Chapter 3 Mistake You for My Dad

If the person standing in front of her right now were Andy, Lily wouldn't tell him anything. He wouldn't be able to get a single word out of her. In fact, without telling him anything, she would still have the audacity to cling to him for a long time.

But now, the person before her was someone she had never met before.

From the very first sentence, Lucas was particularly gentle, as if nothing he heard could make him lose his temper. She couldn't read him, and because of this distant and unfamiliar relationship, she didn't dare to act too recklessly.

At the slightest change in his tone, Lily would lose all courage to keep hiding the truth.

Lily hesitated for a few seconds before reluctantly admitting, "I wasn't paying attention in class."

Lucas, "Mm."

"The teacher called on me to answer a question, and I got it right." Lily paused, slowly organizing her words. "Then he asked me if I wanted to take his place as our homeroom teacher. I thought that was definitely impossible, so I refused."

"..."

Lucas, ?

Lily cautiously glanced at him, as if trying to gauge his reaction, but quickly withdrew her gaze. She stood there obediently, looking completely harmless. "Then he said he would call my parents."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lily felt like the whole world had gone silent.

She had already omitted some details, making her feel quite guilty. Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, she couldn't help but say, "Don't you believe me?"

Hearing this, Lucas finally spoke, amusement in his voice. "I have to say, I really don't."

He seemed genuinely amused. His shoulders trembled slightly, his chest rising and falling, and a faint laugh escaped his throat, mixed with soft breaths. He was already strikingly handsome, but when he smiled, he was even more dazzling-his lips an especially vivid shade.

The two of them stood quite close.

Lily could still catch the lingering scent of smoke on him, which made her feel even more uneasy.

She stubbornly insisted, "I'm telling the truth."

Lucas, "Oh? You're not lying to me?"

Lily nodded firmly, looking extremely sincere. "No, it's true. If you don't believe me, you'll see for yourself tomorrow. Even if I lied now, the teacher would tell you the truth tomorrow."

"I see..."

Just then, the door opened again.

Andy walked in without looking at them, heading straight for the wardrobe. He said bluntly, "Kid, get out."

Although Lily felt guilty about falsely accusing him earlier, she still wasn't too willing to leave so easily. She muttered, "Can't I just stay here?"

Andy turned around and gave her a fake smile. "I need to change."

"Then this brother..." As she spoke, Lily tugged at the hem of Lucas's shirt. "Shouldn't this brother leave too? I don't think he wants to watch you change either."

Andy acted like he didn't hear her. "Close the door on your way out."

Taking this as agreement, Lily pulled Lucas along. "Okay, we'll close it."

"..."

Andy watched them for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively, too lazy to argue.

Because this wasn't a topic that a third person should hear.

As soon as they left the room, Lily immediately dragged Lucas into her own room, cautiously closed the door, and urgently asked, "Brother, are you coming tomorrow? I told you the truth..."

Lucas lowered his gaze, speaking lazily. "Why don't you ask your brother?"

"No way!" Lily's eyes widened. "I just wronged him like that... If I tell him, he'll immediately tell my mom."

Lucas chuckled. "Your brother isn't that kind of person."

"..."

His tone was impossible to read-she couldn't tell if he was being serious or joking.

Lily had threatened him earlier, but it was just empty talk. Now, she was completely out of options.

With no way out, she suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. Holding a grudge, she reminded him, "Brother, if you hadn't said that to my brother earlier, we wouldn't have argued."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

At that moment, the bedroom door opened.

Andy stood outside, looking at Lucas. "Let's go."

As if he hadn't heard Lily's words, Lucas simply nodded. "Kid, see you next time."

Lily was in disbelief.

How was this already a 'next time'?

They hadn't even finished talking yet!

Realizing that Lucas was really about to leave, Lily immediately grabbed his arm. "Are you guys leaving so soon? It's already late-why don't you stay for dinner?"

Lucas politely declined. "Next time."

Lily stared at him, refusing to let go.

Next time?

Did you already forget what we were talking about? Do you have memory problems just because you're older?

But she didn't dare say any of this out loud. Instead, she pitifully asked, "When is 'next time'?"

Lucas curved his lips into a smile but didn't answer.

Watching their dramatic farewell, Andy raised an eyebrow. "What are you two doing? Love at first sight? Lucas, take it easy. My sister is only twelve."

Lily instinctively corrected, "Thirteen."

Hearing that number, Lucas looked surprised, his gaze falling back on Lily.

"Thirteen?"

His tone suggested he found it unbelievably hard to believe.

As if the fact that she was already thirteen was utterly absurd.

His reaction struck Lily right where it hurt. She instantly forgot that she still needed his help and, feeling offended, said, "Are you trying to say I'm short and don't look thirteen at all?"

Andy leaned against the doorframe, fanning the flames. "That's exactly what he meant."

Lucas scratched under his eye and shook his head. "No."

But his tone lacked sincerity.

Lily glared at the two of them for a few seconds, clearly upset. "Forget it, I'm not talking to you guys anymore." She didn't bicker with Andy like before, as if genuinely hurt, and muttered under her breath, "I'll still grow."

Seeing this, Andy felt an unusual twinge of guilt and tried to comfort her. "Isn't being short a good thing? When you're thirty, people might still think you're eighteen."

That only made it worse.

Lily's expression darkened. "So is that why people keep mistaking you for my dad?"

"..."

Whatever guilt Andy had instantly vanished.

