467 Father

"At the same time, I am also Bai Xi's father."

In the silence, Bai Xi's expression darkened. Yunlou Qingshu's words blew the minds of the other three.

"Father?" Ye Qingxuan froze.

"Father!" Abraham froze.

"Father?!" Charles froze too. Then he slammed the table and shot up, pointing at Yunlou Qingshu and shouting, "Then you're my dad too!"

No one replied in the awkward silence. Everyone's expressions grew more uncomfortable but Charles rushed up in excitement. He cried, "Dad!" Grasping Yunlou Qingshu's hand, he shook it excitedly and exclaimed, "Hi, Dad! I'm Charles!"

Even if he's a dad, he's Bai Xi's dad, not yours! What are you excited about?! Ye Qingxuan could not help but roll his eyes.

However, Charles smiled joyfully and grabbed Yunlou Qingshu's hand as if he had no bones. He seemed close to latching onto the man like a squid. "Since Daddy's here, let us bros have a good drink…"

Hey, how did you go from father and son to brothers so quickly? Bai Xi's expression grew uglier. She kicked Charles under the table, hoping to kick him into hell.

"Bai Xi, don't throw a tantrum. I'm speaking with Daddy." Charles waved and his expression grew serious. He sighed emotionally, "To be honest…I've always seen Bai Xi as a daughter!"

Abraham had just picked up a glass of water to calm him down. But he did not expect that after being suffocated by the Sacred City for so long, Charles had become even worse. He choked and spat out the water.

"Ah, I'm so pleased." Charles was proud for some reason. He was like a fat middle-aged woman bragging to other housewives about his kid. "I've worked hard for little Bai Xi to grow up so well!"

Worked hard my *ss! Don't act like you've changed the diapers! What have you done other than fighting with her over food and the pettiest things?!

Now, Yunlou Qingshu finally snapped out of the shock of Charles's horribleness. His elegant features twitched but he soon recovered forcefully.

"Oh?" He squeezed out a smile. "Thank you for taking care of Bai Xi. With friends like you, I am reli-"

"Big bro, what do you do?" Charles interrupted with an excited expression. "Are you interested in funding common folk research experiments? Would you like to fund a barbarian's mechanical laboratory? I have recently invented a mechanism that can move forever with running water. It will definitely be useful in the future! It can easily become popular in both the east and west!"

"I am merely a silk merchant and not very successful. I recently had a disagreement with my boss and finally had a break so I came to see Bai Xi." Yunlou Qingshu rejected him politely and pulled the conversation back to Bai Xi.

He looked warmly at his coldly staring daughter. "How has Bai Xi been these years?"

Bai Xi opened her mouth to speak but Ye Qingxuan stopped her, shaking his head slightly. This guy was not good news. They better let Charles test the waters first.

"She eats well, sleeps well, and gained a ton of weight!" Charles raised his voice in an unspoken agreement. However, he was talking as if he was selling meat. "Bro, you don't gotta worry. Look at how we raised Bai Xi to be nice and plump, so cute."

"That is great. I am relieved." Yunlou Qingshu seemed to have not noticed anything and kept smiling pleasantly. "Bai Xi has never been an obedient child. She loves making trouble and giving people headaches. Seeing how she has become, I am happy as well."

"So are you done looking?" Charles waved as if they were visiting each other. "If you've got nothing else, go now. We'll take Bai Xi to see you some other day. We have other plans tonight."

No matter how tolerant Yunlou Qingshu was, he was a little taken aback by the merciless shooing. He chuckled awkwardly and glanced at the table.

"I'm a little hungry. Can I eat some?"

Charles shook his head. "It's very hard to live in the Sacred City. I don't have much money."

"It's okay. I'll pay."

Charles shook his head again. "Time's running short."

"It's okay. You can go," Yunlou Qingshu said. "I just need to speak with Bai Xi."

Charles froze before quickly sighing. "Ah, to be honest, I signed Bai Xi up for a math class a few days ago. Oh, look at the time. It's almost time for class. Come, Bai Xi, let me take you to class." Without waiting for Qingshu to reply, he pulled Bai Xi up. Before she could fight back, he swung her over his shoulder and ran…

This guy had swung his junior over his shoulder and ran!

