“Daddy, you came to see me!”

  Su Xiaobei hugged Xiao Luo’s thigh, then lifting her head, she looked at Xiao Luo gleefully with her big eyes. Her face lit with a smile full of joy and excitement.

  “Bei Bei! Haha, yeah, we made a promise, didn’t we?”

  Xiao Luo gave her a warm smile as he reached out and rubbed her little head.

  “My daddy, give me a hug! I want a hug!”

  Su Xiaobei stretched her little arms toward Xiao Luo, waiting for him to pick her up.

  Xiao Luo simply could not resist, and he was beaming from ear to ear as he bent down and lifted Su Xiaobei into his arms. There was something magical about this little girl, she had an innate charm that somehow compelled him to love and protect her like his own.

  As they watched how the two got along, Luo Pingxiang and Aunt Lee were both dumbfounded. They very familiar with Su Xiaobei’s introverted personality, she was usually wary of strangers, and aside from Su Li, they had never seen her being so attached to anyone else before. What they witnessed right now came as a big surprise to them.

  Su Li came hurrying down the stairs, elegant in the way she carried herself, but she did not seem pleasant at all. Instead, she appeared agitated, and her expression was cold.

  “Su Xiaobei, if you dare run down from upstairs again, I’ll ground you from watching cartoons for a week.”

  Su Xiaobei clung on to Xiao Luo’s neck tightly and buried her face in Xiao Luo’s chest as if seeking his protection. “I won’t do that again,” she said, almost in a whisper.

  Seeing her pout her little lips, Su Li couldn’t bring herself to remain angry. She softened her tone and said, “Get down now. Hurry up and let Aunt Lee bath you. I have important things to discuss with him.”

  “I don’t want to leave daddy.” Su Xiaobei held on tightly to Xiao Luo’s neck.

  “Listen to me!” Su Li said, raising her voice.

  “Bei Bei, listen to your mummy and be a good girl, alright. I won’t leave ever again. I’ll be staying by your side now.” Xiao Luo coaxed the little girl, speaking with a kind, gentle voice.

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  Xiao Luo nodded and gently put Su Xiaobei down.

  “Bei Bei, let’s go for a shower.”

  \r \r \r

  Aunt Lee came forward to take Su Xiaobei by the hand and brought her upstairs for a bath.

  Su Li glanced at Xiao Luo and said, “Have a seat.”

  Xiao Luo did not act any differently in the presence of such a celebrity, and he casually took a seat on the leather sofa in the living room.

  Luo Pingxiang brought them a pot of hot tea, served them both a glass each, then stepped away to a corner and left them to discuss matters.

  “Xiao Luo……”

  “Miss Su, before we get into the main topic, may I ask you a question?” Xiao Luo interjected before Su Li could complete her sentence.

  “What question?” Su Li responded, her eyebrows slightly knitted.

  “When I promised to be Xiaobei’s surrogate father, you said that you’d arrange my accommodation. I would like to know where I will be living,” Xiao Luo said.

  Su Li sat looking poised and composed. “It’s the apartment opposite this one,” she said.

  “Opposite this one?”

  “It has a built-up area of 130 square meters, and it’s luxuriously furnished. For your information, it is worth more than 30 million—which is probably several hundred times better than that house you rented in Jiangcheng City,” Su Li said.

  Xiao Luo was surprised by her condescending tone, but he ignored it. Was the 30-million-dollar apartment really for him? Wasn’t she too generous in spending a fortune on him?

  “I know that you’ve hired me to play the role of Xiaobei’s father, but I’m not her biological father, nor do I have any experience in being one. I may not be able to provide her with the fatherly love she needs growing up.”

  “I’ve got people looking for Su Xiaobei’s real father, so for now, you just have to accompany her as much as you can,” Su Li said.

  Su Li then gestured to Luo Xiangping, who came running with a pile of books and placed them in front of Xiao Luo.

  “I especially selected these books for you. Read them when you have time. For you, this is a job; and since this is a job, you have to work hard and do it well,” Su Li said.

  Xiao Luo took a quick glance at the pile of books and did know how to react. All of these books were on parenting and communication skills for toddlers and preschoolers.

  “I hope you can adapt to your role as soon as possible. I do not intend to interfere with your personal life, nor will I expect you to keep Su Xiaobei company every day. You may go and work on your own career. After all, this job I’m giving you will not last for long, perhaps six months or a year. Anyway, it won’t be a lifelong career,” Su Li said, sipping on her cup of hot tea impassively.

  “Alright.”

  Xiao Luo nodded. He didn’t appreciate Su Li’s attitude, and neither did he detest it—this was just a job. But things were different with Su Xiaobei, and many a time, Xiao Luo would forget himself and think Su Xiaobei as his own daughter. If it wasn’t for the little girl, he would’ve rejected Su Li’s offer, even with her generous terms.

  “Alright? Is that all, don’t you have anything else you want to ask?”

  Su Li was slightly disappointed, as she’d expected Xiao Luo to have a lot of questions regarding Xu Xiaobei.

  “Nope.”

  Xiao Luo wasn’t the type to dig too deeply into others’ affairs, it’d just feel like gossiping to him, something he absolutely abhorred. He already figured there was more than a 90% chance that Su Xiaobei wasn’t Su Li’s biological daughter, but none of that was his concern. The only thing he cared about was the well-being of his little angel, Su Xiaobei, and he’d do anything to take good care of her.

  “Sign on the agreement then.”

  Su Li took a pen and a document from the table’s drawer and placed it in front of Xiao Luo. “According to what we’ve verbally agreed previously, I will pay you 200 thousand dollars per month. But I expect you to do your best in your role as her surrogate father. If I’m not satisfied with your performance, your commission will be deducted as I see fit.”

  “No problem.”

  Xiao Luo took the agreement and quickly ran through its terms—it laid out the standard clauses covering salary, confidentiality, termination, breach of contract and such. Xiao Luo duly wrote his name and signed it at the bottom of the agreement.

  Su Li glared at Xiao Luo with disdain as he signed the document. She had formed the opinion that he had no self-esteem and was the kind of person who would do anything for the sake of money. But on the bright side, there’d be no emotional baggage when the day came, and it would be easier to sever all ties with Xiao Luo the moment she located Su Xiaobei’s father. ……

  After having the meal that Aunt Lee prepared, Xiao Luo left for the accommodation that had been made for him. Entering his apartment, the white sheer-curtains that dressed the French window swayed as it caught a light breeze. His room was furnished with a generous two-meter-wide bed, a 42-inch LED television was mounted on the wall, and there was even an Apple laptop placed beside the bed. Ornate lamps and a well-polished floor complemented the décor, and a built-in double wardrobe was located at the far corner of the room.

  Xiao Luo smiled at the irony of it—despite her icy demeanor, Su Li had commissioned an interior designer to bring such warmth into the apartment, which suited his style.

  After taking a shower, Xiao Luo received a call from Zhang Dashan.

  When he found out that Xiao Luo was staying on the same floor as Su Li, and that he would be living there for some time, Zhang Dashan was so envious that a slew of expletives burst from his mouth.

  “Lao Xiao, you really have some dogsh*t luck! To think that you’re actually staying with goddess Su Li…… WTF! Do you want me to die of jealousy?” Zhang Dashan screamed.

  “Calm down, we’re not staying together, just on the same floor. Besides, what’s there to envy?” Xiao Luo raised his eyebrows and threw the question back at him.

  “Oh, please, don’t show off! Stop flaunting with me, you motherf*cker!”

  “I’m going to find you when I have time. I f*ckin’ wanna stay with goddess Su too.”

  “.……”

  Xiao Luo was at a loss for words. ……