I Became the Rich Family’s Stepfather and Couldn’t Stop Laughing - Chapter 10

When the live broadcast equipment turned on automatically, what met the eyes of the audience was the scene of Xi Ling coaxing the cub.

The cute little dinosaur cub from yesterday had transformed into a little British gentleman in a suit. The new “mom fans” hadn’t even had a chance to scream and fawn over him before they noticed the corners of the cub’s eyes were flushed red. His large, full eyes were wet, and his little mouth was pressed into a tight line, looking less like he was sad and more like he was angry.

The barrage exploded instantly:

[Damn! What did Xi Gou (Xi the Dog/Scumbag) do again! You made my cub cry!!]

[Wuuuu, the summary post yesterday made me cry. Why doesn’t Mr. Huo care? He just lets Xi Ling abuse him?! Such a cute baby would be spoiled rotten in a normal family, QAQ]

[I almost believed this dog’s new script yesterday. Die, you trash who abuses children!]

Huo Xingmian sniffled his little nose. After drawing countless circles in his heart, he managed to calm down. He wasn’t a normal child; he wouldn’t allow himself to be provoked into tears unless it was part of his “performance.”

The stepfather had apologized in advance, and the pit had already been filled even if he was angry, it was of no use now. Huo Xingmian could only completely abandon this particular plan. With a soft, milky voice, he said blankly: “Da-Da, just, now, not, unhappy, duck.”

After speaking, he furrowed his small brows as if struggling to express himself so the other person could understand: “Da-Da, like, Mianmian, not, laughing, at you. Mianmian, also, like, Da-Da, it’s, okay.”

Xi Ling looked down at the cub in his arms with the red-rimmed eyes, his “Veteran Father” heart shattering into pieces. He understood! The child had been a bit bothered before, but upon learning that he wasn’t mocking him but acting out of affection, the cub had naturally accepted his friendly imitation.

Was there any child in this world more obedient and lovable than his cub?

No!

Xi Ling held the cub’s soft little face and couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his forehead: “Mianmian is the most obedient, most amazing, and cutest treasure!”

This was the second time Huo Xingmian had been kissed. For most of his life, he had been with Nanny Tian, and even when the nannies occasionally looked after him, they wouldn’t kiss him; the most intimate gestures were merely hugging him or giving him a soothing pat.

Compared to the first time he had his hand kissed forcefully, the shock brought by this forehead kiss was much less. Huo Xingmian could perceive the warm, soft sensation on his forehead much more clearly.

For some reason, looking at Xi Ling’s black eyes brimming with genuine emotion, he didn’t feel repulsed. When he was called a “three-most” treasure, he couldn’t help but tug at the corners of his mouth.

However, the cub quickly suppressed his emotions, revealing his signature “good baby” smile, stretching his mouth to show a row of neat little white teeth. His eyes curved into cute crescent moons; he looked incomparably happy, when in fact, he was just preventing his true feelings from showing.

He snorted coldly in his heart again: I don’t want to be the “treasure” of this stinky stepfather!

The father-son interaction successfully confused the viewers in the live broadcast room.

No matter how Xi Ling acted, coaxing the naive little cub into being happy, the fact that he was a piece of trash who abused children was an unshakable truth.

At the time the live stream started, the filming crew responsible for the show’s location shooting had also arrived.

Xi Ling and the cub changed into similar black coats. Although the materials were slightly different, both were dressed in black coats, black trousers, and Martin boots, with light-colored sweaters underneath. At a glance, they looked very much like a matching parent-child outfit.

Plus, their hair lengths were similar, and Xi Ling hadn’t done any styling today after naturally blow-drying, it was just the same “micro-split” hairstyle as the cub.

When the big and the small were put into the same frame, not only was the big one handsome and the little one cute, but their two equally perfect faces really did look somewhat similar.

[Damn, damn, damn, this disgusting trash is actually damnably good-looking!]

[To be fair, if Xi Ling didn’t do those disgusting things, he would definitely explode in popularity on this parenting show.]

[Is it because good-looking people are all similar? Why do the more I look at these two, the more harmonious they seem…]

Xi Ling led the cub for a quick spin in the garage and eventually chose a classic supercar, a Lamborghini.

The reason was that this one was matte black, which matched the cub’s black suede overalls, and the rear wing and side lines were a reddish-orange, consistent with the edging of the cub’s woolen coat.

The more Xi Ling looked at it, the more he felt it matched. He specifically spun the car door upward like a pair of wings in flight, let the cub stand by the car with his arms crossed to strike a cool pose, and quickly snapped two pictures. However, the “three-head-height” human toddler looked dorky and cute no matter how you looked at him.

