Wang Yanfei snapped his head around.
He saw a little girl, dressed in a puffy smock that looked like a blooming flower and wearing two high ponytails, hopping toward him.
The next second, she pressed herself right against his side and naturally wrapped both arms around his.
Then she looked up and gave the three security officers a bright, beaming smile.
"Daddy, seriously. Didn't you say you were taking me out to play today?"
Wang Yanfei reacted first, immediately putting on the embarrassed smile of a father caught by his daughter and scratching the back of his head.
"Haha, yes, yes. I've just been too busy lately. I completely forgot."
To anyone watching, this looked like the most ordinary and heartwarming scene.
The three security officers exchanged glances, visibly relaxing. The leader spoke respectfully,
"Then we will not disturb you and your daughter. Thank you for your cooperation."
After saying that, he even gave a sincere bow, then quickly left with his men.
Only when their figures had fully disappeared around the corner did Wang Yanfei feel his legs go slightly weak. Damn, that was lucky. He had actually run into Benjamin's daughter.
He forced out a gentle smile as he lowered his head. "So, shall we go home?"
"Mm-hmm, okay, Daddy." The little girl answered sweetly, then suddenly tilted her head and added, "But Daddy, did you forget something?"
Wang Yanfei fell silent.
Forget… forget what? Did Benjamin promise his daughter something?
Seeing that he did not answer, the little girl pouted, stomped her foot hard, and her twin ponytails bounced.
"Daddy, you are so mean. I don't like you anymore."
"W-wait, don't be mad. Daddy was just too tired and reacted a bit slowly earlier. It's Daddy's fault."
He coaxed her over and over. After a while, he finally brought the little one down from maximum anger mode back to normal.
The little girl huffed, "Daddy promised you would buy me a little cake when we came back."
…Cake.
So that was it.
Wang Yanfei let out a long breath. That was easy. Just a cake… easy…
However, when he stood inside the cake shop, staring at that tiny slice of cake and then hearing the price, he felt the sky collapse.
"W-what? This little cake costs two thousand?"
He checked Benjamin's wallet.
The amount inside was just enough to buy this slice.
Wang Yanfei went quiet again.
He still had no idea how prices in this city worked, but judging from how empty the shop was, it was obvious that this was something normal people could not afford.
The clerk, neatly dressed and wearing a professional smile, asked, "Sir, is it this one?"
He really wanted to turn around and run. But when he saw the girl behind him with her eyes sparkling in pure anticipation…
Wang Yanfei felt utterly defeated.
Fine, he had to keep her calm. He still needed to ask her a lot of things that might save his life later.
Besides, since he was wearing Benjamin's identity, he had to at least treat his family decently.
So he braced himself and paid.
The moment the cake was handed over, the girl's eyes lit up like stars.
"Daddy…!"
Wang Yanfei froze for a moment, and the corners of his mouth lifted on their own.
…This feeling was unexpectedly nice.
——————————
Soon, the two of them returned home.
Outside, the sky had fully darkened. The streetlights had come on, making the shabby neighborhood look like an old yellowed photo.
The girl obediently took off her shoes and placed them into the neatly arranged row of small compartments on the shoe rack. Then she looked up at him and gave a sweet smile.
Wang Yanfei smiled back and did the same.
When she walked away, he finally examined the entrance.
Only adult men's shoes and a row of children's shoes were in the rack.
Which meant one thing: in Benjamin's home, it was only the father and the daughter.
Light footsteps sounded from the living room, breaking his thoughts.
Wang Yanfei glanced over and saw the girl had already changed clothes and came trotting out of her room.
Now she wore a bright yellow onesie with a round duck pattern.
Wang Yanfei said nothing.
The scene was so warm that it made him feel strangely out of place.
While the girl was busy with something, he slipped past the living room and began inspecting the house.
The house was not small, one living room and two bedrooms, tidy and without clutter.
From the layout and tidiness alone, it was obvious that Benjamin was meticulous and precise.
That did fit the image of an engineer.
Among the two bedrooms, one was clearly the girl's room. Pink and yellow colors, stickers all over the walls, and stuffed toys on the bed.
The other must be his room.
Standing at the door, Wang Yanfei glanced back toward the living room.
The girl sat at a small desk, her feet dangling as she busied herself with something.
Noticing his gaze, she looked up and gave him a cute smile before lowering her head again.
Wang Yanfei quietly exhaled, pressed down the odd tension inside, and pushed open the door.
The room was clean, even excessively clean. Only a double bed, a work desk, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe.
He put his belongings down and opened the wardrobe.
A neatly hung dark blue pajama set, and the rest were all plaid shirts.
Colors ranged from light to dark, blues to grays, a complete set.
The upside was that no matter what he wore, no one would suspect anything.
After getting a rough grasp of Benjamin's character, he searched other parts of the house but did not find anything that confirmed the identity further.
He did find an old file folder.
Inside was a birth certificate, and from it he learned the girl's name: Jessica Roland.
The other paper was a death report, stating that his wife had died from postpartum hemorrhage during childbirth.
Wang Yanfei stood quietly for a few seconds, then put everything back.
With limited information in hand, the most direct way to play Benjamin convincingly was to ask Jessica about things naturally.
He was about to go out and talk but suddenly paused.
Thinking back on her expressions along the way, plus the fact that Benjamin would buy such a ridiculously overpriced cake, it was obvious the original owner doted on his daughter greatly.
Which meant that in front of her, he could not act suspicious.
And right now he was still wearing outdoor clothes, looking like he had just returned from work yet planning to interrogate the kid. It made no sense.
If he was going to act, he had to act properly.
So he turned around, pulled out the dark blue pajamas, and quickly changed.
Just as he finished changing, Alvina crawled out from the tactical jacket, coiling herself up and looking at him.
For once, she did not act smug. Instead, she showed a rare serious expression.
"Human, I do not understand. You already have food. If you ration it properly, you can easily survive more than ninety days and return safely. Why insist on throwing yourself into danger?"
Wang Yanfei gave her a sideways look.
"You can talk normally? My god, this is the first time in history."
"What?!" The white snake bristled. "Who are you saying cannot talk normally?"
Seeing her fuming expression, Wang Yanfei nodded in satisfaction. That was the Alvina he knew.
But he still answered seriously.
"I was one step away from getting my superpower. One step from reaching the peak of my life. And who threw me into this damned place?"
Alvina was speechless.
She looked obviously guilty and turned her head away as if she had heard nothing.
Wang Yanfei sighed. "Enough, hide here for now. Don't scare the kid."
Alvina snorted but still obediently curled up into a round ball.
Then he opened the door and walked toward the living room.
Jessica was sitting at the table doing homework, her back straight, focused like a tiny adult.
The quiet, warm scene made him unconsciously slow down.
He snapped out of it, walked over, and sat beside her with a gentle fatherly smile.
He was about to speak and try to get some information from casual conversation.
But at that moment, Jessica stopped writing and looked up.
"Daddy."
"Mm?"
The girl hesitated, as if searching for the right words, then asked seriously,
"Am I… getting a new mommy?"
"…?"
Wang Yanfei froze. "Why do you think that?"
"Because… Daddy was secretly talking to someone in the room just now."