I Became the Rich Family’s Stepfather and Couldn’t Stop Laughing - Chapter 28

Xi Ling secretly sighed that this “skin” was truly thick. The grandson held in the old man’s arms also looked unconvinced. He pointed to the surveillance camera inside the elevator: “The camera recorded everything; you can’t deny it, and furthermore.”

Xi Ling’s voice paused slightly as he turned to the sales manager: “This manager’s father is using his son’s official authority to pressure others, which has made my impression of Huanyu change for the worse. I would like to ask, how can I file a customer complaint?”

The sales manager apologized repeatedly, hurriedly saying that he would certainly report it upward and give the super VIP client a satisfactory answer.

Xi Ling nodded slightly, picked up the baby, and left in a dashing manner.

He left behind the still-noisy grandfather-grandson duo and the loud whispers of the onlookers who had gathered to watch the scene:

“Old Chen finally kicked a steel plate. Usually, relying on being Manager Chen’s father, he brings the child to mess around in the mall every day. That elevator wasn’t even broken by today’s pressing.”

“Alright, alright, say less; after all, he is Manager Chen’s father…”

“What’s there to be afraid of? Now that he’s been complained about by a super VIP client, how could he possibly continue to be a manager? He was already unqualified for the position; this time he’ll definitely be fired directly…”

Several Huanyu employees working on the top floor snickered, and several onlookers, having heard this, pointed and gestured at the grandfather and grandson, causing Old Chen’s thick face to turn the color of a pig’s liver.

After walking far away, Xi Ling finally relaxed his shoulders and resumed his natural walking posture, humming “Good Luck” while gently swaying the baby in his arms.

A barrage of thoughts scrolled continuously through his mind: Thanks to Mr. Huo for the strong support! That show of dominance felt great!

On the surface, Xi Ling still spoke righteously to the baby, reminding him of a few things. After all, although his baby was very obedient, learning to be bad was much easier than learning to be good. He still had to clearly tell the baby what was wrong and make sure he never learned from bad children or bad adults.

He received a look of surface-level confusion from the baby.

Father and son strolled happily like this to the place selling phone watches. Earlier, Xi Ling hadn’t looked closely at the little watch Mingming was wearing; in his impression, it was colorful and childish.

And although Mingming was very cute, because he was too energetic, his mouth and body were always doing one thing or another. Xi Ling was fine when they were together occasionally, but if it lasted a long time, he would automatically space out and enter standby mode.

Even though the future male protagonist had introduced the many cool functions of the little watch to him N times, Xi Ling hadn’t taken a single word to heart. So, when the salesperson showed them to the baby, Xi Ling was the one who became tempted first.

Good grief, this thing could pinpoint the exact floor, the watch face could be rotated and removed to switch between multiple wearing methods meaning it could be used like a GoPro as a sports camera and you could add someone’s contact information with a single touch…

That was fine, but there was actually an Ultraman custom edition!

From the watch face and matching themes to the strap, there were many little clever designs, and there was even a front-facing flashlight to emit a beam of light.

Xi Ling’s eyes went wide: “Give me two!”

Little Huo Xingmian was truly confused this time: Huh? Is a phone watch something you need to wear one on each hand?

In the end, Mianmian chose a deep, profound black that looked high-end and atmospheric, while Xi Ling chose the very childish Ultraman custom edition.

When he saw Xi Ling wearing the phone watch, the unspeakable look on the baby’s face could not be hidden.

Xi Ling said righteously: “When you grow up, you’ll know. While this watch is a bit childish for a child, it’s actually just right for an adult like me.”

Huo Xingmian: ?

Is the stepfather talking nonsense again?

Xi Ling took the baby to buy a pile of things he might need in Z Province, calculated the time, and went home early. After settling the dogs and the baby, he walked into the study with his phone, ready for battle.

As soon as 4:00 PM arrived, Xi Ling sent another waving cat-head emoji, and a file was soon sent over from the other side.

This file was another version that Huo Siyi had the psychological expert reissue. It did not mention any “Personality 1, 2, or 3,” but only analyzed his micro-expressions, habitual actions, and subconscious reactions to similar situations based on Xi Ling’s latest performance, and drew conclusions.

