Chapter 003

What should you do when you encounter a strange child who claims to be your father?

Lu Jianxing was deeply moved, and then he promptly handed the boy over to the police.

The child, dressed in a Taoist Robe, sat on a waiting bench, obediently clutching an ice cream cone. His eyes sparkled as he licked it, the delicious treat making his feet, which dangled off the edge of the bench, swing happily.

A police officer glanced at the child through the glass partition before turning back to continue the questioning. “You found this child on the side of the road?”

Lu Jianxing nodded. “Yes. He said he has no parents and lived with his grandfather, but his grandfather passed away.”

“Alright.” The officer closed his notebook. “We have the gist of the situation.”

Lu Jianxing looked back at the child outside. Sensing his gaze, the boy looked up and met his eyes through the glass, raising a small hand to wave at him cheerfully.

Lu Jianxing looked away and asked, “What will happen to him now?”

“We will verify if his story is true. If he truly has no other living relatives, he will be sent to an Orphanage.”

Lu Jianxing froze. “An Orphanage?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Lu Jianxing looked at the child again. Having finished his ice cream, the boy was now looking down at a patch on his Taoist Robe. Although the boy’s clothes were worn, the stitching on the patch was neat and fine. He seemed innocent and bright, without a hint of gloom, suggesting his grandfather had taken very good care of him.

Lu Jianxing had grown up in an Orphanage himself, and the word triggered a flood of thoughts. However, he was barely keeping his own head above water and certainly didn’t have the energy to look after a child. Moreover, he had no relation to this boy, save for the strange “father-son” encounter today.

Thinking of that cry of “Dad,” Lu Jianxing’s expression twisted for a moment.

“I’ll leave him in your hands, then.”

He stood up, put his mask and hat back on, and pushed the door open. As he walked out, he noticed several people stealing glances at him from all directions. They had surely recognized him. Although their gazes were discreet, he was highly sensitive to being watched. He couldn’t help but quicken his pace, striding toward the exit.

“Xingxing?”

The child called out to him from behind.

Lu Jianxing’s footsteps faltered, but he didn’t stop. There was no real connection between them.

Qiao Man quickly hopped off the bench and chased after him on his short legs. “Xingxing!”

“Wait for me!”

Lu Jianxing walked faster, but he heard the pitter-patter of footsteps behind him. Soon, a small hand grabbed the hem of his coat. He was forced to stop and look down into the boy’s dark, round eyes.

“Xingxing, wait for me.” Qiao Man said breathlessly, “I’m just a kid, I can’t walk as fast as you.”

Lu Jianxing coldly brushed the hand away. “Stay here.”

“Huh?”

Qiao Man looked at him, confused. “Why?”

Lu Jianxing said, “If you stay here, the police will help you find your family.”

“But aren’t you my family?” Qiao Man grabbed his coat again, tilting his head back to speak with total earnestness. “Xingxing, I’m your father.”

Lu Jianxing: “…”

The other people in the station, who had been eavesdropping with pricked ears, couldn’t help but turn their heads to stare.

Lu Jianxing pulled the brim of his hat lower, saying helplessly, “I told you, I don’t know you. And I… I couldn’t possibly be your son.”

He was in his twenties. How could a five-year-old father suddenly pop out of nowhere?

“You are,” Qiao Man said firmly. “I’ve used Fortune-telling to calculate it. Our fates are deeply intertwined, and since you happen to have no other relatives, I…”

Lu Jianxing interrupted him, speechless. “Enough, stop talking.”

He had already heard this “I’m your dad” speech once before. According to the boy, he had traveled here from decades in the past, and because their fates were so closely linked, there was a high probability they were father and son. Setting aside whether Fortune-telling could be taken seriously, the idea of time travel was utter nonsense. Lu Jianxing would have to be insane to believe the ramblings of a five-year-old.

He brushed the child’s hand away again and said, “Stay here. I can’t take you with me.”

Qiao Man looked up blankly. “But… but…”

He was Xingxing’s father; he had to be with Xingxing.

Qiao Xiaoman thought: He didn’t know why his future self would lose his own son, but since he’d found him, he definitely had to raise the boy on behalf of that irresponsible Qiao Daman¹. It was a father’s duty, after all!

But his newly found son clearly didn’t share his sentiment. Lu Jianxing walked away with long strides, and no matter how hard Qiao Man tried to keep up, he could only watch as the man’s back disappeared from view.

…

At the hotel.

Sister Yun, the manager, had rushed straight here from the airport without a moment’s rest. On the way, she had been calling her artist repeatedly, but no one picked up. The moment she stepped out of the elevator, she headed straight for Lu Jianxing’s room.

Unfortunately, only Lu Jianxing’s assistant, Maomao, was in the room.

“Where is he?” Sister Yun asked angrily. “Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on him?”

Maomao murmured, “Brother Lu said he wanted to go out to clear his head.”

