"By the way," Wu Shen asked cautiously, "if I really am your dad… what's your mom's name?"
He didn't believe for a second that Wu Yi was actually his daughter—…But for some reason, a tiny spark of hope still flickered in his chest.
Ah, the sorrow of a single dog.
"Kasumigaoka Utaha! That's Mom!" Wu Yi announced with a radiant, confident smile.
"Pfft—! Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Wu Shen doubled over, choking on nothing. Thank goodness he wasn't drinking water, or his room would've turned into a sprinkler system.
"Dad? What's wrong? Cold? Sore throat?" Wu Yi tilted her head in worry.
"It's nothing… just…" Wu Shen wiped his mouth, expression bitter. "That's like… a level one hero challenging a max-level Demon King. On Hell Mode."
For reference: it was like trying to beat Dark Souls without healing items. Sure, some god-tier players could do it—but for Wu Shen, who sucked at games, it was basically ascending to heaven without a ladder.
"Dad, you need to be braver! Like her? Go chase her! Go confess! If confessing fails, keep pestering her! You can't win Mom's heart without trying!" Wu Yi raised her arms like some tiny romance coach.
"…Who taught you this garbage?" Wu Shen's mouth twitched.
Future me… what the hell are you teaching this kid?! My daughter can't be this vulgar!
"Leaving that aside—if you are from the future, what's this about a time machine? Has technology really gotten that crazy?"
That was the big question. If time travel existed, human history should've been scrambled into nonsense already.
"I don't know the details, Dad," Wu Yi said, spinning in place before sitting cross-legged on the bed. "It just… happened."
According to her story, she had been living normally until one day her body began to turn transparent. Her presence faded, her voice vanished, and then—darkness.
When she woke, she found herself floating in a void before a glowing sphere. It told her that if she wanted to survive, she had to fix the altered timeline—by getting her parents together. Then, without warning, she woke up here in the past.
She had asked questions, of course. Like:
Why must it be this exact time?
What if genetics messed up and she was born as a boy?
The sphere's answers?
"It's fine, don't overthink it."
"If you nitpick details, you'll never get a girlfriend."
"I'm not Einstein."
"Please forgive me, I just evolved past ape level last week."
"…What an irresponsible light sphere. What a broken worldview," Wu Shen muttered.
Still, he was only half convinced. Could this loli really be his future daughter? After all—he'd never held a girl's hand, never kissed, never… done anything. Zero romantic experience.
Ugh. Another self-inflicted critical hit to the heart.
But before he could dwell on it, he noticed Wu Yi's figure starting to… flicker.
His breath caught. "W-what the…?"
Wu Yi froze, then gave a small, bitter smile. "It's happening again. Because you and Mom haven't met yet… the future is changing. I'll slowly disappear until no one remembers I existed."
Her eyes reddened, tears welling up as her small body trembled.
Wu Shen's chest tightened. The flickering wasn't fake—he could see it with his own eyes.
If she really was his daughter, then…
He reached out, gently stroking her soft black hair. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let my cute daughter disappear."
Isn't it just conquering a girl? Who's afraid of who?!For my daughter, I'll throw away my shame and pride!
Shame is precious. Integrity is more so. But for my daughter's sake, I can toss them both in the trash!
Just as Wu Shen was basking in his own noble resolve, Wu Yi stopped sobbing entirely and looked up at him.
"Dad… head pats are outdated. You should really study modern strategy."
Wu Shen's smile froze. Three seconds of cool and then mockery? Where was the touching father-daughter moment? Where was the affection boost? Give me back my resolve!
"…So you were faking it?" He pinched her cheek—it was so soft it could probably squeeze out water.
Wu Yi's smug little grin said it all. "I had to motivate you somehow, Dad. What an unpromising father."
"Then was that flickering just now also fake?" Wu Shen narrowed his eyes.
"Hehe… yeah, just some light and shadow tricks. Got you, Dad!"
But as she said it, her gaze darted sideways, and her fingers began twirling unconsciously.
Wu Shen froze. He knew those tells.
His father's booming voice echoed in his memory:"Son! Don't think I don't know—you look away and fidget when you lie! Spit it out!"
Wu Shen stared at Wu Yi.
In that moment, he understood far more than he wanted to.