Chapter 36: PUA Man, Stay Away from My Daughter (Part 3)

After settling on the name, Xie Hui planned to register her household status.

This should have been done within a few days of her birth, but at that time, the original host was completely consumed by grief over losing his wife.

In the original host’s mind, this child was the one who had taken his wife’s life, so he couldn’t even be bothered to look at her properly, let alone put in any effort for her.

Once Xie Hui completed the registration, he headed to the company.

Unlike the emperor in his previous world, he wasn’t foolish enough to take everything upon himself.

The original host actually had a good relationship with his brother. While power struggles were common in large families, genuine brotherly affection wasn’t entirely absent.

According to the original host’s plans, his younger brother was supposed to use the family business as a foundation to establish his own company in a different industry, allowing him to develop his own career.

The original host had this idea in mind but hadn’t had the chance to implement it.

After all, even between blood brothers, too much entanglement in interests would eventually wear down their relationship.

The original host’s parents had a typical business marriage and lived separate lives after their wedding. Growing up in such an environment, the original host desperately craved a warm family, which was why, after losing his wife, he even came to resent his own daughter.

His father was a talentless spendthrift, but thankfully, both his sons turned out well.

Thinking about the original host’s memories of his brother, Xie Hui decided to find him.

Dressed in a black suit, he walked into one of the company’s departments and spotted Xie Lang sitting among the regular employees. He beckoned to him.

“Come here. I need to talk to you about something small.”

Xie Lang, who had been instructed by his older brother to conceal his identity and work his way up from an entry-level position, was stunned to see his brother suddenly showing up at the company like this.

It wasn’t until a colleague next to him nudged his shoulder and whispered, “Xie Lang, the boss is calling you! Hurry up and go!” that he snapped out of his daze.

Standing up, he walked over to Xie Hui. As soon as he reached him, his brother turned around and walked off, leaving Xie Lang momentarily speechless before following him.

They didn’t speak in the elevator since others were present.

It wasn’t until they arrived at Xie Hui’s office that Xie Lang finally asked, “Brother, what’s going on?”

Xie Hui absentmindedly rubbed the jade ring on his thumb while looking at his brother sitting on the sofa. He curled his lips into a smile.

Look at that. Such a good leek, ready for harvesting.

“I just wanted to talk to you about something small.”

Xie Lang rarely saw his brother being this pleasant toward him, which made him feel an inexplicable sense of unease. He forced a smile and asked, “What is it, Brother? Don’t be like this, you’re scaring me. Just say it directly.”

“I plan to hand over the company to you.”

This bombshell left Xie Lang completely dumbfounded.

Even though this wasn’t a feudal era, in families like theirs, unless the eldest son was utterly incompetent, the heir was almost never chosen from the younger siblings.

If a successor was to be selected, it would be the eldest son’s child, not the second son.

The family’s shares were always consolidated under one person, ensuring they had absolute authority in the company for easier decision-making.

The other children would receive money and assets and be supported in their own careers, but they could forget about touching any company shares.

Xie Lang had already planned to leave after gaining some experience in the company and pursue his passion for the gaming industry.

People often mocked him for lacking ambition, saying that in this era, he was just as much his parents’ son as his brother was—so why couldn’t he have a right to inherit the company?

But Xie Lang had never cared about such things. He even admitted he had no drive because, to him, his older brother was far more important than the family business.

“Brother, what do you mean by this?”

“Exactly what I said. I plan to hand over the family business to you.”

Xie Lang knew his brother was still grieving over his late wife, so he tried to be understanding. Otherwise, he would have already started yelling that he wasn’t interested.

“Brother, this is something we should carefully consider. After all… it’s not a small matter.”

He thought he was rejecting the offer quite tactfully, but to his surprise, Xie Hui reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Xie Lang, your little niece is incredibly attached to me. Ah… If you don’t want to manage the company, then I guess I’ll have to bring her with me to the office every day.”

That sentence instantly made Xie Lang recall the tiny baby he had seen in the hospital.

So small, her head didn’t even seem bigger than his fist.

In a moment of impulse, he agreed.

“Brother, if you trust me, then I’ll do it.”

Xie Hui’s lips curled slightly, and he patted Xie Lang’s hand.

“Of course I trust you. I believe you can handle it.”

It wasn’t until Xie Lang found himself sitting in his brother’s usual office chair, staring at the towering pile of documents on the desk, that he snapped back to reality.

He opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Xie Hui patted his shoulder.

“Xie Lang, I’m really counting on you. It’s my fault…”

This time, before his brother could finish, Xie Lang reached out and turned on the computer.

“Brother, don’t say that. You’ve done nothing wrong. Just focus on taking care of my little niece at home. I’ll make sure the company runs smoothly—you can count on me!”

