As a father, I just want to quietly watch you live a long life

Great Vista, Yun Province, Fei Lei City.

An overnight snowfall blanketed the entire dilapidated city in a layer of silver, the cold biting to the bone.

The gray, overcast sky stretched above, and the wind, sharp as a blade, cut through with a frigid sting.

Li Che tugged his thin cotton coat tighter and held a stiffly frozen crucian carp in his hand. This fish, acquired at a steep price, was something he had managed to source during the harsh winter.

It was meant to nourish his wife, who was currently pregnant.

Rubbing at his scruffy beard, he blew a puff of frosty breath into his palms. Bracing himself against the bitter wind, Li Che trudged through the snow-laden streets of Fei Lei City, heading quickly toward home.

*Nineteen years had passed since he crossed into this world. From a newborn baby to the struggling common man that he was now, Li Che had long given up on the fantasy of some miraculous "Golden Finger" system making his life easier.*

*Towering skyscrapers, dazzling neon lights—those images were like moonlight reflecting on water, ethereal dreams that were forever out of reach.*

This world resembled an ancient era but was far more perilous. Natural disasters, human conflict, and rampant evil spirits made survival a formidable challenge for the common folk.

*After coming to terms with his circumstances, Li Che had one simple goal: to protect his wife, his soon-to-be child, and the warmth of their home, living out this second life as peacefully as possible.*

Following his family's arrangements, he had married at eighteen. Their wedding night had been fruitful, and now, ten months later, his wife was approaching her due date.

Fei Lei City was vast, divided into the Inner City and the Outer City. The Inner City was reportedly the residence of noble families and high-ranking officials. Its streets were broader, its lifestyle decadent, and its security exceedingly strict.

Only those with status could live in the Inner City.

As for the Outer City, it housed the hardworking and impoverished populace on whom the city relied for labor and production.

After walking several miles along the main avenue, Li Che turned into a narrow alley. A row of low, black-tiled earthen houses came into view.

His hurried footsteps crunched against the soft, snow-covered ground with a crisp creaking sound.

"Che! Oh, thank heavens, Che, you're finally off work and back!"

"Your wife's about to give birth—quick, go check on her!"

"You're going to be a father soon!"

From a distance, some familiar neighbors noticed him and shouted excitedly.

Li Che froze, his heart thudding fiercely.

*A wave of nervousness surged over him, but he immediately quickened his pace, breaking into a run toward the modest earthen house that was his home. Behind him, the pristine snowflakes scattered and danced in his wake.*

The sky was already tinged with twilight as Li Che reached his doorstep. The old wooden door was ajar, and inside, he heard a woman's soft cries of pain and the hurried encouragement of a midwife.

"Oh, you're back?"

In the small courtyard outside the house, an elderly man clad in an old, patched Confucian robe layered over a cotton jacket was seated on a broken wooden stool. He puffed on a hand-rolled smoke pipe, the glowing tip flaring faintly in the cold air.

This old scholar was none other than Li Liang, Li Che's uncle.

When Li Che was just eight years old, both of his parents had succumbed to illness. He had been taken in by Li Liang's family, who had helped raise him to adulthood and even assisted him with his marriage.

"Don't worry," Li Liang said around the pipe, exhaling a plume of smoke. "Grandma Lei is the best midwife within a ten-mile radius. Xiao Ya will be fine. Both mother and child will surely be safe."

*Though this was his second life, it was the first time Li Che was about to become a father. Unsurprisingly, his nerves were on edge.*

Still clutching the frozen crucian carp, he paced anxiously in front of the house, his footsteps eating into the snow.

Annoyed, Li Liang smacked his lips in impatience. "What's with all your pacing, you rascal? You're about to be a father—act like one! Show some composure!"

"And could you, for heaven's sake, put down that frozen fish already?"

Li Che glanced at him but remained silent. He didn't set the fish down, though he did stop pacing.

Just then, a piercing cry—the unmistakable wail of a newborn—rang out from inside the house.

Li Che's eyes instantly sharpened, his heart clenching as though squeezed tightly by an invisible hand.

Li Liang, the old scholar, also stood up immediately, extinguishing his smoke pipe as he stared hopefully toward the house.

Suddenly, a low, thunderous rumble echoed across the dim sky, startling Li Liang so much that he shivered involuntarily, mumbling under his breath.

Li Che instinctively tilted his head back. High above, he could faintly make out the shadowy outline of something like a Thunder Dragon coiling and twisting amidst the clouds, flickering in and out of sight.

*A birth accompanied by an anomaly?*

*What is this—some kind of fantasy novel?*

Li Che dismissed the thought almost immediately. As the midwife's voice urgently called out to him, he rushed into the house without pause.

The warmth of the small carbon furnace inside drove away the chill, filling the room with a cozy atmosphere.

The midwife cradled a tiny, red-faced baby in her arms and glanced up at him. "Congratulations, Master Li—congratulations! You've been blessed with a precious daughter."

