VHBF – Chapter 15 The Playboy Daddy (Part 15)

“This is our little Yinyin!” Mrs. Luo held the toddler in her arms as she sat among several elegantly dressed ladies. “Our Yinyin is well-behaved and sensible. In my entire life, I’ve never seen a child more adorable than her!”

The little dumpling wasn’t shy at all in front of strangers. She sweetly greeted everyone. She didn’t know about seniority or titles, so when she saw the beautifully maintained ladies, she called each one a sweet “auntie,” making them all burst into laughter.

Originally, these noblewomen didn’t get along very well with each other. Mrs. Luo’s smug tone annoyed them even more, but the way the little one called them “auntie” so sweetly made their faces light up with smiles.

Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Luo’s lifelong rival who had competed with her since childhood and was known for her fiery nature, now wore a big grin. She cast a sidelong glance at Mrs. Luo and said, “Oh my, our Yinyin is such a good girl! That ‘auntie’ was just too sweet!”

She lifted her hand to fluff her hair. “Well, it’s because we look young, unlike Yao Xin, right?”

The others stifled laughter. “Today really is Yao Xin’s lucky day. She gained a whole generation on us for free!”

The soft and adorable little dumpling blinked her big eyes, looking at them in confusion, completely unaware of what they were all laughing about.

Mrs. Gu, unable to resist, reached out and picked her up. “Yinyin has great taste!” She opened her handbag and took out a jade pendant — it was a beautiful piece of imperial green jade!

She placed it around Yinyin’s neck. “A few days ago, your Uncle Mianmian got incredibly lucky and struck a piece of imperial green jade. He had a couple of bracelets and a decorative piece made from it. There was a small leftover piece, so I had it carved into a pendant.”

She gently patted Yinyin’s head and added, “I’ve heard your Uncle Mianmian talk about you before. Said you were a sweet and well-behaved little girl. Now that I’ve met you, it’s all true!”

“Make sure to wear this properly. It’s a little Buddha pendant that has been blessed by a master. It wards off evil and keeps you safe!”

Though the pendant was small and not suitable for an adult to wear, being made of imperial green jade with excellent translucency made it very valuable.

Mrs. Gu had brought it casually, thinking if she liked the child, she’d give it to her. If not, she could just take it back — after all, the Gu family dealt in jewelry and jade, and it could always serve as a shop treasure.

Hearing her words, Yinyin’s eyes lit up. She tilted her head up to look at Mrs. Gu and said in a milky voice, “Is that Uncle Gu? Daddy said Uncle Gu is called Gu Mian!”

As she spoke, Yinyin thought of fluffy, delicious cotton candy and couldn’t help but slurp a little drool. “Hehe, that’s such a cute name!”

Mrs. Gu nearly choked from laughter. After recovering, she couldn’t help but hug the little one and chuckle. How could there be such a funny child?

“Why are you laughing, Auntie Gu?” Yinyin asked.

Everyone around burst into laughter. Mrs. Luo tapped the little dumpling on her head and corrected her, “Call her Grandma Gu!”

She continued, “Your Uncle Gu got that name because your Grandma Gu thought he was going to be a girl. But he turned out to be a boy. Then a fortune teller said he had a strong destiny and needed a softer name to balance it out, so we stuck with it.”

Yinyin didn’t really understand, but she touched her chubby chin and said the name still sounded lovely — sweet and delicious!

Mrs. Luo sighed, “…Your Uncle Gu is a boy, but that name sounds like it belongs to a girl. He got teased a lot by the other boys when he was growing up. Silly Yinyin! You’re the first one to ever say his name sounds nice!”

Three-year-old Yinyin couldn’t fully wrap her head around it, but she still felt the name was lovely and earnestly repeated, “Nice name, really nice!”

The ladies: “……”

After saying that, Yinyin cheerfully touched the little jade Buddha around her neck and turned to Mrs. Gu. “It’s so pretty! Thank you, Gu—” She was about to say “Auntie Gu” again, but remembered what Grandma had just told her and quickly corrected herself, “Thank you, Grandma Gu!”