“He said he wanted to clear his head and you just let him go?” Sister Yun said anxiously. “His mental state hasn’t been good lately. Didn’t I tell you not to lose sight of him?”

“Brother Lu said he was hungry, and this hotel doesn’t deliver food to the rooms. In the time it took me to go downstairs and get the delivery, he was gone when I came back… he only left me a message.” Maomao said dejectedly. “I’ve been messaging and calling him, but he hasn’t responded. I didn’t dare leave, fearing he’d come back and find no one here. Sister Yun, you don’t think something happened to Brother Lu, do you?”

Seeing him like this, Sister Yun found it hard to voice any further reprimands.

At the thought of Lu Jianxing, she couldn’t help but sigh.

She had scouted and signed him herself after a chance encounter. Lu Jianxing was handsome, hardworking, and humble. Since entering the industry, he had been diligent and professional. While not a top-tier superstar, he had gained a fair amount of fame and had a bright future ahead of him. But for some reason, it was as if he had offended the Grand Duke Jupiter² himself. Starting last year, a flood of baseless scandals had appeared online. The company had issued several clarifications, but they were powerless against the overwhelming tide of negative comments.

Plagued by negative press, his career had spiraled out of control. First, his scheduled projects were canceled, then his endorsement deals were terminated one after another. Finally, even the last job he had fought so hard to keep was scrapped this morning.

Lu Jianxing had been suffering from insomnia since the beginning of the year. Under the relentless barrage of online attacks, his emotional state had become increasingly fragile. Not long ago, Sister Yun had been horrified to discover that he hadn’t been taking the medication prescribed by his doctor. Instead, he had been secretly stockpiling the pills, leaving her terrified that her artist might do something drastic.

Sister Yun said fretfully, “Let’s search the nearby area first. He’s a stranger in this city, where else could he go…”

Before she could finish, the electronic beep of a key card echoed from behind them. Maomao, the assistant, brightened up and looked behind her with joy. “Brother Lu, you’re back!”

Sister Yun spun around to see her missing artist standing in the doorway. She let out a long sigh of relief. “Xingxing, thank goodness you’re okay.”

Lu Jianxing seemed startled to see her. “Sister Yun, what are you doing here?”

“I heard your role was recast, so I rushed over to check on you… Where were you? Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Sister Yun asked with concern.

Lu Jianxing took off the hat and mask he had worn all day and tossed them onto the table. “It’s nothing. I just went for a walk to clear my head.”

Knowing he was hurting, Sister Yun didn’t scold him. As long as he hadn’t done anything reckless, she was satisfied.

She tried to comfort him instead. “It’s okay. Once we get back, I’ll find you a role in a new drama. We can still…”

“Can we really?” Lu Jianxing interrupted her, his voice laced with self-deprecation. “Is there anyone left who’s willing to hire me? There are so many people in this industry, most of them are more than capable of replacing me.”

Sister Yun faltered. Looking at his depressed, dejected expression, she found herself unable to offer any more words of encouragement.

Lu Jianxing spoke calmly. “Sister Yun, I’ve made up my mind. I want to leave the entertainment industry.”

“Xingxing, you…”

The bottle of pills he had prepared for so long had fallen into the lake. Now that his hard-won resolve had vanished, Lu Jianxing couldn’t summon the courage to try again. He had thought about it the entire way back. His reputation in this circle was already ruined, and since he wasn’t getting any new work anyway, he might as well quit and find a regular job. He could support himself with his own two hands.

Lu Jianxing didn’t tell Sister Yun about his suicide attempt. He simply repeated, “I’ve made up my mind.”

“You… fine.”

Sister Yun had nothing left to say.

She had given him pep talks countless times, and they had both put in so much effort. They had gone from being full of hope to a point where she couldn’t even manage a convincing word of encouragement.

Everything had been going so well at the start. How did it end up like this?

The whole situation was bizarre.

Lu Jianxing was currently a pariah on the internet, mostly due to a flood of false rumors. For instance, one report accused him of acting like a cold, arrogant diva³, using a video that had been maliciously edited. But when they tried to find the original footage to clear his name, the files would mysteriously vanish due to technical glitches. Every other incident followed a similar pattern of misfortune. Every attempt at clarification met with some kind of obstacle, leaving him buried under a mountain of scandals.

If it were just rumors, he might have survived, as an artist’s work usually speaks for itself. Unfortunately, Lu Jianxing’s projects were equally cursed. A drama that was supposed to air was suddenly shelved by censors for no apparent reason. The investors for the show he was currently filming suffered a total financial collapse. The products he endorsed were hit by massive scandals. There was even an accident on a magazine photo shoot where Lu Jianxing himself was nearly injured. People in this industry tended to be superstitious, and this string of bad luck made everyone avoid him like the plague.

With no way to clear his name immediately, competitors kicking him while he was down, and no new work to keep his fan base engaged, public opinion turned entirely against him. His foundation had been shaky to begin with, and his fans began to abandon him in droves.

