VHBF – Chapter 46 Movie King Daddy (Part 5)

Although there were two bedrooms, one of them had long been converted into a study. The only proper bedroom had just one bed. Zhu Ji planned to sleep on the sofa himself. He had never taken care of a child before and was worried that if they shared a bed, he might accidentally roll over and crush the little one.

After spending half a day with Yinyin, Zhu Ji had come to understand her a little. Wisely, he didn’t tell her directly, but he knew well that a three-year-old still needed plenty of sleep, especially after such a long, eventful day. After her bath, she fell asleep early under her daddy’s watchful company.

Zhu Ji could sing quite well. In the entertainment industry, singing and acting were inseparable. Even though he wasn’t particularly interested in singing, he had still recorded several theme songs and ending songs for films at directors’ strong requests.

His voice carried a jade-like clarity, cool and pure like mountain streams. Music critics once described it as “a voice kissed by God.” Because of this, fans often joked that if the Film Emperor ever stopped acting, he could easily switch to being a professional singer—acting was just delaying his music career.

In the small bedroom, a low voice hummed softly. The man leaned against the headboard, casually humming a children’s tune. He couldn’t recall the lyrics, so he just hummed the melody. Soon, the little one beside him fell fast asleep, her small face flushed pink, lying on her back with complete trust and comfort.

Just as Zhu Ji was about to get up, he noticed his sleeve being tightly gripped by Yinyin’s little hand. He couldn’t help but chuckle, gently pried her fingers off, then carried a thin blanket to the living room sofa.

The sofa was only 1.5 meters long. For a man standing 1.87 meters tall, lying on it felt extremely cramped. He tossed and turned for a long while before finally dozing off.

He had no idea how long he slept before being startled awake by the sound of crying.

Yinyin stumbled out of the bedroom clutching her pillow, crying and calling for daddy. Before Zhu Ji could react, she shot forward like a firecracker and threw herself into his arms.

“Daddy, you lied to me!” she accused tearfully.

Zhu Ji looked awkward. Before bedtime, Yinyin had clung to him, begging to sleep with him. Seeing her determined little face, as if she would refuse to sleep otherwise, Zhu Ji had agreed.

In the end, the big one and the small one had returned to the bed together. Zhu Ji couldn’t even remember when he drifted off. When he opened his eyes in the morning, a pair of tiny hands were mischievously playing on his face. The moment she saw his eyes open, she pounced happily.

“Daddy, you’re awake!”

“The sun is shining on your bum, time to get up!”

After a simple breakfast, Zhu Ji took Yinyin to the supermarket to buy groceries. Both wore masks, fully armed against being recognized. Yinyin, carried in her father’s arms, was overjoyed to be shopping with him.

At the supermarket, she saw other children riding in shopping carts. She nudged her head against his neck and whispered shyly, “Yinyin also wants to sit in the cart, pushed by daddy.”

It was her very first time sitting in one of those big supermarket carts, and with her dad pushing behind, she kicked her chubby little legs excitedly. Zhu Ji tapped her furry head gently, warning her, “If you move too much, you’ll fall.”

Immediately, Yinyin froze. She sat bolt upright in the cart, chubby little hands folded neatly on her lap, not daring to move an inch.

Zhu Ji: “…”

Even with a mask, her delicate, doll-like face couldn’t be fully hidden. Her round cheeks, lively brows, and sparkling eyes made her irresistibly adorable.

The sight of her sitting primly in the cart, body stiff as a board but eyes wide open curiously scanning everything around her, was so funny that passersby couldn’t help but laugh.

Several shoppers glanced over repeatedly. What a cute child!

Then their eyes shifted to the tall man pushing the cart. Though his face was also masked, his brows and eyes were strikingly similar to the child’s. One look was enough to tell he was her father.

Nearby, a middle-aged auntie in her fifties was shopping with her grandson. Unlike the quiet Yinyin, her boy was a handful—squirming nonstop in the cart, tossing out anything he disliked that his grandma put in.

The auntie looked at Zhu Ji with envy and sighed, “Your child is so well-behaved and beautiful. Unlike mine—completely unmanageable!”

She gave her grandson’s head a light knock and scolded, “Learn from that little sister! You’re older than her, yet not half as obedient!”

The boy puffed up indignantly, ready to argue. But when he turned and saw the pretty little sister sitting gracefully in the cart, his face immediately flushed red. He stammered, “N-no I’m not!”

He wanted to sink into the floor. How humiliating—to be compared unfavorably to such a pretty little sister right in front of her!

The auntie, chatty as ever, lingered and asked Zhu Ji how he taught his child so well, hoping to pick up some tips.

For some reason, Zhu Ji felt a strange warmth in his heart. Looking down at the fluffy little head, he said modestly, “Maybe girls are just more obedient.”

Yinyin, however, puffed up with pride. She had just been praised in front of her dad! Sitting even straighter, she announced confidently, “Daddy, that’s not true! Yinyin is the best, not because she’s a girl, but because she’s Yinyin!”

