VHBF – Chapter 17 The Playboy Daddy (Part 17)

The will roughly stated that Mr. and Mrs. Bai had a daughter late in life, but since she was still very young, they were worried that if something happened to them, she would be left without support. So, they had the will notarized in advance—just in case.

But fate was unpredictable. As it happened, less than six months after the will was notarized, the couple were involved in an accident.

The will specified that if both of them passed away, whoever became their daughter’s legal guardian would temporarily manage the Bai Group on her behalf until she came of age. As compensation, once she formally took over the company, that person would receive 10% of the company’s shares.

Xia Yang spread his hands with a helpless, bitter smile. “My abilities are limited—at most, I’m suited to being an assistant. Running such a massive corporation… my heart’s in it, but I don’t have the strength.”

“Young Master Luo saw what happened last time. The company almost collapsed. If the real culprit hadn’t been caught later and your Luo family hadn’t stepped in with your generous support, we wouldn’t have made it through that crisis so easily.”

He shook his head, smiling bitterly. “Now I’m just thankful the company’s intact. If anything had gone wrong…”

“In any case, I ask that Young Master Luo fulfill the terms of the will—help the Bai Group, and in doing so, help Miss Yinyin. She’s still too young; she needs someone to hold the fort for her. The future holds countless uncertainties. I don’t have the ability to guarantee I can protect Bai Group for fifteen more years.”

“To be honest with you, Young Master Luo, once you take over, I plan to resign. I’ll marry my girlfriend, go on a honeymoon, and live a few quiet years. I’ve been working with the chairman for so long, constantly pulling all-nighters—I’ve had no time for her.”

He took out a cigarette, held it in his hand without lighting it, spinning it between his fingers. His eyes showed a trace of weariness and melancholy.

“I know ten percent of the shares means nothing to you, Young Master Luo. But I hope—for the sake of Miss Yinyin—you’ll help her. Don’t let her grow up only to find she doesn’t even have a proper dowry left…”

After Xia Yang left, Luo Sheng leaned back in his chair, seemingly lost in thought.

In the car, Xia Yang’s assistant asked curiously, “President Xia, why’d you ask some rich playboy to manage the company? What if he squanders everything?”

Just a few days ago, that exact question had gone viral on Weibo, sparking heated debate. It had only died down after the involved parties stopped responding. Hearing the assistant bring it up again, Xia Yang glared at him. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

The assistant, straightforward as ever, didn’t mean any harm. Xia Yang wasn’t angry and explained, “It’s not about him—it’s about the Luo family behind him.”

“First of all, the Luo family is wealthy and powerful. They wouldn’t covet the inheritance of a three-year-old child. They also have a great reputation. Chairman Luo has a stellar track record. I trust them.”

“Second, if Young Master Luo agrees to this, even if he lacks the capability, the Luo family will back him up. Whether for the sake of reputation or pride, they won’t let anything happen to the Bai Group under their watch. In fact, they’ll go out of their way to support it.”

The assistant had a sudden realization. “No wonder you’re President Xia. You really think things through!”

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He was thoroughly impressed. “President Xia, you’re incredible!”

Xia Yang smiled but said nothing more.

Now was the best time to withdraw. If another crisis like last time arose, and they managed to weather it, great—but if not, he wouldn’t just be failing the chairman who mentored him, but also would be crushed under pressure from the media and the board.

Xia Yang lowered his eyes. He wasn’t brilliant—he was a coward. Stepping back now, just as the Bai Group emerged from crisis and was on the rise, would win him a good reputation and a glowing résumé. And if anything went wrong with Bai Group later, no one could blame him for it.

He didn’t want to profit from his mentor’s legacy, but he also couldn’t carry such a heavy burden. Protecting a three-year-old’s inheritance for fifteen years… it was simply too much.

In the quiet study.

Father and son—one seated, the other standing—stared at each other in silence.

Mr. Luo’s legs hadn’t healed yet; he sat in a specially made wheelchair, eyes narrowed, lost in thought. After a long pause, he finally looked up, gaze sharp as a blade, fixed on his lazy, carefree son.

“Luo Sheng, what are your thoughts on this whole situation between the Luo and Bai families?”

The man lazily lifted his eyelids and simply half-sat on the edge of the desk, earning a glare from his father.

He said lightly, “No thoughts.”

Mr. Luo’s eyes never left his face. “Really, none?”

It had only been a couple of days since trouble hit the Luo family. He’d been rushed to the hospital, and not long after his surgery, this rascal had vanished. For several days, there had been no sign of him. When he finally reappeared, the main culprit’s scandal had exploded.

To call that a coincidence? Mr. Luo didn’t believe it.

Having fought in the business world for decades, he knew one thing for sure—he didn’t believe in coincidences.

Mr. Luo knew his son well. If he didn’t want to talk, there was no use asking further. So instead, he glared at Luo Sheng fiercely. “What’s the point of messing around with that tiny little company of yours? Come back and help your father manage the family business.”

