Chapter 325 - Yang Hongzhi

"Li, so, is this the guy you've asked to be Xiao Bei's daddy? Mmm, he looks pretty decent and quite handsome, to be honest. Such a fine man, why, I might even want to have a taste of him!" The woman tilted her head slightly as she stole a glance at Xiao Luo, and gave him an affectionate smile.

Xiao Luo ignored her tease and kneeled to hug Su Xiaobei, who had just run up to him.

"He's Xiao Luo."

Su Li mentioned his name to the charming woman but did not introduce the two. In her mind, there was no need for Xiao Luo to make acquaintance with any of her friends as his job was to be with Su Xiaobei.

The charming woman did not introduce herself to Xiao Luo as well and changed the topic. "Let's go, it's been a while since I last played tennis with you, I'm getting really rusty!"

Su Li nodded.

After checking with Xiao Luo for his availability, she asked him to come along with them as she planned to bring Su Xiaobei with her to the tennis court.

They went in a black limousine, and Luo Pingxiang drove with Xiao Luo, Su Li and Xiao Bei aboard, while the charming woman drove herself in a Ferrari sportscar.

"Oh, Sis, did sis Qingyan get a new car again? I haven't seen this Ferrari before," Luo Pingxiang asked.

Su Li was hugging Su Xiaobei in the backseat, and she replied, "She's very passionate about cars, there are twenty limited edition cars in her garage, this 599 GTB Fiorano is just one of them and the latest model."

"Sis Qingyan's surely wealthy, I'd be satisfied to have even a thousandth of her wealth," Luo Pingxiang said, her words full of admiration and respect.

Xiao Luo sat in the front passenger seat and was utterly disinterested in the conversation. After it ended, he turned around to face Su Li and said, "Ms. Su, I've thought about it, the monthly salary of two hundred thousand…"

"Do you think it's too little?"

Su Li frowned and cut him off coldly. Her first thought was that this man was a money-grubbing jerk who actually thought that two hundred thousand was too little.

"You misunderstand, I was about to say that you can take back my salary."

"Take back? You mean you don't want to be remunerated?" Su Li asked. She was a little confused, and a frown was forming on her face.

Xiao Luo nodded. "Yes. The apartment you've arranged for me would cost at least three thousand a day if rented out so that totals up to about ninety thousand bucks every month. I would think that is sufficient remuneration already, wouldn't you?"

Su Li looked dubiously at Xiao Luo as she contemplated his motives. Why would a man who used to live in a filthy slum in Jiangcheng reject a two-hundred-thousand monthly salary? Shouldn't he be merrier if there was more, and how does waiving his remuneration make any sense?

She made up her mind. "There's no such need, and everything shall proceed as laid out in our agreement, you don't have to feel guilty about it. I wouldn't have asked you to do this if Su Xiaobei had not grown so fond of you, let alone offering you such a high salary."

"It seems that I should be very grateful for Su Xiaobei then!"

******

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The two cars reached Eden's Garden at the same time. The place was located in an upmarket part of Xiahai.

Xiao Luo knew the area like the back of his hand. It was a haven for the rich and famous, and everywhere one went, villas worth hundreds of millions stood majestically. The villas were spaced at least one mile apart, which guaranteed complete privacy and for the owners, a retreat from prying eyes and the daily grind.

Shen Qingyan had a villa here, and her home address had the number 88.

This villa itself had a built-up area of at least six hundred square meters and was complemented by a private pool, a tennis court, a basketball court, and an expansive and well-manicured garden. There were red sandalwood trees, red maple trees, and silver firs—the cost of all these transplanted trees alone came up to five million in total.

It went without saying that Shen Qingyan was indeed affluent!

When they got out of the car, Luo Pingxiang intimated some information about Shen Qingyan to Xiao Luo. Shen Qingyan was the president of Huayao Corporation, whose investments were primarily in the medical field, which included medical appliances and the R&D of new therapeutics. The Huayao Corporation headquarters was located in Xiahai, but they had branch offices nationwide, and their products were even sold overseas. Huayao Corporation was, without question, a leading organization to be reckoned with.

Shortly after, another person arrived to join them.

He was a young man, and he came with two bodyguards.

He was fair of complexion and sported a short-cropped hair with a fade. He was a handsome man with refined features and exuded natural confidence that gave him a touch of class. Such a man obviously belonged to a wealthy and reputable family.

"It's Yang Hongzhi."

Luo Pingxiang did not look very pleased when she saw him. "He has been chasing after sis Li, but she's not too fond of him and even rejected him a few times. He's still shamelessly trying for her, but sis can't do much about it. She can't afford to offend him as his father is the biggest shareholder in the corporation, and offending them would not be a good idea. She might be treated coldly in the company and even lose her position."

"Oh."

Xiao Luo was not too interested in such trivia, so he took Su Xiaobei's hand and brought her for a stroll in the garden close to the tennis court.

"Mr. Xiao, sis wants us to go over there," Luo Pingxiang called out to him when she saw Su Li waving them over.

"Let's go then."

Su Xiaobei reached out with her little arms, beckoning to Xiao Luo, "Daddy, carry me on your back!"

Xiao Luo kneeled and let the girl hop on his back, then started running with her clinging on tightly. She could not stop laughing all the way to the court.

"This is…" Yang Hongzhi asked, giving Xiao Luo the once-over.

"He's my daddy!"

Su Xiaobei answered cheerfully before anyone else could.

"Huh?"

Yang Hongzhi turned to Su Li and looked somewhat confused.

Shen Qingyan smiled and said, "Li just hired him." Then leaning toward him, she whispered in his ear, "I have no idea what's wrong with Xiaobei, she seems to be very attached to this guy and thinks that he's her daddy. Li hired him to be Xiaobei's surrogate father for her sake."

"I see…"

Yang Hongzhi nodded, mentally striking Xiao Luo off his greeting list, and immediately gave his attention to Su Xiaobei instead. "Hello again, Xiaobei!"

Su Xiaobei hid behind Xiao Luo, appearing a little timid and shy.

"Say hi to uncle Yang." Su Li said.

"Hi, uncle Yang," Su Xiaobei said, her voice no louder than the buzz of a mosquito.

"Oh, Xiaobei, you're such a good girl!"

Yang Hongzhi patted Su Xiaobei's head. "It's been a while since we last met, do you miss uncle Yang?"

Su Xiaobei shook her head and made no attempt at eye contact.

Her reaction made Yang Hongzhi feel a little hurt.

Su Xiaobei tightened her arms around Xiao Luo's neck as she pulled herself to his ear and whispered, "Daddy, can we play over there?"

"Okay." Xiao Luo agreed.

Seeing how close the two were, Yang Hongzhi was dumbfounded. He had given Su Xiaobei everything a girl would want and frequently bought her toys and sweets, yet this little girl was still very distant. Seeing Su Xiaobei show so much affection to Xiao Luo made him feel quite upset.

"Xiaobei, you are mistaken, he's not your daddy."

He planned to marry Su Li one day, and it wouldn't do him any good if Su Xiaobei kept calling someone else daddy. He was extremely agitated when he heard her call Xiao Luo daddy.

"He is!" Su Xiaobei suddenly found her voice, and she was adamant.

"You don't even know which slum he came from, so how can you call him daddy? Xiaobei, I understand that you want to have a daddy, uncle Yang will treat you like my own daughter. And in the future, you can treat uncle Yang as your daddy, okay."

Xiao Luo could sense that she was going to cry and thought it best that he spoke up. "She will understand that when she grows up eventually, correcting her now will confuse her."

…