Shocking! A three-year-old brings his aloof mother to their door.

The little guy called out a few times in the living room, but no one responded.

"No need to look anymore," He Wanqing's voice came from behind. She had taken off her coat, making her figure appear even thinner. "Uncle Zhou went back to my parents' place. From now on, you'll be taking care of Tongtong on weekends." She looked at Mo Ye, her tone stating rather than asking.

Mo Ye immediately nodded: "No problem." This was his responsibility.

When Tongtong heard that Grandpa Zhou wasn't coming, a hint of disappointment flashed across her little face, but it was quickly replaced by the joy of "Daddy taking care of her," and she became excited again.

It turns out that Zhou Yuanchao was sent by He Wanqing's mother, Lin Shuya, to take care of Tongtong and report on the situation at any time.

Because of Tongtong's existence, He Wanqing's relationship with her father He Yanzhou broke down, and Lin Shuya was caught in the middle, unable to do anything but secretly visit her granddaughter.

Now that Mo Ye has appeared, He Wanqing found a pretext to temporarily recall Zhou Yuanchao, which not only avoided too much explanation but also subtly conveyed a certain message to her mother.

The family of three was talking when the doorbell rang.

Mo Ye walked over and opened the door. There stood a young man and a young woman, dressed neatly with professional smiles on their faces, but their brows betrayed a hint of weariness.

"Hello, we are staff members invited by Mr. He to assist with the marriage registration procedures," the man said politely, his tone respectful.

Mo Ye froze on the spot.

Should we move the Civil Affairs Bureau back home?

He subconsciously glanced back at He Wanqing, who stood aloof and composed in the room, and was shocked: Is this the power of capital?

The next fifteen minutes took place in this minimalist living room, where what was perhaps the most efficient, and also the least romantic, marriage registration process.

Forms, signatures, stamps... the process was meticulous, but it lacked the warmth that should have been there.

When the two brand-new, red marriage certificates, still smelling of ink, were handed to them, Mo Ye and He Wanqing both looked somewhat stiff.

In the photo, the two sit side by side, but there seems to be an invisible chasm between them. They look more like strangers forced to be in the same frame than newlyweds.

"Daddy! Let me see!" Tongtong tugged at Mo Ye's trouser leg impatiently, stood on tiptoe, her little face full of longing.

Mo Ye bent down and handed her the marriage certificate.

The little one was overjoyed, carefully flipping through the book. Looking at the group photo, her big eyes sparkled. Then she tilted her head back and made a new request: "Mommy and Daddy have a photo together! Tongtong wants one too! A photo of all three of us together!"

Faced with his daughter's expectant gaze, Mo Ye couldn't refuse.

He asked the two staff members to help him take the first family photo of the "three of them" with their phones.

In the picture, Tongtong is held firmly in Moye's arms, smiling so hard that her eyes are almost closed. She has one arm around her father's neck and the other is trying to pull her mother's hand.

Mo Ye's face showed a hint of helplessness, but it was also warmed by the joy of the daughter in his arms.

He Wanqing remained standing straight, her expression aloof, but in the instant the camera captured her, her gaze seemed to soften almost imperceptibly for a moment.

With the formalities completed, the two staff members breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave.

"Thank you for your hard work." Mo Ye quickly grabbed two bottles of mineral water from the kitchen and handed them over, then escorted them to the door, his manners natural and considerate.

After walking a short distance from the villa, the young woman finally couldn't contain herself and excitedly whispered to her companion, "Wow! Did you see that?! The whole family of three is incredibly good-looking! Especially the little baby, he's so adorable! I love him!"

The man next to him smiled helplessly and reminded him, "Stop your infatuation. Keep what happened today to yourself after you leave this room. Otherwise, do you still want your job?"

"Okay, okay!" The girl stuck out her tongue, her face still flushed with excitement.

Inside the villa, Tongtong was absolutely fascinated by the newly released "family photo" video, watching it repeatedly on her phone, muttering to herself, "Daddy, Mommy, Tongtong..."

The red marriage certificate lay on the cold coffee table. Mo Ye looked at his nominal wife and excited daughter beside him, feeling as if it were all a dream.

Outside the Qingzhuyuan Villa, dark clouds had gathered overhead.

Large raindrops began to fall without warning, pattering against the windowpane and setting the stage for a summer night downpour.

Tongtong was sitting on the carpet playing with her new doll when her little ears twitched. She immediately grabbed the chubby doll and ran to the French windows, stood on tiptoe, and curiously looked at the dark sky outside.

"Dad, it's raining!"

No sooner had the words left her lips than a thunderclap boomed, and a silvery-white lightning bolt ripped through the night like a sharp sword, instantly illuminating Tongtong's astonished face.

"Wow! The heavens are sneezing again!" She interpreted natural phenomena in her own way.

Mo Ye and He Wanqing exchanged a smile as they watched her enjoying herself, and did not disturb her.

Just then, Mo Ye's phone rang at an inopportune moment; it was a voice message from Pang Siyi.

The moment he clicked, Pang Siyi's booming voice rang out: "Old Mo! Who's that little dumpling? I've never seen him before..."

Mo Ye hurriedly cut off the voice message, guiltily raising his eyes to meet He Wanqing's questioning gaze.

He quickly lowered his head, pretending nothing had happened, and silently converted the speech into text.

The text was even more direct: "Old Mo! Who is that little girl? How can she be so cute! You actually kept her hidden! That's so unfair!" Su Qianyue's muffled agreement could be heard in the background.

Mo Ye sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. It seemed that the image of him holding Tongtong on campus had once again been posted on the forum by a "helpful alumnus".

People are afraid of becoming famous, just like pigs are afraid of getting fat; they have no privacy at all.

He replied with three words: "My daughter."

Pang Siyi instantly replied with an extremely disgusted emoji, followed immediately by a message: "Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror! You can have such a cute daughter? You're kidding me! You can eat so well, I'll livestream myself eating three pounds of shit!"

Mo Ye was speechless. What was wrong with his genes?

Is it wrong for a daughter to resemble her mother?

These days, nobody believes you when you tell the truth, but people keep asking you questions when you tell a lie.

He was too lazy to argue and casually replied, "A distant relative's child."

Pang Siyi sent him a "That's more like it" emoji, and earnestly "educated" him: "Don't randomly adopt daughters, or you'll get a beating from their father! You swore back then that marriage certificates, those cheap 'nine-dollar nine-nine' things, are never good. If you have a daughter this big, I'll despise you for life!"

Mo Ye subconsciously touched the red booklet in his pocket, his fingertips brushing against the stiff cover, and thought to himself: It doesn't matter if it's "good stuff" or not, as long as it's "good stuff".

Pang Siyi sent another cheeky, seductive emoji: "When are you bringing it out for me to play with?"