After breakfast, Xia Xi lay on the sofa, quietly scrolling through short videos.
Honestly speaking, even though he had become Bai Xiaocha’s father, there still wasn’t much for him to do. Work didn’t need him to handle, and Bai Xiaocha didn’t need him to look after. His main role was just to enjoy the leisure.
“Dad, I want to go shopping.”
Just as Xia Xi’s eyes were following the long legs of a pretty girl in a short video, Bai Xiaocha’s soft, sticky voice suddenly rang out by his ear.
“Go ahead. If you want to shop, then go.”
If she wanted to go shopping or anything, Xia Xi really couldn’t be bothered to care. It wasn’t like he was going to keep her cooped up at home all day, was it?
This was an age that championed freedom, and even if he was her father, he couldn’t stop his child from having her own social life and fun, right?
But when he saw Bai Xiaocha biting her lip with a hesitant look, Xia Xi grew a bit puzzled.
If this girl wanted to go shopping, then why was she staring at him like that for no reason?
Could it be…
“Oh, right, right, right. I almost forgot—you don’t have any pocket money, do you? Let me transfer you some. Just name the amount.”
Xia Xi suddenly remembered that shopping definitely costs money. As her father, how could he not give his daughter pocket money?
Back when Xia Yue used to go shopping, he always made sure to give her more than enough, just in case she saw something she liked outside but couldn’t afford it and ended up feeling upset.
Even though he wasn’t Bai Xiaocha’s real father, she was Xia Yue’s best friend and close sister—practically his half-sister. Giving his half-sister a little spending money was no big deal.
“That’s not it.”
Xia Xi opened the messaging app, ready to transfer money to Bai Xiaocha, but she just shook her head.
“I can’t even finish the living expenses you send me every month. You don’t need to give me extra pocket money~”
Bai Xiaocha showed him the balance in her account, and the fleeting string of numbers made Xia Xi’s jaw drop.
Holy smokes, how many zeros was that? No wonder she was a little rich girl.
It was no surprise that Bai Xiaocha and Xia Yue both had such a carefree attitude toward entrance exams—their families had more than enough money. Even if they did poorly, they’d still have more wealth than most people could earn in a lifetime. So why bother working hard?
Why go through all that struggle to get a degree, only to become someone else’s workhorse, slaving away for three or four thousand a month, when you could just lie around at home and have fun?
Some might say that learning is for yourself—that it improves your character and makes you a contributing member of society. But Xia Xi would just shrug and say, my sister, as long as she’s happy every day, that’s enough. Who cares about society and all that~
“So what do you want, then?”
Since Bai Xiaocha was standing in front of him, clearly wanting to go out but not leaving, she must need something from him.
But aside from money, Xia Xi really couldn’t think of anything else she’d ask for.
“Ugh, it’s just… Dad, can you take me out in the car?”
Take her out in the car?
So she just didn’t want to take a taxi—why didn’t she say so earlier?
But… it had been a while now, and Xia Xi still hadn’t even bought a car. What was he supposed to take her out in? And even if he had bought one, it would be back in the town where his real body was, not here at Bai Xiaocha’s place. It’s not like he could just teleport the car over.
As for Bai Xiaocha’s real dad’s car, that was obviously with him, since he was still out there working hard.
Just as Xia Xi was feeling stumped and about to turn Bai Xiaocha down, a system notification suddenly rang in his mind.
[This system has prepared a ride for the host.]
Oh ho? The lousy system finally did something good.
Hearing that prompt, Xia Xi’s confidence shot up instantly.
If the system provided the ride, the quality was sure to be top-notch. He was definitely going to show off in style later!
“Alright! Today, Dad is going to take you out for a good time.”
Xia Xi reached out and ruffled Bai Xiaocha’s little head. The soft, squishy feel made him want to keep doing it forever.
Wasn’t Bai Xiaocha’s head way nicer to pat than Xia Yue’s?
And touching Xia Yue’s head would just get him a glare, followed by her getting all demanding and making all kinds of requests. Bai Xiaocha never did that.
She would just show a blissful expression and nuzzle her head upward into his palm, like a little cat being stroked.
…
“Dad… are we really… going out on this?”
Bai Xiaocha pointed at a flashy, tacky gold bicycle, her big eyes full of confusion.
Xia Xi hadn’t expected the “ride” the system mentioned to be a bicycle either. He’d thought it’d be some super cool limited-edition sports car.
Now look—he’d just boasted about taking her for a spin, showing off and cruising the streets. How was he supposed to show off with a bicycle?
Some guy on a motorcycle could at least say, “Hey old man, mind if I park my ride at your place?” But what was he supposed to say on a bicycle—”Hey, don’t steal my bike, I put nails on the seat”?
“W-what’s wrong with that? A bicycle is nice too, right?”
Since he’d already made the claim, Xia Xi had no choice but to awkwardly roll with it.
“What about that new car you posted on your Moments? I thought you drove it back~”
Bai Xiaocha had a little bag slung over her shoulder and her hands on her hips.
That’s right—she’d seen her dad’s post about getting a new car, which was why she wanted him to take her out for a spin. But who knew this unreliable father of hers would show up on a bicycle!
Sure, a bicycle was fine too—couples in dramas always rode them for a sweet, romantic feel—but her dad’s bicycle was different. It was tacky gold! That super cheesy, super gaudy, nouveau-riche-looking tacky gold!!!
“Ha… haha, I didn’t drive that car back. I took a plane home this time.”
Xia Xi had no idea exactly where Bai Xiaocha’s real dad worked, but travel usually meant either high-speed rail or plane. He’d just pick one at random and hope it worked.
As for driving or taking a cab, those were fine for short trips, but a long-distance drive would be exhausting.
Sitting in a cramped car where you couldn’t even stretch your legs for a whole day or two would make your butt feel like it wasn’t even yours anymore—kind of like the misery of long-distance buses or hard-seat trains.
“Hehe, fine then. Let’s just take a cab.”
Bai Xiaocha didn’t make a big deal out of it. After all, she usually took cabs anyway. Sure, if they stayed out too late, it might be hard to find one, but that didn’t matter—as long as she paid enough, someone would be willing to take her.
“Dad, since you haven’t been home in so long, today I’m going to take you out to have some fun~”
Seeing the eager look on the girl’s face, Xia Xi let go of his embarrassment and let out a hearty laugh.
“Alright then, I’ll be counting on you, little Tea, to take good care of me~”
