A Little Trick, the Scumbag Dad Can’t Hold the Knife After Understanding Love

Chapter 73

Ji Tingzhou was taken aback by Ji Nian's response. His heart felt as though it had been brushed by a soft, furry tail, leaving him weak and tender.

Ji Nian walked over and threw herself into his arms, her fingers unconsciously tracing the patterns on his clothes. She whispered softly, "Dad, you must stay healthy, okay?"

Recalling the System's earlier revelation that Ji Tingzhou would become a vegetative state in the future, her heart sank involuntarily.

The simple, sincere wish, accompanied by the child's tender voice, flowed into Ji Tingzhou's ears, stirring a warm current in his heart.

"Got it," he replied, helplessly ruffling the hair on the back of her head.

"Have you been holed up in the lab these past few days tinkering with this?"

Mentioning the incense, Ji Nian grew excited. "Yes, yes!"

She subtly glanced at his expression, noticing that Ji Tingzhou's face remained as calm as ever, his long eyelashes lowered as he examined the lotus-shaped incense. There was no sign of anger.

Ji Nian said to the System, *[He doesn't seem angry at all.]*

The System: *[...]*

*How should I know?*

Ji Tingzhou didn't call for anyone. Instead, he personally replaced the incense in his bedroom with the one Ji Nian had made.

He recalled Zhiliao mentioning that ever since he went on a business trip, Ji Nian had been disappearing every morning after breakfast, only reappearing at lunchtime, then vanishing again after her nap, and finally showing up for dinner.

A few days ago, she had even gone to the factory herself to fetch something.

She could have just given an order and waited for it to be delivered, but she insisted on going in person.

Not to mention, she had stayed up past her bedtime, fighting off sleep just to wait for him to return.

"Not bad," he praised, a gentle curve forming on his lips. His emerald-green eyes, usually so cold, now held a rare softness, tinged with a hint of heartache.

Ji Nian was momentarily dazzled by his expression, staring at him in a daze.

*He’s so handsome, hehe. Even if it’s just for his face, I’d make a hundred more of these.*

Soon, the scent of the incense filled the room. As Ji Tingzhou inhaled the fragrance, the irritability from his recent travels and sleepless nights seemed to be smoothed away by an invisible hand.

He relaxed completely, even feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over him.

Ji Nian pulled him to the bed and made him lie down.

Like a little adult, she gently stroked Ji Tingzhou's hair and patted him. "You’ve worked hard, Dad. Sleep now."

Her words seemed to carry a magical power, instantly lulling Ji Tingzhou into a deep slumber.

The incense wasn’t just fragrant; it also had a clever little twist.

Knowing that Ji Tingzhou couldn’t sleep without holding her, and guessing that he hadn’t slept well during his trip, Ji Nian had added a small dose of a potent sedative to the incense—something strong enough to knock out a bear.

After testing it, she diluted the mixture and added it to the incense, creating a sleep aid.

This way, Ji Tingzhou wouldn’t have to worry about sleep issues when he traveled.

She had been concerned about whether it would work on him, especially since she had heard that regular doses of sleeping pills no longer had any effect on him.

But now, it seemed...

"I really am a genius," Ji Nian declared proudly, tilting her chin up. She instructed the pink-headed turtle to turn off the lights, then climbed over her father’s body to the other side of the bed, pulled up the blanket, and lay down.

She fell asleep instantly.

The sleep-inducing incense worked on her too.

*Ji Nian’s creations are always top-notch.*

When Ji Tingzhou woke up, every pore in his body felt like it was sighing in contentment.

His gaze fell on the now-extinguished and slightly melted incense, and he realized it must have contained a sleep aid.

Otherwise, how could he have slept so soundly and defenselessly last night?

Beside him, Ji Nian’s sleeping posture was, as usual, a complete mess.

She was lying horizontally on her chicken-shaped pillow, one leg stretched out in a comical pose, with Ji Tingzhou’s sleep mask draped over one foot.

