Call Me Godfather

In an old Gotham apartment.

Li Ang and Harley Quinn stared each other down.

Harley Quinn was very direct, openly admitting that she was not a good person.

And what she said... Li Ang found it quite reasonable.

Still, Li Ang had some moral boundaries.

"Darling, don't hesitate."

Harley Quinn knew he was already wavering.

"Think about the kids' formula money. And they're both girls—they need dolls and pretty dresses. How can we manage without money?"

Although America did not have the saying, "raise boys poor and girls rich."

Everyone in the world understood it.

And with daughters this beautiful, could he really bear to let them live in hardship?

Li Ang found it quite reasonable.

"You don't need to show up. Just let me handle it."

Harley Quinn continued to tempt him. "Besides, if we don't take over the Upper Eastside, someone else will. Gotham has always been like this. If you don't do it, plenty of others will. Gangs will never disappear!"

Her words made Li Ang realize something.

A smile curled at the corner of Li Ang's mouth. "That was your plan from the start, wasn't it?"

"When did you start plotting?"

"The moment you met me? Or even earlier?"

Hearing Li Ang's words, Harley Quinn actually blushed a little.

She had been seen through!

But so what?

"Darling~"

Harley Quinn began acting cute.

"Fine."

Li Ang said, "Only you can go. Don't corrupt Kara and Ciri."

His icy eyes fixed on Harley Quinn.

Kara was his reverse scale.

If Kara had not pleaded for her, Harley Quinn would have been driven away by Li Ang long ago.

"Got it."

Harley Quinn was startled by his cold gaze.

Then she asked awkwardly, "What if someone bullies me and I can't beat them?"

Harley Quinn had grown used to having someone backing her up.

She wanted Kara to step in.

But how could Li Ang possibly agree?

Li Ang said righteously, "Can't you call the police?"

"Commissioner Gordon is a very good man. He can't tolerate the slightest wrongdoing, just like me—he hates evil with a passion!"

"That'd be so boring..."

Harley Quinn muttered, but she did not dare say anything else after seeing Li Ang's expression.

And so it was settled.

She had never been the sort of person who could sit still.

It was impossible to make Harley Quinn stay home, serve her husband, and raise children.

Besides, Li Ang really was short on money.

Penguin's meager salary was only enough to support one Kara.

But now the household had suddenly doubled in size.

A family of two had become a family of four!

Under normal circumstances, if Li Ang wanted to support this family of four, he would have to work two jobs every day like everyone else in America.

Even then, they might not live well. At best, they would barely have enough to eat.

And having Harley Quinn get a job was even more impossible.

She was Harley Quinn, notorious throughout Gotham.

So it was better to let her do what she knew how to do.

For the sake of supporting the family, this was a helpless choice.

"Ciri, are you done washing up?"

At that moment, Kara heard that the bathroom had gone quiet and came out with some clothes.

Li Ang and Harley Quinn stopped talking as well.

Although they knew Kara had heard them, she was a good girl.

These were adult matters.

"I'm done."

Ciri's voice came from the bathroom.

Although the bathroom was shabby, to Ciri, who had never seen anything like it, it was advanced technology.

She had gotten so absorbed in it that she had taken a long time washing.

"I'll pass you the clothes."

Kara carefully opened the door a crack and handed the clothes inside.

Fortunately, their clothes were about the same size. After taking a look, Ciri finally figured out how to put them on.

After quite a while, the bathroom door opened, and the clean Ciri finally appeared before everyone.

Ciri no longer looked as bedraggled as before.

She wore Kara's dress, a new one Kara had bought but never worn.

The grime on her body had been washed away, revealing skin as white as snow, soft and delicate. Combined with her identity, she reminded Li Ang of a certain fairy tale.

Snow White.

This was true skin as white as snow, not the Disney remake where her heart was like snow.

Of course, Ciri's defining features were her silver-white hair and emerald-green eyes that gleamed like gems.

At that moment, Harley Quinn could no longer call her an ugly girl.

Though Ciri's world was like the Middle Ages, she was still a princess.

"Wow, you're so pretty."

Looking at Ciri, who was like a Barbie doll, Kara felt as though she had gained a "real-life figurine."

How could those dolls compare to Ciri?

"You're pretty too."

Ciri lowered her head shyly.

She had come alone to an unfamiliar world, and everything around her was strange, making her feel shy.

"Come over here."

Li Ang called the two girls over, then took out water and bread.

They always kept those at home.

Kara was already sick of eating them.

But Ciri swallowed hard.

Li Ang handed them to Ciri.

"For me?"

Ciri was a little cautious.

Li Ang reached out, wanting to pat her head, but Ciri flinched away.

Seeing that, Li Ang withdrew his hand and said, "You did call me Godfather, after all. Of course it's for you."

"Eat slowly. Don't choke."

Ciri could no longer hold back.

Those damned people had not given her much to eat. They had only made sure she did not starve to death, and she had barely had any water. She was already starving.

"Delicious!"

After one bite of bread, though it was only ordinary toast, Ciri was still pleasantly surprised.

After all, most people in Cintra ate black bread...

Then, because her throat was too dry, she choked.

"Cough, cough!"

"Quick, drink some water."

For some reason, Kara felt heartache for her. She hurriedly patted Ciri on the back.

Harley Quinn curled her lip. She was practically a refugee.

Once Ciri had eaten a little, Li Ang finally asked, "Ciri, how old are you?"

Ciri thought for a moment, then said with certainty, "I'm almost twelve."

Almost twelve meant that, strictly speaking, she was only a little over eleven.

Li Ang knew she did not want people to think she was a burden.

So Li Ang smiled. "Kara is a few years older than you. How about she becomes your big sister?"

Hearing that, Ciri looked at Kara. Kara looked back at her, and both girls nodded.

"Okay."

Kara was also happy to have a younger sister.

She felt deeply sympathetic toward Ciri now.

To understand what was going on, Li Ang continued asking Ciri questions.

"Ciri, can you tell us about what happened to you?"

Ciri was clearly reluctant. Thinking about the past frightened her.

It clung to her like a nightmare.

But under everyone's encouraging gazes, she slowly began to speak.

"Okay... Godfather."

Ciri did not know what else to call him, so she addressed Li Ang the same way Kara did.

Li Ang immediately smiled. "Since you call me Godfather, then from now on, you're my goddaughter too."

Ciri did not understand what that meant, but Li Ang was willing to take her in, and she liked this place, so she nodded.

She wanted a safe haven too.

And from what she could see, Li Ang, her godfather, was kind, and Kara, her sister, was friendly.

Only Harley Quinn seemed a little strange, like a circus clown...