Chapter 35: PUA Man, Stay Away from My Daughter (2)…

After being tormented all night, Xie Hui placed his hand on her shoulder, gave her a slight push, and even heard the little rascal let out a tiny, arrogant snore.

For a moment, he didn’t dare to push her again, afraid she’d wake up and start crying all over again.

Rubbing his temples lightly, exhausted from yet another sleepless night, Xie Hui tiptoed out of the room, returned to his bedroom, took a hot shower, changed into dry, soft pajamas, and collapsed into bed, instantly falling into a deep sleep.

When he woke up in the afternoon, Xie Hui got out of bed and, before even washing up, went straight to the nursery on the same floor. Seeing that she was still asleep, he walked over and tested her forehead temperature.

Confirming that she wasn’t running a fever, he let out a small sigh of relief. Just to be sure, he took out a thermometer from the cabinet, measured her temperature, and finally relaxed.

After handling all that, he went back to wash up and change. While heading downstairs, he instructed the butler to buy a crib that afternoon and place it in the room next to his. Preferably one with wheels—if the nanny didn’t take good care of the baby, he could just roll her into his own room.

“Sir, regarding the nanny you asked for earlier, I’ve found five suitable candidates. Would you like to meet them first and decide which one to hire?”

Hearing this while drinking water, Xie Hui originally intended to keep all five. Since the little one wasn’t breastfed, he needed to be extra cautious.

But before he could say it out loud, he furrowed his brows and changed his mind.

“Bring them over tonight. I’ll see which one is the best fit.”

Since these candidates were personally selected by the butler, Xie Hui trusted his judgment—they were likely all competent.

Still, picking the one with the best rapport seemed like the smarter choice.

When it came to raising a child, more people didn’t necessarily mean better. Even if they were all professionals, there would inevitably be disagreements over small matters.

“Understood, sir. Would you like the crib to be custom-made? And how many should we buy?”

As the housekeeper spoke, the maids brought out the food that had been kept warm in the kitchen. Xie Hui sat at the dining table, picked up his chopsticks, thought for a moment, and replied:

“No need for a custom order, just buy ready-made ones. Hmm… get two—one for the room next to mine and another for the study.”

“Yes, sir.”

The original host managed a massive corporation and had a strong sense of control, always keeping everything tightly in his grasp.

After eating, Xie Hui started working and finally understood why emperors in his previous world were so eager to retire.

Just as he finished reviewing a document, there was a knock on the door. The maid he had seen at the hospital before entered, holding the tiny baby in her arms, rocking her constantly, her face anxious.

“Sir, I can’t get her to stop crying.”

Seeing how forcefully she was shaking his daughter, Xie Hui’s brows knitted together. He set down the document, got up, and took the baby from her.

He wasn’t sure if rocking a baby to stop them from crying was scientifically sound. But if he put himself in the baby’s shoes, he figured it wouldn’t feel very comfortable.

Even in his arms, the baby didn’t stop crying. Xie Hui patiently soothed her while glancing at the maid and asking:

“Did you change her diaper? Did you feed her formula?”

“I changed her diaper, but she refuses to drink the formula.”

From what Xie Hui could tell, she was likely hungry. Listening to her weak cries, he frowned and carried her downstairs.

Checking the formula the maid had prepared earlier, he noticed a few clumps at the bottom of the bottle and frowned even more deeply.

Even if he had never prepared baby formula before, he knew it should be fully dissolved. It was obviously not suitable for such a young baby.

Although he was frustrated, he knew he couldn’t blame the maid—after all, based on the original host’s memories, this maid’s usual job was just cleaning the house.

“You can go back to your duties. I’ll take care of this.”

Xie Hui knew he needed to stay calm, but it was hard not to be anxious. His cold demeanor made the maid even more nervous, and she quickly excused herself.

“Don’t cry, okay?”

Xie Hui clumsily comforted her, and even he found himself amused by his own words. It’d be absurd if she actually understood him.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Daddy’s making your formula now.”

He placed her gently in the crib and quickly got to work—cleaning and sterilizing the bottle, heating water to the perfect temperature, and carefully measuring the formula according to the instructions on the can.

After confirming there were no clumps at the bottom of the bottle, he squeezed out a drop onto the back of his hand to check the temperature before finally picking her up again.

In his first world, when Xie Hui was raising Xie Ze, that clingy little rascal, he could effortlessly cook with one hand while holding the kid in the other.

But in this world, looking at this tiny, frail baby—small as a kitten—he had to handle her with extreme caution. One-handed holding? Not a chance.

Maybe she was starving—when the bottle came close, she immediately started drinking obediently.

Xie Hui sat on the sofa, one hand supporting her head, the other holding the bottle, adjusting the angle carefully to prevent her from swallowing air.

