I Became the Rich Family’s Stepfather and Couldn’t Stop Laughing - Chapter 2

The old woman’s surname was Tian. She was a veteran servant of the Huo family who had been responsible for looking after Huo Xingmian.

However, Huo Xingmian was an illegitimate child whose father ignored him and whose mother’s background was unknown. To this day, he hadn’t been brought back to the main family manor to be formally recognized; he wasn’t considered a “proper” young master at all.

Taking care of an illegitimate child who couldn’t even be brought out in public offered Nanny Tian very little opportunity to profit. It wasn’t until a male “Madam” who despised Huo Xingmian was added to the manor that Nanny Tian finally found a stage on which to perform.

For instance, she forbade Huo Xingmian from being a picky eater. She would have the chef prepare only the foods Huo Xingmian detested and then demand the child chew every single mouthful of the repulsive food at least fifteen times.

She called it “looking out for the child’s health,” but in reality, she was using soft knives to torment him at every turn, purely to satisfy the twisted, perverse inner desires of the male Madam in exchange for money.

However, Huo Xingmian was already trying his absolute hardest to swallow. He didn’t want to be a picky eater, and he didn’t want to be punished, but the foods he resisted became even harder to swallow once chewed into pieces. The rising urge to vomit was uncontrollable, even when he held it in until his eye sockets turned red.

Hearing the footsteps of a man, the cub huddled at the edge of the chair couldn’t help but tremble.

The previous night, through the door panel, he had heard the man roaring and smashing things like a madman… He had thought he’d escaped a disaster, but to his dismay, the man appeared again this morning. This meant Nanny Tian would only intensify her efforts…

Kneeling to repent in the ancestral hall wasn’t enough; perhaps he would “accidentally” tumble down the stairs again… Curled up into a tiny ball, the cub was so terrified he nearly convulsed.

The old woman standing on the side was extremely satisfied with this.

Although this illegitimate child was a “useless waste,” at three years old, he was smarter than he had been at one or two he knew how to be afraid. She didn’t even need to exert any effort; the little waste was already scared to the point of twitching. If the Madam saw this, he’d feel refreshed, and the rewards would be even more generous.

A glint of delight flashed in Nanny Tian’s eyes; she was already prepared to collect her reward.

Meanwhile, Xi Ling, having just walked into the dining room, was still immersed in the excitement of suddenly striking it rich overnight. He thought that for his first meal after transmigrating, he would get to taste some Michelin-level gourmet cooking and, while he was at it, ease his relationship with the future villain.

After all, the child was still young. Memories before the age of three didn’t tend to stick around after the nervous system developed and matured. Harmony in the family brought prosperity to everything, right? He was so rich now; he just hoped everything would be harmonious and beautiful so he could live happily ever after.

Little did he expect this old hag to cause trouble the moment she appeared. And what exactly was this spread on the table?

As soon as he stepped into the dining room, his eyes were met with a six-meter-long French classical-style dining table. Above it hung two priceless crystal chandeliers, and the table was covered with an ivory-white tablecloth, its dark, embroidered patterns showcasing fine texture everywhere.

The oversized, high-end plates were stacked, filling Xi Ling’s entire dining area with just three of them. On the edges of the table sat elaborate and exquisite side plates, knives, and forks.

It was the kind of high-end plating Xi Ling had only seen on television at a glance, it looked luxurious and high-end, full of atmosphere.

But that couldn’t cover the fact that the dishes under the curved glass domes were actually egg-fried cilantro, carrots with green peppers, and cold-dressed houttuynia cordata (fish mint)!

Even a dog would shake its head at this diet; it was useless even if you dressed it up with flowers.

And though the plates were almost the size of washbasins, the food was just a measly two chopstick-fulls placed in the center. Was he feeding a chicken?

Not to mention, the three dishes perfectly hit four of Xi Ling’s “no-go” buttons. When the nanny lifted the glass dome, he couldn’t even spare a glance at the pitiful cub across from him: “…What kind of trash is this?!”

Didn’t I transmigrate into a wealthy family?!

Could cilantro, carrots, green peppers, and houttuynia just vanish from his world, please?

“Take it away, take it all away!”

Xi Ling had been worried about his temperament being too different from the original owner’s, but seeing these unforgivable dishes, he entered the role in one second. Glancing at the little mite trembling and sobbing from the torment, he wanted to flip the table even more.

He slapped the table, stared at the old woman across from him, and gnashed his teeth: “Cilantro, carrots, green peppers, and houttuynia get out of this manor and get out of China!”

Nanny Tian, who was prepared to receive her employer’s praise, froze, her eyes filled with obvious confusion.

Although the male Madam was moody, Nanny Tian believed she had him figured out completely. She absolutely couldn’t understand why he would bypass Huo Xingmian and vent his rage on common dishes.

