"Human, what are your intentions?" Kanna's small face watched Shi Chen's eyes warily.
"What intentions could I have?" Shi Chen asked calmly, "Is there anything about you that's worth me having intentions for?"
"Ugh..." Kanna bit her lip unwillingly. She couldn't refute that point, but she also wouldn't let her guard down.
"H-humans can't be trusted. You definitely want to use me for something."
"Sigh."
Shi Chen sighed, let go of her, then gently stroked her small head, and softly said, "It's true that humans can't be trusted, but can't you trust me, whom Tohru trusts?"
"This..." Kanna, with Shi Chen's hand on her head, glanced at the smiling Tohru, then looked back at him.
Shi Chen's smile remained unchanged: "I know it's natural to be cautious when you're unfamiliar with a place, but you have nowhere to go right now, and Tohru is here too. Can't you try to trust me?"
"..." Kanna stared at him blankly.
"It's fine to remain cautious for now. How about we get along slowly?"
Shi Chen lowered his head, leaned close to Kanna, met her gaze, and with a gentle smile, said, "How about you trust me once we get to know each other, become familiar, and become friends or family?"
"Family..." Kanna murmured.
"Mm, family." Shi Chen nodded.
"I... I understand." Tears suddenly welled up in Kanna's eyes.
"What's wrong?" Shi Chen was startled and quickly wiped her tears.
Kanna didn't answer, she just sat on his lap, crying continuously, her little cheeks puffed out, looking utterly wronged.
"Don't cry, Kanna. You'll make others misunderstand that I'm bullying you."
"I know what's going on!" Tohru, who was beside them, suddenly said.
"What?" Shi Chen looked at her in confusion.
"Kanna was probably expelled for playing pranks."
"Pranks?" Shi Chen frowned. He didn't have a very strong impression of that.
"Mm." Tohru looked at Kanna with amusement: "Kanna loves playing pranks, and her father doesn't care about her. Maybe she went too far, so she was kicked out."
"...How far does one have to go to be kicked out?"
"You'll have to ask Kanna about that."
"Ugh..." Kanna suddenly buried her face in Shi Chen's embrace, feigning silence.
It seemed that being exposed by Tohru made her very embarrassed.
However, this made Shi Chen understand why she was crying.
Kanna's mind was indeed not yet mature, and her father didn't care about her. The pranks were probably an attempt to attract attention, but instead, she was expelled, which must have made her feel wronged.
And he had just said they would become a family... Children really care about that.
"Kanna." Understanding the reason, Shi Chen reached out and held Kanna again, making her leave his embrace to look at him.
"W-what is it?" Kanna cautiously lifted her head, her eyes still brimming with tears.
Although she looked a bit pitiful like this, Shi Chen still found her adorable, and almost couldn't resist pinching her little cheek.
It was so plump and soft, truly captivating.
But he had to hold back. It wouldn't be too late to act once they were more familiar.
Shi Chen looked at her gently, his gaze sincere, and slowly said, "From now on, this will be your home. Let's get along well, how about it?"
"Mm!" Kanna nodded vigorously.
"That's wonderful!" Tohru said happily from the side.
"As expected, Lord Chen is very gentle. I like him the most."
"Okay, okay, I like you too, Tohru."
"Hehe~"
"What about me?" Kanna suddenly asked.
"Sorry, I only like Lord Chen." Tohru replied to her with a blank expression.
"...Hmph! I wasn't asking Lord Tohru, I-I was asking this human!" Kanna turned her head away, her words not matching her true feelings, and looked pitifully at Shi Chen.
"Hehe~ I like Kanna too~ Also, my name is Shi Chen. You can call me Big Brother..."
"I understand, Shi Chen." Kanna nodded.
..."Forget it, call me whatever you want."
"Mm, since Shi Chen likes me, then I'll like you too." Kanna said seriously, her small face solemn.
"Is that so? I'm very happy~"
"Mm mm!" Kanna couldn't help but smile.
Tohru, who was beside them, was displeased: "Lord Chen, are you... cheating?"
..."Where did you learn that word?" Shi Chen's mouth twitched.
"Isn't it?"
"Of course not! These two 'likes' are different!" Shi Chen denied.