Because the previous Xi Ling had blamed everything on amnesia caused by a head injury, the psychological expert had always tended to believe there was a condition of schizophrenia, and now it was clearly a case of the “illness” appearing again.

Xi Ling was nearly scared to death. He never imagined that there would be a psychological expert squatting in the livestream room to analyze his every move. This was completely different from the transmigration novels he used to read. It was one thing for these rich people to be crafty, but being defensive to this extent was simply too outrageous!

Fortunately, Huo Siyi estimated Xi Ling’s reading speed and quickly stated his purpose. Regardless of whether Xi Ling had currently switched personalities, he must strictly abide by their prenuptial agreement.

Then, he sent a document close to 100MB a complete version of the agreement that would be as thick as a dictionary if printed.

Previously, Huo Siyi had indeed planned to let him re-choose to divorce and take the money because Xi Ling had become obedient. But that was based on his mistaken belief that Personality 2 had finally hit a wall and was no longer greedily trying to squeeze more out of their marital relationship.

It was too annoying to keep someone tied to his side every day, so he had intended to loosen the leash appropriately. The rules for the other party’s free disposal of five million yuan annually still had to be strictly observed.

But now that Xi Ling had changed again, everything naturally had to be reconsidered. He wanted to keep the person in front of him and observe him carefully.

Xi Ling was bewildered by the sequence of moves. He felt like he had been on a roller coaster and was so scared he almost wet his pants, only to find he had stepped into a void and woken up from a dream, finding himself still lying comfortably in a luxurious bed.

Huo Siyi actually didn’t care about these things!

He only cared about whether he had strictly complied with the terms of the agreement… He really, I’m crying.

Xi Ling immediately promised that he would strictly comply and would absolutely never cross the line.

After saying this, fearing that the busy Huo Siyi would go offline too quickly, he immediately asked: [I have indeed felt recently that many past things don’t feel clear in my memory. Regarding my parents, I always feel something is strange…]

Xi Ling firmly believed that Huo Siyi must have long ago investigated the original body inside and out. Sure enough, the other party didn’t let him down, telling him directly that he was adopted or more accurately, purchased by the Xi family.

The “Little Feather” of that year had gone missing in an accident, and the two had completely lost contact. Later, “Little Feather” was sold to the Xi family after moving around, until they were reunited during a kidnapping case two years ago.

However, after Xi Ling woke up that year, he had become a completely different person. Huo Siyi had nearly lost his life, and the people he had available to him were almost all used in investigating the kidnapping case, so he hadn’t continued to investigate Xi Ling’s life history.

It was also at that time that he had tossed Huo Xingmian, whose identity was sensitive, into the manor as an abandoned illegitimate child.

Old Madam Huo had poured all her hatred onto him; making him an only heir she valued would be very dangerous. And now was far from the time to make Huo Xingmian’s true identity public.

Therefore, according to the Huo family’s tradition, he had randomly selected a personal nanny prepared by the Huo family for the next generation for Huo Xingmian.

The young masters and misses of the Huo family all had such an old nanny who had taken care of them since they were young. As for the Xi Ling of that time, there was a strict agreement between them, and he thought this was the safest and most proper arrangement.

However, he indeed hadn’t put any extra thought into that child, which led to him being bullied by the evil servants…

Because this recording involved a long trip, the staff carried their equipment to his door at 9:00 AM on Friday.

Xi Ling and the baby had just finished breakfast and had even asked the nanny to prepare refreshments and drinks for the staff.

Compared to the “bad luck” mentality they had when they were assigned to Xi Ling, the sub-team responsible for following Xi Ling and his son had long ago undergone a earth-shattering change in mentality.

Xi Ling was completely unlike the mean, arrogant, and eyesore person they had imagined, and he didn’t do any bizarre or “sassy” operations. Although there were constant storms on the internet during their cooperation, he had been very kind to them, the working stiffs.

Not only was he easy-going and easy to talk to, but every time they came, they could eat exquisite meals prepared by a top chef. Moreover, they had originally held no expectations for this low-budget show, but the heat of Xi Ling’s livestream had soared all the way up, with the momentum of one person carrying the entire show. Although it was difficult to surpass the peak of the first season, it was definitely a huge hit and a dark horse this year.

Xi Ling picked up the baby with one hand and headed to the dressing room to change, followed by the two whimpering puppies.