“My legs are going to take at least half a year to heal. I narrowly escaped death this time, so once I recover, I plan to take your mom and Yinyin out to travel and relax. While I’m still at home, I’ll hand the company over to you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just come ask me.”

Mr. Luo knew his son wouldn’t agree that easily, but he furrowed his brow and added, “Take Yinyin? No way.”

“That kid is my daughter.”

Mr. Luo: “……”

He coughed and raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t go to the company, I’ll take Yinyin with your mom and the two of us will travel as a trio. Let’s see how you like not seeing your daughter!”

Luo Sheng: “……”

Father and son: one round each. Neither won.

After a long pause, Luo Sheng finally said, “Someone from the Bai family came by today.”

He explained the matter of the will. Mr. Luo hesitated. “If that’s the case… you should go work at the Bai Corporation first. Once things have stabilized over there in a couple of years, you can come take over from me.”

Mr. Luo sighed. “Xia Yang was right. As an outsider, there’s only so much he can do. We can’t let Yinyin grow up without a proper dowry. Since our family has adopted her, we have to support her. Just keeping the Bai Corporation afloat is already no small feat—we don’t need it to thrive, just survive.”

Luo Sheng frowned, shrugged, and walked off. “Tch, raising a kid is such a hassle!”

Mr. Luo looked at his son’s retreating figure and shook his head with a smile. Becoming a father really had changed him. That wild rascal who used to be good at nothing but eating, drinking, and partying was finally developing a sense of responsibility!

Not long after the birthday, it happened to be the new semester enrollment period at the kindergarten. Yinyin was sent off to start school.

Today was Yinyin’s first day of school. Mrs. Luo got up early and personally dressed her up like a tiny little princess—putting her in a beautiful little dress, socks, and patent leather shoes. She even tied two cute pigtails and added a crystal princess headband.

Yinyin clutched the hem of her dress, her cheeks flushed with excitement, waiting at the top of the stairs for her daddy to come down.

Mrs. Luo, annoyed, shouted, “Luo Sheng, get down here! You’re a father now—how can you not go with Yinyin on her first day of school?”

“Hurry up! Stop dawdling!”

Mr. Luo, still recovering and using a wheelchair, was already in the car, ready to send Yinyin off to school together. Out of the family of four, three were already ready to go—the only one missing was Yinyin’s dad, still dragging his feet.

Yinyin waited and waited… finally, she heard the sound of her daddy coming downstairs.

Her eyes lit up with hearts practically popping out, and she beamed with pride and delight. “Daddy looks so handsome today! He’s definitely going to be the most handsome daddy in the whole kindergarten!”

The man wore a black formal suit, collar neatly buttoned up to the top. His usual lazy, roguish charm was gone—replaced by a composed, restrained air of seriousness.

As he stepped downstairs, Mrs. Luo caught sight of him and said in surprise, “Huh? I haven’t seen you wear a suit in years. Is the sun rising from the west today?”

Yinyin had never seen her daddy in a black suit either. She thought he looked super cool—and his legs were so long!

The kindergarten happened to be run by Mrs. Gu’s maternal family, so the registration process went smoothly. Mrs. Luo took Yinyin to meet the class teacher, while the man followed behind like a bodyguard, tall and imposing.

With each step, Yinyin would turn to look back at her dad. Every time she saw he was still behind her, she’d break into a big smile and call out happily, “Daddy!”

Chattering the whole way—this was the happiest day of Yinyin’s life! Her first day of kindergarten, and her daddy came with her!

The young, pretty teacher took Yinyin from them and instinctively glanced at the man standing behind the child. He wore a high-end tailored black suit with no visible brand, broad shoulders, a slim waist, and long legs. He was young and handsome, but he didn’t even spare her a glance—his eyes were fixed on the child in her arms.

The teacher smiled politely. “Is little Yinyin your daughter?”

Luo Sheng didn’t feel like talking. He gave a low nasal grunt in response. The teacher didn’t take offense—most kids at this kindergarten were from wealthy families. She’d seen many aloof parents like him.

Holding Yinyin’s hand, the teacher began walking toward the classroom. “Your child is the last to check in today. Everyone else is here, so I’ll take her in now and start roll call.”

Mrs. Luo agreed.

Yinyin instinctively turned to look back. Her dad was still standing there.

She had a pink bunny backpack on her back, stuffed with some snacks her grandmother had allowed (made by the family’s housekeeper), along with a tiny sketchpad and pencils—it was bulging full.

The excitement from earlier had faded. Watching her dad and grandma standing farther and farther away, Yinyin suddenly broke free from the teacher’s hand and ran back, crying as she went. “Daddy! Yinyin doesn’t want to go to school!”

She charged forward like a little firecracker and hugged her dad’s leg, sobbing, “Yinyin can’t bear to leave Daddy!”

Luo Sheng, who could roast his gang of rowdy friends into silence with his sharp tongue, was suddenly at a loss for words in the face of his daughter’s whining and tears. In the end, he snapped gruffly, “If you don’t go to school, no snacks for a whole year!”

