"Ah!!"
Early in the morning.
A scream jolted Xu Feng and Xiao Dan awake at the same time.
The father and daughter sat up, dazed.
They saw Lu Fei standing in front of Xu Feng, looking panicked. "Y-you, we, last night—"
Xu Feng sneered inwardly, then put on a pained expression. "Sorry, you were the one who made the first move last night."
Lu Fei staggered, nearly collapsing to the floor, her face deathly pale.
"Last night, you asked me to cultivate dual cultivation with you. I firmly refused, of course. After all, I, Xu Feng, wouldn't just let anyone become Xiao Dan's mother."
Seeing her look as if she'd been struck by lightning, Xu Feng laughed hysterically inside.
Then he stopped scaring her.
She'd been so bold last night. As expected, alcohol gave cowards courage.
What a coward.
Xu Feng rolled off the sofa and headed for the bathroom. "You didn't think something actually happened between us, did you?"
"Sister Lu!" Xiao Dan walked over to Lu Fei, still bleary-eyed. "Are you going to be my mom?"
Lu Fei's face turned bright red. She whipped around and glared at Xu Feng's back.
When she'd woken up that morning, she'd nearly been scared to death.
But once she'd come to her senses,
and put together what Xu Feng had said, she was relieved that things hadn't gone too far.
After her initial annoyance, all she felt was embarrassment.
"What, are you staying for breakfast?"
Xu Feng washed his face, then came over and looked at Lu Fei in surprise.
Lu Fei's face whipped around with a whoosh. She pinched Xiao Dan's cheek. "Don't talk nonsense."
Then she hurried out the door without looking back.
It was so embarrassing.
Her face burned like a monkey's rear end.
She didn't dare look at Xu Feng, or even say another word.
She was a twenty-five-year-old young woman, and she had no idea how she'd dared to do something like that last night.
Had she acted on impulse? Had she gotten carried away?
But why Xu Feng?
"I must've been drunk, but why did I instinctively choose Xu Feng?"
"Could I actually have feelings for him?"
"No, no, no. It must be because I trust Xiao Dan, so I trusted Xu Feng too."
"That must be it!"
As Lu Fei walked, her thoughts surged wildly.
Like a river and sea turned upside down.
By the time she returned to the base, she was still completely dazed.
"What's with her? Ungrateful little thing!"
Seeing Lu Fei leave without so much as a greeting or a thank-you, Xu Feng shook his head in disapproval.
Still, he could understand.
She was a girl, after all. She had her pride.
"Dad, what happened? Why was Sister Lu at our house? What did you two do last night? When will I get a stepmom?"
Once Xiao Dan was fully awake, she followed Xu Feng around like a machine gun, firing questions nonstop.
Xu Feng explained as he washed up.
Then he made breakfast.
But Xiao Dan kept asking questions throughout the meal.
"That's enough!" Xu Feng suddenly picked her up and carried her to the bathroom to comb her troublesome hair. "This topic is over. Don't bring it up again.
"And take this as a lesson, understand? Girls need to protect themselves when they're out!
"Don't be like Teacher Lu, a grown woman who drank herself unconscious.
"If she'd gone to see someone other than me last night—a bad man, for example—she might not have had the chance to regret it."
"Oh."
Seeing Xiao Dan's unconcerned expression,
Xu Feng immediately spoke sternly. "If you ever drink in the middle of the night and knock on some old man's door, I'll break your legs!"
"Yes, yes, I know."
Xiao Dan pouted, thinking her old man was so mean.
She couldn't understand how much he cared about her.
Xu Feng was helpless too.
Sometimes, that girl was as innocent as a child.
Other times, she acted like a little adult.
He always thought she was still young, but sometimes he could talk to her like an adult.
Maybe children in this world just grew up early?
Or maybe it was simply that "the children of poor families mature early."
"Ahem. Now recite the rules for keeping yourself safe!"
Xu Feng sternly displayed his fatherly authority.
Xiao Dan stood obediently in front of the mirror, counting on her fingers. "First, never act on impulse.
"Second, never go alone to the Trading Zone or the Wilderness Zone."
After breakfast,
the father and daughter got ready, and Xu Feng led Xiao Dan out.
The morning air in the Shanty Town was fresh, but mingled with all kinds of odors.
As more and more neighbors appeared, the streets actually became a little cleaner.
A couple of days earlier,
some neighbors had organized themselves and pooled their money to hire Street Cleaning workers to handle sanitation and garbage disposal.
Xu Feng had even paid a hundred yuan toward it.
It seemed like money well spent.
However,
not long after they'd set out, Xu Feng glanced toward an alley at the end of the street.
"Is someone following me, or did they just happen to be passing by?"
Ever since he'd made some progress cultivating the Mind Movement technique, he'd become quite sensitive to people's gazes.
From a distance, he could sense whenever someone looked at him.
Ever since he'd left home that morning, he'd felt as if someone were watching him.
A few times, he'd used the excuse of straightening Xiao Dan's clothes to check.
He'd confirmed at least two suspects.
Still, Xu Feng thought he was just a repairman. Who would be bored enough to watch him all day?
He shook his head and continued walking.
"Dad, there's an uncle who keeps looking at me,"
Xiao Dan suddenly whispered as she moved closer to Xu Feng.
"Hm? You sensed that too?" Xu Feng looked at the little girl in surprise.
Xiao Dan nodded emphatically and gestured as she spoke. "Mm-hmm. I secretly turned around and saw him looking at a controller! I recognize that controller!"
"A controller? What controller?" Xiao Dan's words left Xu Feng confused.
"A controller exactly like the one for the drone at Liu Zixi's house!"
Xiao Dan explained with gestures.
Xu Feng raised an eyebrow.
Liu Zixi was Xiao Dan's classmate, a young boy.
His family was quite wealthy.
He often brought high-tech gadgets to school to show off.
He was so young, yet already up to no good—he only knew how to brag.
"Don't hang out with Liu Zixi so much anymore!" Xu Feng said with a frown.
"Mm-hmm. Don't worry, Dad. I only play with his toys. I don't consider him a friend."
Xiao Dan replied seriously.
Xu Feng was speechless.
After a pause, he hesitated. "Well, isn't that a bit unfair? I don't want you hanging out with him, but taking advantage of a classmate like that..."
"He's the one who offers to let me play with them! He always brings me snacks and gives me toys, but I don't like him."
Xiao Dan explained.
"Oh, right! Xiao Juan likes him, so she hasn't been talking to me lately."
As Xiao Dan kept chattering away about what was happening in her class,
and how she'd been playing with the feelings of a little boy who had a crush on her,
Xu Feng's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
Kids barely into their teens didn't know anything.
What he was really worried about was whether someone was actually watching him.
After dropping Xiao Dan off at school, Xu Feng didn't go straight to work. Instead, he left the base, then returned home.
This time,
he was almost certain that someone was watching him.
But Xu Feng had no idea why they were watching him.
So he didn't panic.
After sending Lu Fei a message from home, he set off for the base again as usual.
He had to stay calm and first make sure he wasn't imagining things.
(The end)
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