Zhu Ji: “…”

The auntie burst out laughing. “Such a lively one! With confidence like that, of course she’s spirited.”

The boy also nodded vigorously. “Little sister is so pretty, she must be the best! I’ll learn from her.”

Saying that, he sat back in the cart and mimicked Yinyin’s upright posture, stiff and motionless.

The auntie: “…”

Besides snacks for the child, Zhu Ji bought meat, vegetables, fruit, and other household necessities. Having just moved, they lacked almost everything. He ended up with several bags of groceries—far too many to carry while holding a child. Luckily, the supermarket offered home delivery.

As he left with Yinyin in his arms, Zhu Ji had no idea how much attention they had drawn. His striking aura combined with the little one’s exceptional cuteness had several people secretly snapping photos. They were soon uploaded to WeChat Moments and Weibo, captioned: “Spotted a heavenly father-daughter pair with sky-high visuals!”

Among the crowd was a woman in her twenties—once a diehard fan of Film Emperor Zhu, though she had distanced herself after his scandal. She hadn’t turned anti, but she had quit the fandom.

Her former screen name was Clinging to Ji’s Thigh, now changed to No Heart for Idols.

At the checkout, she caught sight of the pair leaving, her mind blanking out.

How… how could they look so much like her former idol?

She glanced down at the photo she had unconsciously taken. The man was holding a three-year-old girl. The child said something, and he bent his head with a faint smile. That gentle expression—it was exactly Zhu Yingdi’s!

Her gaze shifted to the child’s face, and her eyes widened in shock. Not only did the man look like the Film Emperor… the child looked just like him too?!

She had followed him for seven or eight years, ever since high school. His face was engraved in her heart from countless photos and posters—her phone wallpaper had even been his picture. To an old fan like her, his features, aura, and tall, elegant figure were unmistakable. Who else could it be?

But everyone knew—Zhu Ji had always focused solely on acting. He kept his distance from the industry’s mess, never stirring scandals, never tied up in gossip, never dating publicly.

Her idol, who had remained single for over a decade, suddenly had a child?

Could it be that he secretly married and had kids without fans knowing?

Heart pounding, No Heart for Idols quickly checked out and rushed outside, only to find the pair already gone. Shoulders slumping, she felt a dull ache in her chest. She had said she quit the fandom, but after loving an idol for so many years, how could she just let go?

She posted the photo in a private fan group chat. It was a core group with only about a hundred veteran fans remaining—those still defending him despite the backlash.

Hesitantly, she asked: “Does this… look like Zhu Yingdi to you?”

The group went silent at first. Many wanted to scold her for being two-faced, but when they opened the picture, words froze in their throats. Even the admin who had been ready to kick her out hesitated.

She herself had been a fan since his debut, adoring the clean youth he once was and the refined man he had become. To her, he wasn’t just “oppa” like the others called him, but almost like a younger brother she had watched grow. She knew his face better than anyone.

With just a mask and different clothes, it wasn’t hard to recognize him. If a veteran paparazzo had been there, they would have recognized him instantly too—this was the Film Emperor.

The group fell silent for ten minutes before messages exploded.

Moonlight Silence (group leader): “Everyone… our brother has a child???”

The chat instantly blew up.

“That child looks so much like him—no one would believe they’re not father and daughter!”

“So does this mean he lied and secretly married?”

“No way! Remember he said in interviews, if he ever had a family, he’d share it with us immediately because it was what he wanted most. He wouldn’t hide it from us.”

“For years, has he ever had women around him? No! The only female friends he had were senior artists. There’s no way he secretly married.”

One by one, they ruled out the possibility of a secret marriage. But then came the biggest question—

“Then where did this child come from?”

“Could she be a relative’s kid? If it’s blood relation, it’d make sense they look alike.”

The hardcore fans reluctantly accepted this explanation. Their idol was already drowning in negative press—they couldn’t risk adding fuel to the fire. The group leader deleted the photo and reminded everyone to keep this uncertain matter quiet.

“Let’s let him live in peace for a while. Don’t bring him more trouble. And remember, we don’t know for sure if the child is his, so keep your mouths shut.”

Just then, No Heart for Idols left the group. Nobody cared—traitors never lasted long anyway.

Meanwhile, Yao Li looked at her phone, grinning as she saw the 500,000 yuan deposit into her account. If she couldn’t get money directly from Zhu Ji, she could still make plenty by using that little fool!

Consider it payment for raising her for three years.

She opened her email and sent out two photos. One was the DNA test proving the child’s relation to Zhu Ji. The other was a secretly taken picture—Zhu Ji holding the girl in his arms, gently patting her back.

It was snapped during their earlier confrontation, when Zhu Ji had been calming the child. Yao Li had tried to capture a frontal shot but failed—the man was too sharp, too cautious. This was the only one she managed to steal.

But it was enough. Curling her lips in a smug smile, Yao Li looked at the image of the unfortunate pair.

Who told you to still have some value left?