"Waaaa, Daddy... Am I going to turn into a giant panda...?"

Just woke up, Chaochao's slightly curly brown hair was disheveled. She cried in her father's arms. During the night, she couldn't help but lift her head and look in the mirror. When she met his dark brown panda eyes, she broke down again in a second.

"Waaaaah... Daddy, I'm not going to get kidnapped, am I?"

Immediately, a tragic image flashed through Chaochao's mind: she was grabbed by a group of men in overalls, put into a pickup truck's iron cage and taken away, and all she could do while locked up was pound on the iron bars and cry, "Let her out!"

Waaah, I can't think about it anymore. What will Daddy do without her?

The system repeatedly tried to speak, but then held back – because it was indeed a good way to solve the little dumpling's addiction problem.

Huo Qin, the little dumpling's imagined, soon-to-be-alone father, slowly let out a breath and patted the little head that had buried itself back in his arms, "You didn't turn into a giant panda..."

Chaochao, who became more lucid the more she cried, agreed.

Giant pandas love to eat bamboo, and she loves to eat shrimp.

Their tastes are completely different.

The baby's cries in Huo Qin's arms grew even more heart-wrenching, almost making Huo Qin's shoulders go numb.

"Then, am I poisoned?!"

But everyone else's forehead is dark, so why is it spreading to her eyes? Does this mean she's seriously ill? Waaaaah.

Huo Qin closed his eyes slightly: "...These are the dark circles under your eyes from staying up all night watching TV."

The muffled sobs in his arms stopped abruptly. Chaochao slowly lifted her head from his shoulder, sniffed, and then blankly repeated, "Dark...dark circles?"

"Yes, because of staying up late and lack of sleep."

"Is it really not poisoning?"

"If you're worried," Huo Qin tilted his long neck back slightly, his dark eyes calmly looking down at her, "you can go to the hospital for a blood test."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little hand that had been tightly gripping his collar loosened as if she had been electrocuted. Turning around to look in the mirror, the little dumpling seemed to have selective amnesia and muttered to herself:

"So this is what dark circles look like?"

It's the one that appeared on Uncle Xie Yulin's face that day.

The little dumpling, her face resting on her hands, looked left and right. After a long while, she let out a heavy sigh. Weak, pitiful, and helpless, she nestled into Huo Qin's arms, her weak voice trembling slightly as she asked, "Daddy, when will my dark circles go away..."

Within the two dark brown eye circles, the round, teary eyes were clearly visible, as if a magnifying glass effect had been applied to the eyes, presenting all emotions clearly and vividly.

Now they look like two poached eggs.

Huo Qin subtly averted his gaze, suppressing the upward curve of his lips, and said calmly, "Perhaps resting early today will help him recover."

Having to accept the dark circles under her eyes, Chaochao's mood finally improved a little after she sighed and enjoyed her father's face-wiping service and finished breakfast.

Fortunately, my brother went to work early this morning, and only my father and Aunt Ning were at home.

After finishing the last bite of the custard bun, Chaochao solemnly picked up a cup of soy milk and gulped it all down.

She even had the smart speaker in the living room play a sad, slow song, immersing the whole little dumpling in a self-created melancholic atmosphere.

Aunt Ning looked at the little dumpling wiping its mouth, and the more she looked at those two "dark circles" under its eyes, the more she liked it. Every move it made was so cute that it touched people's hearts.

She took the little dumpling's empty cup and asked softly:

"Would Chaochao like another drink?"

"No, Auntie... I can't drink anymore."

With dark circles under her eyes, Chaochao politely waved her hand in refusal and let out a long sigh of melancholy.

Another drink wouldn't suit her current sad mood.

"Okay...then let Auntie know when Chaochao wants to drink it."

Aunt Ning expressed her regret appropriately, her face unconsciously smiling with deep affection for Tuanzi. She stood aside with a glass in hand, her kind gaze following the sad little Tuanzi as she climbed onto the living room sofa, then sadly picked up the remote control.

Then, she gradually lost herself in the cheerful and lively cartoons. Originally, Chaochao only wanted to take a quick look, but now she was holding her little feet and staring intently at the TV, grinning from ear to ear, completely forgetting her tragic character.

Except for the occasional black screen during a transition in the animation, which made Chaochao, who was engrossed in watching, suddenly see herself on the big screen with dark brown eye circles and a silly grin, the smile on the little dumpling's face froze.

She picked up the remote and pressed fast forward.

She'll pretend she didn't see it this time, but please don't show up again next time.

When the adorable little sheep reappeared on TV, her little face once again revealed a carefree, innocent smile.

Today, Huo Qin, who is working from home, occasionally passes by the living room and can't help but bend down, cup his fingers around Chao Chao's face, and look down into her two panda eyes, with a smile hidden in his calm expression.

Unfortunately, Chaochao was too busy glancing at the TV to notice this fleeting trick.

"Remember not to rub your eyes."

Huo Qin released his fingers from the little boy's cheek and said this in a low voice.

"Yes, Daddy, I know."

Chaochao then turned her head and nodded firmly.

Her dad had told her this morning that rubbing her eyes would slow down the fading of dark circles, and she took it to heart.

Looking into the little boy's trusting eyes, Huo Qin, who was rumored to be ruthless to the point of being appalling in the business world, felt a subtle sense of guilt. He straightened up, gave an ambiguous "hmm," and then turned and left the living room.

But the little dumpling's happiness didn't last long.

Around noon, the doorbell rang in the entryway.

Then Aunt Ning's slightly surprised voice came:

"Young Master Xie, you've arrived."

"!!!"

The little dumpling, who had been comfortably lounging on the sofa, suddenly sat up abruptly, turned around aimlessly like a headless fly, and then buried its head in the corner of the sofa.

When Xie Jingcheng changed into slippers and walked into the living room, the first thing he saw was Xie Jingcheng's trembling little butt sticking out.

Xie Jingcheng: "..."

Is this some kind of new kind of welcoming ceremony?