Ch 22: The Scumbag’s Daily Wife-Doting Life [QT]

Xie Wan came home a step later than Xie Zhenchen.

The moment she entered the house and saw Xie Li standing in the open kitchen holding a spatula while her older brother whispered mysteriously into his ear, her heart instantly skipped a beat.

“Dad, you’re cooking today?” she greeted sweetly, still trying to play dumb. “Then I want moo shu pork. Don’t forget, okay? I’m going back to my room to do homework. Call me when dinner’s ready.”

Then she turned around, eager to sneak back into her room as quickly as possible.

“Stop right there!” Xie Li called out.

Xie Wan froze mid-step before slowly turning around, forcing out a dry smile.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“I heard you’re dating someone?” Xie Li asked leisurely.

“When did that happen?” Xie Wan puffed up her cheeks and secretly shot a glare at the tattletale Xie Zhenchen before protesting unhappily. “Was it brother who told you? Dad, don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s just an ordinary classmate. He transferred in today and only talked to me a little. I barely even responded to him.”

“Really?”

“Really!”

Xie Wan nodded emphatically to reinforce her sincerity. Then, while tugging on her backpack straps, her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea.

“Oh right! Since school’s holding the sports festival after classes start, and Mom’s busy with the company, why don’t you come to school and meet my homeroom teacher?”

Ever since she was little, Xie Li had always been overly worried whenever she interacted with boys.

The moment the transfer student appeared, Xie Wan already knew she would be interrogated once she got home, so she had mentally prepared herself long ago.

Still, that did not stop her from taking revenge on her snitch of a brother.

With a sweet smile, she added coquettishly:

“Besides, big brother signed up for the three-thousand-meter race. Dad can come cheer for him too!”

Xie Zhenchen’s eyes widened.

“I absolutely did not!”

“You did.”

Xie Wan lifted her chin at him with unquestionable authority in her gaze.

The constantly oppressed Xie Zhenchen still wanted to resist, but then he saw Xie Wan silently mouth two words at him:

Pay me back.

He froze.

His brows twisted painfully together in conflict.

After a long struggle, he finally admitted pitifully:

“…Fine. I did.”

Xie Wan instantly beamed with triumph.

“See, Dad? Big brother’s running the three-thousand-meter race, so you should definitely come to school.”

What had originally been about teenage romance somehow shifted into discussion about the sports festival instead.

Xie Li said nothing, merely watched his daughter perform her little act with faint amusement before nodding.

“Alright. Tell me the exact date. I’ll tell my secretary not to arrange anything that day and go take a look.”

Xie Wan had not expected to successfully trick her father into coming to school. Her eyes widened with delighted shock.

“Really?!”

Seeing how excited she was at the mere idea of him attending, Xie Li froze briefly before reflecting inwardly.

Ever since becoming secretary, he had been so busy he barely touched the ground. It had taken him a long time to sort out all the work and relationships surrounding the position.

Over the past year, he had not attended a single parent-teacher meeting or visited either child’s homeroom teacher.

No wonder Xie Wan had grievances.

Since work had recently become a little lighter, he might as well go this time.

At least the children would not need to scheme and trick him into attending anymore.

Smiling softly, Xie Li repeated his promise.

“Tell me the exact date. Even if something comes up, I’ll push it aside and attend your sports festival.”

Xie Wan’s eyes sparkled brightly.

She skipped happily out of the kitchen, practically jumping with excitement.

“Yay! Dad’s coming to our sports festival!”

Children who had not yet grown up probably all wished their parents would attend school events for them.

One smile erased all grudges.

Xie Wan instantly forgave her brother, cheerfully turning around to high-five Xie Zhenchen.

Xie Zhenchen no longer looked annoyed either. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Since he and Xie Wan attended the same middle school, he enthusiastically returned the high-five in celebration before happily scratching the back of his head.

Of course, that was not the end of it.

On the day of the sports festival, Li Tiantian appeared as well.