For a moment, the barrage couldn’t bother to curse Xi Ling; it was all a scene of “Ah-Wei” (internet slang for being so attracted you faint) dying. Some even said: [I’m going to go prepare a black and red color-blocked sack! I can’t afford a supercar, but I can afford a sack!]

Until the car started, Xi Ling was still immersed in the thrill of being able to choose different supercars to match his current outfit.

Once on the road, the production team specially arranged a dual-camera setup.

One recorded the interaction between the father and son inside the car, and the other followed the supercar the whole way. Whether it was the explosive sound of the engine or the wild exhaust flames, it was perfectly recorded by the live stream lens.

The cameraman was probably a supercar fan, and even the viewers in the live stream could feel the passion and be infected by it. When the car stopped, the viewers were drooling with envy.

Looking closely, they realized that Xi Ling had parked the car at the entrance of the police station. Before the viewers could be shocked, the Lamborghini’s iconic scissor doors swirled upward. Black boots stepped on the ground, and as the lens moved up, a pair of straight, long legs stepped out.

Xi Ling reached back to pull the car door shut, turned, and walked toward the passenger side, quickly tidying up the slightly messy hem of his coat as he walked.

Probably sensing the wind was strong today, he buttoned a button with one hand, then bent down to scoop the soft, cute cub out of the safety seat.

[Damn, damn, damn, damn, this short clip of Xi Ling getting out of the car and carrying the cub, I can watch it a hundred times! So damn handsome!]

[My god! It’s the first time I felt Xi Ling was so tall and had such long legs… I specially looked up Xi Ling’s official data, he’s only 1.8 meters?? Damn, these body proportions are perfect!]

[The key is his face is super small! His shoulder width is normal, but it makes his shoulders look broad, waist narrow, and legs long it feels like I’m watching a male model show!]

[The one-handed buttoning and one-handed cub-carrying is dancing wildly on my XP (fetish), ahhh, I’m dead! Xi Ling is definitely at the level of Nüwa showing off her skills!]

[Can the face-value-loving people who have no worldviews get out of the live stream? Disgusting!]

[Is the live stream owned by your family? And everyone naturally knows Xi Ling is a criminal who abuses his cub, can’t we just evaluate his appearance?]

[I say, don’t compare apples to oranges. Praising Xi Ling’s face for being good-looking and cursing his character as trash and deserving of death aren’t contradictory.]

[Why are they infighting again? Didn’t we agree to unite and fork Xi Ling out of the entertainment circle today?]

[That… is it only me who noticed Xi Ling carrying the cub into the police station? What kind of mischief is he up to now?]

The viewers in the live stream who were busy arguing in the barrage were only a minority whose existence was magnified. The silent majority naturally followed the live broadcast lens, all very curious about what Xi Ling was going to do.

Wasn’t the theme of this episode Parent-Child Activity Day? Could it be that Xi Ling had the self-awareness of a criminal and chose the police station for the parent-child activity? Or was it that this person sensed the internet sentiment was wrong and was creating a new script to whitewash himself?

The public had zero tolerance for child abuse. Even if they didn’t want to participate in the barrage discussion, all the viewers in the live stream were in agreement on this point.

Unless Xi Ling performed an on-the-spot confession, even if he put on a show that blossomed like flowers, this matter wouldn’t be easily put aside. The “legal criminal” had to get out of the entertainment circle.

Xi Ling had greeted them in advance. The police station agreed to let the show crew record the process of Xi Ling claiming the stolen goods. Thus, the female police officer who had gone to the manor for the police report the day before had been waiting for Xi Ling to arrive since early morning.

“Mr. Xi, this way please.”

Although the female officer wanted to take the opportunity to pinch the cute cub’s little hand, with the camera recording the whole live broadcast, she had to act serious for the sake of the police uniform she was wearing. However, while leading the way, her peripheral vision couldn’t help but peek at the big and small pair.

As someone “in the know” regarding the case, she naturally knew that the so-called “proof” of child abuse online was all nonsense. Nanny Tian had already confessed; not only did she steal luxury goods and jewelry from her employer, but she was also extremely derelict in her duties as a nanny taking care of a child.

Even though the child had developmental delays, the multiple injuries on his body and his overly thin frame could reflect Nanny Tian’s problems from the side.

Especially after getting the daily meals arranged by Nanny Tian for the child from the manor’s chef, the female officer confirmed even more that the old woman was a pervert who abused children by exploiting loopholes in the law.

