the dog pattern on your forehead. This way, sweat won’t get in your eyes.”

“I know.” Miaomiao put the headband in a small pocket of his backpack. “Dad, Mom also gave you one. Have you used it?”

Chi Xiao: “Of course.”

Chi Xiao: “I haven’t.”

Chi Xiao: “I’m afraid it might get dirty.”

Miaomiao: …

So, you’re not afraid of getting mine dirty, huh!

Chi Xiao looked down at his puffed-up little face, noticing his eyes were still a bit swollen. He went to the bathroom, soaked a towel in cold water, and washed Miaomiao’s face again.

“Did you sleep well last night?” he asked while wiping Miaomiao’s face.

“A little.” Miaomiao yawned and said, “I dreamed about Mom talking to me and bringing Xiao Er to play with me.”

Chi Xiao was taken aback.

Xiao Er wasn’t a dog from this world, so the mother in his dream probably wasn’t from this world either.

Chi Xiao: “What did your mom say to you?”

Miaomiao: “She asked if I still wanted to be a dog researcher and promised to find the best teacher to teach me how to understand dogs.”

Chi Xiao didn’t fully understand what Miaomiao was saying. Moreover, if it was just a dream, Miaomiao should have forgotten most of it upon waking. How could he remember the words so clearly?

Chi Xiao: “Why did she say those things to you?”

“Because…” Miaomiao thought for a moment and said, “Maybe because the last thing I told her before coming here was that my dream was to understand dogs and become a dog researcher.”

“I see.” Chi Xiao nodded but didn’t say anything more.

He stood up with the towel and saw Xiao Xiao carrying a small frisbee, wanting to play with Miaomiao. Miaomiao told him to jump onto the window seat, but Xiao Xiao barked twice at the window seat. Miaomiao laughed, “You can’t climb up?” Then he put on his slippers, fetched a small step, and placed it near the window seat. Xiao Xiao climbed up using the step and started playing frisbee with Miaomiao.

It seemed both the child and the dog could understand each other.

Chi Xiao went to the bathroom to wash the towel.

Since Miaomiao’s arrival from another world was undeniable, Chi Xiao had become more accepting of strange events. At this moment, he couldn’t help but wonder if Miaomiao had heard voices from another world in his dream.

He didn’t know what had happened to him in that other world.

If the matters there were resolved, would he leave and return to his original place?

Previously, Chi Xiao and Ming Can had discussed this topic.

If Miaomiao returned to his original world, they would definitely be very sad. At the same time, life would gradually return to its normal course, and they would have more time to do things appropriate for their age, such as studying, working, and improving themselves... So it was a mix of joy and sorrow.

Ming Can didn't know whether what she said to him last night was a joke or genuine.

If his value to her only lay in taking care of the child, then when her life returned to its normal track, would he still be on that track?

"How did you two get up so early?" Ming Can stretched lazily as she appeared at the door of Miaomiao's room. Seeing that Miaomiao was already dressed and his backpack was packed, she blinked twice, looked down at her watch, and confirmed that it was 6:30, not 7:30.

Chi Xiao's thoughts returned, and he walked over to ruffle Ming Can's hair. "You stay with him, I'll go make breakfast."

"Be gentle, I just combed it." Ming Can glared at him. "Whoever messes it up will have to help me comb it again."

Chi Xiao smiled. "No problem."

Saying that, he ruffled her hair a few more times until it resembled a little lion before stopping. Ming Can glared at him fiercely until Chi Xiao withdrew his hand and strolled out of Miaomiao's room. She then retracted her gaze and instantly transformed into a gentle mother, sitting on the bed to play frisbee with Miaomiao and Xiao Xiao.

Miaomiao glanced at her and laughed. "Mom, your hair is all over the place."

"..." Ming Can said, "I'll settle accounts with your dad later."

The mother and son played together for a while. Ming Can seized the opportunity to say, "Baby, Mom is going home for two days this weekend. You have to be good and listen to Dad, and behave in your interest classes, okay?"

"Okay." Miaomiao looked up at Ming Can, waited a moment, and then asked, "Mom, is there something else you want to say?"

Ming Can was taken aback. She indeed had another question for Miaomiao but was hesitant about how to bring it up.

This kid was too perceptive.

