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

Professor Chen's office is on the third floor of the laboratory building. The corridor is quiet, with only the occasional sound of instruments running from one of the laboratories.

Arriving at the familiar dark brown wooden door, Mo Ye handed the bag he was carrying to Tongtong:

"Tongtong, can you knock on the door?"

Tongtong nodded vigorously and slid down from her father's arms.

She straightened her little skirt, then tiptoed to try and fix her sticking-out tuft of hair—though it didn't really work—before walking to the door with her short legs, she stretched out her little fist and knocked three times earnestly.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A crisp knock echoed down the corridor.

A gentle male voice came from inside: "Please come in."

It's Professor Chen.

Tongtong's eyes lit up, and she called out in her childish voice, "Grandpa Chen! It's Tongtong!"

Before the words were even finished, the sound of a chair being pushed back hurriedly came from the office, followed by slightly flustered footsteps.

Hearing the noise, Tongtong immediately reached out her little hand to touch the doorknob—only to tragically discover that she couldn't reach it even when she stood on tiptoe.

The little girl paused for a moment, then jumped again, but still couldn't reach it.

She turned her head away, looking aggrieved, her little mouth slightly pouting: "Daddy... Tongtong can't reach it..."

Mo Ye suppressed a laugh and pointed to the door: "Wait, Grandpa Chen will open it for Tongtong..."

Before the word "door" could even be uttered, the office door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.

Professor Chen's refined and gentle face appeared at the door.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, a neat shirt and trousers, and looked every bit the scholar.

At this moment, the professor, who was highly respected in the academic world, had an undisguised joy on his face, and his eyes curved into crescents.

"Tongtong! It really is Tongtong!" Professor Chen completely ignored Mo Ye outside the door, squatted down and pulled the little dumpling into his arms.

"Let Grandpa see, have you grown taller again?"

Tongtong stumbled as she was pulled, then threw herself into Professor Chen's arms, giggling, "Grandpa Chen! Tongtong has a present for you!"

"Oh my, Tongtong even brought a gift for Grandpa?" Professor Chen grinned from ear to ear, completely unaware that there was someone standing at the door.

Just as Mo Ye was about to greet him, he saw Professor Chen carrying Tongtong, moving with lightning speed—

"Bang!"

The office door was slammed shut.

Immediately following was a clear "click" sound of the door locking.

Mo Ye: "..."

He stood frozen at the doorway, unable to react for a full three seconds.

Then, Professor Chen's voice, clearly tinged with pleasure, came from inside the door:

"Mo Ye, you should go back now! I'll take care of Tongtong for the day, and I'll bring her back to you tonight!"

Mo Ye then came to his senses and was immediately at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He pounded on the door, raising his voice, "Professor Chen! Old Chen! Open the door! Child trafficking is illegal!"

The shout was particularly loud in the quiet corridor.

The doors of several nearby laboratories quietly opened a crack, and a few students peeked out.

Upon seeing that it was Mo Ye knocking on Professor Chen's door, and hearing the outrageous accusation of "child trafficking," they all covered their mouths and shrugged, clearly trying their best to suppress their laughter.

Mo Ye noticed the commotion, his face flushed slightly, and he quickly lowered his voice: "Old man, stop fooling around, open the door."

There was silence inside the door for a few seconds.

Then, with a "click," the door lock opened. Professor Chen opened the door, a triumphant smile on his face, but he feigned seriousness:

"You brat, how dare you call me an old man? You think I won't give you a zero for your coursework this semester?"

Mo Ye breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the door open, and then pouted, "I'll just get a perfect score on my final exam."

Professor Chen pushed up his glasses, a glint of shrewdness flashing behind the lenses:

"Oh? How about I adjust the weighting of my coursework grade to 60% this semester?"

Mo Ye: "...Professor, you're settling a personal score."

Professor Chen smiled and said, "Really? I call this individualized instruction, flexibly adjusting the assessment methods."

He choked for a moment, his mind racing:

Why would an old man steam goose hearts in such a dirty way?

This is ridiculous!

You're using this to settle personal scores!

This is an insult to civility!

Where is your professional ethics?!

Where is your professorial integrity?!

Professor Chen seemed to see through his inner turmoil, waved his hand, and said in a relaxed tone:

"I'm not interested in those empty titles. Anyway, I've received almost all the honors I could in my life, so it's no big deal to 'abuse my power' occasionally."

Mo Ye pursed his lips and didn't refute it anymore—this old man, though he loved to joke.

But he is indeed academically accomplished; otherwise, he could not have become one of S University's flagship professors at such a young age.

He squeezed into the office and saw that Tongtong was already sitting obediently on the guest sofa.

Her short legs dangled in the air as she gazed longingly at the mango pomelo sago she had brought on the coffee table.

Professor Chen's office is very spacious, with one wall being a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf filled with all kinds of professional books and documents;

On the other wall hung several calligraphy and paintings, exuding an elegant atmosphere.

There were several stacks of papers and materials on the desk, but they were arranged fairly neatly.

"Tongtong, the cake is a gift for Grandpa Chen. Why did you take a liking to it first?" Mo Ye teased.

Tongtong blushed and whispered in protest, "Tongtong didn't want to eat it... Tongtong just wanted to see if the mango pomelo sago looked good..."

Professor Chen laughed heartily, walked over and sat down next to Tongtong, and personally opened the box of mango pomelo sago.

"Did Tongtong do this with her father?" Professor Chen asked gently.

"And Mommy!" Tongtong immediately added, her little face full of pride. "Mommy cut the fruit, and Tongtong... Tongtong helped Daddy peel the fruit!"

Professor Chen still gave her a thumbs up: "Tongtong is really amazing! She's so young and already knows how to help her parents with chores."

He picked one up and deliberately waved it in front of Tongtong: "Grandpa, would you like to have one first?"

Tongtong stared longingly at the mango pomelo sago dessert, her little mouth unconsciously pursing, but she still nodded vigorously:

"Grandpa Chen, eat! Tongtong brought it!"

Professor Chen smiled, took a bite, savored it carefully, and then exclaimed sincerely:

"Mmm! Sweet but not cloying, with a smooth texture and fresh fruit—Mo Ye, your skills are impressive, it's a shame you don't open a shop."

Mo Ye sat down on a chair next to him and shrugged: "Doing it occasionally is fine, but opening a shop is out of the question. I can't afford to serve them."

As Professor Chen ate his mango pomelo sago, he looked at Tongtong, who was sitting obediently beside him. His gaze softened, then became tinged with a complex emotion.

He taught his whole life, mentoring countless students, many of whom were exceptionally gifted and accomplished.

But for some reason, he just can't teach his grandson well.

Then look at Tongtong. She's only three years old, but she already knows how to share and helps her parents with chores. She's so well-behaved and sensible that it breaks your heart.

"Sigh..." Professor Chen sighed unconsciously.

Tongtong was sipping the warm water Grandpa Chen had poured for her when she heard the sigh. She looked up at him, her big, dark eyes filled with concern.

"Grandpa Chen, what's wrong? Isn't the mango pomelo sago delicious?"

Professor Chen snapped out of his reverie and quickly forced a smile:

"No, no, the mango pomelo sago is especially delicious. Grandpa just... remembered something."

He gently stroked Tongtong's soft hair, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked, half-jokingly:

"Tongtong, what color burlap sack do you like?"

........