The “Canned-Food Duo” had now fully adapted to life in their new home and were gradually revealing the true face of energetic milk puppies.

Fortunately, there were many people in the main building who took turns “rua-ing” (petting) the dogs, which led to the two little puppies “powering off” automatically every night as soon as dusk fell.

As Xi Ling closed the door to change clothes, the livestream camera aimed at the two lively dog puppies that had just been fully charged. The barrage in the livestream room instantly became jubilant.

After recognizing that the dogs were a Beagle and a Husky, both those who liked Xi Ling and those who didn’t gave a thumbs up, but they also had to admit that these two types of dogs were truly beautiful, especially these two little puppies of Xi Ling’s, who were so standard they could go shoot commercials as pet stars.

[Xi Ling is truly brave; I applaud this newly born man of endurance!]

[Dying of laughter! Are you trying to verify who is better at demolishing the house between a “Beagle Demon King” and a Husky?]

[Is there a possibility that Xi Ling has a big manor and isn’t afraid of demolition?]

[The person above, you saying that makes me want to cry!]

[Envying to the point of tears +1, not to mention a manor, I would dare to raise them if I had a big villa with a yard!]

[Damn, another day of envying Xi Ling TAT]

Just as the barrage was cursing and fiercely “sniffing” the little puppies, Xi Ling neatly brought the baby out in matching parent-child outfits.

As soon as he walked out, the camera sensor automatically moved up, and the style of the livestream room changed drastically:

[Help!!! Xi Ling is also absurdly handsome now (violently flicking tongue) (lewdly crawling)]

[Wife! From today on, Xi Ling is my only wife, prprpr!]

[I’m different; I want both the big and the small one! This display of Nüwa’s skill is mouth-wateringly good!!!]

[Beautiful people are indeed similar; the more I look, the more I think the father and son look alike! Inserting the former husband into this, he must have regretted it until his intestines turned green!]

After a period of adaptation, Xi Ling had now given up on using those complicated skincare products, and he couldn’t do anything wasteful. Now he randomly grabbed a bottle every day to smear on his face, considering it basic moisturizing.

Even so, his skin was still glowing, and it looked like smooth pearl satin when the sunlight hit it, causing the livestream room to howl with admiration.

The production team hadn’t told the guests the specific address, but they warned them that the local temperature was much lower than in Yunjing, so Xi Ling wrapped the baby into a little white “bean bun.”

He also matched it with a set of casual wear of similar style; the upper body was white lambswool, and the black stitching on the corners added a sense of fashion.

Of course, the degree of fashion completion mainly relied on his face and figure. Worn on Xi Ling, everyday clothes also looked like runway models, causing the “appearance fans” in the livestream room to take screenshots like crazy.

[Just like I didn’t understand why Huo married Xi Ling back then, I don’t understand why Huo would divorce Xi Ling now…]

[Thanks to the wealthy ex-husband for the grace of divorce! (Thumbs up) (Applause)]

[I want to go conspiracy theorist; did Xi Ling pretend to be ugly because he didn’t want to please the ugly old man? That’s why he had such a big! transformation! after the divorce!]

[It’s so magical that he can take his stepson on a show after the divorce; the relationship between the two is really too confusing. I hope to have insider information exposed in my lifetime…]

When Xi Ling arrived at the airport, he was not surprised to see Chu Xinnian and Mingming. Even with deep exhaustion on his face, the reliable adult Chu Xinnian always made preparations in advance.

Xi Ling walked forward enthusiastically, holding the baby with one hand and pulling the suitcase with the other, his face filled with longing for home-cooked delicacies, while little Huo Xingmian’s eyes were also sparkling: “Uncle Niannian!”

Chu Xinnian laughed a little when he met the familiar gaze of the father and son: “Don’t worry, if there is a chance to cook, I will definitely not forget you.”

“Sigh, what are you saying, good brother? We just missed you after not seeing you for a week.” Xi Ling sold his cuteness after getting a bargain, his tone shifting, “Make more then, ha. Our Mianmian can eat quite a bit.”

Huo Xingmian: ???

Doesn’t your conscience hurt?

Chu Xinnian looked at the baby, who had been suddenly framed and whose eyes were wide open, and felt he had been thoroughly “conquered” by Xi Ling, this old fox.

