Chapter 14 The Disliked Dad

Mu Shen "......"

Little Ruanruan's short legs had run for so long and still had energy.

The elderly people greeted by Ruanruan were delighted, smiling particularly warmly at the little dumpling.

"Oh, whose child is this, so good-looking."

"Such a good kid, much more sensible than that brat at my house."

"Mu Shen, who is this kid from your family? How come I've never seen her before?"

"...…"

The group of elderly people had forgotten what they came for, energetically following Little Ruanruan around, bombarding her with questions, almost pushing Mu Shen, the legitimate father, aside.

Seeing this, Ruanruan quickly stretched out her little hand, gripping Mu Shen's clothes, panting with a worried expression on her small face.

"Grandpas and grandmas, don't push, don't push out my... my daddy."

Mu Shen "......"

Suddenly feeling a bit proud and pleased, what's going on?

However, the elderly around them exploded when they heard how Ruanruan addressed Mu Shen.

"What? Daddy!"

"No, little one, what did you just call Mu Shen? I didn't hear clearly because my ears aren't so good!"

"My ears didn't catch that either, little one, could you say it again?"

Ruanruan tugged Mu Shen's clothes, somewhat puzzled, as she watched the formerly smiling elderly people turn to faces of shock and fear.

Mu Shen, seeing that these seniors were about to swarm Ruanruan, reached out to grab the little one's clothes and lifted her into his arms.

While still running, Little Ruanruan suddenly found herself in the air and then in a broad embrace, a bit unable to react. Her little face turned red, and Mu Shen could feel the air breathed out by the little one carried a milky scent.

"You've frightened her."

Mu Shen was somewhat helpless; after all, these were elders, and even if he was usually cold, he couldn't show them a cold shoulder.

The elderly calmed down and seemed somewhat embarrassed, but their eyes kept glancing at Mu Shen and Ruanruan, ready to catch up on the gossip at any moment.

Nestled in daddy's embrace, Ruanruan was also curiously watching them, her little paws clutching onto Mu Shen's clothes, her clear and bright eyes rolling around.

Mu Shen... Mu Shen wanted to run away!

"Mu Family's young man, the little one just called you daddy, didn't she? I definitely heard it."

"Didn't you say your hearing was poor and you couldn't hear clearly? How come you heard that!"

"What's that got to do with you! You must have heard it wrong!"

"My ears are perfectly fine!"

"Fine my foot! Last time I called you and you said you didn't hear!"

Before Mu Shen could answer, two old men had already started arguing with each other.

Mu Shen "......"

"Daddy, what are these grandpas and grandmas doing?"

Ruanruan sat on Mu Shen's solid arm, her little chubby hands with dimples hugging his neck, the entire dumpling slumped soft and cuddly on her daddy.

Mu Shen, with a stoic face, "They're chatting."

Ruanruan, frowning in confusion "…But, it doesn't seem like chatting."

Is chatting supposed to be so loud? The two grandpas were getting so red-faced.

"Stop the arguing, let's talk about what matters!"

They pulled apart the two feuding seniors, spitting in fury, and once again, all eyes were on Mu Shen and Ruanruan.

Looking at them with a happy and kind smile.

"My daughter," Mu Shen introduced without much expression in just three words.

Ruanruan "This is my daddy!"

Different from Mu Shen, Ruanruan said it out loud and clear.

Whoosh...

The moment Mu Shen admitted it, it was like tossing a large rock into a lake—the entire scene erupted into a frenzy.

Several old men, stroking their beards, were so excited they nearly yanked out a few whiskers.

"Is... is this really your daughter? You're not fooling us, are you?"

No wonder they couldn't believe it, Mu Shen was just too aloof, and for someone well into his thirties, aside from his secretary, they'd never seen him with a woman, let alone a girlfriend.

And the only secretary he had was treated like a man by him.

Because Mu Shen often went running in the morning, and since he was exceptional, these old folks knew him somewhat; they'd been watching him for so long and never saw him bring home any females besides relatives, and definitely no young boys!

This sudden appearance of a daughter so grown up seemed incredible to them, their shock greater than an earthquake could muster.

"Really your daughter? Don't be fooling us!"

"What's the little one's name? Aiyo, she looks so pretty."

A few old ladies, having snapped out of their daze, marveled at Ruanruan.

Old people tend to like children, especially since Ruanruan was good-looking, with a delicate and soft fair face that seemed unbearably well-mannered—how could they not be fond of her?

"My name is Ruanruan." Hearing someone asking for her name, Ruanruan replied very sweetly.

"Ruanruan, oh Ruanruan, good, this name suits you; you look so soft. Mu Family boy, stop hugging her already and let Ruanruan come down to play."

Mu Shen, feeling a headache coming on, put Ruanruan down.

An elderly man in front of Ruanruan rummaged through his pocket and successfully pulled out a few Da Bai Rabbit Creamy Candies to hand to her.

"Here, Ruanruan, have some candy."

Ruanruan's little eyes lit up as she received the candies, sweetly saying thank you.

The old lady who gave her the candy was so delighted, she couldn't stop smiling and kept saying how nice and sensible Ruanruan was.

Ruanruan, just recovering from being praised, found her cheeks flushing red again, but her eyes shone even brighter.

Mu Shen watched, wide-eyed, as the little one was surrounded by a flock of white-haired elders, sweet-talking one after another, as happy as a fish in water.

For some reason, he suddenly felt the air was a bit sour, and his expression darkened.

Just before, she was sticking to him, calling him daddy, daddy, and now she had tossed him to the back of her mind—this little trickster!

"Mu Family boy, don't you have more running to do? Off you go then. We'll look after Little Ruanruan. With so many of us here, there's no fear of her running off. You go ahead."

With Little Ruanruan there for comparison, the grandparents found Mu Shen's cold face suddenly quite disagreeable.

They also worried—hoping Ruanruan wouldn't grow up to be as cold as her frosty dad would be quite the waste.

Thinking this way, the old people's gazes towards Mu Shen grew even more disdainful.

Mu Shen ".........."

That's my daughter!

"Daddy, you go run, Ruanruan will practice boxing with the grandparents. The grandpas know Tai Chi, and Ruanruan knows it too!"

Ruanruan, her eyes curving with her smile and her little white teeth glinting, was also urging her dad to go run because he hadn't gone for his run yet because of her.

Mu Shen ".........."

He glared at the little baldy and set off running with a certain grinding of teeth.

The little cheat!

Silly thing!

She'd only just met them, and here she was, playing away.

After quickly running two laps, soft music started playing by the lake, accompanying the old folks as they practiced Tai Chi, always moving to the leisurely strains.

In the midst of a group of old men and women, a radish dumpling suddenly appeared, rather out of place.

Especially since that dumpling, Ruanruan, was so earnest, lifting her arms and legs, meticulously copying the movements of the elders.

Mu Shen, on approach, took one look and found she was doing quite well, her movements impressively accurate, although the sight of her chubby form was humorous.

Watching her, the tension faded from Mu Shen and, unaccustomed to laughter, he couldn't help but subtly curl the corners of his mouth.