Mrs. Gu: “……”

Mrs. Luo praised her, “Yinyin is so clever! Good girl!”

On the men’s side of the banquet, there were private booths set up, and a group of young men were sitting together.

One of them, dyed-blond, scratched his ear, feeling a little itchy. He glanced over and saw his mother chatting happily with the other ladies and the little dumpling, showing no intention of scolding him.

He breathed a sigh of relief and nudged Luo Sheng with his shoulder.

“Hey, Brother Luo, bring your little princess over to meet us, so she’ll recognize her uncles.”

Luo Sheng shot him a sideways look. “Creepy uncles?”

Blondie replied, “Pfft. Yinyin even called me Uncle Gu — I should prepare a gift for her. Last time I was in the hospital and only saw her briefly. That doesn’t count!”

The others chimed in, teasing, “Brother Luo, ever since you became a dad, we’ve never seen you come out anymore! No matter how we ask, you’re never free!”

Gu Mian waggled his eyebrows. “Tsk tsk, our Brother Luo now has eyes and heart only for his little darling. There’s no room for us anymore.”

The group laughed and chatted, lounging around in relaxed poses, occasionally sipping wine and enjoying themselves.

From the corner of his eye, Gu Mian saw his mother leading over a little boy, around four years old, and chuckled. She waved to the pink dumpling. “Yinyin, come here. This is your Brother Shi Yuan.”

The little boy was dressed in a tiny button-up shirt, blue suspenders, and a small bow tie around his neck. His lips were red, his teeth were white — a picture-perfect little gentleman.

Yinyin looked over and widened her eyes slightly. “Brother is so handsome!”

The boy’s ears were red as he walked up to Yinyin and extended his hand for a handshake. “Hello, my name is Shi Yuan.”

“I-I’m Yinyin!”

Mrs. Gu was absolutely smitten with little Yinyin. She pulled both children to her sides, one in each arm. “Shi Yuan is my nephew from my maiden family. He’s been well-behaved and sensible since he was a child. Didn’t Yinyin just turn three? Isn’t it time for her to start kindergarten?”

“How about she goes to the school run by my family? Shi Yuan attends kindergarten there too. With this little brother to look after her, you all can rest easy.”

Mrs. Gu came from a scholarly family. Her parents were both professors at prestigious universities, and her older brother, after several years of teaching, had retired and established a private school—an elite institution that ran from kindergarten through high school.

When his aunt said that, Shi Yuan’s ears turned even redder. He glanced at the pretty and adorable little girl beside him and promised, “I-I’ll take good care of my little sister!”

Well then, never mind that Yinyin’s parents hadn’t even agreed to send her to that school yet—just from listening to this aunt and nephew talk, it already sounded like the decision was final.

After speaking, Shi Yuan sneaked a peek at the pretty little sister. Her skin was fair and soft, and her chubby cheeks were so round—she was really cute! He wanted to take a bite!

She must be so soft. Little Shi Yuan thought to himself—she was the most beautiful little sister he’d ever seen!

In order to convince the little sister to join his kindergarten, shy and reserved Yinyin gave it everything he had, painting the most wonderful and enticing picture of kindergarten life.

“We’ve got lions, tigers, and even bunnies in our class. If you press them, they make sounds!” he said, referring to the big toys installed in their classroom.

He added, “There’s a pair of chubby siblings in class named Guoguo and Yuanyuan. They can roll like snowballs—it’s super fun!”

“And the teacher is really nice too! Our homeroom teacher, Ms. Wang, really likes us!”

“I—I also like…” He trailed off softly, saying it too quietly for Yinyin to hear.

Yinyin listened with stars in her eyes, holding her chubby cheeks in her hands as she daydreamed. “That sounds so fun!”