While they were talking, Director Bai, who had taken his daughter to the bathroom, returned, so Chu Xinnian changed the subject to introduce both sides.

Bai Zijie, whose real name is Bai Jiejie the “Jie” meaning solitary, and “Jie” meaning outstanding and eminent but the “Jie” character had caused him many misunderstandings since he was a child. To accumulate fame, he adopted the stage name Bai Zijie after starting work.

He was once the most sought-after cutting-edge director, but after two consecutive big-budget productions bombed, no one paid attention to him anymore. Along with his outstanding talent was his foul temper, and now, in order to earn a living, he was willing to go on a parenting variety show and let others point fingers at him.

Even so, he couldn’t change his nature. Bai Zijie still looked down on everyone in the entertainment industry equally, especially Xi Ling, the illiterate who had said “Ziran Yishen” (confusing a common idiom).

Compared to the perfunctory nature of the foul-tempered old father, Bai Zijie, his daughter, Lu Zhizhi, shook hands with Xi Ling and Mianmian in a decent manner:

“Hello, Uncle Xi Ling. I am Zhizhi. I took my mother’s surname, Lu, because Dad said Mom’s surname sounds good, so you can call me Xiao Lu.”

The five-year-old girl was already somewhat graceful, and after she finished speaking, she showed Xi Ling a big smile with two sweet dimples on both sides of her cheeks, which were really too likable—not at all like Director Bai’s own daughter.

Xi Ling squatted down to greet the little girl with a smile, and the cute little bun standing aside also called out in a milky voice: “T-t-t-jie.”

Xi Ling’s smile paused why did the baby have a bit of a Tianjin accent? He was truly afraid that the child’s next sentence would be, Have you eaten yet?

However, considering his baby had always been very concerned about his appearance, Xi Ling waited until they finished greeting each other before using the chance to go to the bathroom to correct the baby’s pronunciation: “Mianmian, it’s ‘Jie-jie’.”

Huo Xingmian tried to say it once: “Jie, jie.”

“Right, my precious baby is so smart. Come, Dad will give you a kiss!” Saying this, he rubbed his face against the baby’s meaty cheeks.

A dark gleam quickly flashed through the baby’s eyes. Fortunately, although a child who looks very formidable has appeared, the stepfather has not changed his heart for now…

As the plane was about to take off, the fourth group of guests, Yao Xinze, finally arrived late with his niece, Little Taozi. They boarded the plane in a hurry and skipped the mutual introduction phase, leaving Xi Ling with only the impression that the other person looked very tall.

After takeoff, the baby was poking at his little watch and playing with who knows what. Xi Ling also took out his phone and discovered that there were two more missed calls, both from unfamiliar numbers.

He knew immediately that it was the original body’s adoptive parents changing numbers to call him. Xi Ling had already blocked several over the past few days.

Through several intermittent calls, Xi Ling had also roughly figured out why these two had suddenly come to him.

The Xi family still had a biological son who had just turned sixteen. According to the Xi couple, he had been scammed by bad guys on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the other party demanded three million yuan to settle it privately, or they would send him in.

And the reason the Xi parents hadn’t asked Xi Ling for money before was that the original body had been threatened, saying he would rather hire someone to break his brother’s legs than give them a single penny.

The original body had been blacklisted by the entire internet and had no reputation to speak of, and he did things without any scruples he was indeed the type of person who could do such a thing. Moreover, the Xi parents were still wary of the Huo family behind Xi Ling; ordinary people didn’t dare to easily provoke them.

But now they had heard that Xi Ling had divorced and had received a huge amount of property, and he was rebuilding a positive image and starting to care about his face.

Watching the New Year’s Eve livestream had already stirred the Xi parents’ hearts, and they were planning to find an opportunity to dig some money from Xi Ling. They never expected their precious son to run into trouble first. In this situation, the couple became even more reckless.

Xi Ling was amused when he heard that they not only wanted him to pay these three million, but also wanted him to take a few million to send his brother abroad for studies, because his brother wouldn’t adapt to the domestic education system and had learned to be bad from others, and so on. Xi Ling listened until he was amused, and then called the police as a counter-measure.

He called the police on behalf of the Xi family of three as a family member, saying that his brother was being blackmailed. This way, the Xi family’s “precious treasure” wouldn’t be able to escape either.

