A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 16

The voice coming from the phone carried a slight, long-disused rasp. Little Qingnuan couldn’t help but dig at her ear; for some reason, it felt a bit itchy inside.

But… the person on the line had such a nice voice! The little girl’s dark, clear almond eyes seemed to brighten by several degrees.

The only thing was, was the person on the other end a “little brother” or a “little sister”? She couldn’t quite tell.

Qin Xuening’s body was only seven years old. Although her tone was slightly deeper, neutral, and cold due to her changed state of mind, it still sounded quite young, possessing the tenderness of a child’s voice.

Xuening herself was momentarily dazed; she hadn’t heard her own voice in many years.

The sound produced by the vibration of her vocal cords traveled through the air and bone, striking her eardrums. The sensation was strange and unfamiliar, yet it felt entirely natural, as if speaking were a physical instinct.

When she spoke, her mouth muscles and tongue moved unconsciously. Furthermore, her phrasing and pronunciation were perfectly standard, without a hint of awkwardness.

Xuening lowered her eyelids, showing no excitement or agitation over being able to speak.

“Excuse me, is Mr. Xiang Nan there?” she asked softly.

Mr. Xiang Nan? Qingnuan thought for a moment. The mean auntie from before had always called her father “Mr. Xiang.”

“Are you looking for my daddy?”

“Mhm.”

“Daddy is taking a bath.” Qingnuan peeked toward the bathroom. The sound of rushing water confirmed that it would be a while before he was finished. “Little brother, wait a minute. I’ll go get Daddy to answer.”

Qingnuan felt the voice on the line was different from her own, so the person had to be a little brother! She wondered to herself if someone with such a nice voice would be as handsome as the little brother she saw on Weibo.

Little brother? Xuening was taken aback. Realizing the misunderstanding, she hesitated but didn’t correct her. Instead, she declined: “No need…”

“Little brother, I’m going to find my daddy right now. Wait for me to come back, okay!”

The girl’s sweet, cheerful voice came through the phone, followed by a clack—the call disconnected.

Qin Xuening stared at the phone: “…”

Xiang Nan was mid-shower. He had just applied shampoo to his hair, creating a layer of fine bubbles, when he heard a frantic pounding on the bathroom door.

“Daddy, Daddy, come out quickly!”

The urgency in the girl’s voice gave Xiang Nan a massive fright. He quickly shut the valve, threw on a bathrobe, and called out, “Nuannuan, don’t worry! Daddy’s coming right out!”

White foam dripped down from his head, but he didn’t care. He grabbed a towel to cover his head and pulled the door open. Unprepared, the child leaning against the door nearly fell; luckily, Xiang Nan was quick enough to scoop her up.

“Nuannuan, what’s wrong? What happened?” Xiang Nan checked her over anxiously. Finding her unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The incident with the nanny had left him traumatized. If Zhu Lin hadn’t had to leave early today, he never would have left his daughter alone in the living room.

As Xiang Nan’s head moved, white bubbles splashed onto Qingnuan’s face. She wiped her face with her small hand and pointed toward the living room. “A little brother is looking for you.”

“A little brother?” Carrying his daughter, Xiang Nan walked curiously into the living room.

Naturally, there was no one there. He looked at his daughter, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“A little brother just called and said he wanted to find Mr. Xiang,” Qingnuan pointed at the landline. “So I came to get you.”

Looking at his clever and cute daughter, Xiang Nan wasn’t annoyed at all. Instead, he felt proud—as expected of his daughter, she was so smart and articulate at such a young age.

“Daddy, go answer quickly! Don’t make the little brother wait too long!” Qingnuan patted his shoulder, urging him.

Xiang Nan felt a twinge of jealousy. He wondered which “little brat” had caught his daughter’s attention so much. Still, he walked toward the phone. “Alright, alright, Daddy’s going…”

However, when he saw the state of the landline, Xiang Nan froze and looked at the daughter in his arms.

“Daddy?” Qingnuan looked back at him, confused.

“Sweetie… did you accidentally… hang up the phone?” Xiang Nan looked at the phone, feeling conflicted.

Qingnuan blinked and looked at the machine. The receiver was sitting perfectly in its cradle, as if it hadn’t been touched. Her heart sank. She struggled out of Xiang Nan’s arms and ran over to pick up the receiver.

“Beep—beep—beep—” The steady dial tone of a disconnected call hummed in her ear.

Clearly, when Qingnuan went to find her father, she had instinctively put the receiver back—meaning she had hung up.

Xiang Nan carefully watched her expression. The little girl listened to the dial tone; after a moment of dazed realization, her lip began to tremble, and a mist covered her large eyes.

“Daddy, I’m sorry…” As she spoke, her mouth puckered. She blinked hard, trying not to let herself cry.

This broke Xiang Nan’s heart. He quickly pulled her into a hug, comforting her with soft words. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Our little baby didn’t mean it.”

“But will the little brother hate me?” Qingnuan was very sad. She had hoped that after the little brother finished talking to Daddy, they could become friends.

“How could he? Our Nuannuan is so cute, no one could hate you.” Xiang Nan stroked her cheek. Having lived well lately, she had put on a bit of weight, making her look even more like a darling doll.

“Really?” Qingnuan wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

“Of course. When has Daddy ever lied to you?” Xiang Nan said. “It’s okay if the call was cut; we can call back.”

He picked up the receiver and pressed the redial button. Qingnuan immediately stopped crying, staring at him expectantly with deer-like eyes.

Ring… Ring… The call went through.

