Chapter 4

"An irresponsible man!" After pulling Bai Yi back into the ward, the nurse let go of his hand but spat out these words with disgust.

"I really am not her father," Bai Yi didn't know what to say.

"Look at the little princess, and you still dare to say you're not her father," the nurse said angrily.

Bai Yi turned his head and noticed that the baby girl was crying, silently shedding tears without the usual loud cries of an infant. However, the moment she saw Bai Yi enter, the baby girl immediately looked at him and broke into a happy smile.

"I really am not..." Bai Yi turned his head, but his peripheral vision remained on the baby girl.

When the baby girl saw Bai Yi turn away, her smile gradually faded, and her eyes became hollow and disappointed. However, she didn't cry out loud; she just quietly let the tears fall. Seeing this, Bai Yi suddenly felt a pang of inexplicable pain in his heart, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Bai Yi walked out of the ward and closed the door. This time, the nurse didn't try to stop him and let him leave the ward.

Leaning against the door, Bai Yi suddenly felt an overwhelming pain. After a moment, he walked out quickly, as if trying to escape from the place. He rushed to the hospital entrance, lifted his foot, and paused in mid-air, as if taking this step would mean he could never come back.

"Hey, we meet again. How is your little princess?" Suddenly, a man's voice came from behind.

Bai Yi turned around and saw the taxi driver from earlier, who had brought two more passengers to the hospital. However, Bai Yi wasn't paying attention to this; his mind was still echoing with the driver's simple words—'your little princess... your little princess!'

Suddenly, Bai Yi retracted his foot and ran back into the hospital.

"Hey, hey! This guy, why is he always so hasty... Damn, is he trying to avoid paying the fare?" The driver suddenly remembered something and got angry.

...

When Bai Yi returned to the ward, he found that the baby girl had been staring at the door, her eyes filled with an endless sadness. The moment Bai Yi appeared at the door, the baby girl's eyes seemed to light up instantly, but the light quickly faded, even more dimly than before.

Bai Yi walked step by step to the baby girl's side, extending his right hand to touch her little face, but he was afraid of hurting the delicate child.

"Didn't you leave? Why are you back?" The nurse had already heard the story from the female doctor.

"I...!" Bai Yi took a deep breath, looked into the baby girl's hollow eyes, and made a decision.

"I'm not leaving. If you're willing to let me take care of you, smile for me," Bai Yi said seriously. He himself didn't know why he made this decision. After all, he had picked up this baby girl from the street, and she had a congenital disease. But he just couldn't let her go.

The bond between people is truly magical!

As if understanding Bai Yi's words, the baby girl's hollow eyes suddenly brightened, becoming lively and vibrant again, and she broke into a smile.

An angel!

Both Bai Yi and the nurse had this thought in their minds at that moment.

---

Three years later!

In the kitchen, a large pot was simmering with fish head soup, bubbling and emitting a fragrant aroma. Bai Yi was busy preparing an egg and green pepper salad, along with a few other dishes like honey-glazed braised pork. His movements were unhurried, and despite being alone, he handled the kitchen with ease.

After all, Bai Yi is now one of the head chefs at the University of Waikato in New Zealand!

Okay, you might say, a school chef... is that even a real job? It's true that the culinary skills of school chefs aren't usually very high, and the food is often complained about by students. Bai Yi's cooking isn't as good as that of top chefs, but it's far from ordinary. In fact, as long as you're not too picky, anyone who eats Bai Yi's cooking will say, "It's delicious"!

No fancy praise, just a simple "delicious" is the greatest affirmation for a chef.

At this moment, in the living room, a four-year-old girl was sitting on the sofa, hugging a Shar-Pei, watching anime on the TV. This girl was the baby girl Bai Yi had adopted three years ago. At the time, he had impulsively agreed to adopt her, not realizing how much trouble it would bring.

In New Zealand, it was impossible to take the baby girl back to China, so Bai Yi had to find work in New Zealand. Fortunately, the female doctor and the nurse from the hospital were very kind and helped him a lot. Although it was troublesome, Bai Yi never regretted it; rather, he felt fortunate.

The Shar-Pei, of course, was the same little Shar-Pei from back then. After three years, the Shar-Pei had a perpetually worried and silly expression, but its plump body showed that it was living a good life. After all, Bai Yi was a chef, and as a member of the family, the Shar-Pei was well-fed, just like Momo.

