Daughter

'Daughter…'

Ren Ye's eyes widened as confusion and shock clouded his face, and his mouth opened slightly before closing. His shock was immediately replaced with suspicion and indifference.

"You can lie to others but I'm afraid your lies won't be able to get through me," He pursed his lips with mockery as his face grew increasingly icy.

'Does he think I'm stupid? Being reborn in another body doesn't mean I am permanently brain dead,' He tsked inwardly.

Old Yi wasn't disappointed as he donned a calm smile, "I knew you were going to be like this, you have never changed, haven't you? Believe it or not, she is your 'biological' daughter.'

He pronounced 'biological' distinctively as the energy on his face became vaguely chaotic.

Ren Ye laid his cold eyes upon the timid little girl as she curled both of her hands into tiny fists, her expressive eyes were filled with fright and fear. There was an undistinctive emotion in those adorable eyes as she looked into his inquiring eyes; a longing for familial warmth.

He instinctively lowered his eyes, "Did the original owner of this body play around with women and got someone pregnant?"

"Of course not! It's going to sound ridiculous but apparently, she is your daughter," Old Yi spoke with chaotic eyes, "I was summoned into this world and the first person I met here was her."

"She told me she wanted to find her father and guided me to the place where you fell into. I was quite surprised to find her father was exactly the person I was looking for."

'Besides, I have a gut feeling the little kid wasn't lying about who her father was and the kid isn't as normal as she seemed as she saw directly through my cover,' Old Yi thought of this but chose not to speak, thinking it was better for the little girl to explain herself.

Ren Ye nodded his head, "Your point of view sounds extremely one-sided and many details are being left out, I believe there's much more to this," He turned his head toward the little girl, "I may have to ask this little girl about how she knew where I was…"

Ren Ye's usual words came out rather intimidating as the little girl looked like she was about to burst into tears; Ren Ye was rendered speechless and his body trembled unnoticeably.

'Why did I sound like I was reprimanding her?'

"I meant I am immensely impressed by how she knew where I was; anyone who has a daughter like her would be extremely happy and would have many questions to ask," He coughed awkwardly and his face was covered with a faint red color.

The little girl's eyes lit up with excitement and joy as she glanced at her 'father' with beaming eyes; Ren Ye avoided her gaze due to his unusual embarrassment.

'How I acted just now isn't my style but seeing the girl's eyes teared up; my heart ached strangely and the urge to comfort her overtook my reasoning…'

Ren Ye glanced at one of the empty chairs and pointed his finger at it; he proceeded to indicate his intentions through his eye movements.

"An empty chair there! Let her have a seat, her tiny legs are getting tired from standing this long," He pursed his lips slightly as he stared toward Old Yi.

Old Yi chuckled and grabbed the chair, placing it near Ren Ye's side, and pulled the little girl, placing her onto it. Her little legs swayed as she was being lifted onto the chair.

"Explain to me what is your role here? You haven't explained what role you are playing…" Ren Ye deliberated and asked him with a straight face.

Old Yi smiled lightly and entered his body without hesitation, 'You are not the only transmigrator here. Many people are being transmigrated into this world and we do not know who they are, many of whom are horrible beings and some of whom are heroes from completely different universes.'

'My role is to integrate my consciousness into yours and become your second guardian; to specifically guide you from danger and to eliminate the danger.'

'You can consider me what many other novel fanatics would call it 'a system' although I have an appearance and a human voice tone. I am not a completely useless person living inside your head and assigning you impossible missions for you to complete as I can appear in front of you in a human form and fight alongside you.'

'Every mission I assign will be entirely based on the progress you have made and will continue from the outcome of the missions.'

As Ren Ye was going to open his mouth, Old Yi interrupted him.

'I would also need to remind you of something; right now, I am a useless being as you haven't made any progress yet. For every progress and mission, you have completed, I will also gain a power boost.'

A text visually appeared in front of him.

[You are not the only one gifted with this special guidance.]

[Many transmigrators have their own special assistance and it is your job to cultivate yourself into a powerful being.]

[Stop the growth of evil transmigrators!]

'Do you understand?' A hoarse voice resounded inside his head.

'Evil transmigrator? Shouldn't I be regarded as such considering what I did in the past?' Ren Ye couldn't help but ask after noticing the keyword 'evil'.

Old Yi laughed inside his head, 'Evil? Do you consider yourself evil?'

Ren Ye didn't speak.

'Evil is when they act recklessly without having any morals and kills people excessively without reasons, their hearts intertwined with the devils.'

'A person who acts recklessly and kills certain people but still maintains a code of honor isn't considered to be evil; you did everything you could to survive a filthy world…'

Ren Ye was briefly stunned and didn't speak for a very long time, maintaining a moment of silence. Eventually, Ren Ye nodded his head in affirmation.

'May I ask what world am I in right now?' Ren Ye asked all of a sudden.

Old Yi stated slowly, 'You are in modern Earth, the contemporary era!'

Ren Ye cast his eyes upon the little girl who was sitting obediently, maintaining her innocent gaze on him.

[Ding! Congratulation on activating System 212]

[Complete your mission well and be rewarded!]

[Preliminary Mission: Introduction]

[Details: Introduce yourself to your daughter and ask for her name.]