It wasn’t that Lu Jianxing’s company hadn’t tried to help him shake off the negativity, but nothing worked. In fact, the more they tried, the worse things got. Eventually, the company gave up. With limited resources, they decided it was better to invest in other, more promising artists.

Thinking back on these frustrations, all three of them fell into a somber mood.

“Ding-dong.”

The doorbell suddenly rang, sounding particularly sharp in the silent room. Everyone jumped.

“Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.”

Maomao, the assistant, quickly stood up. “I’ll get it.”

Fearing it might be an obsessive stalker fan⁴ – something they had dealt with before – Maomao cautiously cracked the door open and peered out. The hallway appeared empty.

Could it be a prank?

Just as he was about to close the door, a polite greeting came from below. “Hello.”

Maomao looked down and realized the hallway wasn’t empty after all. The person knocking was just very short, with a youthful, innocent face. It was a child, barely waist-high.

…Has the barrier for entry for stalker fans dropped this low?!

Maomao opened the door fully, his voice instinctively softening. “Hey there, little guy. Who are you?”

Qiao Man tucked away the Luo Pan⁵ he was holding. “My name is Xiaoman. I am…” His gaze shifted past Maomao, landing instantly on Lu Jianxing sitting on the sofa. He called out happily, “Xingxing!”

Maomao turned around, bewildered. “Brother Lu?”

Lu Jianxing looked up at the sound. “…”

He practically leaped off the sofa, staring at the child in disbelief. “What are you doing here?!”

Qiao Man replied, “I came to find you.”

Lu Jianxing asked, “How did you even find this place?”

Qiao Man said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “I wanted to find you, so I just came.”

Lu Jianxing was speechless.

Sister Yun was completely confused. “Xingxing, who is this? Where did this child come from?”

Lu Jianxing stammered, “He… he…” He didn’t know who this kid was either!

Qiao Man slipped past Maomao and jogged over to Lu Jianxing, only relaxing once he had grabbed hold of the corner of the man’s shirt. Qiao Man tilted his head up, puffed out his chest, and introduced himself proudly. “My name is Xiaoman. I’m Xingxing’s father.”

“Pfft, hahaha… Er.” Maomao quickly covered his mouth.

Lu Jianxing corrected him numbly, “…No, he’s not.”

Sister Yun added, “I know. He’s not nearly old enough to have fathered you.”

“I am,” Qiao Man said, his small face turning serious. “It’s okay, Xingxing. Even if you won’t acknowledge me, I won’t hold it against you.”

Since it was all Qiao Daman’s fault, Qiao Xiaoman took the blame without hesitation.

“…” Sister Yun turned her head and asked, “Where did he come from?”

It took a lot of explaining before Lu Jianxing managed to clarify the child’s origins.

Hearing that the boy had latched onto him after a roadside Fortune-telling session, Sister Yun breathed a long sigh of relief. She had been terrified that he’d somehow fathered a child without her knowing. But she quickly grew puzzled. “You sent him to the police station, so how did he find his way here? Did you give him the address?”

“Of course not.” Lu Jianxing was just as baffled.

He looked down at the child clinging dependently to his side. His gaze lingered for a moment on the boy’s Taoist Robe and the Luo Pan in his hands. Recalling those tales of the supernatural, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

He said helplessly, “I really don’t know you. Besides, I can barely support myself, let alone you. Go try your luck with someone else.”

Qiao Man looked at him with concern. “Xingxing, are things going badly for you? It’s okay, I can support you with Fortune-telling. I’m very accurate.”

Accurate? As in, accurately predicting he has a five-year-old father?

Being chased around and called “son” by a five-year-old was giving Lu Jianxing a massive headache.

Maomao quickly stepped over and led the child away to play, while simultaneously contacting the police station to report the lost child.

As for Lu Jianxing, he planned to leave the entertainment industry, but there were still many matters to handle before he could quit. The sudden interruption from the child had broken his melancholy mood, so he began discussing things in low tones with Sister Yun.

Qiao Man sat obediently to the side, listening to them talk. However, he didn’t understand any of it and felt completely lost, so he resorted to secretly poking Maomao.

“What’s happening?” Qiao Man whispered.

Maomao replied in an equally low voice, “You know Brother Lu is a celebrity, right? He’s preparing to quit the industry.”

“Why?” Qiao Man asked. “Does he not like being a celebrity?”

“How could that be? Brother Lu works incredibly hard.” Maomao kept his voice very low, almost inaudible, but since the room wasn’t large, everyone could hear his muttering. “It’s just that Brother Lu has had terrible luck this year. Nothing is going right. He was on the rise with great momentum, then suddenly everything started going downhill… Sigh, I don’t know which deity he offended⁶ to end up so miserable.”

After listening for a while, Qiao Man finally understood a little.

“I know why,” he said.

Maomao asked, “What?”

Qiao Man said, “He’s a victim of Luck Borrowing.”

Translator’s Notes