"Lord Chen, what's different?"
"Mm mm, Shi Chen, what's different?"
"This different..." Shi Chen looked at Tohru, then at Kanna, and realized it wasn't appropriate to explain in front of her.
She was still too young.
"Different is different. Let's not talk about this for now, Kanna, let me introduce you to the other members of this family."
As Shi Chen spoke, he picked up Kanna and walked towards Utaha Kasumigaoka and the others.
"Ah! Lord Chen, explain it clearly, don't run away!" Tohru quickly followed.
"So? Did you successfully abduct her?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka and Chisato Nishikigi had been sitting behind the cash register. Seeing Shi Chen approach with Kanna in his arms, Utaha Kasumigaoka rested her hand on her face, propped her elbow on her thigh, and looked at him askance.
"What do you mean 'abduct'? Kanna just couldn't go back, and I took her in, that's all." Shi Chen denied righteously.
"Tsk~" Utaha Kasumigaoka scoffed and pouted.
"So her name is Kanna." Chisato Nishikigi, however, looked at Kanna with a bright smile.
Shi Chen introduced the two to Kanna: "Kanna, these two are Utaha Kasumigaoka and Chisato Nishikigi. You can just call them big sisters."
"Oh, Sister Poetry Feather, Sister Chisato." Kanna obediently called out, not caring about seniority despite her long life.
"Hello, Kanna-chan~" Chisato Nishikigi waved with a smile.
"H-hello, Kanna...-chan." Faced with Kanna's soft and adorable voice, even Utaha Kasumigaoka found it hard to maintain her usual indifference.
"Chen ge, can I hold Kanna-chan?" Chisato Nishikigi asked.
"Asking me won't help."
"Then Kanna-chan..." Chisato Nishikigi looked at Kanna expectantly.
"Ugh... no." Kanna hugged Shi Chen's neck tighter.
"How can you say that..." Chisato Nishikigi's shoulders slumped, her disappointment visible.
"Haha~" Shi Chen couldn't help but laugh: "It seems you still need to slowly build a good relationship with Kanna."
"Then why is Kanna-chan willing to let Chen ge hold her?"
"You wouldn't know, would you?" Shi Chen explained proudly: "Kanna likes Tohru, Tohru trusts me, so Kanna trusts me too."
"Darn it, so Chen ge is just riding on Tohru's coattails."
"Exactly! It's all thanks to me, and Lord Chen is having a change of heart!" Tohru complained indignantly from behind Shi Chen.
"What change of heart? Tohru, don't talk nonsense!" Shi Chen gave her an exasperated glare.
"It is, though. Lord Chen just said he liked Kanna."
"Oh~ So Chen ge likes little girls, no wonder he saved me before." Chisato Nishikigi said with a teasing smile.
"What? Chen, are you a lolicon?" Utaha Kasumigaoka reacted, looking at him dangerously.
"You two..." Shi Chen shook his head helplessly, then carried Kanna and walked towards the kitchen.
"Kanna, let's ignore them. Are you hungry? How about I cook something delicious for you today?"
"Thank you, Shi Chen." Kanna nodded, her voice milky as she thanked him.
"Hehe~ Is there anything you want to eat?"
"Whatever Shi Chen makes is fine."
"Kanna, you're just too cute." Shi Chen couldn't resist rubbing his face against Kanna's plump cheek.
It was truly smooth, soft, and bouncy.
Shi Chen carried Kanna into the kitchen like that, while Tohru and the other two watched, stunned.
"Chen ge wouldn't really like little girls, would he?" Chisato Nishikigi couldn't help but murmur to herself.
"Darn Kanna, she's stealing my Lord Chen!" Tohru, on the other hand, gritted her teeth.
Only Utaha Kasumigaoka remained calm.
"What are you two still standing around for? Didn't he just say he was going to cook personally? Don't you want to taste it?"
"Ah!"
The two reacted and quickly scrambled towards the kitchen, vying with each other.
Utaha Kasumigaoka watched their hurried backs, shook her head, then lowered her gaze to her proudly ample chest, then glanced at her long, shapely legs, nodded in satisfaction, and then followed the two.
What's the use of being cute?
In the face of sexiness, it's worthless!