A Kind Father and a Devoted Daughter 2.0: The First Meeting Between the Benevolent Old Father and the Rebellious Youth...

Dahai City.

In a remote alley.

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed. Lin Baizhi's eyes were red and bloodshot. She sprinted barefoot across the rough concrete ground. As for her high heels... they were long gone.

She had previously used them as throwing weapons to attack Da Huang, but her accuracy was a bit lacking. She missed both times.

Freed from the constraints of her high heels, Lin Baizhi's speed increased significantly. She seemed on the verge of catching up to Da Huang, but every time she was about to succeed, she was thrown off again. After this repeated cycle, Lin Baizhi finally realized that the damn dog in front of her was playing her!

You damn dog, give me back my clothes!

Lin Baizhi's eyes were red, and she gritted her teeth. Even though her feet were scraped and bleeding, she had no intention of stopping.

It was a piece of clothing she had gone through so much trouble to get from her brother. She had grown accustomed to hugging it to sleep every night, and then... she couldn't sleep without it. She had turned into an idiot whose mind would go completely blank without that piece of clothing.

What a pity. The only piece of clothing on Lin Baizhi that could prove she knew Ye Cheng had been snatched by Da Huang.

Moreover, Lin Baizhi didn't have any of Ye Cheng's scent on her, so Da Huang didn't recognize her. If it were someone else, like the Eldest Miss, the President, or even the little secretary, Da Huang would have come over wagging its tail.

Because they would have Ye Cheng's scent on them. As for Lin Baizhi... she was only fit to eavesdrop at the door.

How could someone running in the streets not have any lackeys?

How could he not have his own dedicated lapdog?

As the top enforcer of the Dahai City Orphanage, Ye Cheng's prestige was maxed out. Naturally, Da Huang served as his number one henchman and lapdog. Well... literally a dog's legs, not just a figure of speech.

This is what you forced me to do! Lin Baizhi's eyes were red. She enunciated every word through gritted teeth. Then, she took out her phone and spoke into it.

Initiate the backup plan!

Received, President Lin! A voice immediately replied from the other end.

Hanging up the phone, Lin Baizhi sat on the somewhat dirty concrete floor, waiting quietly. Her gaze was fixed dead on the poop-yellow damn mutt not far away, which had her dear brother's clothes clamped in its jaws!

Just you wait!!!

Da Huang keenly sensed that something was wrong. The petty woman in front of it had suddenly stopped chasing. This was beyond suspicious... It was not a good idea to stick around!

Da Huang cast another disdainful glance at Lin Baizhi, executed an epic aircraft carrier U-turn, and swiftly darted toward another alley, displaying an agility completely disproportionate to its size.

A moment later, a loud buzzing sound filled the air.

A dense swarm of small drones appeared above Lin Baizhi's head. The voice of a technician broadcasted from the drones.

President Lin, the logistics team will be there shortly!

With that, the massive swarm of drones, fully equipped with an arsenal of highly professional tech gear capable of firing tranquilizer darts, capture nets, and canine tear gas, chased after the direction Da Huang had fled.

Infrared scanning, thermal tracking... It was an overwhelming, inescapable dragnet. It was hard to imagine that all of this was just to catch a dog.

She had originally intended to use a honey trap to build a good relationship with her brother's good bro. In the end, not only was the dog completely unresponsive to her charms, but it even dared to snatch the clothes her brother had given her. Since that was the case, it couldn't blame her!

The Lin family's logistics and medical team quickly found Lin Baizhi and began to bandage and treat her wounds.

Because Lin Baizhi had been in poor health since childhood, her father, Lin Tianxiong, had started investing heavily in the medical industry a long time ago. Today, the medical industry was a significant pillar of the Lin family's business.

Naturally, he also equipped the best medical team to take care of his daughter, available on call at all times.

Eldest Miss, please don't be so reckless next time. President Lin will be very worried if he finds out. The female doctor nagged while bandaging her eldest miss's wounds.

This attending physician was one of the Lin family's own people. The President Lin she mentioned naturally referred to Lin Baizhi's father, Lin Tianxiong.

Lin Baizhi supervised many things in the Lin Group by herself. Only a small portion was still overseen by Lin Tianxiong himself, such as the logistics team... He truly couldn't stop worrying about his daughter's health, as she worked too desperately.

His daughter's excellence and hard work far exceeded Lin Tianxiong's expectations. Everything was great, except he feared her body wouldn't be able to handle such continuous, high-intensity operations. To ensure her safety, she had to undergo medical checkups almost every day...

Lin Baizhi frowned. You are not allowed to tell my dad about what happened today.

The lead female doctor's face stiffened in embarrassment. After a good while, she stammered.

Well... Eldest Miss, you're a bit late in saying that. The female doctors had already reported the situation here to Lin Tianxiong on their way over.

