Volume One, Chapter Three: The "Resurrection" of the Dead Daddy

Underground Parking Garage.

After leaving the showroom, Lucy gently set her son down and hurriedly took his small hand, walking briskly toward the car.

She knew trouble had been caused and dared not resist; she simply let her mother lead her along.

The pair were silent as they walked, but just as they were about to get into the car, Leo couldn’t help but speak up.

“Mommy, why won’t you let me look for Daddy?”

Lucy lowered her gaze to her son.

The little boy’s large eyes were rimmed with red, moist with unshed tears.

Had he just been crying?

Lucy’s heart softened slightly.

What she didn’t know was that Leo’s tears were not from sadness but from the exertion of performing on stage earlier; they were involuntary tears.

She replied helplessly, “Your daddy is gone.”

“He’s not gone! You’re lying to me!” Leo protested loudly.

“He really is gone.”

“No, he’s not.”

Mother and son were like two debaters, each firmly convinced of their own truth, neither willing to concede.

Suddenly, a surge of frustration rose in Lucy’s chest.

Why was Leo so determined to find his father?

“Isn’t the life we have now good enough?” she asked her son.

“No, it’s not. I want Daddy. I want to know who he is. I want to know what he looks like. He’s my dad; I have the right to know...”

“You...”

Lucy found herself no match for her sharp-tongued son and felt a headache coming on.

Leo was five years old now and would start elementary school next year. That was why she had suddenly decided to bring him back.

Children at this age had their own independent consciousness and could distinguish simple notions of right and wrong, and Leo was even more precocious than his peers; his depth of thought was comparable to a second grader.

Her son wanted to find his biological father; he was not wrong, and Lucy could not punish him just for seeking his father.

“Leo,” Lucy crouched down to meet her son’s eyes.

Leo, angry, refused to look at her.

“I understand you miss Daddy. I miss my own dad too...” Lucy’s voice faltered.

Last night, she had dreamt of that silver-haired old man again, but no matter how she called to him, he refused to turn and look at her.

He was probably still angry with her for what had happened all those years ago.

Lucy gently stroked her son’s head and continued, “But you can’t cause trouble for others. Earlier, it was a live show; you disrupted the order. Tomorrow, Mommy will take you to apologize properly. We have to take responsibility. Do you understand?”

Leo nodded and finally turned to look at Lucy.

“Mommy, I know I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

Lucy was slightly surprised.

The little guy admitted his mistake so straightforwardly? No attempt to defend himself?

“Mommy, please don’t hit me. I will be good. I just miss Daddy, boohoo...” Leo covered his face and began to cry.

Lucy’s first reaction was that he was acting.

But there was no one else here—who was he acting for?

Just as she was puzzled, Leo suddenly ran behind her.

Lucy crouched down and turned her head, suddenly confronted by an unfamiliar dark figure.

Following the polished shoe tips upward, the sharply creased trousers appeared tailor-measured, with perfectly pressed knees and neat hems, creating a taut line that accentuated the owner’s impossibly long legs.

In the next moment, Leo did not hesitate to cling tightly to those long legs.

“Uncle, save me! Mommy wants to hit me!” Leo cried out fearfully.

Lucy was stunned, her mind completely distracted from her son.

Before her was a face both familiar and strange, a man with noble, aloof features just as distant and cold as she remembered.

His sharp brow could cut through twilight; thick lashes veiled the emotions hiding in his eyes.

It was Lucas Shen.

They hadn’t seen each other in six years.

She never imagined their reunion would be like this...

Lucas didn’t look at her but gently focused his gaze on the little bundle clinging to his legs.

“Why would your mother hit you?” he asked suddenly.

Leo rubbed against his pants, wiping away the few tears he had shed, and snuffled, “I miss Daddy. Mommy said Daddy is dead, but I know he’s not. I want to find Daddy, and Mommy gets mad...”

Lucas, whom Lucy had declared “dead,” now looked toward her.

Lucy: ...

Let him be dead, she thought.

Meeting the man’s inscrutable dark eyes, Lucy instinctively wanted to flee, but her feet felt nailed to the ground, unable to move.

Flushing, she forced herself to greet him, “L-Lucas, hello.”

Lucas quietly studied the young woman before him.

She seemed taller than six years ago, thinner, yet fuller in all the right places.

A vivid image suddenly flooded his mind.

The girl, pale and delicate as jade, lay beneath him trembling, her large, moist eyes as enchanting as a fox’s.

He couldn’t help but kiss her—sweet, fruity, a taste he had never experienced...

Yet when he woke, another lay beside him.

“Uncle, Mommy is calling you.” Leo tugged at his trouser leg, breaking his reverie.

Lucas returned to the present and nodded toward the eager little boy, “Your son?”

The question was clearly directed at Lucy.

Her heart raced, her throat tightened as if something was caught there. Worried that speaking might reveal her secret, she nodded silently.

Lucas tried to suppress the strange feeling stirring within and asked, “How old?”

“Uncle, I’m five!” Leo answered excitedly.

Lucy’s eyelid twitched violently.

Fortunately, Leo resembled her.

Lucas should not suspect anything!

Still, they needed to leave this troublesome place quickly.

Lucy reached out to pull her son back.

Completely forgetting that a five-year-old’s agility was nothing like hers.

Her hand grasped at thin air, and she panicked, but it was too late to stop.

The next moment, she toppled over, dragging her bag along in one direction.

Even if she fell flat on her back, she would accept it—but instead...

She fell into a warm embrace.

Lucas caught her steadily.

Yet just as her heart quickened, he quickly released her.

“S-sorry,” Lucy stammered, scrambling to steady herself and wanting to escape.

“Wait.” Lucas called after her.

Lucy’s body tensed involuntarily, then watched as Lucas turned and walked toward a black sedan.