The cub sitting across from him stopped crying, utterly stunned. His wet, dark, limpid eyes opened wide, bright and clear like black grapes washed in water.

Although Xi Ling’s anger was directed at Nanny Tian, Nanny Tian held an overriding status in the manor; she was usually only responsible for looking after Huo Xingmian. Plus, there was no one else in charge here, so the subordinates below all respectfully called her “Steward Tian.”

After half a minute of stagnant air, the two nannies standing guard finally confirmed in a daze: “Are you… taking all of these away?”

Xi Ling nodded while quickly searching for information he had absorbed the previous night in his mind. A moment later, his eyes rolled, and he followed the nanny pushing the food cart toward the kitchen.

The green-eyed head chef was listening to classical music while processing Wagyu beef in a slow and orderly fashion.

Two assistant chefs were doing their respective jobs: one was grilling top-tier blue lobster over a charcoal stove, and the other was preparing zucchini sauce to go with a small squab.

Xi Ling took a deep breath, and couldn’t help but drool. He found it hard to believe even as he said it these were all prepared for Nanny Tian!

The original owner woke up late, and because of his status as a celebrity, he had extremely high requirements for his figure. He would eat a “chicken-feed-like” brunch after waking up, and his second and final meal would be around 7 PM a fitness meal that not even a dog would crave…

And Nanny Tian? She lived in a top-tier manor every day, ate Michelin-level feasts, slept on a Hästens mattress, and her daily job was to abuse the three-year-old villain cub. For a moment, Xi Ling found it hard to distinguish who was the real “wealthy stepfather” in the book, Nanny Tian or the original owner?

He endured the urge to roll his eyes: “After you’re done, send all of these to me!”

The assistant chef nearby looked up in surprise: “But these are all Steward Tian’s lunches…”

The little assistant didn’t think much of it; he just felt that if all this went to Xi Ling, there wouldn’t be enough time to prepare another table for Nanny Tian.

Xi Ling let out a cold laugh, had the nanny open the lid of the food cart, and pointed to the six large plates inside: “Aren’t these the dishes Steward Tian specially prepared?”

As they spoke, Nanny Tian also walked over with Huo Xingmian. Her confusion deepened; she couldn’t understand why the cannon fire was aimed at her this time?

But in the end, she was just an old servant hired by the Huo family. Xi Ling, the master, “ate grass” every day, while she enjoyed expensive, top-tier ingredients it truly didn’t make sense.

Hearing this, she immediately quickened her pace. Acting as if she were in a hurry to atone for her sins, she nodded repeatedly, while her mind was already made up on a way to divert the disaster: “Madam is right. At my age, I should eat more healthy meals.”

Nanny Tian suddenly quickened her pace. The little mite she had been dragging along couldn’t keep up with her speed, stumbled, and fell right beside Xi Ling’s feet.

Nanny Tian gave a fake exclamation of surprise, extending her hand wearing a large gold ring to catch the child: “Why did my young master fall again? What a sin! Quick, come here! Let Grandma see if you’re hurt?”

Before the words were even out of her mouth, her hand, gripping the side of the child’s waist, tightened sharply. The heart-wrenching pain made the little ball, who was already holding back, cry out with a “waaaa.”

She had to make Xi Ling focus back on the little “useless waste.” With such a handy punching bag, there was no reason for him to keep aiming his cannons at her.

Xi Ling was stunned. The text descriptions were nothing compared to seeing it with his own eyes. Was there really such a heartless old hag in this world?

He was used to being rough on the construction site. When his temper flared, he subconsciously raised his foot and kicked, kicking Nanny Tian who was busy pinching the child away, then reached out to scoop up the sobbing cub.

“Ouch!” Nanny Tian fell flat on her butt, her withered eyes filled with disbelief.

Xi Ling immediately lifted the hem of the child’s clothes, exposing a small section of skin with pinch bruises, and spoke without hesitation: “Call the police!”

Because the child in his arms was shaking like a sieve, Xi Ling decided to carry the cub back to his room, intending to isolate Huo Xingmian from Nanny Tian, the source of all evil.

On the other hand, he planned to apply some ointment to the cub before the police arrived.

However, after Xi Ling brought the cub back to the room, he realized the cub was shaking even more violently. He then realized that to the child, the original owner was a Devil Number Two, no less terrifying than Nanny Tian.

Xi Ling tapped his head and called the nanny in to apply the medicine, instructing: “Take photos first to use as evidence.”

The one who entered was Auntie Bai, who usually took quite good care of Huo Xingmian.

The nannies in the manor were all ordinary workers. Although they all pitied the young master’s plight, no one dared to speak up for fear of losing their jobs.

