Lin Chen brought Lin Xiaoxi back to the rental apartment.
"Daddy, why are we coming here again?"
"Aren't we moving tomorrow?"
Lin Xiaoxi asked in confusion.
Lin Chen smiled. "No one has lived here for a while. Xiaoxi, look—doesn't everything seem a little dusty?"
"Daddy has to clean the place up."
"That way, tomorrow all we need to do is move things over."
Lin Xiaoxi nodded. "Daddy, I'll help you!"
"Sure."
"With Xiaoxi helping, we'll definitely get it cleaned faster."
Lin Chen grinned.
Soon, Lin Chen rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
Lin Xiaoxi "helped" at the side.
She was only two years and two months old—tiny. How much help could she really be?But with her around, everything was filled with joy.
"Ding… Host, your physique +1."
"Today's physique increase has reached the daily limit of +3."
An hour later, the system's voice rang in Lin Chen's mind.
Lin Chen smiled.
Carrying Xiaoxi and doing housework—it was easy to reach the limit.From now on, he should be able to hit +3 physique every day.
"Xiaoxi, work is done!"
"We've cleaned it up pretty well."
Lin Chen mopped the last section of the floor and smiled.
Lin Xiaoxi beamed. "Daddy, you're amazing! I want tomorrow to come faster so we can move to our new home. Xiaoxi likes it here."
Lin Chen glanced around. After the cleaning, the place really did look better, and he was satisfied with the apartment in every way.
"I need to find a way to earn enough money to buy this place. If the landlord decides to sell it and we have to move again, Xiaoxi will definitely cry."
Lin Chen thought to himself.
Housing prices in the Magic City had dropped a bit. The average was 57,000 per square meter now. Ziyuan Community was high-end, so it was more expensive—over 80,000 per square meter. The total price of this apartment was 13 million.
"Xiaoxi, let's go."
"Daddy will cook something tasty for you when we get back."
Lin Chen picked Xiaoxi up and headed home.
There were some street vendors selling books, and Lin Chen bought a few storybooks.
"Daddy, can you read me one story first, please?"
Back home, Xiaoxi hugged a storybook and asked expectantly.
"Okay."
"But Daddy needs to put the rice on first."
Lin Chen laughed.
After starting the rice cooker, Lin Chen took Lin Xiaoxi to the balcony. His rental had a balcony, but it was quite small.
"Xiaoxi, this story is called The Ugly Duckling—"
Holding Xiaoxi in his arms, Lin Chen began to read slowly to her.
Five minutes passed.
"Ding… Host, your fairy tale reading volume and fairy tale creation ability have begun to increase."
"These are easier to improve than physique. After ten hours of storytelling, you will reach a high level."
Lin Chen replied in his mind, "System, that's too vague."
"One to five stars: One star—ordinary, two stars—proficient, three stars—master, four stars—grandmaster, five stars—great grandmaster, top world level is five stars. With ten hours, what level do I reach?"
System: "With ten hours, you reach grandmaster level. Twenty hours to reach great grandmaster level. Host, you will need higher tiers above that."
Lin Chen said, "Then… sixth tier: legendary. Seventh tier: mythical."
"Understood, Host."
"All abilities will follow the tiers you set."
The system sounded considerate.
Lin Xiaoxi tilted her head up at him and asked sweetly, "Daddy, why did you stop? Are you tired?"
Lin Chen smiled. "Daddy was just thinking of something—"
He continued reading.
A flood of story knowledge poured into his mind.
The system was increasing his reading volume and simultaneously enhancing his storytelling and creation skills.
These days, parents were willing to spend money on good children's literature. If he could publish a well-written story, he could earn quite a lot.
But before making money, he had to strengthen his abilities first.
After reading with Xiaoxi for half an hour, Lin Chen said with a smile, "Xiaoxi, can you read by yourself for a bit? Daddy needs to cook now. There'll be meat, your favorite."
"Okay!"
Half an hour later, dinner was ready.
"Daddy, it's so yummy!"
"Even tastier than lunch!"
Xiaoxi said happily after tasting the food.
Lin Chen placed some vegetables on her plate. "Xiaoxi, eat a little green veggies too. We can't be picky eaters."
"Daddy… I'll eat just a little, okay?"
"Just a little."
She really only ate the tiniest bit.
Lin Chen smiled.
Progress.At noon she hadn't eaten any at all.
After dinner, Lin Chen bathed Xiaoxi and changed her into pajamas.
Then he quickly showered himself.
"Xiaoxi, what's wrong?"
When he came out, he found Xiaoxi crying.
"Daddy… I miss Mommy…"
Tears hung on her little cheeks.
"Xiaoxi, Mommy will come see you in a few days, okay? Mommy is working now—we shouldn't disturb her while she's busy."
"Daddy will keep telling you stories!"
Lin Chen hugged her tightly.
Xu Mengyao hadn't added him on WeChat—they couldn't video call.Even with Xiaoxi staying with him, Xu Mengyao still refused to add him.That was enough to show she was still very resistant toward him.
Lin Chen didn't ask either; he didn't want to be rejected and embarrassed.
An hour later, Xiaoxi fell asleep listening to his stories.
"Having a precious daughter, awakening the system, improving my cooking, physique, and storytelling… what a perfect day."
Lin Chen smiled.
"System, if I go practice something else now, will new abilities appear?"
System: "Not if you force it. Host, your abilities will appear naturally as you accompany your child."
"Okay."
Lin Chen nodded.
That was fine—he didn't need to break his head figuring out how to level up.
...
"Mengyao, what's bothering you?"
"You have too much money and don't know how to spend it?"
Shen Qing, her best friend, asked.
Shen Qing came from a wealthy family, worth about 300 million.But compared to Xu Mengyao's wealth, that was nothing.
Mengyao's parents had built a massive empire for her.A year ago, when they handed the group over to her, it was worth 40–50 billion.
The Xu family held 51% of the shares.
Mengyao was capable and also lucky.After her parents stepped away and went abroad, the group's assets grew to 60 billion.
The Xu family's portion alone was worth 30 billion.
Mengyao was an only child—she would inherit all of it.
"I sent Xiaoxi to stay with Lin Chen."
Mengyao took a sip of wine.
"What?"
Shen Qing stared at her in shock.
As Mengyao's best friend, she knew about what happened back then.
"Mengyao… do you want to be with Lin Chen?"
Mengyao shook her head. "I have no such thought. He and I are from two different worlds. We're not suitable."
"It's because Xiaoxi wants her dad."
"She's over two years old now. She's starting to understand things. When she sees other kids with their dads, she gets very jealous. When other kids say she doesn't have a dad, she gets sad."
Shen Qing asked, "Mengyao, haven't you ever thought of getting married?"
Mengyao replied, "I probably can't have another child. If I find someone to marry, the chances of him cheating are sky-high."
"Besides… having Xiaoxi is enough for me."
Shen Qing asked, "Lin Chen is Xiaoxi's father, so what are you worried about? He's him, you're you. You share a child—there's no issue."
Mengyao said softly, "I'm worried about Xiaoxi."
"Can Lin Chen really take good care of her?"