Because that evening, when she came home and heard about the matter at the dinner table, she smiled and said:

“I worked overtime all day just to make time to attend your sports festival. Now that your father’s going too, do you not want me there anymore?”

“How could that be?”

Xie Li placed food into her bowl while secretly signaling the children with his eyes.

“They definitely want you there too. Why don’t we all go together?”

Holding their rice bowls, Xie Wan and Xie Zhenchen immediately played along enthusiastically, nodding repeatedly.

“Mom should come too! Dad too! Our whole family should go together!”

Li Tiantian pretended to think it over seriously for a long while.

Then, seeing the eager anticipation in both children’s eyes, she suddenly laughed.

“Alright. Then our whole family will go together.”

The moment those words fell, everyone began eagerly looking forward to the arrival of sports festival day.

On the day of the sports festival, Xie Li drove Li Tiantian to the school.

Xie Wan stood at the school gate wearing a blue-and-white school uniform with her hair tied in a ponytail, craning her neck to look around eagerly. The moment she spotted the familiar car, she immediately waved and revealed a sweet, obedient smile.

The instant Xie Li stepped out of the car and saw her, the corners of his lips curved upward unconsciously.

Li Tiantian felt slightly jealous.

“Out of everyone in this family, you’ve always been the strictest with our daughter, yet she likes you the most.”

“Isn’t my strictness for her own good?” Xie Li extended his hand. “Come on. Don’t keep them waiting too long.”

Li Tiantian pursed her lips before breaking into a happy smile. She said nothing more and obediently looped her arm through his as they walked forward together.

“Wait, is that boy flirting with Wanwan?” Li Tiantian suddenly looked up and noticed something.

Following her gaze, Xie Li saw a tall, skinny boy in the same blue-and-white school uniform standing beside Xie Wan. His face still carried youthful immaturity, and as he spoke to her, his movements, eyes, and expressions were all filled with the shy awkwardness of someone facing the girl he liked.

Xie Li’s brows immediately lifted.

Even though he had not attended a parent-teacher meeting in over a year, he still recognized most of Xie Wan’s classmates. He was certain he had never seen this boy before.

Could this be the recently transferred Zhou Dongyu that Xie Zhenchen mentioned?

Xie Li approached with Li Tiantian just in time to hear the boy asking softly and somewhat bashfully:

“Wanwan, my parents couldn’t come to the sports festival this time, so my uncle came instead. Will your parents be coming?”

Xie Li sneered inwardly before stepping forward at exactly the right moment to interrupt them.

“Wanwan, is this your classmate?”

Zhou Dongyu had his back turned. Hearing the voice, he froze before turning around in confusion upon seeing Xie Li and Li Tiantian.

“You are Wanwan’s…”

“Dad, Mom, why are you so late?”

Xie Wan squeezed over impatiently, clinging to Xie Li with one arm and Li Tiantian with the other while acting spoiled affectionately.

Only after a long while did she finally remember Zhou Dongyu, who had been isolated outside their little family circle.

“Oh right. Let me introduce you. This is my classmate Zhou Dongyu.”

Zhou Dongyu nodded stiffly and shyly.

“Hello, Uncle. Hello, Auntie.”

Xie Li raised a brow.

So this really was Zhou Dongyu from their previous life.

Still, there were obvious differences now.

In this life, Xie Wan had grown up in the capital from childhood and attended an expensive private school. She was no longer the child from a single-parent family who only came to the capital at eighteen for university.

That meant her meeting with Zhou Dongyu had happened four years earlier.

And because of those four years, along with differences in family background, upbringing, personality, and circumstance, it seemed Xie Wan’s impression of Zhou Dongyu was not very good at all.

“Mom, Dad, hurry up. Brother’s three-thousand-meter race is about to start.”

While Xie Li was still thinking, Xie Wan suddenly tugged at him coquettishly from the side.

Xie Li smiled without exposing her lie.

He had timed their arrival carefully. There was still half an hour before the three-thousand-meter race began.

