Xiao Yunyun helplessly hugged her daughter, preventing her from falling, while also feigning a reproachful expression, pressing her forehead against her daughter's as a mild punishment.
"My good daughter, why aren't you obedient? Why did you run out by yourself? Don't you know it's dangerous outside?"
"Mom, are you kidding me? Can't you see Grandma behind me?"
Xiao Yunyun's daughter pouted cutely and said.
"Uh..."
Well, she only then noticed her mother, who had hurried over following them.
"Alright, get down. You're too heavy now. Hanging on me like this is really heavy!"
"Mom, I'm not fat! You're talking nonsense, you're making things up, you're secretly scheming, you're imagining things..."
"Stop, stop, stop. Who taught you all this?"
"You did."
"Oh dear, I taught you that?"
"Who else! Isn't that what you say when you're bad at games and still make excuses to argue with people online? Huh?"
The three-year-old little girl showed her mischievous side.
Just as she was puffing out her chest, hands on hips, with an expression like "I'm so awesome", her gaze was drawn to the jade pendant in Xiao Yunyun's hand.
She immediately jumped back to the ground, and with a swoosh, extended her little chubby hand and grabbed it, successfully snatching the pendant from Xiao Yunyun's hand. She held it up high, her eyes sparkling with starlight as she looked at it.
"Mom, this pendant is so beautiful~ It's like a golden deer running in the sunset sky. Is this the birthday gift you're giving me? I love it so much~"
"...It's not from me."
"Then who is it from?"
"He..."
Tap, tap...
"Granddaughter, why did you run so fast? Grandma almost couldn't catch up. Ouch, my poor back."
Just as Xiao Yunyun was about to say something, a remarkably well-preserved, dignified and elegant woman stood before the two.
Her arrival interrupted Xiao Yunyun's words and also diverted her daughter's attention.
"Grandma, this is my birthday gift! It's super pretty!"
"Oh? Let Grandma see. Huh? This pendant... is this fire opal? No, it's sunset opal, right? But isn't that... Hmm? And there's a golden deer inside?"
Strange, extremely strange.
No matter how she looked at it, it was the sunset opal she knew, but that kind of stone had long been preserved in top-tier museums.
Whether there are any other sunset opals in this world, nobody knows.
But what's most special is that there's actually a lifelike golden deer inside?
Is that possible?
It's not agate, with fossils preserved inside. No matter how you feel it, the texture is just like a piece of jade.
"Daughter, who gave you this pendant?"
"Mom, just drop it!"
"Heh, I really want to know who has such means to give something like this. If this pendant were sold, a valuation of several hundred million would be an understatement!"
"Ah... that expensive?"
"What else? The main thing is the golden deer inside the jade. There's no knowing what method was used to form it!"
"...I don't know. Maybe it's resin craft?"
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"I don't know if you're stupid. Anyway, I'm stupid, okay."
Xiao Yunyun pouted, impatiently took the pendant from her hand, gave it back to her daughter, adjusted the length of the red string, and put it on her.
"Good daughter, you must wear this pendant well, okay? Don't take it out to show people casually, because someone might steal it!"
"Oh, oh! I know, Mom! So, can we go get the cake now?"
"Hehe, you little foodie. Let's go! Ignore your grandma. Let's go get the cake~"
=====
On the other side, Kaito rarely bought a pack of cigarettes from a convenience store, took one out, smoked it for a while, and then revealed a helpless smile.
"I really am an idiot. What was I running for."
After finishing, Kaito thought about it and threw the cigarettes and lighter into the trash can.
He had quit smoking long ago and should stick to it from now on.
'Forget it. The past should be left in the past.'
'I still have a better future!'
This senior was just one of the beautiful memories in Kaito's life.
After taking a taxi home, Kaito threw his things onto the sofa in the master bedroom and took out a large amount of snacks, placing them on the table.
"Here, these are some snacks you might be interested in. I also bought some desserts. If you can't finish them, put them in the fridge to keep them from spoiling."
"Thank you, Master."
Baal happily took the snacks and went off to enjoy them.
Kaito changed back into his pajamas, picked up his phone, and prepared to check the chat group's dynamics.
Scrolling through the message history, ultimately, everyone chose to participate in this parent-child activity. However, some mothers, considering their daughters were too young and afraid of giving them any physiological shadow, chose to go alone.
For example, Shodai, Akina, Irisviel, and Kie chose not to bring their daughters.
The rest indicated they would bring their daughters to participate.
After some more discussion, except for those who needed to sleep early for a normal routine, the rest checked in and went to bed.
After all, departure was at 9 AM tomorrow. They needed to get up early to prepare!
—Ding
[Today's check-in: 52 points obtained]
[You now have a total of 80 points!]
"Pity, not enough for one draw."
Regretfully, Kaito eventually went to sleep holding Baal.
Then...
6:30 AM, Kaito was in tears.
The drowsiness upon waking up, that regret – Kaito really wanted to strangle the version of himself who stayed up late last night.
But thinking of the clarity at night, that confidence, that arrogance, Kaito forgot who he was again.
Alright, I admit it. I was messing around last night, so I slept a tiny bit later.
"Master, get up. Didn't you say you'd get up at 6:30 sharp?"
"Let me sleep 10 more minutes! Just 10 minutes!"
"...You said the same thing 10 minutes ago."
"Ridiculous. If what you said was even a little bit accurate, it wouldn't be so completely inaccurate. The last time I heard that was the last time!"
After saying this, Kaito pulled the covers over his head and went back to sleep.
"...Master, are you playing word games with me? If you don't get up, I'll have to shock you!"
"!!!"
Awake, awake!
"Oh my, what nice weather today!"
"It seems Master remembers last night's electric shock quite vividly? See if you dare next time. Hmph~"