Chapter 140: Chapter Twelve: Candy in the Drawer

The next morning, in the Director's Office of the Strange Strategies Bureau.

Lin Yun sat behind his desk, staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.

The events of last night kept replaying in his mind, giving him a persistent headache.

This headache wasn't new—the last time he'd felt it was when his daughter was cold-shouldering him. In truth, he couldn't figure out how to handle the current situation.

His daughter's irrational misunderstanding; the inexplicable appearance of a "foster daughter"; and Bai Jingxuan's dangerous thoughts revealed over the past two days… each seemed like a problem requiring deep consideration, yet now they all piled up together.

These problems weren't isolated—they were interconnected; solving one would inevitably trigger a chain reaction, activating the others as well.

If he handled them strictly, he'd have to be strict with Bai Jingxuan—but her issue clearly couldn't be resolved by scolding; that might even backfire.

If he handled them leniently, he'd never be able to clearly explain away the misunderstanding—preconceived notions were powerful, especially when both children had begun believing "this was the truth"; any defense would sound like an excuse.

What should he do? Should he just perform a magic trick right in front of the two girls and tell them, "I'm your dad"?

Lin Yun couldn't help but entertain this thought.

But then he remembered how his daughter had chased after him all night last night calling him "Mom"—to suddenly reveal this truth now would be so awkward, it couldn't be fixed by two years of cold silence.

The wall clock ticked softly, "tick, tick," while clear sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window, stretching the shadow of the desk across the floor. The shadow extended forward until it reached a pair of white ballet shoes.

Above the shoes lay a light green dress, belonging to a girl with a single green ponytail.

Bai Jingxuan, the "culprit" in Lin Yun's eyes, now stood inside the director's office.

In Bai Jingxuan's eyes, the middle-aged man before her had been silent for over a minute—since she entered, he hadn't uttered a word, all because she'd called him "Dad" when she walked in.

That single "Dad" had plunged Lin Yun into prolonged silence and contemplation.

—"Dad, what's wrong?"

After waiting so long without a response, Bai Jingxuan grew worried, assuming he was unwell for some other reason, and asked gently: "Are you feeling sick?"

Her voice finally pulled Lin Yun back from his thoughts.

Still immersed in memory, he instinctively opened his mouth to call the girl by her codename—but quickly realized he was no longer Senior Cuique.

Now, he was Lin Yun, sitting in the director's chair of the Strange Strategies Bureau.

"Why did you suddenly stop talking, Dad?" Bai Jingxuan had stepped up to the desk, tiptoeing, hands braced on the surface, watching him intently.

"How do I put this… could you please stop calling me that?" Lin Yun said helplessly.

"Can't I?" Bai Jingxuan blinked.

"It's not about whether you can or can't—it's that right now, we have no actual familial relationship."

Lin Yun softened his tone: "We aren't father and daughter. Calling me that will only cause misunderstandings."

"…I see."

Bai Jingxuan wasn't slow-witted; quite the opposite—she was highly attuned to others' feelings. Lin Yun's words instantly made her understand his intent. She let go of the desk edge, crestfallen: "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I'm not blaming you," Lin Yun sighed in relief.

"I overestimated my place. I've troubled Uncle."

Bai Jingxuan lowered her head slightly: "I just heard from Lin Xiaolu that this might be possible, so I assumed it was true. I never thought Uncle actually had no intention of adopting me…"

"No, I'm not troubled, and I haven't ruled out adopting you."

Seeing the girl's mood plummet, Lin Yun quickly added: "I mean, all this is still far from decided—it hasn't reached that point yet."

"So… does Uncle actually plan to adopt me?"

"... There's a possibility," Lin Yun carefully chose his words.

"Then aren't you my future Dad?" Bai Jingxuan tilted her head.

Lin Yun fell silent again.

"Dad, I want to join the clearance mission. I want to fight the bad guys."

"No."

"Dad, I want to go."

"... Sigh."

With nothing but a headache left, Lin Yun wearily pulled open his desk drawer and pulled out a few candies: "Here, have some candy."

He'd prepared these in advance after Bai Jingxuan's previous visit to the bureau, to distract her whenever he couldn't resolve a problem.

Bai Jingxuan loved candy and had no guard up around this supposed "Dad," so she reached out and took the candies from Lin Yun.

Seeing her accept them, Lin Yun relaxed slightly: "Good girl. I'll give you a few more. Go home today, okay?"

"I don't want to go home."

"Then I'll give you a few more to take back to Lin Xiaolu." Lin Yun pulled open the drawer again.

"Oh."

Bai Jingxuan obediently took the candies: "Then Dad, I'll go home today and come back tomorrow?"

"I have a meeting tomorrow," Lin Yun tried to refuse.

"Then I'll come the day after tomorrow."

"Don't come."

"See you the day after tomorrow! Dad."

But Bai Jingxuan ignored him completely, skipping and bouncing out with the candies in hand.

Is this child noticeably more lively around me than around Senior Cuique?

Watching Bai Jingxuan's retreating figure, Lin Yun sank into thought, then sighed helplessly and picked up the documents on his desk again.

This wasn't something he should be focusing on right now—he'd have to set it aside for now. With the disruptive child gone, he needed to focus on real work. The Strange Strategies Bureau was still in its infancy; he had no luxury to idle.

Yet just as Lin Yun spread out the documents and tried to focus on reading, a female voice with an electronic tone suddenly rang out in the director's office:

"Dad—"

The voice stretched out, lazy and laced with playful mockery.

He immediately understood who was speaking from behind, so Lin Yun could only set the documents down once more and, helplessly, turn his head to look behind him:

"I do not intend to criticize others' personal preferences, but at a time like this, could you please stop your sick sense of humor and refrain from using such a disgusting title, Your Excellency?"

2k points left until tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)