[Reward: Soundproof Handgun]

A string of texts visually appeared in front of him although the little girl seemed to be completely oblivious of it. Ren Ye's eyes dimmed as he stared at her with his indifferent eyes.

"What is your name?" Ren Ye tried to sound as warm as possible, not wanting to scare the little girl off.

The little girl trembled as she stared at him with her frightened eyes, her tiny lips moved constantly. Ren Ye's face immediately darkened.

'Did I scare her off way too soon?'

'Seemingly,' Old Yi added with an amused tone.

The little girl stopped shaking and replied with her sweet and crispy voice mixed with tiny bits of anxiety and excitement, "My name is Ren Jia! Ren is from Papa's surname and Jia means home."

As she spoke, her adorably chubby cheeks slightly bulged upwards. Ren Ye had the sudden urge to poke her cheeks but restrained because it was out of his character.

Ren Ye coughed awkwardly, "I'll take both of us home after I am discharged."

'I am not completely certain if this child is mine at all but she is cute, I give her that…'

Ren Jia bobbed her head repeatedly.

'I think I can help you with it,' Old Yi stated after overhearing their conversations.

A text appeared in front of Ren Ye's face,

[Item Being Used: Recovery Pill]

[Do you wish to proceed?] [Cancel]

It allowed Ren Ye to choose whether he wanted to save them or use them later on!

Ren Ye proceeded.

Immediately, Ren Ye felt a wave of warmth flow throughout his entire body, engulfing him in a cozy and comfortable feeling. He felt like his body was being put into a warm bath during a cold winter, and his eyes turned slightly dozy.

At that moment, he felt he was able to jump from the highest point of a building and run around like a mad man.

'Why do I feel like I'm being put under a spell?'

After confirming his body has completely healed, Ren Ye glanced toward Ren Jia with a relieved face.

"I think we can leave the hospital right now," Ren Ye nodded his head and smiled indifferently toward her.

-

"Ren Jia…Can I call you Jia'er? It's a lot easier to address you this way," Ren Ye initiated a talk with his 'daughter'.

It feels a bit weird to call someone by their family name…

Ren Jia blinked her big glossy eyes and glanced at him curiously, smiling brightly, "Papa can call Jia whatever he likes, Jia is happy as long as Papa is next to Jia."

'She's speaking in third-person…do all kids speak like her or is she naturally adorable?' Ren Ye's eyes narrowed.

"I think you know who I am. I don't need to introduce myself to my daughter, do I?" Ren Ye said emotionlessly, "Who is your mother?"

"Mama…" Ren Jia's eyes teared up all of a sudden as she said slowly. Ren Ye was rendered motionless, not knowing why she was crying out of a sudden.

'Apparently, she doesn't want to talk about her mother. I tried inquiring once and all I got was sad tears,' Old Yi sighed inside his head, 'I think it's best you avoid talking about her mother.'

'How is me inquiring about her mother a sad thing? Shouldn't I know a little bit about the woman who bore my child? With these memories, I couldn't find traces of any women whom I have been with and have gotten pregnant.'

'Or perhaps I got someone pregnant and they didn't let me know, which is very unlikely.'

Ren Ye had a few relationships in the past; most of them lasted briefly and were mainly based on physical needs. He had been extremely cautious with these kinds of activities; he was certain he wouldn't leave behind some offspring.

'I don't know much about her as well,' Old Yi added with a bit of complexity in his voice.

Ren Jia's burst into tears as she cried her eyes out and her porcelain face was stained with tears, Ren Ye stood there with a panicked expression and was unable to do anything.

'I have no idea how to cheer a child up…'

'Buy her ice cream!' Old Yi cried out inwardly with a hint of annoyance in his voice, thinking Ren Ye was a deadbeat father. Ren Ye breathed in and out, approaching her and lowering himself down.

"Jia'er…don't cry…" Ren Ye pursed his lips as his eyes became increasingly emotional, "Don't cry…I won't ask anymore."

"I'll buy you ice cream if you stop crying," Ren Ye wiped her tears off and smiled softly at her, "Anything you want, I will get it for you."

Jia'er sniffled and continued to cry although the volume lessened down a bit, she tried to wipe her tears off with her hands. Ren Ye immediately wiped them off with his sleeves and patted her on the back.

Jia'er grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly, not wanting to let go of it anytime soon. Ren Ye took her into his arms and embraced her comfortingly, he patted her back lightly.

The little girl hugged him with her tiny arms and proceeded to wipe his shirt with her tears and snot, Ren Ye's eyebrows twitched slightly.

'Such a warm scene,' Old Yi laughed, interrupting the moment.

Ren Ye ignored him and spoke softly into his daughter's ears, "Let's go get some ice cream, okay? Don't cry anymore."

The little girl in his arms nodded her head and leaned on his shoulder, her cheeks on his shoulder blades. Ren Ye stood up and held her securely in his arms, the urge to place her under his skin and to protect her from the filth of the world grew intense.

His heart felt increasingly calm and peaceful, his eyes also became tranquil resembling a lake. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in this new profound feeling.

'My mind is not certain whose child this is but my heart seems to wholeheartedly accept her as my own…'