This level of abuse could indeed only be defined as Nanny Tian’s poor care, but the female officer felt she had the duty to clear Xi Ling’s name. So, while accompanying them to watch the law enforcement record video from that day, the female officer also cooperated very much by providing explanations.

“Nanny Tian admitted that she pinched the bruises on the child’s waist, but she claimed it was caused by being overly panicked and slipping her hand at the time.”

“She still insists that the bruises on his knees were caused by the child falling himself. The surveillance records in the manor were limited, and no suspicious evidence was found… There is one more thing I want to say personally: Mr. Xi, the meals Nanny Tian used to arrange for the child severely lacked eggs, milk, and meat. I hope the new nanny won’t repeat her mistakes.”

Xi Ling patted the child in his arms to soothe him and nodded upon hearing this: “Thank you for your reminder. I have already arranged for the kitchen to adjust. In the future, the child will dine with me, and no one will mistreat him again.”

The female officer had watched yesterday’s live playback and knew about the top-tier lunch in the manor that made people envious. She nodded with relief upon hearing this.

Finally, it was time to verify the stolen goods worth nearly ten million yuan.

90% of them were searched out in Nanny Tian’s small house, and the other 10% of low-key men’s items had been stuffed by Nanny Tian to her son to use. The other party didn’t know the true value of the items, so the wear and tear was relatively high.

However, the police station could only confirm the types and quantities of the items, but couldn’t verify whether they had been swapped for fakes, so they had been hoping Xi Ling, the victim, would come to verify them.

Xi Ling took a rough look. To be honest, he thought that with Nanny Tian specifically buying a house to hide them, there would be a lot of stolen goods worth nearly ten million. In reality, because each one was so expensive, there weren’t many items placed on the table.

Except for the jewelry that looked expensive at a glance, as for those luxury goods, let alone let Xi Ling distinguish the authenticity he couldn’t even imagine that a worn-out belt was worth tens of thousands of yuan? Rich people were really too crazy.

Upon learning that the stolen goods had to wait until everything was settled before being returned, Xi Ling plucked some hair from behind his ear: “I’ll have the relevant brand staff come to identify them this afternoon.”

“How many years will Nanny Tian be sentenced to?”

“The child abuse charge isn’t established. Regarding the theft charge, her attitude of pleading guilty is good, likely between five and ten years.”

Xi Ling patted the unusually silent cub in his arms: “Mianmian, did you hear that? The police auntie said Nanny Tian will definitely be locked up, for at least five years, and she won’t appear again.”

Huo Xingmian slowly lifted his head from Xi Ling’s arms and looked timidly at the female officer opposite, his watery, big eyes blinking as if confirming with her.

The female officer straightened the police badge on her chest and said seriously and earnestly: “Yes, she has been arrested by us and will not appear again.”

The little ball was silent for a moment and looked up at Xi Ling, pursing his lips at those warm black eyes. He couldn’t understand why his stepfather was doing these things.

Xi Ling hugged the cub tighter, whispering in the cub’s ear: “Don’t be afraid, no one can hurt Mianmian in the future.”

Huo Xingmian buried his little head back into Xi Ling’s arms and nodded lightly. The confusion in his eyes deepened—this must be a performance by his stepfather.

Even if he couldn’t figure out the reason, he did feel a bit relieved upon confirming Nanny Tian’s departure, but he still didn’t believe the vicious stepfather would really suddenly change for the better.

The cub’s exquisite brows furrowed tightly; his genius little brain had encountered the most incomprehensible problem he had ever faced in his life.

Every step in the police station, various tricky speculations and doubts would pop up in the barrage. It wasn’t until Xi Ling left the police station with the cub that the audience in the live broadcast room gradually calmed down.

[I already somewhat believe it. To be honest, the child is holding Xi Ling so tightly. I don’t believe such a small child can act out this effect.]

[So the person abusing the child was the nanny at home? Now that this nanny is in prison for theft, Xi Ling has started taking care of the child, but the child’s psychological shadow still exists, so there will be some subconscious dodging…]

Of course, there were more who persisted in being “black,” saying that Xi Ling even paid for the police to act as a cloud to find the correct posture to whitewash himself.

Under the lens, the father and son sitting back in the car didn’t look very happy.

Needless to say, the child, although the gloom in his heart had dissipated a lot, he still needed time to digest the information received in the police station.

Although Xi Ling had cleared himself cleanly from this incident, he felt inexplicably downcast.

He knew he should be glad that he wasn’t implicated by the original owner’s criminal record, but the moment he thought that the original owner was the true source of all evil… if the original owner hadn’t colluded with Nanny Tian, Nanny Tian wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to torture the child.

