I Became the Rich Family’s Stepfather and Couldn’t Stop Laughing - Chapter 23.1

If it weren’t for the bath towel wrapped around Huo Siyi’s waist and the slight dampness at the tips of his hair, he would have looked exactly like an ice sculpture that had just been pushed out of a cold storage locker.

Xi Ling was amused by his own logical deduction. Even though Huo Siyi’s expression was extremely ugly, Xi Ling’s eyes remained curved like a little sun that didn’t need recharging 24 hours a day.

Because Huo Siyi was half a head taller than him estimated to be 1.9 meters tall with an aura of 2.8 meters Xi Ling had to look up slightly when meeting Huo Siyi’s gaze.

Even though Xi Ling was also a tall and thin young man, this posture in Huo Siyi’s perspective made him look a bit delicate and well-behaved.

He was very “childhood sweetheart”-esque; he didn’t look at all like someone who could promise to go through fire and water out of remorse one moment, only to heartlessly set off massive fireworks the next.

Huo Siyi’s anger, which hadn’t been suppressed by his cold shower, fizzled out a bit at this moment. Residual muscle memory made him want to subconsciously raise the corners of his mouth to mimic the expression on such a beautiful face.

But he didn’t. He coldly and stiffly threw the ice pack in his hand to Xi Ling: “Take your ice pack away.”

Xi Ling maintained a soft, warm smile. In reality, he was stunned by the “bathers-beauty” image dancing on his personal preferences (XP), and his focus became completely fixed, his expression frozen.

He subconsciously caught the ice pack and woke up a second later, blurting out what was on his mind: “Did the fireworks disturb you?”

Huo Siyi was furrowing his brows due to his abnormal state of mind; he didn’t even know why he had called Xi Ling over. He had wanted to close the door immediately after giving him the ice pack, but upon hearing this, his hands paused and his brows furrowed even tighter.

He said icily: “No.”

Xi Ling reacted like a little rooster: “Oh, oh, oh!”

He was broad-minded, thick-skinned, and his thought process was simple. He pondered for a moment and reversed his thinking: “I bought a ton of fireworks for New Year’s Eve. Want to set them off together then?”

The response was the door closing rapidly in Huo Siyi’s hands, with a light “bang” as if he hadn’t used any force at all.

Xi Ling’s attention was fixed on the shocking sight he saw at the moment the door closed, so he didn’t dwell on it. He simply and crudely concluded that Huo Siyi still didn’t like setting off fireworks and had rejected him directly. Internally, he was screaming with excitement like a prairie dog.

Huo Siyi’s back is also too perfect!

Broad shoulders and a narrow waist in an inverted triangle shape, cold white skin, and just the right amount of lean, firm muscle creating smooth lines… If before he only wanted to “like and subscribe,” this time, Xi Ling’s hands were itching.

I really want to scrub Huo Siyi’s back!

Unlike those perverts who always wanted to smear oil or lick sweat, he just wanted to observe a masterpiece of the Creator up close. However, Huo Siyi didn’t look like he would agree, so he would settle for cupping therapy (a traditional Chinese medical massage).

Xi Ling walked back to his room, hissing and panting, scrubbing vigorously while taking a bath. While scrubbing, he complained about his own body being too soft; he was so envious of Huo Siyi’s physique that made people hiss just by looking at it.

By comparison, not only was his skin soft and his metabolism too fast (making it hard to gain weight or muscle), but his frame was also thin. Standing next to Huo Siyi, he was a “born fine dog” (slang for a skinny guy).

It’s so irritating, sigh!

After his thoughts wandered through twists and turns, Xi Ling found a fragrant, soft little dumpling on his bed again.

Xi Ling felt his “cub addiction” flare up and dived onto the bed: “Ow ow ow, Daddy’s big treasure Mianmian, let Daddy sniff, sniff, sniff!”

Although Huo Xingmian looked milkily cute, in reality, his little claws against the hard cover of his storybook had already dug out several little crescent moons.

Just as he didn’t understand why his father would suddenly stay in the manor, he also didn’t understand why his stepfather always disappeared for long periods whenever his father appeared, but he hated this change!

He was currently developing a habit of having his stepfather rua (fondle/snuggle) him before bed. Yesterday, his stepfather had already started bringing him to soak in the bath, but today, he was called away by his father and left him behind again.

While he calls me big treasure, he didn’t even come to find me on his own initiative!

Heh, men!

Little Huo Xingmian pouted, then quickly suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart and hummed in his milky voice: “Classic of Mountains and Seas…”

That’s right! He wasn’t doing it for the stinky stepfather, he just wanted to hear the Classic of Mountains and Seas!

His cub addiction temporarily satisfied, Xi Ling picked up the storybook and held the cub tightly in his arms, reciting the story with practiced ease.

He had developed a habit now. He didn’t know how effective bedtime stories were for the cub’s sleep, because every time he read for a while, he’d get so sleepy his eyelids would fight each other, falling asleep faster than the kid.

