I Became the Rich Family’s Stepfather and Couldn’t Stop Laughing - Chapter 17

When Huo Xingmian saw Huo Siyi, he didn’t just drop the spoon in his hand; he even forgot to swallow the matsutake soup in his mouth.

His mind was racing: We agreed not to see Father, so why did the plan suddenly change? And my stepfather didn’t even tell me…

Could it really be what I suspected? Is the stepfather’s kindness towards him all for show in front of his father? Were the promises about not meeting just to keep him relaxed and acting natural?

The child’s little head began to spin with chaotic thoughts. He subconsciously looked at the stepfather across the table, thinking with sorrow, Is this probably the last meal where the stepfather will treat me well?

Just like Mother Tian, who would hold him up like a little prince when she needed to put on a performance, only to insult and torture him once the door was closed…

Seeing his stepfather full of joyful surprise, just as he used to be whenever Father was mentioned, the child curled his little paws tightly under the table.

Then, he heard his stepfather excitedly stand up to greet him: “Ah-Wei, I’ve missed you so much!”

The tone was a strange, unfamiliar one he hadn’t heard in a long time, oozing with excessive intimacy… Wait, Ah-Wei???

The child opened his eyes wide in confusion. Although they hadn’t met in two years, his father’s appearance hadn’t changed; he confirmed once again that the man approaching was indeed his father.

But… why was he “Ah-Wei”?

The little boy’s genius brain operated at high speed, almost sparking as it whirred.

Suddenly, he hit upon an unbelievable possibility, and the little dark eyeballs of the child trembled slightly

Is there a possibility that the last character of his father’s name is pronounced—yī! Ah!

Meanwhile, the restaurant owner’s wife had already retreated to the side, leaving the quiet corner entirely to the two adults and the child.

Xi Ling put all his acting skills into play, fully embodying the original host.

After all, to him, the “ATM” in front of him was on a limited-time contract. Instead of making changes and putting in effort to maintain things, it was easier and more efficient to just keep everything as it was.

Xi Ling tilted his head, gazing up with affection, his honey-coated mouth firing on all cylinders:

“Ah-Wei, did you come to see us for the Little New Year on purpose? I’m so happy, so happy! I must be the happiest man in the world!” Xi Ling put on an excited expression.

“Ah-Wei, you’ve grown taller no, wait, you look so much thinner.” Xi Ling put on a pained, loving expression.

“Ah-Wei, as for the Yaxin business, I was set up by my agent. But don’t worry, I will definitely coordinate well with Secretary Dong’s work and guarantee that the negative impact is minimized…”

Each “Ah-Wei” was filled with such infinite, syrupy affection that it was enough to give anyone diabetes. Anyone watching would surely believe that Xi Ling was hopelessly in love with the tall, handsome man in front of him.

The child sitting next to them, however, swallowed hard, using all his effort to force the matsutake soup down his throat.

He didn’t dare look at his father’s expression and lowered his head, inching slowly toward the corner of the sofa in an attempt to minimize his presence.

If he could, he wished he could hide in a hole dug by his own toes.

And so, the scene became increasingly bizarre…

Every time Xi Ling said “Ah-Wei” with nauseating sweetness, the child would quietly scoot an inch further into the sofa, and the temperature around the man would drop by ten degrees.

To imitate the original host, Xi Ling was waving his arms and dancing while professing his deep love. But his script repertoire was limited; he had been performing for so long his throat was starting to give out, yet the man in front of him was like an ice sculpture—completely unresponsive, staring straight ahead.

The problem was that since Xi Ling was half a head shorter, “straight ahead” wasn’t eye contact it was staring at the air just above his scalp.

He wouldn’t even look down while being talked to! Xi Ling had no time to complain about the man’s lack of manners right now… but without any response, how was he supposed to wrap up this performance?

Fortunately, Xi Ling was quick-witted. If the ATM wouldn’t move, he’d find a way to make him!

Xi Ling tried to place his restless little hands on the man’s arm. Sure enough, the “ATM” was annoyed to death by him; before Xi Ling could even touch him, the man pulled his arm back, his deep blue eyes drooping down.

Whoa, those eyeballs look even better up close!

Xi Ling smiled like a flower, flattering him to the extreme: “Ah-Wei~~~”

As long as there’s a reaction, that’s fine. He had already prepared countless contingency plans to ensure he could send the “boss” away with maximum awkwardness.

Huo Siyi finally snapped out of his daze, his cold gaze landing once more on the face that had once filled him with hope.

Seeing the undisguised flattery in the young man’s eyes, even if he had reverted to his initial appearance of wearing no makeup, it was still far from what he had expected.

Huo Siyi composed himself, his eyes filled with mockery: “Ah-Wei… who is that?”

Xi Ling hadn’t expected the man to ask this. His smile froze for a split second: “Uh… it’s you, isn’t it? You don’t like it? Then how about Si-Wei?”

“Si-Wei~~~ Wei~~~ Your name sounds so good~~~~”

Huo Siyi sneered. His peripheral vision caught the little red figure huddled in the corner, and his voice turned even colder: “Xi Ling, this is the last time.”

He then turned and left.

Only after the man was far away did Xi Ling finally relax and sit back on the sofa.

What did he mean by “last time”?

It sounded like he had used up his final chance, and if he did “such and such” again next time, he would be “done for.” By “done for,” he probably meant he’d lose everything.

Hm?

Did he not do it well? He had perfectly replicated the original host’s mannerisms.

Xi Ling frowned and reviewed the situation. He and the kid were eating properly, the man popped out of nowhere, and since they bumped into each other, he acted according to the original host’s style. The man walked away in a huff and left a threat. Tsk.