She drank over half the bottle, and when she wanted more, Xie Hui hesitated.

Since he had added a little extra water, he was afraid she’d get an upset stomach if she drank too much at once. It was better to wait and feed her again later rather than letting her finish the whole bottle now.

Perhaps because she was finally full, the little one stopped crying and, to his surprise, even opened her eyes a bit, staring right at him.

Earlier, Xie Hui’s actions had all been clumsy. If he had to describe it, it was like trying to pick up a delicate piece of tofu from a plate with just one hand.

Careful and gentle, yet still worried that he might accidentally hurt the fragile little one.

When Xie Hui reached out his hand, the baby grasped one of his fingers. She didn’t have much strength, but the feeling was incredibly special.

“You little thing.”

After playing with her for a while, Xie Hui suddenly remembered that he needed to burp her. He held her in his arms and awkwardly patted her back.

She clearly didn’t find the position comfortable—she refused to cooperate at all.

She was so tiny, yet after just a few minutes, Xie Hui’s palm was already sweaty from the effort.

If not for the fact that he remembered the butler had gone to the store to buy a crib, Xie Hui might have actually called him back to arrange for the nannies to meet them first.

The little one had no idea how much trouble she was causing. Every time Xie Hui extended his hand, she would shakily grab onto one of his fingers.

Such a simple, childish game, yet Xie Hui could play with her for a long time without getting bored.

After a while, she suddenly spit up a few mouthfuls of milk, dirtying her clothes. She wrinkled her little nose and started crying.

Xie Hui patiently soothed her while clumsily changing her clothes, but even after she was clean again, she kept crying.

She’d cry until she got tired, rest for a bit, and then start crying again.

Xie Hui was running around constantly—it was more exhausting than being an emperor in his past life.

Eventually, the little one seemed to tire herself out and fell asleep in Xie Hui’s arms.

Finally able to rest, Xie Hui planned to put her down in the crib. But the moment he laid her down and was about to withdraw his hands, he saw her little mouth quiver, on the verge of bursting into tears.

Hurriedly, he scooped her back up and paced around the room, listening to her steady breathing. He let out a helpless sigh.

She really was a little ancestor.

The butler, as efficient as ever, had the crib delivered in no time. A few minutes later, workers arrived to set it up. Once everything was in place, the sky had already darkened. Xie Hui ate a few bites of dinner while holding the baby.

That night, the butler brought the nannies over.

The five nannies were all wearing uniforms from the same company. They looked honest and professional.

Xie Hui noticed that three of them had neatly trimmed nails. He gestured for the butler to dismiss the two whose nails were too long and had manicures.

Then, after a closer look, he also sent away the one wearing light makeup.

Xie Hui had no issue with women wanting to look good—age didn’t matter. Even nannies in their thirties or forties could enjoy beauty. But it depended on the profession.

The little one’s skin was so delicate that even a gust of wind made Xie Hui worry it might hurt her.

Makeup wasn’t something that left a good impression on him during an interview. He was concerned about the chemicals in cosmetics—who knew if they would be harmful to a newborn?

Even Xie Hui wasn’t immune to such worries.

His tiny daughter was so fragile—he worried about everything.

The remaining two seemed fine. In the end, Xie Hui decided to keep them both.

At first, he had thought that having too many people caring for the baby might lead to disagreements. But now, he figured it was better to have two so they could keep an eye on each other.

After all, people weren’t perfect. There would always be things they might overlook.

Right now, while she was still small, it wasn’t too much of an issue. But when she grew older—able to crawl and run around—she would need even more supervision.

“Your company’s standard rate is thirty thousand per month, right? For taking care of my daughter, I’ll add an extra twenty thousand as a bonus. Please take good care of her.”

As long as they could look after his daughter properly, Xie Hui didn’t mind paying more.

“Rest assured, sir. We will take excellent care of Miss.”

Xie Hui gave a slight nod and had the butler take them away. During work hours, they were to change into the uniforms the butler had prepared.

Once the nannies were settled, Xie Hui carried his daughter upstairs.

She lay quietly in his arms, her eyes wide open and obedient.

At that moment, Xie Hui remembered that he still hadn’t decided on a name for her.

She wasn’t a tool for the original owner to mourn his late wife—she should have a life of her own.

“I’ll call you Xie Qi’an.”

A name that meant praying for her peace and safety.

As a father, that was his most sincere wish.

—

#Footnotes:

—”Little ancestor” is often used as an affectionate or exasperated term for a child, especially one who is mischievous, demanding, or hard to handle. It conveys a mix of love and playful frustration, as if the child holds as much power over the adults as an honored elder would.

For example, in the context of childcare, a parent or guardian might say, “This little ancestor won’t let me sleep!” to express how much attention and effort the child requires.