At dawn, the gossips eagerly waiting for the sequel of the “Chuangsi Couple” finally got the latest scoop from Daju Entertainment

#Xi Ling Breaks the Root with One Palm#

If Xi Ling had seen this headline, he would have lamented that Daju Entertainment was even more ruthless than he was just to grab attention.

Although Daju Entertainment had been squatting outside the manor for a long time, the drone was only dispatched in a hurry after seeing the fireworks, so the stolen video footage wasn’t long. However, it contained the absolute essence of that night when Xi Ling took the cub to test-fire fireworks.

Opening it, the screen was filled with Daju Entertainment’s watermarks. Because the lights in the manor were almost all off, the night-vision mode of the drone didn’t produce great results. The gossips were confused, staring at a patch of black, and were about to fast-forward when the lens finally aimed at the right place Xi Ling “battling” while carrying the Gatling “cannon.”

The distance was far, but because the Gatling was at full firepower, it illuminated the small area where Xi Ling was rolling and crawling like broad daylight, recording his unprecedentedly wonderful single-player CS competition without missing a beat.

Netizens who gathered to eat the hot gossip sent question marks. What happened to the messy divorce drama? Why did it turn into Xi Ling rolling on the ground?

Did Xi Ling get driven crazy or beaten crazy by his ex-husband? Not sure, keep watching.

The Gatling stopped firing, and the picture darkened again. The drone continued to descend. When it flew close enough to vaguely see the figures, it was just in time for the “Nut-Grabbing and Tree-Trunk-Pulling” scene.

The picture was dark, but the body outlines and specific movements could still be seen. Daju Entertainment helpfully Photoshopped red circles on Xi Ling’s hand and Huo Siyi’s affected area. The gossips could clearly see the whole process of Xi Ling’s pinpoint hit.

The video ended at this critical juncture. It wasn’t that Daju Entertainment hadn’t filmed the aftermath, but Xi Ling acting lowly and circling Huo Siyi, accompanying him back to the main building, went against their narrative of drama. They pinched off the rest to release the most eye-catching clip first to earn traffic. After finishing this wave, they could release the second half and pretend to help “explain” a few words.

The gossips who stayed up until midnight were indeed shocked. The first half was Xi Ling acting crazy on the ground with fireworks, and the second half was him dealing a killing blow to his ex-husband. The force of that grab… it hurt just watching through the screen, let alone what would happen to the most vulnerable spot…

[Oh my god, I’ve lived long enough to see such an outrageous thing exist???]

[Good thing I pressed pause in time, otherwise President Huo’s “little guy” might not have been saved! (Dog head)]

[Hahahaha, I can only say the headline “Breaks the Root with One Palm” is truly accurate!]

[Emmm, this is hard to comment on, can only wish Little President Huo strength.]

[Feels like Xi Ling was driven crazy by the tycoon ex-husband and just went all in to sink the ship. Amazing, now President Huo is not only old and ugly, but also disabled. Hahahaha!]

[But with such a vicious hand, Huo Siyi surely won’t let Xi Ling go… The only winner is probably my baby Mianmian, the only heir’s status is skyrocketing~ (Rolling on the ground laughing.gif)]

[Hahahaha, makes sense. Anyway, there’s already a kid, so just remove the useless parts!]

[Am I the only one who thinks Xi Ling using a Gatling firework to simulate a battle is hilarious? Hahahaha, otherwise he should just turn into a comedian!]

…

Everyone had seen tycoon marriages turn into a mess, but this was the first time they had seen one where a “little bird” was actually lost. The latest news from Daju Entertainment exploded on the hot search shortly after.

Followed by some derivative entries:

#Huo Siyi Leaves with “Nothing”# #Chuangsi Couple “Little Guy” Fracture# #Thank You, Ex, for Not Cutting It#

There were all kinds of popular science influencers answering questions online, from medical bloggers starting from whether Huo Siyi’s affected area would fracture, to legal bloggers explaining the appraisal standards for various soft tissue contusions and lacerations in that area… everything was available.

That night, because of a new scoop about the Chuangsi couple, netizens attended a physiology lesson they had missed for years, understood some unnecessary physiological structures, and after dispelling the rumor that the place could fracture, the entry was corrected to “tunica albuginea tear.”

Not only that, they also delved into the “Personal Injury Appraisal Standards” regarding special parts, feeling that Xi Ling’s method of retaliation was also very “punishable.”

The person involved, Xi Ling, was completely unaware of this, sleeping as soundly as possible while holding the milk-smelling little dumpling.

And the other party involved or to be precise, the victim, Huo Siyi found it difficult to sleep because his mind was in turmoil.

However, there was no weekly morning meeting tomorrow. He adjusted his schedule uniformly to the afternoon and set his phone to “Do Not Disturb,” and didn’t fall asleep until nearly dawn.

When Huo Siyi woke up at 9:30, he hadn’t slept enough, but his biological clock left him with nothing to gain even if he lay in bed. When he sat up, his expression was even worse than before he went to sleep.

He pressed his brow, his emotions slightly eased. When he unlocked his phone screen, a string of messages popped up.

Huo Siyi, who learned of everything, felt black waves surging in his eyes. He scanned to the end and saw the processing message sent by Secretary Dong at 6:30 in the morning.

