Chapter 3: The Weight of Trust
After asking, Lucas felt guilty.
He shouldn’t have asked.
But he wanted to know.
He and Evelyn had spent that night together. Now there was Cici. After seeing Evelyn again, Lucas couldn’t pretend he felt nothing.
Back in college, Evelyn had been the kind of girl most guys only dared to look at from a distance.
Beautiful. Quiet. Hard to approach.
Three years had passed.
She looked calmer now. Colder too.
And still beautiful.
If there was still a chance to try again with her, Lucas would be lying if he said he didn’t want it.
But if Evelyn already had someone else...
Then forget it.
Cici thought about it, then shook her head.
"Nope."
Lucas’s eyes brightened.
So there was still hope.
The thought came too fast, so he pressed it down. Cici had only just come to him. He hadn’t figured out how to be a dad yet, and here he was thinking about her mom.
Yeah.
Not his proudest moment.
"Cici, go play for a bit."
Lucas set her down beside the couch and placed her little bag next to her.
"Daddy’s gonna put your things away first."
"Okay!" Cici nodded.
Lucas dragged the suitcase into the bedroom.
The room was small. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk—after that, there was barely any space left.
He laid the suitcase on the floor, unzipped it, and reached for Cici’s clothes.
Then his hand stopped.
Under the clothes, there was another bag.
Lucas pulled it out and opened it.
Cash.
Several neat bundles.
He counted them once.
Twenty thousand dollars.
He stared at it for a while.
There was a note tucked inside.
The handwriting was neat and clean. Lucas knew it was Evelyn’s.
"Lucas, this is three months of living expenses for you two. I know you don’t have a job right now, so take care of Cici first. Once she starts kindergarten, you won’t have to watch her all day."
Lucas read the note twice.
Then he let out a breath.
Evelyn had thought of everything.
She knew he was unemployed. She knew Cici showing up would turn his life upside down. So she had prepared the money in advance, as if she had already handled the trouble before it reached him.
But Lucas didn’t plan to touch it.
Cici was his daughter.
Taking care of her was his responsibility.
He wasn’t going to take money from Evelyn just to raise his own child.
Lucas put the cash back and continued sorting through Cici’s things.
Little dresses.
Little jackets.
Socks.
Pajamas.
A toothbrush.
Hair ties.
A small towel.
Everything was packed neatly.
Evelyn had taken good care of her.
Before long, Lucas had put everything away.
Just as he closed the suitcase, the Super Dad System’s voice sounded in his head.
[Host has organized the luggage. System Space unlocked.]
[System Space: 1,000 cubic meters. Host may store touched items inside.]
Lucas froze.
He looked at his hands, then at the suitcase.
Organizing a suitcase unlocked System Space?
One thousand cubic meters.
It wasn’t endless, but it was more than enough. Most houses didn’t have that much space inside.
Lucas looked at the bag of cash again.
He reached out and touched it.
"Store."
The bag vanished.
Lucas held his breath.
A second later, he thought about taking it back out.
The bag reappeared in his hands.
Same weight.
Same fabric.
Same thick bundles pressing against his palm.
It worked.
And it was easy.
Lucas stared at the bag for a few seconds.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
"This is good."
He kept his voice low.
Even if the system gave him nothing else, this storage space alone could change his life.
Outside the bedroom, Cici sat in the living room, playing with her little bag.
The apartment was old and cramped. The light wasn’t great. The walls looked like they hadn’t been painted in years.
But with Cici there, the place didn’t feel so empty.
Lucas looked at the cash in his hand, then at Cici outside the bedroom door.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
"Life’s really something."
He lowered his voice.
"Twenty-four years old. Couldn’t even keep a normal relationship... and now I have a daughter."
He was happy.
He was lost too.
Becoming a dad overnight wasn’t something he could get used to in one afternoon.
"Should I tell Mom and Dad?"
Lucas stood in the bedroom doorway and looked at Cici.
She sat beside the couch with her little bag hugged to her chest, looking around the cramped apartment like it was a new world. Her feet didn’t reach the floor, so they swung lightly in the air.
She looked calm.
But not relaxed.
Lucas watched her for a while.
Of course he could tell his parents.
A surprise granddaughter would probably scare them half to death.
The problem was, he was still trying to catch up.
Evelyn showing up after three years.
Cici calling him Daddy.
The Super Dad System appearing in his head.
One of those would have been enough.
All three in one day was too much.
And then there was Evelyn.
That was the hardest part to explain.
An accident three years ago.
A woman who left with nothing but a note.
A daughter placed in his arms today.
Even if Lucas told the truth, it would still sound ridiculous.
Better not say anything yet.
Once he got used to being a dad, then he could tell them.
Lucas took a breath, pushed the thought aside, and walked back into the living room.
He crouched in front of Cici and picked her up.
"What do you like to eat?"
Cici was small and light, almost weightless in his arms. Her little hands rested on his shoulder.
Lucas hadn’t noticed how tense he was until she leaned against him.
That small bit of weight steadied him.
Cici thought for a bit.
"I like meat!"
Then she added, very seriously, "And eggs."
After that, she wrinkled her nose.
"I don’t like vegetables. They taste weird."
Lucas laughed.
"Cici, meat is fine, but you still have to eat vegetables." He squeezed her little hand. "If you only eat meat, your tummy’s gonna hurt. At home, do you usually eat what the nanny makes?"
"Yeah!" Cici nodded.
Then she leaned close to Lucas’s ear.
She even covered her mouth with one hand, like she was about to tell him something important.
"Daddy, I’m gonna tell you a secret."
Lucas lowered his head.
"Okay. Daddy’s listening."
Cici whispered, "Mommy’s cooking isn’t good."
Lucas blinked.
Before he could say anything, Cici continued in a smaller voice.
"But when Mommy cooks, I eat more."
Lucas paused.
"Why?"
Cici giggled and pressed her cheek against his shoulder.
"Because then Mommy stays home. If Mommy’s home, I get to see Mommy more."
Lucas’s smile faded.
The living room went quiet.
Outside the window, a car passed in the distance. The sound came and went.
Cici stayed in his arms, still smiling.
She had no idea how much that sentence hurt him.
She was only three.
But she had already learned to eat a few extra bites of food she didn’t like just so her mother might stay home a little longer.
Lucas looked down at her.
For a while, he couldn’t say anything.
He had thought Cici was only a surprise.
A cute little daughter who had appeared out of nowhere and left him clumsy and confused.
Only now did he understand.
Before coming to him, this little girl had been waiting too.
Waiting for her mom.
Waiting for a dad.
Waiting for someone to have time for her.
"Cici," Lucas said.
He kissed her cheek.
"Mommy’s busy."
Cici looked at him.
"But Daddy isn’t."
Lucas held her a little closer.
"Daddy has time for you."
Cici looked at him for a second.
Then she smiled.
"Some kids said I don’t have a daddy."
She wrapped her arms around Lucas’s neck.
"They’re wrong. I have a daddy. And my daddy is the best daddy."
Lucas went quiet.
He had only just become a father.
He didn’t even have a child’s chair.
He didn’t know what she should eat, when she should sleep, or how to take care of a three-year-old girl.
But in Cici’s eyes...
He was already the best.
That trust came too fast.
And it was heavy.