The little girl's eyes were still slightly red, looking as if she had been bullied terribly, but she wasn't about to back down.

Lucas, realizing he had upset her both times, sighed and softened his tone. "Thirteen... You're in eighth grade?"

Lily didn't look at him and replied stiffly, "Seventh."

"Which school?"

"Sunny School." Lily hesitated, unsure if her next thought was appropriate, but in the end, she gave in and added weakly, "Seventh grade, Class One."

Lucas drawled, "Sunny School, Seventh Grade, Class One-"

Then, he leaned down, meeting her eyes.

"Kid, what's your name?"

Lily pressed her lips together and mumbled, "Lily."

"Lily?"

"Yes." Lily avoided his gaze. "It means 'innocence.'"

Lucas playfully pinched her cheek. "Well then, little Lily."

"..."

Lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, he whispered so no one else could hear,

"Now do you know when 'next time' is?"

After saying goodbye to Rose, the two left The White family home.

The sun had completely set, painting the sky with hues of dusk, and the temperature had dropped a few degrees.

Lucas suddenly asked, "Your sister should be pretty well-behaved, right?"

"Well-behaved?" Andy scoffed, biting on a lollipop he had somehow found. "That little brat is in her rebellious phase. She's hard to handle."

Rebellious phase.

Hard to handle.

Well, not too bad.

Lucas thought for a moment. She was, after all, just a child with an immature mind, and he wasn't sure if anything serious had happened. He decided to bring it up to Andy anyway. "Your sister got called in for a parent-teacher meeting. She just asked me if I could meet her teacher on her behalf. You figure out what to do."

Andy clicked his tongue. "No wonder she kept trying to get you to stay for dinner. I knew she had something up her sleeve."

Lucas chuckled but didn't say anything.

"It's probably nothing serious. She's been called in a few times, always for the same reasons." Andy was looking down, replying to messages absentmindedly. "You free tomorrow? If you are, help me go instead. I've got something to do."

"Tomorrow, huh..."

"Yeah. If not, I'll just tell my mom."

He had just promised her, and now he was about to rat her out.

That kid would probably cry.

"Free or not, I guess I have to be," Lucas said lazily. "Can't go around lying to kids."

--

Hearing the sound of the front door closing, Lily peeked out, then ran barefoot over to Rose. "Mom, why did my brother come back?"

Rose replied, "He said he was playing basketball nearby and just stopped by to take a shower."

"But it's so late already! Why didn't you ask them to stay for dinner?"

"His friend had something to do." Rose didn't think much of it. She then asked casually, "Lily, did your brother really hit you?"

"..." Lily immediately felt guilty and stopped questioning further. She turned and ran to her room. "I'm doing my homework!"

Back in her room, she locked the door.

Lily jumped onto her bed, grabbing a plushie and hugging it tightly. She was still feeling upset, but her thoughts began to drift, and one particular sentence kept replaying in her mind.

-"Do you know when 'next time' will be?"

That must have been in response to her question, "When is next time?"

So that meant he was coming, right?

Lily finally felt relieved. She rolled over, her legs swinging in the air as she hummed a happy tune. She stared out at the darkening sky, continuing to think about what had happened earlier.

Going back further-

Lucas had reached out and pinched her cheek.

"..."

"?"

Lily sat up abruptly.

That man had pinched her cheek, right?

No mistake, right?

How could he pinch her cheek?

It was their first time meeting! How could he just pinch her cheek?!

And it wasn't just the pinch-

Why did he have to lean in so close?!

And... and! He even called her "little Lily"...

Forget it.

Lily tried to calm herself, pretending not to care. She muttered to herself, "Forget it."

He was helping her out, so she could let him off the hook.

Her gaze swept across the room, landing on the mirror on her desk.

She met her own reflection, noticing how red her face was.

Lily's composure instantly crumbled.

?

Why are you looking like you were the one taken advantage of?!

In all her thirteen years of life, this was the first time she had ever felt this way.

Lily flopped back onto her bed, wrapping herself tightly in her blanket, feeling the air inside grow thinner.

Then, she listened to the sound of her own heartbeat, growing louder and louder.

--

The next morning.

By the time Lily finished washing up and walked into the living room, Bill and Rose were already sitting at the dining table, having breakfast.

Since she had already found someone to help, she acted as if nothing had happened and didn't mention the parent-teacher meeting at all.

She sat down at the table.

Rose served her a bowl of lean meat porridge.

No one was really in the mood to talk so early in the morning.

The house was quiet.

Lily sipped her porridge slowly, suddenly remembering Lucas's reaction from yesterday. She let out a breath and asked in a small voice, "Dad, am I a little short?"

Bill looked at her and asked, "Did someone say that to you?"

Lily nodded and, as always, immediately blamed Andy. "My brother said so."

Rose said, "Don't listen to your brother."

Lily poked at the bottom of her bowl with her spoon. "But all my classmates are only twelve and taller than me. Even Iris is already 160 cm tall."

Bill comforted her, "You're still young. You'll grow taller."

"You guys are both tall. Why am I not growing? When I take the bus, people even give up their seats for me because they think I'm an elementary school kid." Lily's mood was visibly low. She asked gloomily, "Was my brother already 150 cm tall when he was thirteen?"

Rose hesitated and said, "Your brother is a boy, so-"

Bill suddenly interrupted her, answering Lily's question, "No."

"..."

"He wasn't that tall." Bill said calmly, "I don't remember exactly, but I have a vague impression. At that age, your brother was probably not even 140 cm."

"..."