Joy spread across Li Che's face. For a moment, he didn't know what to do with the frozen fish in his hand. All he could manage was to stammer repeatedly, "Thank you, thank you…"

After hastily expressing his gratitude to the midwife, it dawned on him to finally discard the fish.

With slightly trembling hands, he carefully took the child and gazed at her intently.

An inexplicable sense of connection surged within him, something rooted deep in his very blood. Although the newborn's wrinkled skin didn't offer any clue to her future appearance,

*Li Che was certain that this baby girl was the most beautiful child in the entire world.*

After all, she was his daughter.

Just as Li Che's heart swelled with joy and his eyes remained glued to his daughter's tiny face,

The scene before him abruptly blurred. A fantastical vision unfolded: Amid a desolate, barren expanse, the earth cracked open as emerald-green shoots sprouted. The saplings grew vigorously, piercing upward into the heavens.

In an instant, the shoots became a massive tree—a towering colossus covered in lush, sprawling branches.

"What the…"

Li Che muttered, utterly bewildered.

He saw that on the enormous tree, quivering leaves shimmered, faintly reflecting a scene. It was the exact moment outside the house when he had heard his daughter's first wail.

The image faded swiftly, and the giant tree's leaves began contracting at a visible speed, swirling like a vortex before condensing into a single radiant fruit—crystalline and shimmering with seven colors.

...

[Joyful Arrival of a Daughter, Bonds Formed]

[Birth of a Beloved Child, Dao Tree Bears Fruit]

[Your daughter has been safely delivered. You have obtained a Dao Fruit.]

...

Li Che snapped back to reality as his daughter's cries continued to echo.

"Husband, let me see our baby…"

The feeble voice of a pale but beautiful young woman on the bed reached him. Li Che quickly and gently approached her with the baby in his arms.

"Wife, look—our child!"

Li Che's grin widened uncontrollably, his joy radiating brightly.

As for the Dao Fruit… it could wait. Right now, his thoughts were consumed entirely by his wife and daughter.

Zhang Ya, his wife and other half, was the woman who had chosen to entrust her life to him in this chaotic, perilous world.

"Husband, the baby's nose looks so much like yours—it's so straight." Zhang Ya, though weak, was filled with happiness as she reached out a slender finger to touch the baby's tiny nose gently.

Li Che's gaze softened as he looked at her. "Wife, was it painful?"

Zhang Ya pressed her pale lips together and shook her head with a small, happy smile. "It didn't hurt. I'm just happy."

"Husband, what shall we name our child?"

Zhang Ya's anticipation was clear, but then a thought struck her. Her gaze drifted past Li Che, landing on the old scholar lingering by the doorway.

Li Che caught the glance and noticed Li Liang's furrowed brows. For once, the old scholar didn't jump at the chance to flaunt his literary talent or vie for the right to name the baby.

Li Che smirked, already having an idea of what his uncle was thinking, but he didn't dwell on it. Taking his wife's cold hand in his own, he spoke softly. "I've already thought it through over the past days."

"This winter has been so bitterly cold. I only hope our little one can grow up warm and safe. Let's name her Li Nuanxi."

"Warmth like the morning sun—banishing illness and pain, and growing up in peace and happiness."

Li Che's voice was soft and tender as he explained.

Zhang Ya's smile deepened. "Nuanxi—it's such a beautiful name…"

In Zhang Ya's embrace, little Xi Xi seemed to hear her name and stopped crying momentarily, even giving a faint smile.

But not long after, she opened her tiny mouth and wailed anew.

The midwife hurried over. "She must be hungry—it's time to feed her."

At those words, both Li Che and the old scholar quickly stepped out of the earthen house.

...

...

In the courtyard, goose-feather snowflakes were drifting down from the sky.

The biting chill of midwinter crept in.

Li Che's face, however, was lit with an unwavering smile. So this—this was what it felt like to be a father. A deep sense of responsibility to protect his wife and child arose within him.

Yet, the old scholar seemed less than thrilled. He relit his smoke pipe, puffing away with a sullen expression.

Li Che caught the scent of the smoke and frowned. "Uncle, put that out—the baby's here."

Li Liang sighed, extinguished the pipe, but grumbled, "It's just a girl. Why couldn't it have been a boy? A girl doesn't carry on the Li family name…"

Li Che chuckled faintly. "A boy, a girl—does it matter?"

"Are we inheriting the throne or something?"

Li Liang's patriarchal mindset wasn't so easily shaken, but the remark left him momentarily speechless. He simply muttered under his breath while lowering his head.

Li Che shook his head lightly, opting not to press the issue further.

Instead, he picked up the frozen crucian carp and headed for the kitchen to prepare a steaming bowl of fish and tofu soup for his wife.

While the soup simmered on the stove,

Li Che finally had a moment to relax and turned his attention to the Dao Fruit that had appeared alongside his daughter's birth.