Momo—this was the name Bai Yi gave to the baby girl he adopted, simple but full of care.

"Momo, Shar-Pei, it's time to eat!" Bai Yi called out.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Momo's eyes lit up, and the Shar-Pei, which had been lying there stupidly, suddenly stood up and ran to the living room with Momo.

Two foodies!

Both Momo and Shar-Pei were standard foodies. With Bai Yi, a decent chef, and his indulgence in Momo's diet, Momo had become a true foodie. And with such a little mistress, Shar-Pei wasn't far behind, looking like a ball of meat.

"Momo, you're getting fat again!" Bai Yi said as he hugged Momo, who had pounced on him.

"Grandma Maggie says this is just growing up, and I'm much healthier than Niniya," Momo immediately countered. The "Grandma Maggie" Momo mentioned was a neighbor, a woman in her fifties who lived with her son and helped take care of her granddaughter, Niniya. Niniya was five years old, a year older than Momo, but she looked smaller and weighed less.

"Sure, sure, Momo is growing up," Bai Yi said affectionately.

"Tomorrow I'm free. Where do you want to go, Momo?" Bai Yi asked during dinner.

"Hmm...?" Momo tilted her head, slowly chewing her food, as if thinking about where to go. After a while, she looked at Shar-Pei, "Shar-Pei, where do you want to go?"

At this moment, Shar-Pei was still feasting on the braised pork in its dish. In this house, Shar-Pei ate the same food as Bai Yi and Momo, not special dog food. For Momo, Shar-Pei was not just a pet but more like a friend and playmate, and for the family, Shar-Pei was also a member.

"Woof!" Shar-Pei lifted its head and barked, seemingly without any clear meaning.

Bai Yi didn't interrupt, just watched with amusement as Momo and Shar-Pei communicated in a language he couldn't understand. Bai Yi didn't really believe they could communicate, but perhaps because they had grown up together, Momo and Shar-Pei seemed to understand each other.

"Niniya said they went to see butterflies a few days ago. I want to go too."

"Butterflies... you mean the butterfly garden in Hamilton's inner city park? OK!" Bai Yi nodded, making the decision. After that, he chatted with Momo about other things, mostly about where she and Niniya played, which seemed boring but Bai Yi found interesting and listened attentively.

After finishing dinner, Momo immediately took Shar-Pei out to play with Niniya, while Bai Yi stayed to clean up. The neighborhood was safe, and with Shar-Pei around, Bai Yi wasn't too worried.

...

On March 23, 2020, in the early morning, Bai Yi suddenly felt a heavy weight on his body. When he opened his eyes, he found Momo had climbed onto him, hugging his neck and pressing against his chest.

Growing up without a mother, Momo was very attached to Bai Yi, so she often climbed onto him. But the key issue at this moment was... Momo had wet the bed.

"Momo, you're four years old now, how can you still wet the bed sometimes?" Bai Yi picked up Momo and said helplessly. Momo was still half-asleep.

Bai Yi placed Momo on the sofa and started cleaning up. Fortunately, it wasn't the first time, so he was used to it. He collected the wet sheets and laid out new ones, then carried Momo to the bathroom.

Shar-Pei, who had been woken up, came to the door and watched, its silly mouth curling up. For some reason, Bai Yi felt that Shar-Pei was smiling.

"Look, Shar-Pei is laughing at you. You're four years old and still wetting the bed."

"Daddy, you're bad. Shar-Pei, no laughing." Momo was now fully awake and felt embarrassed after hearing Bai Yi's words.

In the bathroom, Bai Yi turned on the hot water and gave Momo a bath, then threw the wet sheets and clothes into the washing machine. When he came out, he found Momo standing on the balcony, wrapped in a towel.

"Momo, be careful, you might catch a cold!"

"Daddy, look over there." Momo looked back at Bai Yi, then pointed to the southeast, holding the railing. Shar-Pei was also by her side, wagging its tail happily.

"What is it?"

"Daddy, didn't you hear it? It sounds very sad." Momo stared intently in that direction.

A sad sound? Bai Yi also went to the balcony and looked in the direction Momo pointed, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was very quiet, and the city was almost dark, with only a few scattered lights. Bai Yi didn't doubt his daughter, but it really looked and sounded normal. It was the middle of the night, and the city was silent.

Bai Yi wasn't sure, but Momo's vision was almost gone, while her hearing was exceptionally sharp. Perhaps she really did hear something.