There was no way those Xu family relatives could have imagined that Qi Du, a family head, would speak so crudely.
Sometimes, a person really can’t be too moral. To deal with shameless people, you have to be even more shameless.
The Xu family member whose words he had cut off now had a face flushed green and red, his nose practically twisted with anger.
Xu Yangxia stared blankly at the handsome uncle holding him, feeling sour and bitter inside. For no reason at all, he suddenly wanted to cry.
Qi Du simply couldn’t stand seeing a child being wronged. He banged his water glass on the table, startling everyone into a jolt.
Before they could recover from his earlier words, Qi Du spoke again. “Hey! You over there, give Little Treasure’s toys back!”
Xu Yangxia’s cousin immediately refused. “I won’t! I won’t! They’re mine! The little train and Ultraman are mine!”
“Xu Yangxia, you orphan! My mom said you don’t deserve these toys. Your parents are dead, so all of this is mine from now on!”
A brat doesn’t think about what he says. He blurts out vicious words without even realizing how much they can hurt others.
That cousin shouted and cried, throwing a tantrum on the floor like a dead dog. Not only did he refuse to return the toys to Xu Yangxia, he even slammed the little train hard onto the ground.
0617 immediately got anxious. 『Hey, this damn kid has no manners at all!』
Xu Yangxia’s eyes turned red too. He hadn’t spoken much since Qi Du arrived, but now he was truly anxious. “No, no… Mom bought those for me.”
He was a little afraid of Qi Du. He wanted to get down, but the man’s big hands held him firmly. He shifted uncomfortably, his hands instinctively grabbing Qi Du’s sleeve. “Mom, Mom bought them for Xiaxia.”
Qi Du had never really comforted a child before. Seeing Little Treasure leaning in his arms with reddened eyes, soft and pitiful, tears streaming down in a panic, his heart was full of anxiety and helplessness.
“Okay, okay, don’t cry, don’t cry. Dad will get revenge for you!”
He fumbled to wipe Xu Yangxia’s tears while frantically communicating with 0617 in his mind. “Damn it! I need backup!”
“0617! How do you comfort a kid…”
『Just do this first, then do that, and it’ll be fine!』
Qi Du couldn’t help cursing. “Are you even speaking human language?”
“You need to show up fresh and bright with your new body right now! I’ve never seen anyone make a husband raise a kid all by himself.”
0617’s face reddened and he bristled. 『Who are you calling husband? Have some shame!』
Qi Du had no time to argue with 0617 about who was whose husband. He grabbed a couple of tissues and roughly wiped Xu Yangxia’s tears, then stood up in anger.
His height was incredibly intimidating. Xu Yangxia’s uncle and his family were terrified. “W-What do you think you’re doing?”
“Hitting someone is against the law!”
Qi Du sneered. “You’re pathetic. Raising a kid who’s nothing but a waste of money with no mother to teach him. Forget about now, even if he chased after my kid for ten years, he wouldn’t be worthy of touching a single hair on his head.”
“You crawling fools love lying on the ground so much. Guess your brains aren’t fully developed, so standing up gives you oxygen deprivation, right?”
“As expected, like father, like son. Parents who aren’t human raise children who are scum from the gutters…”
Qi Du wasn’t just fierce when fighting; he was even better at cursing.
0617’s ears were filled with filth. He quickly stopped him. 『Enough, enough. Stop cursing. Little Treasure will pick up bad habits!』
Qi Du ignored 0617’s nagging. He reached out and covered Xu Yangxia’s ears, letting the boy lean against his shoulder so both ears were blocked, then launched into an endless tirade.
With that outrageously handsome face and towering stature, going head-to-head with people like this, his combat power was absolutely unmatched.
The Xu family members couldn’t get a single word in. They were all left stifled, hearts ashen, faces full of resentment.
After Qi Du finished his rant, he glanced at the brat lying on the floor, then turned and slapped the boy’s father twice across the face. “If the son is not taught, the father is at fault.”
“If I don’t hit the young one, am I supposed to spare the old one?”
“Do I, Qi Du, look easy to push around? You let your son pull this shameless stunt… You’ve got guts. Don’t come crying to me later.”
His two slaps made Xu Yangxia’s uncle’s cheeks swell up high. The man was dazed. His wife was terrified too. She hugged her son close, covering her mouth, not daring to say a single word.
Qi Du still seemed restless and irritable, as if he hadn’t vented enough. He bent down, picked up the little male lead’s train model, and stuffed it into his arms. “It’s a little broken. Have 0617… ah, I mean, have your mom fix it for you later.”
“If that doesn’t work, Dad will buy you a new one.”
“A real man doesn’t cry, all right?”
He really wasn’t good at comforting people, but the male leads of angst novels chosen by the plot were generally very well-behaved, smart, and sensible from a young age, which made things much easier.
Xu Yangxia was only five, but even a child could sense kindness. Although the fierce-looking uncle in front of him seemed intimidating and hard to get along with, he had stood up for him ever since walking into the house and even gotten back his mother’s clothes. In his heart, this uncle was already much better than most people.
Just then, the takeout 0617 had ordered for the little male lead arrived. It was from a high-end restaurant with professional delivery, and the staff member was very attentive.
After laying out a nutritionally balanced, exquisitely prepared kids’ meal on the table, Qi Du turned around and, urged by 0617, set Xu Yangxia down at the table.
Qi Du glanced at him. “You know how to eat by yourself, right?”
Xu Yangxia nodded.
He secretly felt that this uncle’s question was pretty stupid.
Seeing that he could manage on his own, Qi Du breathed a sigh of relief. “Damn, at least I don’t have to spoon-feed him. 0617, hurry up. A single-parent family won’t do. A child’s growth needs both parents working together.”
0617: …
『You sound like a resentful husband right now.』
Qi Du: “Oh, so you’re an expert now???“
They bickered telepathically for a bit. Xu Yangxia, unaware that Qi Du was frantically trying to convince the system to become his stepmother, sat down. At first, he was still a little restrained.
He sneaked a few glances at the fierce-looking uncle. Seeing that the man wasn’t going to say anything, he picked up his little spoon and began obediently eating.
He hadn’t had a proper meal in a long time. Those relatives hadn’t bothered with him at all. Even though he sat at the dining table, the dishes never came within his reach.
The house had been noisy and chaotic the whole time. Except for the nanny who used to work there and was kind enough to leave him some small bread and crackers, no one else remembered him.
The Cheng family next door had sent someone to check on him early on, but it was all just for show. No one genuinely cared about him.
Having gone days without even a single warm meal, the little male lead now inexplicably felt like crying.
Qi Du’s handling of the Xu family was utterly merciless. The Cheng family, who had originally wanted to take Xu Yangxia away, now couldn’t bring themselves to speak up.
After a long silence, it was Madam Cheng who stammered, “Um, Mr. Qi, would you mind showing us your guardianship agreement?”
“To be honest, our Cheng Huan and Xiaxia have been engaged since childhood. According to custom, we should be the ones to take the child with us.”