Because he couldn’t ask Huo Siyi for instructions at the first opportunity, Secretary Dong had people lower the heat and delete the entries while saving detailed evidence, so it took relatively long, and it wasn’t until nearly 8 o’clock that the full process was completed, waiting for his further instructions.

Huo Siyi’s breathing stabilized as he opened Weibo and saw the latest entry fresh from the hot search list—

#Huo Siyi has yet to appear at Chuangsi Headquarters, health condition raises concerns#

The hot comments were all discussing which hospital he went to for re-attachment or re-implantation of Little President Huo…

After Xi Ling woke up, he first did his routine of “sniffing the cub.” Just as he was making the milkily cute little dumpling giggle, he unexpectedly received a call from the program production team.

It was still the young lady who interviewed him in the first episode. Her tone was worried and anxious, as if something had happened.

Xi Ling asked in confusion: “Of course the New Year’s Eve live broadcast can proceed as normal. I’m fine. Is something wrong with Chu Xinnian’s side?”

Because New Year’s Eve happened to be a Saturday, it had been decided when they first signed the contract. Xi Ling had nothing else to do with the cub during the New Year and didn’t need to visit relatives. Chu Xinnian had broken ties with his family and spent every year alone with his own cub. The two of them could live stream together, and the theme was set for “Reunion Day.”

It was because Chu Xinnian was coming that Xi Ling told him not to worry about returning the clothes and to just bring them over on New Year’s Eve.

He also learned a bit about Mingming going to the hospital halfway through. Usually, small internet-famous people could earn some appearance fees by participating in various New Year variety shows at the end of the year. Chu Xinnian was busy until he was compensating for sleep during the day and ignored the child.

Now that Mingming was injured, Chu Xinnian still had to do the work he should do, and also had to take extra care of the injured cub. One could imagine how busy he was.

Also, because the two needed to work together to complete the New Year’s Eve dinner and dumplings that day, they distributed the work in advance. Chu Xinnian said he would make some home-cooked dishes and could be responsible for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Xi Ling contracted the work of buying and cleaning vegetables, and the dumplings would wait until the end when they could let the cubs run wild together.

Thinking of this, Xi Ling also happily gave the housekeepers a holiday. You have to know that in the past, it was triple wages plus a New Year red envelope, and then the housekeepers took turns during the New Year.

This time, the red envelope and wages were the same, and everyone could keep the vigil with their families. It could be considered a small benefit he gave after his “turnover as a leek.”

Now everything was arranged. If Chu Xinnian couldn’t come if he had something to do, he would be miserable. He couldn’t just feed the cub instant noodles for New Year, could he?

Fortunately, the young lady immediately explained: “There is no problem with Chu Xinnian, the director asked me to confirm at the end.”

Xi Ling put his heart in his stomach. However, not even a second later, the lady couldn’t help but remind him: “The things on the hot search, won’t you be affected?”

Only then did Xi Ling know that his “Nut-Grabbing and Tree-Trunk-Pulling” matter had become known to everyone!

Because Huo Siyi never cared about these things before, many marketing accounts defaulted to him as the kind of person who didn’t care about gossip, so they were unscrupulous when fabricating stories.

Unexpectedly, this “net-cleansing” event prompted the Chuangsi Legal Department and the Public Relations Department to move together, and compared to the previous dog-skin plaster of Asia-Pacific, it was like lightning speed.

Lowering the heat, deleting entries, listing infringement screenshots, whether it was the paparazzi’s stalking behavior infringing on personal privacy, or individuals and marketing accounts spreading rumors, they were all packed together and sued if they forwarded more than 500 times.

Those who were timid quickly deleted their posts and apologized, and those who were bold also panicked after knowing that Huo Siyi’s defamation charges were almost a sure win, so they apologized one after another, and even actively offered to compensate Huo Siyi.

Secretary Dong, who was responsible for handling this, laughed. Huo Siyi could spend hundreds of millions on Xi Ling, how could he care about this little compensation?

However, legal procedures require a certain amount of time. It is impossible to solve it with one cut, but hanging a sword over these people’s heads on the eve of the New Year was not bad.

As for the most serious Daju Entertainment, because the act of flying drones into private areas to sneak photos was too vicious, the entire studio was detained in the detention center.

Even if they could only be detained for ten days according to the circumstances, this year would have to be spent inside. After they came out, they would have to face the litigation lawsuits smashed by Chuangsi Technology without counting the cost.

When Xi Ling opened the “Big Eye” (Weibo), he couldn’t find anything on the hot search, but the entertainment blogger he followed listed the specific context.

The blogger also hinted vaguely: [So many things were ignored before, it seems that this time the situation is really serious. I’m talking about the degree of infringement, don’t hallucinate indiscriminately~(Dog head)(Dog head)(Dog head)]

The comment area was full of riddle makers:

[Heroes see the same thing, I also think Daju Entertainment went too far this time! (Dog head)]

[Honestly, I can totally understand it, men! (One hundred words omitted here)]

[So how serious is it? Has anyone heard which hospital they went to?]