She’d never been to kindergarten. At first, she had gone hungry and full by turns. Then her daddy picked her up and took her home, spending a long time helping her recover her health. After that, things got blurry in her memory—but she didn’t think she had ever gone to kindergarten.

Yinyin hesitated, then took a small step closer to the little brother and asked cautiously, “Th-then… Brother Shi Yuan, what do you learn in kindergarten?”

Yinyin suddenly felt a little inferior. She didn’t know anything…

She nervously clutched her little hands, staring at the pretty little boy.

Shi Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and replied solemnly, “We learn a lot! The teacher teaches us to recognize characters, count numbers, even English. There’s also singing and dancing.”

The more she listened, the wider her eyes became. She stared at him in a daze. So much… but she didn’t know any of it.

Little Yinyin lowered her head in disappointment and murmured, “W-What if I don’t know anything?”

She didn’t want to be laughed at! Yinyin knew exactly how it felt to be ridiculed!

Yinyin immediately reached out to grab his little sister’s hand and comforted her, “It’s okay, it’s okay! When I first went to kindergarten, I didn’t know anything either!”

In truth, Shi Yuan did know all of it. He’d grown up in a scholarly household and was exposed to these things from an early age. The kindergarten curriculum was a breeze for him.

But of course, he didn’t dare say that in front of the pretty little sister. What if she got discouraged and didn’t want to go to kindergarten anymore?

All the noble ladies nearby watched as Shi Yuan anxiously scratched his head and racked his brain, face flushed, trying to think of things to say to comfort his little sister.

Yinyin looked up at the pretty little brother and gave him a sweet smile. “Brother Shi Yuan, you’re so nice! Can I be in the same class as you?”

“Can I sit at the same desk as you?”

The refined and gentlemanly Shi Yuan froze like a statue. His face turned bright red. He took a deep breath, ready to agree when suddenly—

He felt a cold chill behind him.

A low, lazy male voice spoke up: “No.”

Shi Yuan looked up and saw a tall, slim, incredibly handsome big brother staring at him coldly. The look in his eyes was terrifying, like he was going to toss Shi Yuan out the window.

Even scarier than the Big Bad Wolf in the stories the teacher told.

When Yinyin saw her dad, her eyes lit up. She rushed over and hugged his leg tightly. “Daddy! Grandma said after my birthday, I get to go to kindergarten!”

She was happy. It was her first time learning about kindergarten, her first time going to school. She felt a little nervous and shy, but even more excited and joyful.

Then she remembered—if she went to kindergarten, she wouldn’t see Daddy during the day. She felt reluctant, but she also really wanted to go!

Suddenly, her eyes sparkled with an idea. She hugged Daddy’s leg and swung back and forth, her chubby little body twisting like a dough roll, and said in a soft, excited voice, “Daddy, come to kindergarten with Yinyin!”

“That way, I can see you every day!”

By every day, she meant every moment. She thought, if Daddy was by her side, she wouldn’t be scared of anything!

Not even being laughed at!

Daddy was so amazing—he must know everything. If he were with her, she could learn anything!

Yinyin’s eyes were shining, full of admiration and dependence. Luo Sheng tugged at the corner of his lips, lifted her up, and carried her on his arm.

“No.”

“Why not?”

The man paused, turned his head aside, and said coolly, “I have to go to work.”

“Tsk, you see now, little rascal? Raising you is a lot of work—I even have to go earn money!”

Mrs. Luo held back a laugh and said, “Yinyin, working is very tiring. Be good and go to kindergarten. Your daddy has to work and can’t go to school with you.”

Everyone thought, given how obedient Yinyin was, she’d surely nod sweetly and agree without arguing.

Who would’ve thought, after hearing that, the little girl furrowed her brows. Her chubby face scrunched up with heartache.

Then she bit her lip, and with a small but resolute voice, declared dramatically:

“Daddy, then let’s switch! You go to kindergarten, and I’ll go to work for you!”

“Yinyin’s not afraid of hard work!”