The sleep mask was usually stored under his pillow when not in use, and he had no idea how she had managed to fish it out from under his head.

He tucked the blanket around her and gently removed the sleep mask from her foot, placing it over her face.

Then he got out of bed and went to retrieve the gift he had received last night.

He knew it was his birthday yesterday.

The gift was most likely Ji Nian’s birthday present to him.

Ji Tingzhou had initially thought he would be angry, but after hearing Ji Nian’s words and seeing the effort she had put into the gift, any trace of anger vanished. Instead, he felt a deep sense of being cherished.

Looking at the two remaining incense sticks in the box, Ji Tingzhou carefully closed the lid, planning to store them in his safe.

He even felt a twinge of regret about using the one last night. If it weren’t for Ji Nian’s eager anticipation for him to try it, he would have never used it.

Zhiliao was waiting outside the door. When she saw him come out after washing up, she peeked inside.

"Let her sleep a bit longer," Ji Tingzhou said.

Hearing this, Zhiliao’s heart relaxed.

She observed Ji Tingzhou’s expression. In previous years, during this time, he would drown himself in alcohol, his temper so volatile that no one dared to approach him.

But now, Zhiliao couldn’t detect any of that familiar irritability on his face.

He looked calm, even a little soft, and if you looked closely, you could catch a glimpse of joy.

Zhiliao, rarely in the mood for teasing, asked, "Master, should I dispose of this year’s gifts as usual?"

Although everyone knew Ji Tingzhou didn’t celebrate his birthday, there were always those who, out of sheer audacity, sent gifts anyway.

Zhiliao had grown accustomed to not even reporting them, simply returning or destroying them.

Hearing her question, Ji Tingzhou glanced at her and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"If you’re that bored, go help Da Dan take a bath."

When Da Dan was first adopted by Ji Tingzhou, the dog feared nothing—except Zhiliao. The sight of her would send its tail between its legs.

In fact, the first time Zhiliao tried to bathe it, the silly dog had an accident, spraying her with urine.

Zhiliao: "......"

Noticing the teasing curve of Ji Tingzhou’s lips before he turned away, Zhiliao nodded outwardly but cursed inwardly: *Little brat.*

Despite her thoughts, she felt an unusual sense of relief.

Ever since Ji Nian arrived, Ji Tingzhou had become more... human.

Zhiliao, a staunch materialist, found herself entertaining the rare thought of praying to the gods.

*If there are gods in this world, please let this peace last.*

...

"Boss, we’ve brought him."

Chen Mo, who was sitting up and reading a book, placed a platinum bookmark between the pages and closed the book before looking up.

The subordinate who had been following him had been injured while protecting him and was now recuperating. The one who had just spoken was another subordinate.

A hunched-over man, trembling violently, was dragged in and thrown to the ground.

"I’ll tell you everything, everything! Please don’t kill me, don’t kill me..."

If Ji Nian had been there, she would have recognized the man as the administrator who had been caught stealing and selling materials.

The man, who had been arrested, somehow ended up here.

Without Chen Mo even needing to speak, the administrator spilled everything about that day.

To this day, he still didn’t know Ji Nian’s identity, only that he had offended someone important.

He deeply regretted that the factory manager hadn’t given him more information, which might have spared him this misfortune.

"What did the three of them look like?" Chen Mo asked, taking a sip of warm water to suppress a cough. His voice was hoarse.

"The woman had a scar on her face, and her eyes were terrifying. The man was built like a bear, and his presence was equally intimidating."

It was clearly Zhiliao and Wei Yang—Ji Tingzhou’s two remaining trusted aides.

"And the last one... was a child."

Hearing the word "child," Chen Mo spoke again. "Green eyes?"

The administrator nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"It was her who got me into this—ah!"

He was kicked in the back.

The subordinate retracted his foot expressionlessly. "We don’t need your unnecessary commentary."

The administrator shrank back, quietly gasping for breath.

Chen Mo’s expression was thoughtful.