On the other end, Qin Xuening looked at the caller ID. After several rings, she ultimately decided not to answer and disconnected the call.

She had been too impulsive. She was only seven years old and had been silent for so long; suddenly calling Xiang Nan to talk about such things would inevitably raise suspicions. She needed to find another way.

She didn’t know that her careful consideration was making things difficult for Xiang Nan. He called back several times, but the calls were either cut or went unanswered. Seeing the light in his daughter’s eyes fade bit by bit, he felt his heart breaking.

Just wait until I find out who this little brat is—I’ll show him!

Finally, it was Qingnuan who reached out to stop Xiang Nan’s hand. She persuaded him, “Daddy, don’t call anymore. Maybe the little brother went to sleep, and it’s bad if we call.”

“Mhm, you’re right!” Xiang Nan took the graceful exit.

“Hehe, maybe the little brother will call back tomorrow?” A smile returned to Qingnuan’s face as she clapped her hands optimistically. “I’ll definitely apologize to him then!”

Saying this, she ran back to the sofa to finish her milk and watch cartoons.

Watching her lonely figure, Xiang Nan felt a pang of bitterness. Thinking about the adoption matter Feifei mentioned, he now found himself in total agreement. His little princess truly needed a playmate—otherwise, she was just too lonely.

Only, this playmate absolutely could not be a “little brother”! Judging by his daughter’s reaction just now, he could foresee his status being in grave danger.

In that sense, Qin Xuening was actually an excellent candidate. An older sister was much safer than a little brother!

Xiang Nan’s resolve to adopt Xuening became firm. Before, he had felt like he was just completing a task, but now he truly hoped she would join the family.

Xiang Nan gave his daughter a few instructions and went back to the bathroom to finish his shower. That night, after coaxing Qingnuan to sleep, he picked up his phone to set an alarm, only to realize it had been off since he got off the plane.

Upon turning it on, several missed calls from Qin Xinlan appeared. Had she agreed? Xiang Nan felt a surge of joy, but a text message that followed made his expression turn serious.

It was from an unknown number and contained only one sentence: “Someone is going to expose your relationship with Ye Feifei.”

Xiang Nan frowned, weighing the reliability of the message. As he was pondering, a call came in. It was the female lead of the text—his wife, Ye Feifei.

“Hello—Xiang Nan, something big has happened.” As soon as he answered, Feifei got straight to the point. “Sister Hong just got word from a company mole. Our relationship is exposed. Peak Entertainment is working overnight to prepare a press release to destroy us tomorrow!”

“Don’t rush, stay calm.” Xiang Nan walked out of his daughter’s bedroom and into the study.

“How can I not be rushed? I heard they even got photos of Qingnuan!”

“What?” Xiang Nan couldn’t help but raise his voice.

“It’s absolutely true. The whistleblower sold the scoop to two newspapers. Luckily, one of them has a partnership with Huashi and specifically notified us.” Feifei paced back and forth, her tone urgent. “Sister Hong already held an emergency meeting. The conclusion is to strike first. We’re going to reveal it ourselves before they can!”

Expose it? Xiang Nan tapped the desk. He felt a hint of excitement. From now on, he could be with his wife and child openly?

“What do you need me to do?” he asked with suppressed excitement.

Peak Entertainment Headquarters, Late Night

One floor remained brightly lit. Although called back on short notice, the “overtime dogs” of the operations and PR departments were energized.

The editor responsible for the draft, Huang Li, felt his blood boiling with every word he typed. He couldn’t wait to share the news he had just learned: The national goddess Ye Feifei has been secretly married to Director Xiang Nan for years, and they already have a daughter.

He could imagine the massive attention this would draw—it would blow up the industry! And he would be a part of it. He felt honored and thrilled. The General Manager had promised bonuses and raises if this was successful. With dreams of a bright future, he typed the final character.

Ding! The sound of someone refreshing Weibo.

“Holy crap! Look what Xiang Nan just posted!” The female colleague sitting next to Huang Li suddenly shouted, giving him a start.

Out of curiosity and unease, he quickly took out his phone.

On Director Xiang Nan’s Weibo, a new post had appeared. It contained just three simple words: “The Three of Us.”

The attached photo showed a man’s and a woman’s hands clasped together, with a tiny, pink hand resting on top. It was incredibly cute.

Since Xiang Nan’s new film was about to be released, his followers were very active. Within minutes, the comment section exploded. Likes and reposts were refreshing by the second.

“Totally dazed. Brother Xiang, can you give an explanation?”

“Dazed +1. What does this mean? Xiang Nan has a girlfriend?”

“Dazed +100. The forever-bachelor Director Xiang has a girlfriend?”

“Not just a girlfriend—it looks like he has a kid!”

“I knew a young, handsome, rich bachelor like Director Xiang couldn’t be single. The only reason for no girlfriend was having a boyfriend!”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Brother Xiang is as straight as an arrow!”

“Waaaah, I’m not listening! He must have posted by mistake. This picture proves nothing!”

“Am I the only one looking at that tiny hand? So cute, I want to squeeze it. Is it a son or a daughter?”

“…”

The comments were generally harmonious. Xiang Nan wasn’t an idol; fans liked him for his talent and character. However, after the superstar Ye Feifei reposted and commented on the post, the internet completely melted down.

Compared to Xiang Nan’s subtlety, Ye Feifei was simple and dominant.

Ye Feifei: Let me introduce you all: this is my husband and my daughter. // Xiang Nan: The Three of Us.