Chapter 18: Don’t Call Me Godfather!

After tidying up the backyard house and settling Xiaotong, Shizhi Yan finally felt at ease returning to his room. Along the way, he lightly ran his fingers over the tip of his brush, silently marveling at his stroke of luck tonight. Originally, he had gone to the forbidden zone to hunt down the spirit-devouring beast that had been causing trouble in the county. Yet, he hadn’t caught the beast at all—instead, he unexpectedly rounded up a mother and son duo who were nothing but swindlers, kidnappers, and thieves! How bizarre was that!

But... let’s just call it an unexpected twist during the mission.

Pushing open the door, he saw that in this short time, Ming Xi had already fallen asleep, though the blanket covering her looked rather unsettled.

Shizhi Yan shook his head helplessly and tucked the blanket in around her. He couldn’t even imagine how this reckless girl, who couldn’t even take care of herself properly, could manage being a mother.

Wait! That’s not the main point, is it? The real issue was that there was only one bed in this room, and she had taken up the whole thing—where was he supposed to sleep?

Forget it. No way was he going to sleep on the floor.

With that thought, Shizhi Yan climbed onto the bed, found a spot, and lay down however he could.

...

The next morning.

When Shizhi Yan woke up exhausted, he felt as if he had been under the pressure of a nightmare all night, as though a huge stone had been crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Reluctantly opening his eyes, he realized it wasn’t a giant stone at all—it was Ming Xi, that brazen girl, rudely resting her head on his chest!

Was she really such a restless sleeper? No wonder he had been having nightmares all night.

He was just about to quietly get up, but seeing her so soundly asleep, the thought disappeared.

Rarely did she seem so quiet and obedient. Looking more closely, her features were actually quite delicate, and she had a sweet face... Wait! Why was he staring at her so intently? He was almost being crushed to death!

After a moment, unable to bear it any longer, Shizhi Yan finally decided to gently move Ming Xi’s head away. Unexpectedly, the moment he shifted, the pair of black eyes on his chest slowly opened...

---

As expected, the tragic scene unfolded—

A scream louder than 180 decibels nearly shattered the sky—

“Ahhh! You, Shizhi Yan, bastard! How dare you sleep in the same bed as me?!”

Upon waking and opening her eyes, Ming Xi saw Shizhi Yan lying beneath her, his body pressed closely. She completely freaked out, shouting, “What did you do to me last night?”

Her reaction so early in the morning made Shizhi Yan regret ever rescuing her the night before.

“Where are your thoughts going again? Do I look like that kind of person? And this is my bed, by the way! You were the one pressing against me and kept me up all night. If anyone should be yelling, it’s me!”

“Cut the act of being a gentleman! Who was the one who saw all of me yesterday?”

“That was to heal your wounds!”

“No, no, no! You scoundrel, rogue, and lecherous bastard—”

... Shizhi Yan was utterly defeated! Before he could even protest, Ming Xi had put on an innocent face as if he had stolen her first night!

At that moment, Xiaotong was awakened by the explosive noise in the room. Rubbing her dry eyes, she pushed open the door.

“Mommy, what’s going on? Is something wrong?”

“Son, you’re just in time! Quick! Call him godfather!”

What?! Shizhi Yan nearly spat out foam at the mouth. What on earth was going on?

“Mommy, why do you want me to call Uncle Shizhi ‘godfather’?” Xiaotong really wanted to accept this wealthy father figure, but didn’t understand what was happening.

“Because last night he did a whole series of improper things to mommy, so now there’s no way he can leave us. He must take responsibility for the two of us!”

---

Ming Xi spoke with absolute conviction, leaving Shizhi Yan nearly in chaos. Desperately, he said, “Please! What improper things did I do to you last night? Don’t say such things in front of a child! I just slept with you, and that’s a crime now?”

“It’s more than just sleeping, didn’t you see my body? Didn’t we go to bed together? And this morning, I was still lying on you! Son, don’t you think he should be responsible?”

Xiaotong listened half-understandingly, then seemed to grasp something and looked at Shizhi Yan with confusion.

Shizhi Yan felt like crying but couldn’t, not knowing what kind of madness this girl was spouting so early in the day.

He could only look at Xiaotong and explain, “Little one, don’t listen to your mother’s nonsense! You have to believe that uncle really didn’t—”

“Godfather!!” Before he could finish, Xiaotong joyfully shouted.

Shizhi Yan was utterly defeated. Did he really think Xiaotong would believe him? This mother and son pair... were they scheming together to trap him?

“See? Our son already called you father. You better take good care of the two of us from now on,” Ming Xi smirked, patting Shizhi Yan’s shoulder as if she had scored a huge bargain, dragging out the last three words.

Only then did Shizhi Yan realize Ming Xi’s real intention—she planned to cling to him and never leave!

If they didn’t establish some kind of relationship, Shizhi Yan, as a mere visitor, could easily make her leave once her injuries healed. So this girl had thrown away her dignity and resorted to this desperate ploy!

“Mommy, does that mean I have a godfather now?” Xiaotong’s eyes shone with uncontainable joy. “Godfather! Godfather! Godfather!”

Shizhi Yan helplessly rubbed his forehead, thinking: That damn Ming Xi, misleading a child like this and using such a trick—and I actually fell for it without a word to say! I wonder if she was a fox in her past life!

Just as Shizhi Yan was sulking, he suddenly heard impatient knocking at the front door, each knock more urgent than the last.

“Open up! Open up! Shizhi Yan! We know you’re in there! Hand over Ming Xi immediately, or we’ll break down the door!”