Yinyin: “……”

Daddy turned bad again. And mean!

Luckily, Mrs. Luo stepped in. She gave her son a sharp glare, then patiently explained to Yinyin, “Yinyin, you’re still little, so you need to study. If you don’t learn anything now, how will you understand the world when you grow up? How will you make money? Do you want to end up picking up garbage?”

The little Yinyin didn’t understand what was so bad about that. “Bottles are nice. You can sell them!”

Mrs. Luo: “……”

Yep, this was definitely a child who once climbed into a trash pile.

She thought for a moment and continued, “We all have things we’re supposed to do at each age. Yinyin is little, so you go to school. When your daddy is your age, he has to make money to take care of Yinyin, right?”

Then came her killer move: “If you don’t study hard now, when you grow up and Daddy gets old, how will picking up garbage be enough to take care of him? Grandma will be depending on Yinyin to support her in old age too!”

Yinyin heard this and immediately let go of her daddy’s pants. Da-da-da, she ran back to the classroom, calling out as she went, “Yinyin will study hard!”

The just-turned-three-year-old now had a noble mission: she had to study well so she could take care of Daddy and Grandma in the future!

Yinyin was adorably cute and lively. The kids in the class liked her immediately. On her very first day, she won the hearts of all the little kids who cared about looks.

The only thing that surprised Yinyin was that Brother Shi Yuan was also in her class.

And they even became desk mates!

The quiet and delicate Yinyin pursed her lips. “I’m still small, so I didn’t understand what the teacher taught. Mommy said I should repeat the year.”

She didn’t know that kindergarten didn’t have such a thing as repeating a grade. She believed it wholeheartedly and looked at the handsome boy beside her with sympathy. Patting her little chest, she said confidently, “It’s okay! Yinyin is smart. I’ll teach you!”

She could barely read, had no idea what they taught in kindergarten, but somehow had blind confidence and even vowed to tutor the boy who had actually been in kindergarten a year longer than her.

Shi Yuan’s lips curled slightly upward. He peeked at the cute little swirl of hair on top of her head. “Okay.”

Yinyin quickly became the star of her kindergarten class. The teacher liked her, the classmates liked her—especially the boys who liked pretty things. One after another, they all called her “Sister Yinyin,” and she basically became the class princess.

But not everyone liked her.

Just when Yinyin finally made it to break time, she couldn’t go to the bathroom with her desk mate (since he was a boy), so she held hands with her new friend, Liu Zhenzhen, and went together.

Yinyin was excited: just one more class and she could go home! Daddy had said he’d pick her up today, and he even promised her a piece of cake. The more she thought about it, the happier she got. She even started humming the song their teacher had just taught.

“She’s so annoying, that Bai Yinyin! She’s always bragging about her daddy, and now everyone likes her—even Brother Shi Yuan!”

“My mom said her last name is Bai, so she’s not even part of the Luo family. That man isn’t her real dad! She’s just a kid nobody wants!”

“Her dad’s no good either. My dad said he’s useless and a failure, and he’ll ruin his family one day! And yet Bai Yinyin keeps saying how great her dad is—it’s all lies!”

These kids didn’t fully understand what they were saying, but that didn’t stop them from repeating these adult words to attack Bai Yinyin, who had stolen all the attention.

Just as Yinyin stepped into the pastel-pink, fairytale-like bathroom, her little legs halted. She froze in place, and the chubby little friend next to her tugged her sleeve.

Suddenly snapping out of it, Yinyin dashed forward, her short legs thudding against the floor.

She stood there with her hands on her chubby hips in front of the two kids who had bad-mouthed her dad, looking like a furious little bull. “You’re not allowed to say bad things about my daddy!”

The two girls didn’t back down even after getting caught. They glared right back. “We’re telling the truth! Your dad is a spoiled rich kid. He’s a bad guy! And you brag about him every day—it’s all fake!”

“Pfft! Liar, liar, pants on fire!”

Yinyin was obedient, sweet, and cheerful, but the one thing she would never tolerate was anyone insulting her dad. Even when the system uncle said bad things about her dad, she would argue with him!

Seeing that her classmates were still trash-talking her father, Yinyin’s hair practically stood on end. With a fierce squeaky voice, she roared and leapt at them, tackling them both to the floor. “DON’T SAY BAD THINGS ABOUT DADDY!”

Yinyin’s first day of kindergarten was also Luo Sheng’s first official day taking over the Bai Corporation.

But no matter how busy he was, Luo Sheng would always pick her up himself. Usually, his little pink fluffball would be the first out of the gate, running toward his car at top speed, her short legs pumping furiously.

Now, school was over. Rows of kids lined up waiting to be picked up. Luo Sheng sat in the car watching. One by one, every child was picked up—but that always-happy, always-goofy little girl never came running out.

He frowned deeply and opened the car door, about to walk into the school when his phone rang. The screen showed: Kiddo’s Homeroom Teacher.

“Hello? Mr. Luo? Your daughter got into a fight with other children. She’s in the office right now—could you please come over?”