Xi Ling sincerely hoped that these people would all go inside. He had consulted a lawyer and found that, although it was currently impossible to make the buyer and seller equally guilty, those who bought children also needed to bear legal responsibility.

So, he also accepted the lawyer’s suggestion to have someone secretly investigate the adoptive parents, to prevent the Xi couple from finding other excuses to commit crimes. For example, lying that he had been picked up by accident after all, Xi Ling hadn’t found his biological parents, and the human traffickers from that year had also disappeared without a trace.

The Xi couple had been quiet for two days after the police report. He had thought they could calm down for a while, but he hadn’t expected them to start again so soon?

Xi Ling suddenly understood “Brother Wei” even better; the feeling of being harassed continuously was really annoying. He planned to buy a new card after landing to avoid being bombed by calls on the show, which would bring unnecessary trouble.

Xi Ling felt uncomfortable after blocking them, but fortunately, he had a cute little baby he could “sniff” by his side.

However, the baby, who had always been obedient, was pushing away his little white paws in strict refusal, pointing seriously at the screen playing the safety demonstration, then gesturing at his own seat belt and waving his hand at Xi Ling: “Like this, not safe.”

Xi Ling saw the baby’s little expression was extremely serious, so he only grabbed the baby’s little paws to rub in his palm, and also watched seriously along with the baby.

In the livestream camera, it looked like the father and son had boarded the plane and were seriously watching the safety demonstration video. Once the plane leveled off, Xi Ling let the baby sit in his arms, and at the baby’s request, they buckled their seat belts together.

Then the father and son enthusiastically began to look at the clouds and the distant scenery outside the window. The ordinary airplane perspective was discussed with great interest by the two.

When the business class meals arrived, the father and son ate the bento boxes, bread, seaweed, and a small fruit platter which were far inferior to the manor chef’s skills to the very last bite. After eating, they sat together, looking into the distance, and enjoyed the miniature snowy scenery on the ground together.

The baby’s soft, milky voice and the beautiful image of the father and son in the same frame made every second feel healing. The barrage in the livestream room was almost drowned by the fans of the father and son:

[I strongly suggest that major airlines find Xi Ling and Mian-zai to shoot promotional videos!]

[+1, it’s to the extent that those with motion sickness want to book tickets overnight. Woo-woo-woo, Xi Ling really looks better the more you look at him, ah ah ah…]

Some people also wondered, it was one thing that the baby hadn’t flown before, but why did Xi Ling look even more excited than the baby?

Yunjing International Airport.

To maintain a good mental state, Huo Siyi had specifically taken a short nap on the plane.

Stepping out of the cabin, the moment he felt the fresh, cold air, his brain became even clearer, and a sense of long-lost excitement even welled up in the bottom of his heart.

After getting into the car, Huo Siyi took the speech draft he would need later, lowered his eyes, and glanced at his watch, his gaze lingering for a moment on the small pearl in the center.

It had been many days since they last met; he didn’t know what the person in the manor had been doing with the child recently…

Just as this thought popped up, Huo Siyi’s thoughts took an abrupt turn, and his attention refocused on the draft… He could return home directly after the meeting; he could see whatever he wanted to know for himself.

“I’m staying at the manor tonight; have them clean up the room.”

Although Huo Siyi’s tone was still cold, Secretary Dong caught a hint of something unusual. When did Huo Siyi ever need to be reminded of such things?

It was hard not to give him the impression that his boss couldn’t wait to return to the manor as soon as he returned to Yunjing City… But… didn’t Mr. Huo know that Madam had flown to Z City to record a parenting show today?

Secretary Dong’s brain raced so fast it was almost sparking. He tasted the sentence over and over, and finally felt that Huo Siyi should truly not know; otherwise, he wouldn’t have said this unnecessary waste of words with a sense of inexplicable joy.

Secretary Dong calmed his thoughts and reminded him tentatively: “Madam took the little young master to Z City this morning to record outdoor scenes…”

Seeing Huo Siyi’s brief astonishment, Secretary Dong immediately felt inspired and changed his tone: “It just so happens that the first stop of this cultural industrial park project is managed by the Z City branch. Do you need to apply for a flight route to Z City?”