Because Nanny Tian dared not implicate too much; once the child abuse charge was confirmed, she would only have crime added to crime.

Because he had transmigrated into this person who had luckily escaped unscathed, Xi Ling felt a bit hypocritical just by having such thoughts it was somewhat of a case of “wanting this and that and the other.”

But he was truly depressed. It was hard to imagine what kind of nightmare childhood the three-year-old cub would have suffered if the original owner hadn’t had an accident, or if the transmigrator had been a pervert who also abused children.

Catching sight of the equally dejected cub out of the corner of his eye, Xi Ling changed his mind, rescheduled the appointment for the “Cat Customs Museum” to the afternoon and evening, and drove the car to a nearby commercial district with a press of the gas pedal.

The production team naturally had no objections to Xi Ling automatically extending the live broadcast time. After all, the longer Xi Ling broadcasted, the higher the platform’s revenue, and for a variety show, the more material there was to make an edited version.

So, after simple communication, Xi Ling successfully took the cub to the toy city.

No child could resist toys. The little ball, who originally had a slumped face and looked lethargic, instantly perked up. His big eyes became dark and bright again. Huo Xingmian looked at Xi Ling with some curiosity, not understanding why he had suddenly brought him here.

Just as Huo Xingmian was drooling at the sight of various toy cars, building blocks, and remote-controlled airplanes, Xi Ling carried him, turned left and right, and arrived at a “mud house”—as the name implied, a place specially for playing with mud.

Xi Ling took the cub to change into protective gear, and then walked into the artificial mud pond. The yellow mud inside had all been treated with multiple disinfection and sterilization cycles. The existence of the mud house was to allow children in the city today to experience different kinds of fun.

This was something Xi Ling had found while searching for the Cat Customs Museum. He felt that compared to the healing-style “furry creatures,” the cub now needed a hearty, uninhibited play session. Of course, he also needed to release some energy and clear the gloom from his heart.

The cub standing in the mud pond at a loss looked truly too easy to bully.

As the old saying goes, there’s no meaning in raising a cub without playing. Xi Ling gave a wicked smile, stepped forward, and jumped suddenly into the mud pit, instantly splashing out countless mud splashes.

Huo Xingmian, a “three-head-height” little toddler, was hit by the mud from head to toe. If it weren’t for the goggles and transparent mask, his face would have been covered.

Huo Xingmian couldn’t care about feeling troubled anymore; he jumped desperately in the mud pit. He had to pay him back!

Seeing the cub take the bait, Xi Ling laughed loudly: “Little fool, you can only splash to my knees no matter how high you jump.” After speaking, he scooped up a lump of wet mud from the ground and threw it at the child’s chest.

“Plop—” The white protective suit with cute little strawberries on the cub was conquered.

Huo Xingmian: !!!

However, when he tried to mimic Xi Ling and throw mud, he fell into a similar dilemma. His strength limited the height and accuracy of his throw. His attack range always found it difficult to cross Xi Ling’s knees. This wasn’t fair!

Huo Xingmian tried to bump into Xi Ling, so he could smear mud on his face.

As a result, Xi Ling arched forward lightly, and the little ball Huo Xingmian lost control of his body and fell backward, tumbling into the mud pit with his four limbs in the air like a small turtle flipped over.

Now the back of the protective suit was also conquered. He was completely a little “mud cub.” Paired with the cub’s look of disbelief and pouting little face, the comedic effect was maximized, and Xi Ling laughed until he was leaning back and forth.

The happier Xi Ling was, the less convinced the cub was. If he couldn’t win by force, he had to win by strategy!

The pitch-black, bright eyes, like black jade, rolled around. The cub’s mouth curled downward, and he burst into a loud cry: “Wuuu wuuu hurts! Hurts!”

Aside from soft mud and water in the mud pond, and the fact that Xi Ling had witnessed the cub’s entire facial expression change, he naturally knew the cub was faking it.

He immediately cooperated with an exaggerated tone: “Oh my oh my! What’s wrong? What’s wrong?!”

While saying this, he felt toward the cub’s little butt and screamed: “Ah! Mianmian’s butt cracked! Quick quick quick! Call 120!”

—What kind of nonsense is the stepfather talking about? My butt is naturally split into two petals!

Fortunately, the cub wasn’t so angry at Xi Ling that he forgot his purpose. Seeing that he had successfully lured Xi Ling into squatting down, the cub scrambled out of the mud before he could react.

It’s time to make the stinky stepfather pay the price!