Lin Baizhi: ...

Buzz, buzz.

As luck would have it, her phone vibrated the very next second. Lin Baizhi took it out and took a look. It was a message from her dad.

Dad: Sweetheart, how did you get hurt?

Lin Baizhi: ...

Lin Baizhi: I fell down while walking.

Dad: ...

Dad: Sigh, Baizhi has grown up. Dad is old and useless now...

Lin Baizhi: ...

There was no interrogation or follow-up questioning. The kind old father on the other end was simply playing the emotional card in silence, seemingly trying to awaken his daughter's conscience. What kind of world was this, where a daughter wasn't close to her own father anymore? Sigh... Could it be that boy again?

On the other end of the phone.

Lin Tianxiong looked at his phone, his brows furrowed tightly. The image of a brat subconsciously surfaced in his mind—the image of Ye Cheng.

If he remembered correctly, the two of them first met almost ten years ago, right?

At that time, Lin Baizhi had an attack of her illness and was sent to the hospital. When the hospital compared the medical records and reports, Lin Tianxiong found her, which led to the subsequent family reunion.

Their first meeting was in the corridor outside the operating room. The corridor was empty, with only a few scattered people, all middle-aged. Among them, a boy with his head down reading a book stood out. He sat there quietly, as if the things happening around him had nothing to do with him.

The homeroom teacher, the principal, the hospital director, the head of the orphanage, and... Ye Cheng.

Because he had confirmed that this person was the daughter he had been searching for for many years, Lin Tianxiong used his connections to transfer her to the best local hospital for treatment. Every doctor was given a strict order: they must succeed!

Otherwise, their future in this profession would be completely severed, and decades of hard work would vanish into thin air. Succeed or die trying—no, they could only succeed!!!

Treat her with all their might!

Beep, beep, beep... The crisp sound of electronic instruments kept ringing out.

Outside the corridor.

When Lin Tianxiong approached, the several middle-aged men present all stood up. They were extremely respectful, with some even displaying a fawning demeanor as they bowed and nodded subserviently.

"You must be Bai Zhi's father, right? Truly, an exceptional father raises an outstanding daughter!" The hospital director moved the fastest, practically launching himself forward. His welcoming smile preceded him, and his hand was already extended toward Lin Tianxiong before he even reached him.

Lin Tianxiong nodded and politely reached out to shake his hand.

With the director taking the lead, the other middle-aged men also sprang into action. They wore hypocritically humble smiles, a stark contrast to their usual demeanor of equally elbowing every student and subordinate...

"Hello, I am Bai Zhi's homeroom teacher. From the first moment I saw Bai Zhi, I knew..."

After a flurry of pleasantries and polite greetings, the corridor outside fell silent, sinking into an eerie quiet. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Lin Tianxiong's emotions were very complicated right now. It wasn't exactly that he was unhappy, after all, he had finally found his daughter after searching for so many years, but with his daughter lying in the operating room, he certainly couldn't bring himself to smile.

The wisdom of adults... they all chose to remain silent. At this time, keeping quiet was the wisest choice.

Once things quieted down, Lin Tianxiong finally noticed that there was actually a student here?

Was this... his daughter's classmate?

A... male classmate?

Seemingly noticing Lin Tianxiong's gaze, the principal hurriedly shot a look at the homeroom teacher. The homeroom teacher froze for a moment before putting on a fawning smile and taking the initiative to clear up Lin Tianxiong's confusion.

"Mr. Lin, this is a classmate Bai Zhi usually hangs out with in class. He came along to see Bai Zhi this time."

Hearing this, Lin Tianxiong spoke with a calm gaze, "What about the other classmates?"

The implication being... does my daughter only have this one friend at school?

The homeroom teacher's heart skipped a beat, finally experiencing what true pressure felt like. Only when facing it in person could one understand the extraordinary nature of these big shots. Every movement seemed calm on the surface, but was actually surging with undercurrents.

Terrified of being misunderstood, the homeroom teacher hurriedly explained, "There are others, but they still have classes, so we just chose one representative. After all, we can't delay the children's studies. This child has good grades, so the impact on him will be smaller. Right now is a crucial time for building their foundation..."

Lin Tianxiong lost the patience to listen to the rest of her words.

It was all useless nonsense.

The woman in front of him was full of polite platitudes and lies. It seemed his daughter wasn't doing particularly well at school, with only this young boy in front of him as her... friend?

Lin Tianxiong had no mood to waste breath on these insignificant people. However, as compensation, he would still offer a rather substantial reward as thanks. Everyone present would get a share: the latest batch of foreign medical equipment, special-grade teacher certifications within the district, donations...

Lin Tianxiong stood up, walked over, and sat down next to Ye Cheng. He smiled and asked, "Student, could I ask you about my Bai Zhi's situation?"

Ye Cheng didn't even look up. "No."