Before leaving, he threw a glance at Ye Qingxuan as if saying, that's all I can do for you! The rest is up to you!

In the awkward silence, Abraham cleared his throat. He tried to act as if nothing had happened. Pulling out a pipe, he rose. "I'm going for a smoke." And he escaped too. He really did not understand the situation but seeing as Charles had run, he could not help with matters either. It was up to the young ones.

In the end, all that remained in the empty restaurant were Ye Qingxuan, Yunlou Qingshu staring at each other across a table of leftovers.

"Seems that I won't be able to talk to her today." Yunlou Qingshu shook his head and sighed. "I still came at the wrong time. I was too rushed. A rushed conversation will never achieve the goal. It will only make the kid hate me more, right?"

"Mr. Yunlou Qingshu, sit down." Ye Qingxuan sighed and pointed at the seat across from him. "Sorry that this happened but please be rest assured, I won't run. You can talk to me."

He studied Yunlou Qingshu, who was still composed. He said quietly, "After Bai Xi lived with all of us, we are like her family because she doesn't have any other family. Charles and I are her brothers. We will protect her and if anyone wants to bully her, they have to get past us first."

Yunlou Qingshu nodded. As if welcoming his daughter's friend home, he was very pleased. "You've worked hard."

"Not just people who want to bully but her father too." Ye Qingxuan's expression grew cold. "You've never asked about Bai Xi all this time. She has been living by herself in this world. Now you suddenly drop out of the sky like some caring father and to be honest, even I'm grossed out…" He stared at Yunlou Qingshu and uttered, "What do you want?"

Stared at by those eyes, Yunlou Qingshu smiled and shook his head. "Why must you be like this? Haven't we met once before?"

Snapping a finger, he had the server come and clear the table. A bucket of iced wine was quickly brought over as well as two glasses. Yunlou Qingshu lifted his glass and motioned for Ye Qingxuan to follow.

After drinking a glass, he suddenly asked, "How old is Bai Xi this year?"

Ye Qingxuan froze and frowned. "Nineteen."

"Already nineteen? Just like her sister." Yunlou Qingshu sighed. "That's the age to get married… As a father, I must think of my daughter and choose a good husband for her. I came to the Sacred City for this as well."

"You don't need to worry about Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "And no offense but, to her, you're the true trouble for her. Do you think Bai Xi will listen to you obediently and marry someone she's never met before?"

Qingshu smiled meaningfully. "It's okay. She will always be my daughter. Sometimes, she will listen. So, I must say," he paused and said nonchalantly as if describing a truth, "you still don't understand her well enough."

Ye Qingxuan's face darkened. He did not know what unknown things this man had in his hands. But if he was here and wanted to do something to Bai Xi, Ye Qingxuan would not let him go so easily.

Even if this man was Bai Xi's father.

What a joke. Even if this was his father Ye Lanzhou, he would not care, let alone someone else's dad… He was sure that if he beat Yunlou Qingshu up here, Bai Xi would be happy for three months. Unfortunately, this guy was the duke of Yunlou City. He had a higher position than Ye Qingxuan. If he made a move, he would have to fight passively…Yunlou Qingshu was prepared and he had to be sure about the other's plan and hidden cards.

However, Ye Qingxuan was not confident he could get an advantage from an old fox like him who had climbed out of the dirty sewage water. He could only take each step as it happened.

Thankfully Bai Xi had been taken by Charles. Otherwise, he would be even more passive.

-

"Did you know?" Yunlou Qingshu drank by himself and spoke animatedly. "In the past, I wanted Bai Xi to marry to the crown prince of Anglo. She could be the queen that was above all but one person. But she didn't like him and even ran away from home… It's such hard work to be a dad. I have to put in so much thought to find a son-in-law."

Ye Qingxuan remained silent.

"Actually, it's not hard to find a son-in-law. It's hard to find a good one." Yunlou Qingshu pointed at the Sacred City, lit with lanterns and lights. "Look, the Sacred City is filled with officials and nobles. As long as I reveal that I want my daughter to marry, you don't know how many wives will suddenly die tonight… Thankfully, I've already found a better one and don't need to do all that."

Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Such as?"

Yunlou Qingshu smiled. He patted the young man's shoulder. "Such as you, Ye Qingxuan."