Chapter 17: The Unexpected Interruption

“Surveillance.”

The others all gasped in shock, never having imagined that anyone would dare speak to the CEO like that!

They could only look at the CEO nervously, but instead of getting angry, the CEO’s tone was actually a bit ingratiating, “I’ll have someone get it for you.”

None of them could believe what they were seeing.

Was this really their ruthless CEO?

Could this be the legendary CEO’s daughter?!

As expected, blood is thicker than water.

Only Miss Bai would dare speak to him like that—if it were anyone else, they wouldn’t even dare imagine it.

“Then we’ll be leaving now.”

None of them dared linger.

Thanks to Miss Bai, the CEO didn’t scold them any further—truly a stroke of luck in their misfortune.

Once the others had left, Bai Xia pulled a notebook from her little backpack.

“I just wanted to come out and have some fun. It’s too boring at home.”

Lu Lin’s lips curved up ever so slightly, but he said nothing.

He had already learned from the butler that his daughter had come looking for him because she missed him.

As expected, if you put in the effort, familial bonds can be nurtured in time.

That guy Song Xun still dared to dream of stealing his daughter—shameless.

“If you’re hungry, just let me know.”

He reminded her, then went over to his desk. He still had a video conference to attend.

He had to finish up his work these days before he could go find Ruanwen, since she’d stopped answering his calls.

Given his relationship with Ruanwen, she would never willingly marry Song Xun.

That man must have taken advantage of the situation.

Bai Xia was watching the milk tea shop’s surveillance footage.

Sure enough, the celebrity effect was in play—foot traffic had increased significantly.

She’d already hired someone to adjust the flavours.

As long as the reputation held, she could gradually expand globally in the future.

Get up.

From this incident, she realized one thing: publicity was crucial.

She had to take it seriously and hurry up to launch her new media company.

She posted a few job openings online.

The milk tea shop was already running smoothly, so it was time to register the new media company.

As she was thinking of a name, voices suddenly sounded in the office.

She looked up at the desk area.

The voices came from the male lead’s computer, so he was clearly still in a meeting.

He didn’t look too pleased, drumming his fingers impatiently on the desk.

“Who handled last Thursday’s deal?”

Lu Lin stared coldly at the screen.

The others on the screen all kept their heads down, not daring to look at the camera.

“It was Zhao General Manager. It should have been a sure thing, but he drank too much, and the other party managed to push the price down. So, the contract ended up conceding a lot…”

Lu Lin’s eyes narrowed.

“If he likes drinking so much, let him drink at home from now on. I don’t want to see him again.”

The others on the screen didn’t even dare breathe, afraid they’d be caught in the crossfire.

“You’ve been revising a project proposal for this long—are you playing house?”

Lu Lin’s face was full of displeasure.

“Useless, the lot of you.”

After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something and turned his head—only to find the girl staring straight at him.

Lu Lin took a deep breath. His expression eased a bit, and his tone became much calmer.

“Push things forward as quickly as possible. Report any issues immediately.”

The people on the screen exchanged glances.

Was the CEO in such a good mood today?

He only scolded them once and stopped?

A miracle!

Just then, the door was knocked.

Lu Lin glanced over. “Come in.”

Xu Assistant walked in, arms full of books, and placed them on the desk.

“CEO, these are the latest animated books, and there are English versions as well. They should be suitable for Miss Bai.”

He knew Miss Bai had grown up abroad, so her English should be pretty good.

Lu Lin frowned slightly, picked up one of the books, and stared at Xu Assistant in displeasure.

“This is what you bought?”

Xu Assistant was momentarily stunned.

The CEO had asked for books with content, and these animated books all had positive themes—weren’t they appropriate?

“What are you getting mad about? If I don’t read animated books, what else am I supposed to read?”

Bai Xia walked over, stood on tiptoe, and grabbed two books, hugging them to her chest.

She shot Lu Lin a look of disdain.

“You never make yourself clear and then blame others for not doing their job. You have a mouth, don’t you know how to use it?”

Xu Assistant stood there sweating bullets.

Miss Bai’s words were so sharp he could hardly bear to listen.

Lu Lin put down the book and motioned for Xu Assistant to leave.

Then he turned his gaze to the girl.

“Don’t you like reading philosophy?”

Bai Xia lounged back on the sofa and opened a book.

“A person’s reading should be diverse. Children’s books can be relaxing too. Not that you’d understand even if I explained it.”

The others on the screen exchanged glances, curious about the childish voice.

Was this the CEO’s legendary daughter?

She was so bold, daring to talk to the CEO like that, and yet the CEO didn’t get angry at all.

As expected, a first love’s child really was different.

Lu Lin checked the time, quickly wrapped up the video conference, and by five in the afternoon, he had freed up time to take the girl to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Bai Xia noticed that everyone’s biggest hobby was making her eat.

After dinner, they wanted her to eat more, as if afraid she wouldn’t grow up, regardless of whether she could finish it.

But the female lead was different—she knew how to help her eat healthily.

If she didn’t control herself, she’d be fattened up by the male lead’s whole family.

When the male lead tried to order six or seven more dishes, Bai Xia immediately stopped him. Wasteful.

After dinner, she returned to the hotel.

Maybe worried she’d be scared living alone, the male lead even had the butler move her luggage over.

“Who wants to share a room with you!”

Bai Xia promptly had the butler move her suitcase to the next room.

With so many bodyguards outside, how could she possibly go missing?

For the next two days, wherever the male lead went, she followed—including to social gatherings.