At most, when the male Madam and Nanny Tian weren’t around, they would offer the cub a little convenience and care very limited, but precious.

Among them, the darker-skinned Auntie Bai had the softest heart and was the best to the young master in private. The cub’s trembling significantly slowed down as he leaned into Auntie Bai’s arms.

A complicated look flashed across his tear-reddened eyes, but he quickly lowered them, obediently exposing his little belly so Auntie Bai could take photos and apply the medicine.

Seeing this, the nanny’s heart ached, but she didn’t dare show too much emotion. Who knew what this vicious stepfather was up to by acting crazy all of a sudden?

She didn’t believe that he had called the police to actually send Nanny Tian away; maybe the two of them were colluding to cook up some new tricks.

While Auntie Bai was taking pictures, Xi Ling stood not far away, arms crossed, deep in thought. Before long, he noticed that on the cub’s fair, tender skin, there were not only pinch marks left by Nanny Tian, but also dense, light-red spots on the sides of his waist. They looked exactly like the rashes he used to get when he was allergic to dried shrimp.

Xi Ling frowned, stepped forward, and flipped down the elastic waistband of the little guy’s pants. He discovered that not only did Nanny Tian not put long johns on the child, but she hadn’t even cut off the clothing tags and ingredient labels.

Five or six tags were pinned into a small stack, pressing tightly against the cub’s tender skin. It was uncomfortable just looking at them, let alone the fact that the cub was allergic to these materials.

Seeing the scratch marks the child had left on the red rashes, Xi Ling asked someone else to fetch scissors. He raised his eyes to meet the cub’s wet, red-rimmed eyes and stifled his urge to curse: “If it was uncomfortable, why didn’t you cut them off?”

Huo Xingmian seemed to have forgotten his fear for a moment. He blinked his eyes blankly and said in a shy, milky voice with a nasal tone: “…Grand-Ma, Grandma said, children, cannot, use, scissors.”

Fine. This was another of the old hag’s tricks to torture the child.

The original owner liked to trample on Huo Xingmian to vent his dissatisfaction with his marriage, but he was also afraid his wealthy husband would suddenly remember this “cheap” son one day. Therefore, the master-servant duo, the original owner and Nanny Tian, had a tacit understanding never to leave obvious evidence on the surface. Every instance of torture had a reasonable excuse.

Just like leaving the allergy-inducing tags on; it was at most “careless” on Nanny Tian’s part. It could never be linked to child abuse. It was all these rotten, needles-hidden-in-cotton tricks.

However, although the bad seed Nanny Tian had a few tricks up her sleeve to easily avoid abuse charges, her brush had no bristles. Once Xi Ling denied the past “gifts,” all the treasures Nanny Tian had hoarded would become stolen goods.

Xi Ling took a deep breath, took the scissors from the nanny, and snipped off the tags from the child’s waistband and collar.

A moment later, the cub’s outer pants were removed, revealing two pale, thin, short legs, with overlapping purple-red bruises on the knees.

Auntie Bai couldn’t help but gasp: “Heavenly!”

Huo Xingmian had been raised by Nanny Tian. At three years old, his speech was still stumbling, often popping out only two or three words at a time. If he tried a long sentence, he would stutter. His physical development was also poor; he often fell on flat ground all of this was deliberately caused by Nanny Tian’s guidance.

Huo Xingmian’s birth and the attitude of the old manor meant he had no future, and Nanny Tian wanted to make him even more “useless.”

The worse Huo Xingmian was, the less the Huo family would care about him, and this child could remain under her thumb, used to swap for practical rewards from the male Madam truly putting everything to use.

Being deliberately interrupted while learning to speak, being repeatedly threatened with words how could he dare to speak fluently and clearly?

Eating only the vegetable dishes he hated, and being forced to fall down frequently how could he grow up healthy?

Even though Xi Ling had been completely indifferent to human cubs before, his temper was now almost burning through his skull.

Fortunately, the police didn’t keep him waiting long. Half an hour later, they walked in, accompanied by the manor’s bodyguards.

A tall man in uniform spoke sternly: “Who is abusing the child?”

Nanny Tian had long since steadied her nerves and was sitting on the sofa, savoring her tea with composure.

Although she still couldn’t understand Xi Ling’s abnormal behavior, the injuries on Huo Xingmian’s body were all caused by his own falls. There was camera footage everywhere in the house to testify for her.

The pinch on his waist could also be explained as her being startled by Xi Ling’s sudden outburst, causing her to lose her grip. Even if the police came, they couldn’t do anything to her.

Nanny Tian put down her teacup calmly: “Officer, you’ve misunderstood. It’s just that my young master fell down accidentally…”

Xi Ling happened to walk out from the second floor and corrected the police: “Someone stole my valuables.”