Xi Ling fell into deep thought, and three seconds later, he slapped his thigh.

Case solved, the ATM is sick in the head.

Just then, the waiter brought the second bottle of wine for the meal a sweet amazake (sweet rice wine).

Wine accounted for nearly half the cost of the 8,888-yuan set menu. Unfortunately, Xi Ling couldn’t appreciate fine wine; he smacked his lips and still felt it was no different from the cheap rice wine he used to drink. If he had to describe it, it just tasted like a “sucker’s premium.”

The little cub couldn’t drink, so the wine in his set was replaced with a special fruit drink a total waste of money. But thinking about how “Mr. Huo” was picking up the tab, Xi Ling didn’t feel the sting anymore. If the ATM is sick, let him be sick. Compared to his generosity in throwing money around, everything else was just a minor flaw.

The bottle containing the fruit drink was also very exquisite and looked delicious. Xi Ling was envious and wanted to take a sip, but when he looked up, he found that the child opposite him had shrunk into the corner and was trying to crawl under the table.

Xi Ling reached out to grab the child’s juice, confused: “Why are you sitting so far back?”

He saw the child reach out with his little claws and start rubbing his face. Xi Ling thought it was cute, and even though he hadn’t figured out the reason, he took out his phone to record, interviewing him while doing so: “May I ask why little Mianmian is suddenly rubbing his face?”

The child opposite him flinched, then started rubbing his own shoulders. Once the awkwardness that would make anyone convulse passed, he told Xi Ling with a complex expression:

“Father’s… name… is… Huo… Si… Yī…”

Xi Ling tilted his head in confusion, suspecting the child’s pronunciation was unclear.

Just then, Xi Ling’s phone rang. Seeing it was Secretary Dong, he answered immediately.

Secretary Dong got straight to the point, asking why Xi Ling had taken the child to this specific kaiseki restaurant.

Xi Ling explained earnestly: “Because I wanted to take the child to buy New Year clothes. Didn’t we say we were having a reunion dinner near the AI Plaza? This place is the most expensive one in the area.”

Secretary Dong was silent for a moment. The reason was too realistic, making him believe this was just a coincidence.

Secretary Dong had made this call because Huo Siyi suspected that he had acted on his own initiative that after his plans were rejected, he had leaked the dinner location to Xi Ling to create a “chance encounter.”

After all, apart from Secretary Dong, no one else knew that Huo Siyi regularly dined at this kaiseki restaurant.

Huo Siyi placed great value on a subordinate’s obedience. Once Secretary Dong was saddled with such a black mark, he wouldn’t be far from being fired. He had to clear his name immediately.

Hearing that Secretary Dong was visibly relieved, Xi Ling asked about that phrase he couldn’t understand: “the last time.”

After interacting with him several times recently, Secretary Dong had felt the changes in Xi Ling and thought the young man had finally come to his senses that he had stopped coveting the impossible and was now content to be a pampered, high-society “kept wife.”

His tone softened: “President Huo misunderstood that you intentionally brought the young master to the restaurant.”

Xi Ling had just been given the cold shoulder, and he didn’t have the strange hobby of “pressing his hot face against a cold butt,” so he rolled his eyes:

“Heh… how could that be? I just thought I should take the child out for a big meal for the Little New Year. This place has high ratings and is very expensive. I even have the search history on my phone to prove it.”

Secretary Dong told him not to worry, saying he would explain everything clearly.

With the matter cleared up, the other party prepared to hang up, but Xi Ling suddenly remembered something: “Wait, Secretary Dong, how do you pronounce President Huo’s name?”

Secretary Dong was confused but, with a slightly furrowed brow, articulated his boss’s name clearly: “Huo Si-Yī.”

Xi Ling’s first reaction was that “Wei” was a polyphonic character, but even though he didn’t finish high school, he was absolutely certain that “Wei” only had the wěi pronunciation…

Xi Ling took a deep breath: “…Which yī?”

“The wei from ‘Lu Buwei’ with the ‘speech’ radical.”

Xi Ling: “…………”

Before Xi Ling could “dig through the foundation” of the top-tier shopping district, he took the child and left the kaiseki restaurant.

Once in the car, he leaned his head against the car logo on the steering wheel and knocked his head three times in a row.

Because he didn’t want to scare the child, he went crazy in his heart: Ahhhhhhhh, help me! How many times did I call him Ah-Wei???

No wonder Huo Siyi didn’t even lower his head at first every single pore of his was spitting out cold air!

At this moment, Xi Ling couldn’t understand better why “awsl” (ah, I died) was a common internet slang, because he, who called Huo Siyi “Ah-Wei,” was truly about to die!!!

Huo Xingmian, as the child who witnessed the whole process, felt no less awkward than Xi Ling. But fortunately, he had covered his ears and curled up for the second half, so the worst of the awkwardness had already passed.

The child quietly watched Xi Ling go crazy in silence, feeling that this was even scarier than when he was loud, but he could understand.

It’s too ridiculous. Wasn’t the stepfather obsessed with his father? Why couldn’t he even get his name right?

However, as a thoughtful, well-behaved baby, he certainly couldn’t ask at a time like this. Wouldn’t that be like delivering another lethal blow to his stepfather?

Seeing that the stepfather had finally stopped banging his head against the steering wheel, Huo Xingmian waited a long time before tentatively opening his mouth: “Daddy… what are you… doing?”

Xi Ling’s whole body twitched. With trembling hands, he reached out and patted the child’s head: “Be good, kid. Give Daddy some more time.”

A man is weak, but a father must be strong.

Kid, once Daddy digs out a “Happy Planet,” the two of us can move to another planet. QAQ…