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Lin Tianxiong was stunned. He clearly hadn't expected the other party to answer like this, and the smile on his face stiffened. Fortunately, he quickly recovered. He fumbled in his clothes for a moment, took out his wallet, and opened it right in front of Ye Cheng.

He pulled out a bill from inside, handed it to Ye Cheng, and smiled, "One bill per question, is that okay?"

Silently, Ye Cheng closed his book, took the money, and stuffed it into his own crumpled little toad wallet.

"Sir, you have moved me with your sincerity. Go ahead, what do you want to ask? Oh, by the way, could you give me two more? This stuff can be exchanged for quite a few in-game items..." Ye Cheng stared straight at Lin Tianxiong's wallet.

Lin Tianxiong: "..."

This little guy... really wasn't polite at all.

Lin Tianxiong's mouth twitched, but he didn't find anything wrong with it. Paying money for answers was a mutually willing transaction. It was perfectly reasonable!

"What's your name?" Lin Tianxiong thought for a moment. After all, this was his daughter's only friend at school; it was better to take it slow.

Ye Cheng: "Handsome."

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Lin Tianxiong: "Student, does that answer count as one question?"

Ye Cheng shook his head. "No, because I lied to you."

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Lin Tianxiong's eyes widened, looking as if he'd seen a ghost... His daughter usually hung out with this kind of person?

Then wouldn't his daughter's current mental state be...

"You still have a chance to back out. Spending a hundred bucks just to ask a question you could find out anytime is a huge loss. I'll give you one chance to take it back," Ye Cheng said with a calm face.

Lin Tianxiong froze for a second. So the kid was actually being considerate of him?

This kid... was kind of interesting.

Lin Tianxiong chuckled. "No need. This counts as a question. I'll pay extra for the following questions."

Ye Cheng nodded. "Such stupid people rich people aren't many left like you. My name is Ye Cheng."

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Lin Tianxiong: "Student, what are you saying? I don't think I understood."

Ye Cheng shook his head. "If you didn't understand the first part, it proves I was right. If you didn't understand the second part, it proves I wasn't wrong. If you're willing to take the time to write that sentence down, you'll find that I just scrambled the word order. Of course, if you're smart enough, you can rearrange it in your head and you'll know exactly what I'm saying."

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Is this kid even human!

But wouldn't you know it, Lin Tianxiong actually followed Ye Cheng's words and rearranged that sentence in his head, finally arriving at... There aren't many rich people as stupid as you left.

That single sentence stunned Lin Tianxiong into silence.

Good news: he figured it out. Bad news... he'd have been better off not knowing.

So this kid was calling him an idiot in a roundabout way!

Admit defeat when you lose, stand at attention when taking a beating. Lin Tianxiong was able to reach his current position relying on his brains and an extraordinary temperament. Facing Ye Cheng's inhuman remarks, not only was he not angry, but his interest was piqued instead.

As expected of his daughter's only friend at school, he really was different!

He's got a real kick to him!

Lin Tianxiong was very straightforward. He took out all the loose cash from his wallet. It wasn't much, just a few thousand, any more and the wallet would be too thick. This cash was kept for unexpected needs, just like this situation right now.

Lin Tianxiong placed the money to the side, signaling for Ye Cheng to take it himself after answering the questions!

"Second question. What is your relationship with my daughter?"

"Sorry, sir, but I don't actually know your daughter," Ye Cheng said calmly. After speaking, he silently swiped one of the red bills set aside, the in-game currency needed to exchange for items in Blue Star Online...

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

"The classmate of yours in the operating room, Lin Baizhi, is my daughter. I am her father!" Lin Tianxiong spoke incredibly fast. It was as if he had rehearsed his response to this question countless times... Indeed, he had been preparing for today for far too long.

Ye Cheng wore an expression of sudden realization. He let out a long "Oh," and then...

"Sorry, I've never heard of Classmate Lin having a father like you. Please prove your identity, or I won't be responding to anything else you say."

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Prove that I am myself?

Silently, Lin Tianxiong unlocked his phone, pulled up a digital backup of a paternity test report, and showed it to Ye Cheng.

"Photo-editing technology is too advanced these days. A paternity report doesn't prove a thing. If I wanted to, I could get a certified paternity test proving I'm related to a banana..." Ye Cheng shook his head, still refusing to play along.

Lin Tianxiong: "???"

Come on, classmate, you...

Lin Tianxiong grew increasingly silent. After a moment of thought, his eyes finally landed on the crisp red banknotes sitting off to the side.

Lin Tianxiong picked up the thick stack of cash, split it in half, and placed it directly into Ye Cheng's hand.

"I am Lin Baizhi's father."

Ye Cheng's eyes instantly lit up. "I could tell from the very first glance! You two are absolutely biological father and daughter!"

Lin Tianxiong: "..."