"You...!"
Zhou Chen's eyes trembled, the worldview he had built over the years crumbling in that moment.
"Are you really a mountain spirit?"
Lin Zhilan touched the petal, turning back to look at Zhou Chen. "Do you think an ordinary person could do something like this?"
"Since you're a mountain spirit," Zhou Chen's voice came out dry and hoarse, "why would you still marry someone?"
Lin Zhilan blinked and began to spout nonsense.
"I finally get to experience the mortal world for a bit. What's wrong with finding a man to have some fun with?"
Zhou Chen fell silent, starting to believe that the woman before him might really not be human.
He still didn't believe in the existence of mountain spirits in this world, but he couldn't find any other explanation for what he had just witnessed.
"Aren't you afraid I'll tell others?"
Lin Zhilan laughed. "Do you have any proof? You're just a patient who just recovered. If you go around spreading rumors, people will only think you're mentally unstable. It won't do you any good."
Zhou Chen was at a loss for words.
After a moment, Zhou Chen finally spoke. "I don't care where you came from. I'm taking Linlin away now."
"Impossible!" Lin Zhilan blurted out. "I told you, I won't stop you from visiting her, but I will absolutely never agree to you taking my daughter away."
"I'm her biological father!"
"But her biological mother entrusted her to me. Where were you back then?"
Zhou Chen was left speechless again.
Lin Zhilan sat down, abandoning any pretense of sympathy, and slapped the table right in front of Zhou Chen. "Linlin and I have already moved our household registration, and she's changed her last name. She goes by Lin now."
Zhou Chen wanted to remind her that a mountain spirit probably didn't have the surname Lin.
But seeing her bristling like a porcupine, he decided to swallow his words.
"Comrade Mountain Spirit, I am Linlin's father. I will treat her well," Zhou Chen said earnestly.
He didn't know Lin Zhilan's true background, but now that he was alive, he naturally wanted to take his daughter back.
Lin Zhilan glared at him. "You're her father, and I'm a deity. Can you beat a deity?"
Zhou Chen: "..."
That was pure sophistry.
Zhou Chen doubted she was really a deity. Even if such beings existed in this world, the woman in front of him was probably just a spirit that hadn't achieved enlightenment.
The two of them stood their ground, neither willing to compromise on the issue of their daughter.
The stalemate was only broken when Linlin's silvery laughter reached them from the doorway.
Linlin was being led by her father and brother, one hand in each of theirs, her feet occasionally leaving the ground as she "flew" for a short stretch, then dropping back down only to swing up again.
Her bright yellow floral dress fluttered in the evening breeze, making her look like a butterfly.
Zhou Chen stood up, knocking over the chair behind him.
"Mommy, I'm home!" Linlin reached the door, let go of her father's and brother's hands, bypassed Zhou Chen, and threw herself into her mother's arms.
Lin Zhilan bent down and picked up her daughter, kissing her cheek. Her voice turned soft and sweet, almost exaggeratedly so. "Baby's back! Let Mommy hold you. Did you miss Mommy?"
Su Lang, who had been a little tense, felt his scalp tingle at his wife's tone.
He exchanged a glance with his nephew and stepped inside.
"Uh-huh." Linlin wrapped her arms around Lin Zhilan's neck, rubbing her little face against her mother's like a cuddly kitten.
Lin Zhilan held her daughter, tilted her face slightly, and shot Zhou Chen a triumphant look.
Trying to take her daughter away?
No way!
Zhou Chen's gaze fell on Linlin.
The little girl's hair was tied into two tiny buns, her face round and soft, her smile radiant.
Zhou Chen had to admit—his opponent had raised the child well.
Su Lang stood at the courtyard gate, taking it all in.
He saw the hostility on Lin Zhilan's face toward Zhou Chen and pretty much figured out the situation.
They hadn't talked well. Things had gone sour.
Life and death, long separation and reunion—Su Lang's biggest fear was the two of them rekindling their old flame.
But it didn't seem like that was happening now.
Su Lang raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly before his expression settled back into that calm, unreadable mask.
A man had to be magnanimous, after all.
Su Lang patted his nephew's shoulder. "Go on, say hello. Call him Uncle Zhou."
"Uncle Zhou."
Zhou Chen snapped out of it and nodded slightly. "Hello."
Su Lang smiled and explained, "This is my nephew. I've never been married before."
Zhou Chen: "..."
"Stay for dinner tonight. I'll take you to the dormitory to stay overnight later—there's no boat out this evening," Su Lang invited, as if entertaining an ordinary friend.
Zhou Chen glanced at his daughter. "I'm afraid Comrade Mountain... Lin isn't too welcoming of me."
Lin Zhilan shot Zhou Chen a dirty look.
Ever since she learned Zhou Chen wanted to take her daughter away, she couldn't stand the sight of him.
"I didn't say you're not welcome," Lin Zhilan said, holding Linlin with her chin slightly lifted. "But if you insist on leaving, I won't stop you either."
Zhou Chen, thick-skinned as he was, decided to stay anyway.
He wanted as much time as possible with his daughter.
To beat the heat, the dinner table was set in the courtyard.
Lin Zhilan held Linlin in her lap instead of letting her sit in her usual little chair.
With one arm wrapped around her daughter, she picked up a spoon, scooped up some sparerib soup, blew on it to cool it down, and brought it to Linlin's lips.
"Ah~ Open wide, baby."
Linlin opened her mouth and obediently ate.
Her big eyes held a look of great confusion.
Mommy wasn't usually like this.
She often said the rule was to do things yourself; no being fed by Daddy, or by Grandpa and Grandma, or by Brother.
But she quickly forgot about all that.
Mommy fed her, and it tasted good!
Linlin leaned back in her mother's arms, opening her mouth wide, eating with pure satisfaction.
Lin Zhilan was unusually patient with her child today. She gave Linlin whatever she pointed to and even let her skip the vegetables she never wanted to eat.
Seeing that she had been feeding the child without taking a single bite herself, Su Lang reached for her bowl. "Let me feed her. You eat first."
Lin Zhilan twisted away, dodging Su Lang's hand. "It has to be me. If anyone else feeds her, she won't eat well."
Jiang Chengzhou, after shoveling down a few mouthfuls of rice, tilted his head and watched for a few seconds before he couldn't hold back anymore.
"Aunt, have you lost your mind?"
Lin Zhilan gritted her teeth and jabbed her spoon hard against the bowl.
This little brat, running his mouth.
Su Lang put his fist to his mouth, covering his laughter.
"Chengzhou, don't talk like that. Eat your food."
"Oh," Jiang Chengzhou turned his head back. "Aunt, if you feel unwell, just tell me, okay?"
Lin Zhilan forced a tight smile. "I know. Thank you so much."
"Heh."
Jiang Chengzhou grinned and went back to eating.
Su Lang lifted their daughter out of his wife's arms, speaking before Lin Zhilan could protest. "You eat first."
He looked down at Linlin. "Baby, can you feed yourself?"
Linlin looked at her mother. "I can!"
"How about... let me give it a try?" Zhou Chen suddenly spoke up.
The eyes of the family of four instantly locked onto him.
Except for Linlin, everyone's face clearly bore three words:
