3. Date!
“Mom, Qian Qian is full.”
Children don’t have a big appetite.
Jiang Zhi glanced at the fried rice in the bowl, still a large portion left.
“Wasting food is not good.”
Su Ziqian let out a soft huff: “Isn’t mom the same…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Jiang Zhi had a helpless expression.
He had completely lost to this little one.
What on earth had his parallel world self done in front of Qian Qian!
“Forget it, you can go play by yourself.”
“Yay!”
The little girl bounced over to the sofa, her feet swinging in the air.
It was clear she was very happy.
“Mom, Qian Qian wants a Mischievous Dragon!”
“What?”
Jiang Zhi, who was checking something on his phone, didn’t hear clearly.
Mischievous what?
“It’s Qian Qian’s toy! The Mischievous Dragon is a big star on TV!”
Su Ziqian said crisply: “Dad bought it for Qian Qian!”
Dad? That Su Yan?
Jiang Zhi understood, that dragon must be a cartoon character from the parallel world.
But it doesn’t exist in this world!
Looking at Qian Qian’s expectant little eyes, Jiang Zhi didn’t expect her to understand.
“Why don’t you go watch some TV?”
Jiang Zhi suggested.
“Really?”
Su Ziqian’s eyes lit up immediately.
But soon, she asked in confusion: “Didn’t mom say Qian Qian can’t watch TV?”
Jiang Zhi twitched his lips.
“That was before, now you can watch.”
“Yay!”
The little girl laughed and picked up the remote from the living room table.
The TV immediately displayed the familiar story of two bears and a bald man.
“Bears!”
Su Ziqian’s cute voice mixed with the sounds of the animation.
“Do I usually seem very strict with you, dear?”
Jiang Zhi instinctively wanted to know more about Qian Qian.
Even though it was a parallel world, she was still his daughter.
At least that bond of kinship still existed, even crossing worlds.
“Yes, yes.”
Su Ziqian pouted: “Mom always doesn’t let me do this or that.”
Jiang Zhi asked: “What about Dad?”
“Dad is really good to me, whatever I want, Dad buys for me!”
“But…”
Qian Qian paused and turned to Jiang Zhi: “Qian Qian still likes Mom the most!”
The little girl’s tone was full of pride and loyalty.
It seems that the parallel world version of himself indeed built a happy family.
“Mom, don’t you think Bear Two is very cute?”
“Ah? Not as cute as you.”
“Mom promised to buy me a Bear Two pillow before!”
“Is, is that so…”
By the way, does the parallel world also have Bear Infestation? Truly the brilliance of national animation!
“Mom…”
Tsk.
Something still feels off.
Jiang Zhi cleared his throat: “Qian Qian, can we discuss something?”
“Hmm?”
“Why don’t you just call me Dad from now on?”
He meant, since Qian Qian didn’t want to call him brother, calling him Dad wouldn’t be a problem either.
Calling him Mom, he really couldn’t accept!
“No, no, just call Mom, Mom is Mom!”
Su Ziqian shook her head repeatedly, her ponytail dancing playfully.
Jiang Zhi: …….
There was no helping it; he would have to let her call him that for now.
He didn’t ask more.
While Qian Qian was watching TV, he secretly tugged at one of her hair strands.
He planned to go for a paternity test later.
Even though Jiang Zhi’s heart was already clear, he was still a bit curious.
Would the daughter from the parallel world also be biologically related to him?
He had already checked the procedure for a paternity test on his phone.
It cost 1,200 yuan for one test, which was bearable.
If he sent it for testing in the afternoon, the results would probably be available by tomorrow afternoon.
(For plot reasons, regular paternity tests typically take at least three days.)
Jiang Zhi wasn’t a procrastinator.
The sooner he did it, the better.
He was preparing to go for the test, but looking at Qian Qian on the sofa, he still felt uneasy.
Mainly because he had never taken care of a child!
Leaving such a small child at home alone—could he really do that?
“Qian Qian, I need to go out for a bit, you stay here and be good, okay?”
“Hey~ Qian Qian wants to go too!”
As soon as the little girl heard her mother was leaving her alone at home, she immediately became unhappy.
She had finally found her mom, and she didn’t want to be separated from her!
“Be good.”
“No way, no way! Qian Qian wants to go!”
Su Ziqian activated the special tantrum mode of a six-year-old.
The corners of the little girl’s lips drooped noticeably, her voice pitifully soft and tender, and her eyes even produced a few tears.
Jiang Zhi found it hard to bear seeing his daughter looking so pitiful.
He thought of his past self.
When he was at the orphanage, he would often throw tantrums like this, and usually at that point, he would get punished.