“I’ll stay and teach you. If your little niece can’t find me, she’ll probably cry herself to sleep.”

Xie Lang had originally intended to nod, but upon hearing this, he stiffly changed it to shaking his head. He personally escorted Xie Hui to the car parked downstairs.

“Brother, don’t come to the company unless necessary. Take good care of my little niece.”

It was fortunate that it was Xie Lang—he still vividly remembered how, as a child, he had cried and begged his brother for their mother.

Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself. How could he bear to let his little niece experience the same thing?

Xie Hui waved at Xie Lang, watching as he turned away without hesitation, leaving him only with his back. The corners of Xie Hui’s lips curled slightly.

Earlier at the company, he had only been speaking casually, but unexpectedly, when he arrived home, he really did hear his daughter’s cries.

The two nannies took turns holding and soothing her, yet she continued wailing without stopping.

Xie Hui’s pace subtly quickened as he walked inside, took Qi An into his arms, and gently coaxed her. Before long, her crying stopped.

“Sir, the young lady is really close to you,” said Nanny Zhang.

Her words successfully pleased Xie Hui.

Though he knew his tiny daughter didn’t truly understand anything yet, that didn’t stop him from feeling delighted upon hearing this.

…

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the little one had reached her full-month milestone.

For the full-month celebration, Xie Hui didn’t throw a grand banquet—he simply called Xie Lang home for a meal.

Having been tormented by endless paperwork at the company, with the thought of quitting crossing his mind eight hundred times a day, Xie Lang felt a surge of renewed determination the moment he saw his little niece!

While Xie Hui reviewed the documents Xie Lang brought back, he sat on the sofa, long fingers holding a dark-colored folder, gold-rimmed glasses resting on his nose.

Even dressed in casual homewear, his natural air of authority made Xie Lang instinctively hold his breath, feeling like a student in front of a strict teacher.

After a month of professional care, Xie Qi An looked much healthier.

Feeling bored while his brother was focused on paperwork, Xie Lang didn’t dare mess around and instead turned his attention to teasing his little niece.

The tiny girl stared at him the moment he appeared, fixating her gaze on him.

When Xie Lang reached out a hand toward her, just like Xie Hui had done, Qi An instinctively grasped one of his fingers and gave him a toothless smile.

“Wow, Brother, An An is smiling at me? She doesn’t have teeth! She’s smiling even without teeth—ah, she’s drooling!”

Xie Lang frowned as he quickly wiped away her drool with a tissue, still not over his initial excitement.

Xie Hui flipped a page in the document and casually responded.

“Mm, An An only started smiling at people in the past few days.”

“When you were a month old, you didn’t have teeth either. Not only did you drool, but you even wet the bed.”

Xie Lang, who had just been happily sharing his joy with his brother, was instantly shut down by this personal attack.

A grown man having his childhood black history brought up—his ears started to burn with embarrassment.

Turning his head away, he saw his little niece lying in her crib, smiling at him. Her bare gums, without a single tooth, looked both amusing and heartwarming.

After finishing the document, Xie Hui took the bottle of formula prepared by the nanny, tested the temperature, placed it on the table, and then picked up his daughter.

Xie Lang, never having been around babies before, found everything fascinating.

Watching his niece suck on the bottle and gulp down the milk, he could even hear the little swallowing sounds. This filled Xie Lang with an inexplicable sense of pride.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his personal bias, but even watching his niece drink milk was unbearably adorable.

He reached out to touch her little hand but was met with a sharp glare from his brother.

Just a casual glance, yet it made Xie Lang instinctively withdraw his hand in fear.

“Don’t tease her right now, or she might spit up.”

Not knowing anything about raising kids, Xie Lang nodded obediently.

“Oh, I’ll remember that.”

After Qi An finished her bottle, Xie Hui expertly picked her up and patted her back to help her burp.

Watching his brother casually hold the baby, Xie Lang imagined himself doing the same and immediately chickened out.

No way—he wouldn’t dare. He was afraid he’d make her cry.

Most of the time, the little one didn’t like being held while sitting down. She was fine lying down as long as someone was playing with her.

After burping Qi An, Xie Hui noticed Xie Lang staring eagerly and asked in a low voice,

“Want to try holding her?”

Although Xie Lang was a little nervous, his excitement won out. He instinctively answered,

“Can I?”

“Mm.”

Xie Hui gently passed the baby girl over. Xie Lang carefully took her, his movements as stiff as could be.

Luckily, Qi An adapted well to being held by someone new. She even gave him a little smile.

Seeing her toothless gums, Xie Lang finally relaxed and grinned back at her.

But in the next second, Qi An’s mouth quivered, her eyes shut, and she burst into tears.

Xie Lang: !!!