Chapter Seventy-Three: I Am Your Daddy
Sang Zhe never expected this woman to actually be crazy.
She chased him all the way from the mountain gate to the foot of the mountain.
What’s worse, he encountered so many colleagues along the way, yet not a single one of them stepped up to help; they all just stood by, enjoying the show like it was a grand performance.
It was infuriating!
In the end, there was no choice but to waste some points and knock Shi Qingyan out using mask mode.
Even in her unconscious state in Sang Zhe’s arms, Shi Qingyan still wore that almost insane smile, slightly drooling:
“Hehe, Little Ying’s lip balm flavor… Ehehe, Sang Zhe, don’t run away…”
Just hearing that made Sang Zhe break out in goosebumps.
Too scary.
Is this what it means to be a love-struck weirdo, folks?
This is totally nuts.
And now the biggest headache was, he couldn’t take her home in this state.
He and Little Ying were newlyweds after all. What if he came home late one day, and when he called Little Ying, he suddenly heard her panting, saying she was out for a run…
That would be a disaster! I’d be the victim!
To avoid such a scenario, Sang Zhe decided to act fast.
He needed to finish dealing with Shi Qingyan.
“System, what on earth triggered her to turn out like this? What’s up with that inexplicably rising progress bar?”
【……】
The system didn’t respond.
Sang Zhe found it a bit odd, but after a moment, the system flowed back into view beside him, turning into the girl named Nian Nian.
“Progress isn’t important.”
“What’s important,” Nian Nian adjusted her glasses slowly, “is that you should ask her why she has such a strong hostility towards men.”
“So, why?”
Sang Zhe rubbed his chin. “It can’t be some tale of being abandoned by men or suffering from domestic violence in childhood, right?”
“No.”
Nian Nian spoke quietly. “She doesn’t have a father.”
Sang Zhe: “…Are you insulting me? Seriously, have some class.”
Nian Nian: “?”
Seeing Nian Nian glaring at him in exasperation, Sang Zhe cleared his throat and waved his hands in defeat.
“I meant it literally.”
“Shi Qingyan’s mother was a woman of the night. Even her mother doesn’t know who her biological father is.”
She crossed her arms, leaning in mid-air. “Ever since she was little, she’s only seen the dirtiest side of drunken men in the smoky taverns. It’s a miracle she can have any good feelings towards men.”
So that’s how it is.
But changing such a deeply ingrained character developed from childhood is no easy task.
It seems there really wasn’t a way to twist her views on men.
“System, at times like this, isn’t it your turn to come up with some brilliant ideas?”
“Hurry up, let me see what amazing plan you produce this time.” Sang Zhe rubbed his hands in excitement.
Nian Nian shot him an annoyed glance, looking both helpless and disdainful.
“Since she has lacked paternal love since childhood.”
“Why not just let you be her dad?”
Sang Zhe: “?”
I apologize, I really underestimated the crazy ideas out there.
I thought I’d seen enough bizarre proposals.
But this plan of yours has escalated beyond my expectations.
This one really is outlandish in the very fabric of the story.
“Not to mention, she’s just trying to snatch my wife; she hasn’t done anything truly bad.”
“Come on, isn’t it a bit inappropriate to suggest I go for her mother?” Sang Zhe said, looking troubled.
Nian Nian finally reached her limit.
She delivered a sharp chop to Sang Zhe’s head, causing him to grimace in pain.
“Dumb host! Can’t you keep some inappropriate thoughts out of your head?”
Her cheeks seemed to flush slightly, clenching her teeth in annoyance as she continued, “I didn’t say you had to do anything with her biological mother when I suggested you be her dad.”
“Shi Qingyan’s biological mother forgot about her ages ago. After sending her to the celestial gate, she soon passed away from a disease she caught.”
“Normally, once a person’s worldview is shaped by their childhood experiences, it’s very hard to change as they grow up.”
“So, to fundamentally change her biases and obsessions towards men, the best solution might just be to let her restart from her childhood.”
Sounds simple.
But you can’t just input a /remake command like it’s a game and expect a reset in the real world.
She’s grown up this much; how can I suddenly be her dad?
“There’s an age-reversing pill in the system store.”
Nian Nian huffed lightly, crossing her arms. “Though it will only make her body revert to childhood; it won’t change her memories.”
“But combined with another temporary memory-suppressing pill, it can make her believe she’s still a kid for a short time.”
“However, it only lasts for seven days.”
Sang Zhe nodded in vague understanding. “So, I need to help her rediscover fatherly love within those seven days, right?”
“That seems pretty difficult.”
Not to mention he’s a newbie father who’s never raised a child.
Even if he figured it out—
In just seven days, can he make up for decades of her missing fatherly love?
“You really don’t need to be perfect, you know.”
Nian Nian spoke softly. “While people can often be unchangeable, many times they can suddenly change because of something.”
“Perhaps all Shi Qingyan really needs is just that one vital moment, that one release point.”
“Ultimately, it depends on the host’s skill.”
Sang Zhe nodded.
“By the way… how many points do those two pills cost?” he asked cautiously.
“Not too much.” Nian Nian shot him a sideways glance. “Five thousand points.”
Five thousand!?
Are you kidding me?!
“Did you think a pill that can reverse aging would be cheap?”
“Are you serious?” Sang Zhe was furious. “You cheap system doesn’t give me any quests, where am I supposed to get five thousand points?!”
“Why rush?”
Nian Nian glared at him in disdain. “Remember the main quest for the Earth Tomb Spirit Herb? You were rewarded with three thousand points for that.”
“If you save up a bit; you can manage it.”
That would still leave him nearly bankrupt!
All for a love rival?
Sang Zhe couldn’t help but glare angrily at the unconscious Shi Qingyan on the ground.
“Of course, you can choose not to save her.”
Nian Nian glanced at Shi Qingyan. “After all, she’s not really an important person to you, right?”
Sang Zhe felt a bit gloomy.
Nian Nian wasn’t wrong.
Now that Shi Qingyan was out, she wasn’t really his work target anymore.
He could just leave her in the forest and let nature take its course.
But considering she used to be his work target, he felt a twinge of guilt in abandoning her.
Let’s be honest.
Who wouldn’t want to experience the joy of having an old nemesis suddenly turn into a sweet girl who just calls you daddy?
“Fine!”
Sang Zhe gritted his teeth. “I’ll indulge in the fatherhood experience in advance; I’ll consider it practice for when Little Ying and I have kids.”
“Exchange!”
