Chapter 173

Words : 1288 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Fortunately, Chen Mo was there to intervene. Otherwise, Ji Nian, who had been separated from her father for a few days, would have received a "lesson in love." You could say Ji Tingzhou had a bad temper, that his personality was flawed, that he was erratic and moody. Most of the time, he himself would dismiss such claims with a scoff. But. You could never say he wasn’t good-looking. Ji Tingzhou was so angry that he didn’t speak to Ji Nian the entire way. Feeling guilty, Ji Nian scratched her hair, missing the fleeting smile in Chen Mo’s eyes. He smiled because he knew Ji Nian had done it for him. “The person’s been caught. Ji Nian, are you going to move back now?” Not wanting to make the child feel torn, Chen Mo brought up the topic himself. As soon as he said this, Ji Tingzhou, who had been angrily looking away, brushed some dust off his clothes. “Hmm.” Hearing her response, Ji Tingzhou casually tugged at the corner of his lips. “But leave your things here.” Ji Nian blinked at Chen Mo. “After all, I’ll still come back to play.” Chen Mo agreed, saying Ji Nian could come whenever she wanted. Speaking of plans, it’s impossible not to mention what had happened before— In fact, the father and daughter, who had disagreed, were indeed arguing at the time. Running away from home had been Ji Nian’s spur-of-the-moment decision. But they made up that very night. The reconciliation happened at Chen Mo’s house. At the time, Ji Nian had just finished dinner and was accompanying Chen Mo during his rehabilitation. The room had handrails installed on the walls, and he was slowly walking, holding onto them as he stood up from his wheelchair. “Go play. You don’t have to stay with me. It’s boring.” Chen Mo exhaled, stopping to look at Ji Nian beside him. Ji Nian said it was fine; she didn’t have anything else to do. Besides... Glancing at Chen Mo struggling to walk, Ji Nian finally understood something. No wonder Algernon didn’t like moving back then. Even taking two steps could make it trip over itself. Turns out it just didn’t know how to use all four legs. Unaware that Ji Nian had finally solved her years-long confusion and was now looking at him with pity, Chen Mo was touched by the child’s thoughtfulness. After accompanying Chen Mo through his exercises, they chatted for a while, touching on a topic he had previously avoided—his parents. “They’re still around. I just haven’t had the courage to go back... If you’d like, I can take you to meet your grandparents.” From the way Chen Mo spoke, it seemed there was more to the story. Soon, it was time for Ji Nian to sleep. She returned to the room Chen Mo had prepared for her, only to open the door and find— A man sitting on the soft, pastel-pink sofa. The child-sized sofa was a bit too small for him, leaving his legs cramped. He held a rabbit plushie in his hands, looking utterly unimpressed. Hearing the door open, he glanced over. His emerald-green eyes landed on Ji Nian’s pajamas, and his expression clearly conveyed, “What an ugly thing.” Ji Nian: “......” She silently closed the door. She must have opened it wrong. There was no way Ji Tingzhou was here. Staring at the patterns on the door for a few seconds, Ji Nian cautiously opened it again. And there he was, those familiar emerald-green eyes meeting hers once more. He gave her a slight smile, the curve of his lips softening the intimidating aura he usually carried. “Do I need to invite you in?” Though his words weren’t exactly kind. Confirming it was indeed Ji Tingzhou and not some monster, Ji Nian walked in, utterly baffled. “Dad, how did you get in?” If Ji Tingzhou was here, how could Chen Mo not have told her? Wait, did Chen Mo even know? “I walked in. Unless you think I crawled out of the toilet.” So shocked, Ji Nian momentarily forgot she was supposed to be mad at him and actually glanced toward the bathroom. The silence that followed made Ji Nian realize her reaction was off, and the atmosphere grew awkward. Ji Tingzhou, however, remained calm—perhaps because, as an adult, he couldn’t let himself lose face to a child. He motioned for Ji Nian to sit beside him. He acted as if he owned the place, even though it wasn’t his room. Once Ji Nian sat down like a well-behaved student, Ji Tingzhou tossed something onto the table. It was her eye mask. She must have been in such a hurry when she left that she only remembered to take her pillow and forgot the eye mask. The ones on the market were too big, and even children’s sizes didn’t fit her properly. Ji Tingzhou had ended up sewing one for her himself. It had a faint hypnotic scent, which she loved, and it always accompanied her wherever she went. “You forgot this.” It seemed he had come just to deliver a small eye mask. Ji Tingzhou stood up, ready to leave. As he pulled his hand back, Ji Nian caught a glimpse of a loose jade bead on his sleeve, dangling precariously. This wasn’t like Ji Tingzhou. Normally, his sharp eyes would catch even the tiniest thread out of place. How could he have missed a loose bead on his sleeve? Either he noticed but didn’t have time to fix it, or something else had distracted him. Either way, it made Ji Nian feel a little better. [I never thought the princess would take the initiative to lower her head...] Usually, it was Ji Nian who had to coax him. “Dad... let’s talk.” Ji Nian followed him, reaching out to grab his sleeve. The already loose bead fell off with a soft ‘plop.’ Ji Tingzhou looked down at his frayed sleeve, then at Ji Nian. Ji Nian kept a straight face. “I swear, it was already about to fall off.” Ji Tingzhou’s eyes narrowed, his eyelid twitching slightly. After a few seconds of staring at Ji Nian, he actually turned back and sat down again. He looked as composed as ever. “Go on. What do you want to talk about?” As if Ji Nian had begged him to stay. “Dad, since we can’t agree, how about we compromise?” She crossed her arms and crossed her legs, trying to look mature. Even though her feet didn’t reach the ground. Their conflict stemmed from Ji Tingzhou not wanting Ji Nian to put herself in danger, while Ji Nian didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity. So, she proposed a middle ground. Hearing this, Ji Tingzhou raised an eyebrow. “What do you suggest?” Ji Nian shared the idea that had come to her after school. She wanted Ji Tingzhou to help her stage a scene to catch the person they were after. Ji Tingzhou frowned. “What’s the difference between catching them directly and putting on a show first?” Ji Nian had her reasoning ready. “This way, we can figure out their motives and trace the clues back to whoever’s behind them. If we just grab them, they might escape or even kill themselves, which would only alert the others.” Despite her small size, she spoke with the seriousness of an adult, laying out the pros and cons logically. “And most importantly, if you’re worried about me, you can keep an eye on me yourself.” At ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍the word “yourself,” Ji Tingzhou finally showed some interest. “Oh?”

Chapter 173

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