Chapter 4: Beginning with Consideration for His Daughter

Chapter 4: Starting with Consideration for His Daughter

Watching Su Xin leave the restaurant cradling little Qianqian, Lu Anzhi remained dazed for quite some time.

Three years after his rebirth and return from traveling, he suddenly had a daughter.

This was more surreal than even rebirth itself.

Yet, whether calculated by time or judged by appearance, there was no denying the truth of it.

He never expected such a sudden turn in his life upon returning after three years.

It was truly incredible!

And yet, the feeling of holding that tiny girl in his arms was so wonderful and tangible. It couldn’t be fake.

How should he face this new change?

“Sir, are you ready to order?”

The voice of the restaurant waiter snapped Lu Anzhi back to reality.

He came to his senses and ordered a simple bowl of noodles. After eating hurriedly, he returned to the Jiu’an Grand Hotel.

From his luggage, he took out his laptop. It was thick and heavy, an annoyance.

But there was no way around it; in this world, technology hadn’t yet advanced to lightweight laptops. For three years, Lu Anzhi had been lugging this bulky machine everywhere, awaiting upgrades in the laptop industry.

This was bearable enough. The real problem was the absence of an intelligent pinyin input method, which had left Lu Anzhi unsettled for a time.

The traditional pinyin input method here was similar to the old Smart ABC from his past life, clumsy and seriously slowing his typing speed.

Desperate, he had once considered learning the Wubi input method, only to discover it didn’t exist in this world either.

So, he had painstakingly emailed suggestions for an intelligent pinyin input method to major internet tech companies, all to no avail.

Now, it was time to write again, and he had to endure the torture of the input method.

Plugging in the power, he powered on the computer and opened a document.

The file was titled The Black Moon Tide, currently at the point where he was about to give a knife to Uesugi Eri.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard, yet suddenly he felt restless and unable to type.

The words were so clear in his mind, etched deeply like a farewell from a past world, yet he couldn’t press the keys.

His mind was filled with Qianqian.

That little girl who had called him “wood” before he had playfully jabbed her.

Unconsciously, Lu Anzhi opened a new document and his fingers finally landed on the keyboard.

New words appeared: The Little Prince.

Then he paused and smiled. The Little Prince—Qianqian wouldn’t understand it yet, right?

No matter, it wasn’t long; he’d write it out anyway.

He planned to write a few other fairy tales too—The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, The Magic Brush Ma Liang, The Little Horse Crosses the River, and so forth.

But if it were only text, Qianqian probably wouldn’t be interested—after all, she was just over two years old.

In any case, he would write these first.

After all, he only felt like writing these now. He could show them to the editor under the maple tree; if they passed muster, he’d hire a good fairy tale illustrator, publish the book, and then share it with Qianqian.

As for Eri’s knife, that could wait.

The Little Prince was tens of thousands of words long; even if he simply transcribed it from his mind, he wouldn’t finish it in one night.

He wished he had a magical pen like in Harry Potter that could write on its own. Unfortunately, in these three years since his rebirth, he hadn’t found any wizards in this world.

After closing the laptop for the night, the next morning Lu Anzhi washed up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and then, when the time was right, set out for the shop he had already decided to buy online.

Before leaving, he shaved his beard clean.

The Jiu’an Music Store was located at the end of Jiu’an Road, around a corner. The location wasn’t very good, which explained why the music store had struggled.

But Lu Anzhi never intended to make money running the shop, so the location didn’t matter much.

At the store’s entrance, Su Xin and Qianqian had yet to arrive, which left Lu Anzhi a little disappointed.

He entered alone. The store had mostly been cleared out, with only a piano left behind.

Someone was already waiting inside. Seeing Lu Anzhi come in, the person stepped forward.

“Hello, are you the one I spoke with on the phone yesterday?”

Lu Anzhi nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”

The man said, “I’m the owner of this shop. I’ve been here early this morning waiting. Would you like to take a look first?”

Lu Anzhi nodded. “Sure.”

The man then showed him around.

The shop was quite spacious, with two floors, each over two hundred square meters.

The first floor was open and bright, suitable for a storefront. The second floor was divided into many private rooms, with bathroom and shower facilities—perfect for living quarters.

Lu Anzhi had seen photos online, but seeing it in person felt completely different.

“How is it? Not bad, right? I’m in urgent need of funds, or I wouldn’t sell the shop outright. Renting it out would be fine too,” the owner said as he led Lu Anzhi upstairs.

“I hadn’t planned to sell the second floor. I just installed the plumbing and electricity, laid the tiles, painted the walls, and built cabinets. I have another place to live, so this floor is still new.

“The style is simple and elegant—I hired a designer especially. But since you insist on buying both floors, I’m letting this one go as well. Consider the upstairs renovation a gift from me.”

Lu Anzhi inspected each room upstairs. Indeed, as the owner said, the style was simple and elegant.

Light-colored wooden floors ran throughout, walls were plain white, with dark simple cabinets contrasting harmoniously. Paired with carefully chosen, stylish minimalist lighting, the space wouldn’t look out of place even in his past life.

He nodded in satisfaction.

If it had been before, he wouldn’t have had to think so much. But with Su Xin and little Qianqian now in the picture, he had to consider every detail affecting Qianqian.

Like formaldehyde and benzene—harmful substances from house renovations that could seriously impact a child’s health.

If the second-floor renovation was satisfactory, it would save him a lot of trouble.

His phone rang with its default ringtone. It was Su Xin calling.

He answered and told her he was on the second floor of the Jiu’an Music Store.

Before long, Su Xin arrived, holding Qianqian’s little hand, slowly climbing the stairs.

The little girl was “huffing and puffing,” holding the railing with her free hand as she climbed.

Su Xin still wore a mask. She sighed helplessly to Lu Anzhi, “She insists on climbing by herself.”

Lu Anzhi laughed, “Kids are better off being lively.”

Hearing his voice, the little girl’s eyes brightened and she looked toward him.

Stepping onto the last stair, she immediately let go of Su Xin’s hand and happily ran to Lu Anzhi, calling out, “Daddy!”

Lu Anzhi bent down and caught Qianqian.

The owner sighed, “This must be your wife and daughter, right? Both so beautiful!”

Little Qianqian chuckled.

Su Xin’s expression briefly grew a little awkward but she said nothing.

(End of chapter)