Who knew if he was really there for business or just using it as an excuse to harass the female lead?

She’d been keeping an eye on him for this long; a little longer wouldn’t hurt.

On Wednesday, the day of the female lead’s wedding, Bai Xia got up especially early.

She noticed the male lead seemed distracted during his morning meeting, not hearing a word anyone else said.

When the meeting ended at ten thirty, he got a call, and his expression darkened even further.

Seeing the girl obediently playing with building blocks on the sofa, Lu Lin walked over and squatted down.

“Do you miss your mom?”

Bai Xia shook her head.

“No.”

Lu Lin frowned slightly.

“Your mom’s getting married today. Don’t you want to see her?”

Bai Xia glanced at him.

“I’m not a baby. Why would I need to see my mom every second? Are you a baby? Why are you always looking for my mom?”

She knew this lunatic was up to no good.

A few days ago, she’d overheard Xu Assistant applying for a private jet route.

The male lead couldn’t leave now, so he was planning to take a private jet back to crash the wedding.

She’d already told the female lead she couldn’t attend the wedding because of other commitments, and the female lead respected her decision.

So no matter what, she couldn’t let the male lead go and make a scene.

“We’re a family. Do you really want to watch your mom marry someone else and have kids with him?”

Lu Lin grabbed his daughter’s arm, his tone suddenly meaningful.

“Uncle Song is nice to you now, but once he has kids of his own, he’ll only care about them. Even your mom won’t just love you anymore. You’ll have a bunch of little brothers and sisters.”

Just thinking about it, Lu Lin felt a surge of anger.

He couldn’t imagine that scene at all.

“Mom has her own life. If she has more kids, I’ll just have more siblings. What’s wrong with that?”

Bai Xia frowned slightly.

At that moment, the office door swung open.

Xu Assistant hurried in.

“It’s about time. Are you going alone, or will you take Miss Bai with you?”

Lu Lin glanced at his daughter, hesitated for a moment, then patted her head.

“You stay here and play. If you need anything, find Xu Assistant. I’ll bring your mom back soon.”

Bai Xia was speechless.

Where did he get the confidence to think the female lead would come back with him?

Oh, he was planning to crash the wedding, wasn’t he?

Sure enough, hoping the male lead would change his domineering ways wasn’t something that could happen overnight.

Watching the male lead stride out of the office, Bai Xia looked at Xu Assistant, said nothing, and quietly continued building blocks on her own.

About seven or eight minutes later, sure enough, her stomach started to ache faintly.

“My tummy hurts! Daddy, I want Daddy!”

She clutched her stomach and collapsed onto the sofa.

Xu Assistant’s face changed instantly.

He hadn’t given Miss Bai anything to eat!

Thinking of something, he rushed out with his phone to make a call.

When he came back in, he scooped the girl up and rushed her to the hospital, terrified of being even a second too late.

Looking out at the endless traffic, Lu Lin hung up the phone and glanced at the wedding livestream on his computer.

The venue was romantically decorated, and the bride and groom hadn’t appeared yet…

“CEO, are we going to the airport or the hospital?” the driver asked cautiously.

Lu Lin clenched his fingers into a fist and finally closed his eyes.

“The hospital.”

Every wrong choice cost him the people by his side.

Now that he’d finally gotten closer to his daughter, he couldn’t afford to gamble anymore.

In less than fifteen minutes, Bai Xia was at the hospital.

The pediatrician seemed to have gotten word in advance and was waiting at the entrance, firing off a barrage of questions.

Bai Xia didn’t say much, just kept crying that her stomach hurt, while the butler recounted everything she’d eaten.

The doctor ordered some tests, and finally concluded she’d eaten something bad.

She’d need an IV and observation for half a day.

When Lu Lin arrived, he saw the girl curled up on the hospital bed, face pale, her small hands pressed to her stomach.

He looked at Xu Assistant with displeasure, about to question him, but remembered where they were and went outside instead.

After receiving the IV, Bai Xia felt a bit better, so she secretly took out her phone and contacted He Yuehua, who was attending the wedding with her family.

He Yuehua said the bride had just walked out and the officiant was starting the vows.

Hearing this, Bai Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She’d known the male lead wouldn’t give up easily, so she’d secretly eaten ice cream that morning.

The original owner’s body couldn’t handle cold food on an empty stomach, so she was sure to get a stomach-ache.

But she had no choice.

For the female lead’s wedding to go smoothly, this was the only way.

What could she do with a dad like this?

Through the livestream, she watched the supporting male lead kneel on one knee to present the ring.

The crowd cheered. Bai Xia’s lips curled up slightly.

This was the difference between people—getting the male lead to kneel?

That was as good as killing him.

He just wanted to control and look down on everyone.

The female lead would have to be crazy to forgive him!

When the door opened, she quickly turned off her phone and continued clutching her stomach, face full of pain.

Seeing the girl curled up in a ball, Lu Lin felt a pang of guilt. He walked over and patted her head, giving her a heartfelt reminder, “You’re still young. Don’t sneak cold food again.”

Bai Xia glanced at him, then grabbed a book from the table and shoved it at him.

“I want to sleep. Read to me.”

Lu Lin took the thick book and paused when he saw the title: “The Evolution of Legal Civilization.”

“You won’t even read me a book. Mom used to tell me stories every night!”

Bai Xia pouted in grievance.

Lu Lin lowered his gaze, opened to the first page, and paused again.

“Legal civilization is a product of material and social development reaching a certain stage. It is an important marker of humanity’s progress from barbarism…”