But how could this little girl in front of him be anything but lovable?
He smiled: “How about this, I will bring back lollipops for Qian Qian when I come home, okay?”
“… No.”
“Two lollipops!”
“Hey? Two… Two lollipops?”
Su Ziqian was stunned for a moment, and after a while, she finally nodded with difficulty: “Well, okay then.”
“Mom cannot lie to Qian Qian!”
Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle: “If I say two, then it’s two. Adults never lie.”
To be honest…
Can two lollipops really solve everything?
He had prepared for the price to go up, ah, but kids are just kids.
“Goodbye, Mom! Be back early!”
“Hmm.”
Jiang Zhi took the prepared hair and left the house.
The midday sun was slightly blinding.
Summer in Zaoc City was like a big steamer, so Jiang Zhi didn’t particularly like summer.
But summer beauties in shorts and skirts were another matter!
As he watched a girl in JK uniform walk by on the street, Jiang Zhi activated his self-score and set a rating.
80 points.
The figure was okay, but the looks needed improvement; why wear black stockings with JK?
White stockings, white stockings are the way to go!
“Time-traveling clock~”
Just as Jiang Zhi was lamenting, his phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and saw the name.
His previously quiet little heart instantly raced.
Lin Shuwan.
She attended the same university as him.
And she was also the crush Jiang Zhi had been thinking about.
The two met during military training when the class selected a monitor and a deputy monitor.
By coincidence, they were Jiang Zhi and Lin Shuwan.
Through that time together, Jiang Zhi gradually developed feelings for her.
Actually, Lin Shuwan wasn’t particularly good-looking.
In fact, when they stood together, Jiang Zhi’s looks were more memorable.
But Jiang Zhi found himself attracted to Lin Shuwan.
He just felt that Lin Shuwan was gentle, with long, slender legs, and he wanted to date her.
“Jiang Zhi?”
A delicate and gentle voice came from the other end of the line.
Jiang Zhi cleared his throat and smiled slightly: “What’s up? Looking for me for something?”
“Um… Nothing much, just wanted to ask what you’re doing…”
“I’m doing a paternity test.”
“Thud!”
A sound of something dropping to the ground came from the other end.
Lin Shuwan’s voice trembled slightly: “Paternity… paternity test?”
“Yes.”
“With whom?”
“Who else could it be? Of course, it’s with my daughter!”
“Y-You have a daughter?”
“Yeah, she’s six years old this year.”
“……”
“How about it? V me 500? Paternity tests are quite expensive.”
On the other end, there was silence.
After a while, Lin Shuwan’s exasperated voice came through: “You’re crazy!”
Jiang Zhi replied innocently: “I’m not joking, I really have a daughter.”
In this day and age, do you still get scolded for telling the truth?
“I’m not talking to you anymore!”
After saying that, Lin Shuwan hung up angrily.
Though the call ended, Jiang Zhi hadn’t put away his phone when he received a WeChat notification.
Wan: Let’s have lunch together tomorrow.
Wan: Old place, Campus Entrance Restaurant.
Wan: No refusal!
Jiang Zhi showed a silly smile and replied with an acknowledgment emoji.
He wasn’t stupid.
His grades were good, and he wasn’t an emotional fool either.
He could naturally tell that Lin Shuwan also had feelings for him.
The two were now in an ambiguous stage, a relationship that was more than friends but less than lovers.
Jiang Zhi wasn’t in a hurry, he would wait a bit longer for the right moment to confess.
Keep working hard.
Jiang Zhi silently cheered for himself, anticipating his future wife.
However…
It seemed he would have to leave Qian Qian home alone again tomorrow afternoon.
Thinking of Qian Qian’s wronged little expression, Jiang Zhi felt a bit guilty.
He decided.
He would bring her three lollipops!
No matter what, his date could not be delayed!
But he would still have to explain Qian Qian’s existence to Lin Shuwan, right?
Not only that.
Su Ziqian had crossed over; she was undoubtedly an unregistered person in this world.
Household registration, identity, schooling… all of these were issues.
Jiang Zhi couldn’t just ignore Qian Qian, even if she was only the daughter of his parallel world self.
But he remained optimistic.
As long as the mindset stayed strong, there were always more solutions than problems.
What Jiang Zhi was really concerned about was indeed his date tomorrow.
It was not easy for Lin Shuwan to invite him out, so he had to treat her well.
As for not showing up…
Hey! Don’t even mention not showing up!
Let’s all chant “Brother Jiang is awesome!”
Tomorrow, even if it thunderstorms or pours, he would crawl to the date!
