VHBF -Chapter 115 The Bigshot Researcher Daddy (Part 5)

Su Yan froze.

His little niece was hugging Mo Linqing’s leg tightly, refusing to let go, while staring at him with open vigilance. Those round, shiny eyes—like a little milk kitten’s—were fierce in the softest, cutest way.

Just a moment ago, she had been calling him Uncle sweetly, sticking close to him, even memorizing his phone number. And now, the moment she heard she was supposed to go with him, she… what???

Yinyin was a little nervous. She clung to Daddy’s leg with both hands and feet, trying to climb upward while muttering, “Not going, not going—Yinyin wants to stay with Daddy.”

Su Yan: “……”

Mo Linqing lowered his eyes and picked Yinyin up. Once is unfamiliar, twice is practice—after holding her a few more times, he no longer felt awkward. He naturally settled her in the crook of his arm and said calmly, “You need to understand—he could come out at any time. Be good and go back with your uncle. I’ll come get you in a couple of days.”

Mo Linqing rarely spoke at such length. Even so, his voice was unhurried, carrying that faint early-winter chill.

Yinyin’s eyes sparkled like little stars. After he finished speaking, she cupped her chubby cheeks and went “Wow,” then exclaimed, “Daddy’s voice sounds so nice!”

Mo Linqing: “……”

Yinyin’s shameless fangirl nature was fully exposed—she hadn’t seriously listened to a single word he’d said.

Su Yan twitched the corner of his mouth. The Mo family really knew how to raise a child—look at how brainwashed his niece was. What kid clings to someone like this, unable to leave them? Especially when it’s a halfway-acquired dad.

Su Yan absolutely refused to admit that he was a little jealous.

How could a newly upgraded uncle-turned-dad compare to a real uncle anyway?

A phone call came to the rescue of both Mo Linqing and Su Yan.

The call was from the research institute. A project Mo Linqing had applied for some time ago had been approved. The higher-ups were very optimistic about it and required him to immediately bring a team into the lab.

Once the project was officially launched, he would not be allowed to leave the institute until results were produced—let alone take care of a child.

With teary eyes and endless reluctance, Yinyin bid her father farewell, turning back every few steps. She even leaned close to him and earnestly reminded him, “Daddy, be careful of the bad daddy!”

Su Yan had installed a child safety seat in the car. As he buckled Yinyin in, he asked, “What did you say to your Daddy just now?”

Yinyin looked a little downcast. “I… I said I’d miss him.”

Outside the car window, Mo Linqing appeared at some point. He knocked lightly on the glass and passed a storybook inside. His eyes were calm and indifferent as he looked at Su Yan. “Tonight—read stories.”

Su Yan: “……”

The Su family hadn’t raised a three-year-old little brat in ages. All the kids at home were grown—ten years old at the youngest. Su Yan’s own twin sons were twelve, and even Su family’s youngest daughter, Su Yue—divorced and a career-focused woman—had a ten-year-old son.

On the contrary, Yinyin’s biological mother had married late due to attending military academy and later joining the army, so Yinyin was the youngest by far—several years younger than her brothers.

By the time Su Yan’s car reached the Su family home, the sun had just set. The children were back from school, and the entire Su family was there. The elderly couple led everyone outside to greet them.

Su Yan parked, got out, and lifted the little Yinyin from the back seat—her eyes red.

Yinyin was wearing yellow Minions overalls. Her fine, short hair was tied into two little horn-like pigtails. Her chubby little face was puffed up with displeasure. Everyone in the Su family stared without blinking.

Madam Su, always an elegant old lady, couldn’t help stepping forward when she saw Yinyin. She reached out to her son. “Come, come—let Grandma hold you.”

With a look of utter resignation, Su Yan handed Yinyin over to the Empress Dowager. Grandpa Su also leaned in, deliberately taking off his reading glasses to wipe them before putting them back on. He examined his granddaughter carefully. Seeing that she was plump, well cared for, and showed no signs of mistreatment, he finally smiled.

“Good baby, I’m Grandpa. Do you remember me?”

Most of the time, Yinyin was very polite. Even though she was unhappy right now, she still pressed her lips together and said, “Hello, Grandpa.”

Su Yan patted Yinyin’s head and laughed. “Our Yinyin is so well-behaved—she even memorized my phone number.”

Grandpa Su widened his eyes. “Really?”

Then he smiled and asked his granddaughter, “Good baby, why memorize your uncle’s number? Just memorize Grandpa’s. If anything happens, call Grandpa—I’ll stand up for you.”

The three children were all there. The boys, around ten or so, stood in a neat row to the side, staring at their little cousin. She was so small—a tiny little bundle, pretty like a doll.

They crowded over, competing to greet her.

“Little sister, I’m your eldest cousin, Su Lin!”

“I’m your second cousin, Su Quan.”

There was also a ten-year-old boy standing behind the two older cousins, head lowered, saying nothing.

Yinyin greeted them one by one. “I’m Yinyin. Hello, big brothers.”

The two cousins’ eyes lit up—her voice was nice too, soft and sweet like a glutinous rice dumpling.

“Come, come, let’s go inside and talk. Good baby, Grandma and Grandpa prepared a beautiful little room for you—like a little princess on TV.”

The Su family’s enthusiasm relaxed Yinyin a lot. Her longing for Daddy eased, and she wasn’t as sad as she had been at first.

By the time dinner was over, Yinyin was already showing off for the Su family. She stood on a small rug, hands on her chubby waist, proudly and cutely reciting everyone’s phone numbers.

The Su family was stunned.