"Mom has something to ask you," Ming Can decided and asked, "Do you know if Grandpa and Grandma have any other children besides Mom, like an uncle or an aunt?"

Miaomiao thought for a moment. "There's an uncle, no aunt."

Ming Can couldn't help but feel nervous. "What's the uncle's name? How old is he?"

Seeing Miaomiao's blank expression, Ming Can realized the question was a bit difficult for a child and changed it. "How tall is the uncle?"

Miaomiao could answer this. "He's taller than Mom but shorter than Dad."

"Oh."

Ming Can calculated in her mind. Miaomiao had come back from about thirteen years in the future. If the uncle was Ming Zheng's biological child, he would be at most ten years old, which made it unlikely for a ten-year-old boy to be taller than her. Therefore, the uncle Miaomiao mentioned must be Jiang Yichu's late husband's child.

Ming Can let out a long sigh of relief.

If Miaomiao hadn't remembered incorrectly, then Ming Zheng and his second wife probably hadn't had any other children.

As long as they didn't give her a younger brother or sister, the stepmother's threat to Ming Can would be much smaller. Of course, not having children in another world didn't mean they wouldn't have them in this one, so she still needed to try to prevent that woman from marrying her father.

A smile appeared on Ming Can's face, and she pinched Miaomiao's cheek. "Baby, you're such a smart cookie!"

Miaomiao looked dazed. His mother had only spoken a few words, but he had heard a long string of thoughts with his superpower, filling his head with incomprehensible twists and turns, leaving him, the little fool, feeling both confused and impressed.

Fortunately, in the end, his mother was happy again.

Miaomiao also smiled. "Mom, actually, I wanted to say earlier that your hairstyle looks like Xiao Xiao's. Dad didn't comb its hair today either."

Ming Can: "..."

Brat, I praised you for nothing.

-

Before she knew it, it was Friday. After class, Ming Can got into the car driven by the family driver to pick her up from school and returned to her home in the city under the evening glow.

In the villa, the chef had already prepared dinner, and Ming Zheng was still in a meeting at the company. Ming Can sat alone at the eight-person dining table, quietly thinking about things.

Ming Zheng almost always invited her to spend the weekend at home, and Ming Can had recently been considering probing his intentions, so she agreed to come home.

Chi Xiao's stepmother had returned to the country a few days ago, and it was unclear whether her cousin had returned as well. Ming Can had a hunch that they must have discussed the matters between the Ming and Chi families while abroad. Perhaps because of this, Jiang Yichu and Ming Zheng had gotten in touch and hit it off...

Ming Can propped her chin on one hand and held a spoon in the other, digging into the bowl of seafood porridge. There was a crisp "ding" sound, and she realized the bowl was empty.

"Miss, would you like another bowl?" the servant asked beside her.

"No, thank you." Ming Can wiped her mouth with a napkin and left the dining room.

She went upstairs to her bedroom and stood by the window to digest her food. The room felt stuffy, so she opened the window slightly to let the air circulate.

The cold outdoor wind hit her face, and Ming Can shivered, suddenly remembering something important.

She hurriedly ran into the walk-in closet and bent down to search through a rarely used cabinet containing clothes and accessories from her high school days.

After a short while, she found a plain burgundy wool scarf among various luxury brand scarves.

Without comparing it to the one she had brought home for Miaomiao, Ming Can's intuition told her that this was the scarf Chi Xiao had knitted.

Memories of wearing this lucky scarf during exams in her first year of high school flooded her mind.

Not only that, she even remembered that she had worn this scarf on the day Chi Xiao confessed to her.

In her second year of high school, she had acquired many trendy and beautiful scarves, gradually putting this one aside until she forgot about it.

By late March, spring had arrived, and the city had stopped heating. Fewer people wore scarves.

Ming Can took the scarf to the full-length mirror and carefully wrapped it around her neck.

Then she moved to a well-lit area, found a good angle, and took several selfies.

She selected the prettiest one, opened WeChat, and tapped into the top chat.

The contact’s nickname is quite long; she changed it just last week—AAA Driver Chef Pet Groomer Xiao Chi.

Even now, Ming Can can’t help but laugh when she sees it.

She rubbed her face, her fingertips dancing across the screen as she sent the photo she had just taken.

Sun Moon Volcano: “[Picture]”

Sun Moon Volcano: “New scarf, what do you think?”