After Li Xiaoshu was born, her father, Li Taizheng, seemed to forget his other son existed. He walked straight out of the ancient villa, clutching the wailing, hungry infant Xiaoshu, and strode through the snow-swept mountain pass back to the city.

Upon arriving home, he didn't bother with the key. Instead, he rang the doorbell of the next-door neighbor. A woman wearing a headscarf and pajamas opened the door. Through her shoulder, Li Taizheng glimpsed the remnants of a dinner feast—a table already ravaged—and a small pink crib gently swaying near the sofa, while a music box on the coffee table softly played a lullaby.

By this hour, everyone should have finished their New Year’s Eve dinner and departed, leaving the hostess behind to clean the battlefield. She was tidying the chaotic table while trying to soothe the baby to sleep with the music box.

The woman was first startled to see Li Taizheng covered in snow, holding an infant. After a moment of shock, she regained her composure and ushered them inside.

“Didn’t Mr. Li go back to your hometown for the New Year? Why are you back so soon?” The woman guided Li Taizheng to the sofa, poured him tea, and asked with curiosity.

Li Taizheng’s face flushed slightly, but he quickly composed himself, adopting an expression of helplessness. He said to the woman, “Mrs. Nangong, my luck today is truly indescribable. I was planning to spend the New Year back home, but my car broke down halfway. I had no choice but to walk the rest of the way. Midway, caught in the raging snowstorm, I found an infant by the roadside, crying. I figured if I hadn't brought him home, he would have frozen to death on the roadside in half an hour.”

“Is that so?” The woman placed a steaming cup of tea on the coffee table beside Li Taizheng. She casually picked up Xiaoshu, bounced him lightly, and exclaimed, “Goodness, this baby is lovely! Is it a boy?” She unfolded the swaddling clothes and glanced at the baby’s small bottom.

“Yes. I wonder what kind of parents could be so cruel as to leave a newborn on the roadside on such a snowy day.” With that, Li Taizheng took his teacup and took a gentle sip.

“Exactly! This umbilical cord looks freshly cut; he was probably only born a few hours ago! How heartless, to abandon a living, breathing person like he was a stray kitten or dog. Twenty years from now, if he finds his parents, he should give them a piece of his mind.” Mrs. Nangong, employing the distinctive cadence of a housewife, loudly condemned the cruel parents Li Taizheng had fabricated. This caused Li Taizheng’s face to cycle rapidly between red and pale, so he simply lowered his head and focused on his tea.

Seeing Li Taizheng remain silent, Mrs. Nangong’s eyes darted around shrewdly, wearing an expression of someone who thought she saw right through everything. She deliberately changed the subject. “Mr. Li, what are your plans for this child? Your wife will be back after visiting her family for the New Year, right? You two haven’t had a child in all these years…”

“Well, this decision primarily depends on Linghua’s opinion. If she takes a liking to him, we might as well keep him. If she doesn’t, he’ll have to be sent to the orphanage.” Li Taizheng set down his teacup, took Xiaoshu back, and prepared to stand and leave.

Just as he reached the doorway, he slyly reached down and pinched Xiaoshu’s bottom. Xiaoshu, who had been sleeping soundly, instantly opened his eyes and began to wail incessantly. Li Taizheng held him, soothing and rocking him, but every time Xiaoshu’s cries softened, he would sneakily pinch him again. He continued this until Xiaoshu was crying his lungs out, which in turn woke up Mrs. Nangong’s baby sleeping in the cradle.

The two infants crying in unison created a spectacular scene. Mrs. Nangong first picked up her daughter to comfort her. Just as her daughter quieted down, Li Taizheng would pinch Xiaoshu’s bottom again, causing him to shriek deafeningly, and Mrs. Nangong’s baby would immediately rejoin the chorus of cries. She tried comforting the first baby, then the second, but neither could be settled. Having no choice, Mrs. Nangong handed her daughter over to Li Taizheng and took the noisy Li Xiaoshu in exchange, lightly tapping his lips with her finger.

Feeling something near his mouth, Xiaoshu instinctively utilized his inherent sucking reflex and latched onto Mrs. Nangong’s finger, sucking vigorously.

“Ouch! Now I know why he wouldn't stop crying,” Mrs. Nangong said with an embarrassed smile toward Li Taizheng. “He’s hungry. I’ll take him inside to feed him. Could you sit here for a moment and watch over Yingzi for us?”

Li Taizheng nodded knowingly, holding Nangong Ying, and watched Mrs. Nangong enter the bedroom. A trace of a malicious smile touched his lips.