They had only been joking—saying she remembered her uncle’s number, but did she remember anyone else’s?

Who would’ve thought that Yinyin would lift her little chin confidently and say, “Yinyin memorized them all—Grandpa’s and Grandma’s too. I remember them all.”

So the Su family sat in a row, listening as Yinyin recited phone numbers.

Afterward, the two cousins clicked their tongues. “Little sister… you’re amazing!”

They couldn’t even memorize that many numbers themselves. Memorizing textbooks at school was already exhausting—thinking about memorizing all those digits gave them a headache.

Yinyin lifted her little head high. Of course she was amazing!

Daddy was amazing—so as Daddy’s little treasure, Yinyin had to be amazing too. She couldn’t lose!

This little display made the two elders adore her even more. They pulled her into their arms, calling her their precious darling. Su Yan even turned the fire on his own sons. “Your cousin is only three and can already memorize phone numbers. What about you? Do you even know your dad’s number by heart?”

The two cousins: “……”

Su Yue hadn’t come back, but her son was staying at the Su home during the holidays. The ten-year-old boy sat quietly in a corner of the sofa, completely indifferent to the lively scene.

He didn’t speak, and it was easy for people to overlook him.

Sharp-eyed Yinyin grew curious. “Is this also a big brother?”

Only then did Madam Su notice her grandson and smile. “That’s also Yinyin’s cousin—your little aunt’s son.”

Yinyin nodded, showing she understood. Her mental phonebook also had her little aunt’s number.

Madam Su called to the boy. “Su Guoguo, come here.”

At the sound of that name, the boy’s expression blanked for a moment. He shook his head slightly and stayed where he was.

The old lady sighed helplessly and didn’t force him. The child had been badly frightened when he was young, and later his parents’ relationship deteriorated and ended in divorce. His condition had grown worse than before.

At some point, Yinyin scooted over. She lay on the sofa, tilting her head to look at him.

Just then, Su Guoguo raised his head, and their gazes met.

Yinyin spoke first. Her eyes were curious, with no strangeness or judgment—just pure curiosity in those clear, dark pupils. “Brother Guoguo, why don’t you talk?”

The boy’s gaze paused slightly. His head instinctively turned aside. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He closed it again.

Two small, soft hands rested on his. Yinyin held Brother Guoguo’s hands and said with a bright smile, “It’s okay. I’m Yinyin—Brother Guoguo.”

Yinyin knew too well what it felt like to be ignored. Back when she lived in the residential compound, the other kids looked down on her and wouldn’t play with her. Yinyin always played by herself, quietly envying them.

Yinyin felt that this Brother Guoguo was just like her back then—silent on the outside, but surely very sad inside.

Su Guoguo froze for a moment, looking at the chubby little hands holding his. He nodded, almost imperceptibly.

The Su family watched this interaction with surprise. Guoguo usually didn’t respond much to people—not even to his elders. Yet this little cousin he’d just met had gotten him to nod.

That was a good sign. The adults smiled warmly.

Grandpa Su suddenly remembered something. “I forgot to say—our precious baby has such a good memory. She’ll definitely be a little genius in the future.”

Everyone in the Su family worked in education, so they were naturally very sensitive to such things. Madam Su said, “You’re right. We should let Yinyin start school early—our family can produce a little genius too.”

At this point, the two cousins were hit by stray bullets again. As the grandsons of the Su family and sons of the Director of the Education Bureau, these two were terrible students—classic academic slackers.

Su Yan shot his sons a glare. “In the future, let Yinyin attend the affiliated elementary school of Jing University. The environment’s good, and we have connections there.”

Both elders agreed. Su Yan’s wife—also a Jing University teacher, though she taught undergraduates—smiled and said, “Yinyin’s current guardian is Professor Mo, right?”

“Being with Professor Mo’s family, she’s inherited his intelligence too.”

Although Mo Linqing hadn’t been recruited by Jing University back then, he now held a position there. On extremely rare occasions, he would give an utterly emotionless lecture.

That made him, at least nominally, a colleague of Aunt Su.

Night fell like water.

In the empty, cold living room, a man sat on the sofa with his head slightly lowered, a children’s fairy tale book in his hands.

His cool, clear voice read a passage. He rested the book in his palm and casually spun it once.

After sitting there for an unknown length of time, Mo Linqing finally stood up. Before going into the bedroom, he turned back to look at the small pink bed in the corner. The childish little plush toys were still lying on it. The little girl who usually lay there obediently, clinging to him and demanding bedtime stories, was gone.

There had been no urgent project at all.

For the first time in his life, Mo Linqing had lied—making up an excuse to send away that clingy little Yinyin.

He had to figure out what had happened with the Z virus—whether that person had done something without his knowledge, and what he might have revealed to the child.

Otherwise, how could a three-year-old understand viruses? How could she know that her “bad daddy” was going to do bad things?

A new batch of recruits arrived at the Institute of Biopharmaceutical Research—fresh PhD graduates and two outstanding master’s students.

The two master’s students were both young, about twenty-five or twenty-six—a man and a woman, looking like a couple, very close with each other.

Most of these interns were assigned to Mo Linqing’s team. The higher-ups didn’t require him to mentor them personally; they were just meant to assist and observe.

Mo Linqing didn’t have any major projects at hand recently. Aside from routine check-ins, he spent most of his time in the private small laboratory attached to his office.

As a result, this new group not only had no chance to learn from Professor Mo—they barely even saw him.

Lin Ju had lingered in the cafeteria until very late on several occasions, yet still hadn’t seen that person.

That madman who would one day destroy the world.