“Then let’s head over.”

Xie Wan brightened instantly before turning to Zhou Dongyu with an impatient fake smile.

“We’re leaving now, Zhou Dongyu. You can stay here and wait for your uncle.”

Zhou Dongyu froze for a moment, his eyes filled with reluctant disappointment.

“…Okay. You go ahead first.”

But before he even finished speaking, Xie Wan had already dragged Xie Li and Li Tiantian away impatiently. She did not hear a single word he said.

Not only did she not hear him, she chatted animatedly with her parents as they walked.

“Mom, Dad, you have no idea how hilarious brother was…”

Zhou Dongyu stood rooted to the spot, staring foolishly as the goddess in his heart walked away.

As if sensing something, Xie Li glanced back once and felt extremely satisfied.

It looked like his daughter truly did not like Zhou Dongyu at all.

…

Halfway through the sports festival, Zhou Dongyu arrived at the field with a young man accompanying him.

At that moment, Xie Li was busy watching his son running on the track and did not notice them.

By the time he realized, the young man had already sat down beside him.

Xie Li frowned subtly and discreetly examined both Zhou Dongyu and the young man.

“Secretary Xie?”

The young man turned toward him with a look of exaggerated surprise and extended his hand enthusiastically.

“You… why are you here too?”

A bad feeling immediately rose in Xie Li’s chest.

Wasn’t this the businessman who had tried to ask him for favors recently and gotten rejected?

The man was a real estate developer who had been bidding for a piece of land. Somehow, he had learned about Xie Li and approached him bearing gifts.

Xie Li had turned hostile on the spot, blacklisted him, and refused all future invitations.

Since the man could not enter the residential compound belonging to Xie Li’s work unit, he had eventually disappeared.

Xie Li had assumed the matter was over.

He had not expected to run into him here.

Could it be this nuisance still would not go away?

Sure enough, for the rest of the sports festival, the young man kept trying to ingratiate himself with Xie Li.

Xie Li responded formally:

“I’m here attending my child’s sports festival. Why don’t we discuss work matters another day?”

The young man smiled brightly and cheerfully replied:

“A sports festival? Your child attends this school too? What a coincidence. My nephew just transferred here a few days ago.”

Xie Li paused.

He studied the man carefully, increasingly convinced something was wrong.

“You sound as though you already knew my child attended this school.”

The young man froze briefly, seemingly unsure how to answer.

“I… I did know. What’s wrong?”

So Zhou Dongyu’s transfer was not an accident at all.

The Zhou family had deliberately sent him here to get close to Xie Wan and curry favor with him.

A trace of anger rose in Xie Li’s heart.

Fortunately, his daughter did not like Zhou Dongyu.

Otherwise, if things had gone the same way as in the previous life, and she had fallen in love at first sight only to later discover she had merely been used, would that not completely break her heart?

“It’s nothing. Let’s continue watching the competition.”

After saying that coldly, Xie Li turned back toward the field, already deciding in his heart that he would tell Xie Wan everything once they got home.

Because of his position, Xie Li never hid the darkness of the world from his children.

Whenever unpleasant matters arose, he would break everything down carefully and explain it to them so they would not grow up naïve and easily deceived.

Perhaps because of that, both children had developed an unusually sharp intuition from a young age. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. They could instinctively tell whether outsiders were good or bad, and the friends they made were all sincere people.

If he told Xie Wan about Zhou Dongyu after they returned home, it would basically be a death sentence for him.

Xie Wan had been raised to hate hypocrisy and exploitation more than anything else. Once she learned Zhou Dongyu had approached her with ulterior motives, she would never acknowledge him again.

Still…

Xie Li thought coldly to himself that this outcome was fine too.

Now he no longer needed to worry about how to separate his daughter from that scumbag before they fell in love.

Since he had already changed the fate where Xie Wan and Zhou Dongyu became lovers in the previous life, Xie Li could finally rest easy in this lifetime.

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