Be Careful, Scum Dad! Mommy Is Back!
Chapter 430: The Filter of Fatherly Love

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: The Filter of Fatherly Love

Ji Muye rarely revealed such open emotions in front of the children. Gone was his stern fatherly demeanor from earlier, and the smile at the corners of his mouth was impossible to suppress.

Ji Chao and Ji Ze exchanged a glance, silently sharing the thoughts in their minds.

So Dad was really looking forward to hearing his little sister call him "Dad."

Lu Xining walked over and took their daughter from Ji Muye’s arms. She noticed his radiant, spring-like smile but didn’t comment on their daughter’s instinctive use of "Dad" earlier.

She had already told him before—if their daughter was willing to acknowledge his identity, she wouldn’t stand in the way.

Ji Muye’s voice was low-pitched and magnetic, his eyes warm, filled with an irrepressible smile as he gazed at his daughter.

He turned to Lu Xining and said, "Nuonuo feels heavier than before. How about I carry her instead?"

Upon hearing her "cheap dad" suggest she had gained weight,

Little Dumpling, who had loved looking pretty since she was very young, immediately protested, "You’re lying! I’m not fat. Godmother said I’m skinny!"

Ji Muye hadn’t picked up on the underlying meaning in his daughter’s words and explained, "What Dad meant was... you’re only two years old, and being a little chubby means you’re growing well! If you’re chubby now, you’ll grow tall and strong later. No matter how heavy Nuonuo gets, Dad can always carry you!"

Lu Xining’s mouth twitched slightly. Was this really about whether he could carry her or not?

He truly had no idea what was bothering his daughter.

She quickly took the child from his arms and gently patted her on the back, reassuring her, "Nuonuo, darling, don’t listen to your dad’s nonsense. You’re definitely not fat. Mom can carry you with one hand—you’re as light as a feather, aren’t you?"

Little Dumpling immediately nodded in agreement, "Nuonuo’s not fat."

She had definitely fit into the new clothes her godmother bought her, so she hadn’t gained weight at all.

Ji Muye: "..." So where did it go wrong?

Lu Xining cradled the child and walked ahead, while Ji Muye, Ji Chao, and Ji Ze followed behind, pulling along the little toy car.

Noticing the bewildered look on his father’s face, Ji Ze tugged on Ji Muye’s shirt sleeve and said, "Dad, little sister’s a girl. She cares about her looks. How could you say she’s fat? You’re doomed—she probably won’t talk to you anymore."

The little girls in their kindergarten didn’t like being called fat either.

Don’t be fooled by Ji Muye’s authoritative fatherly demeanor during moments of discipline—Ji Ze wouldn’t dare say a word then.

But when he hadn’t done anything wrong, he would say whatever was on his mind to his dad without hesitation.

Getting scolded? He’d been used to it since he was little.

"Exactly, Dad. You know she always spends ages choosing skirts to wear,"

Ji Chao counted on his fingers and added, "And hair ties, and clips... oh, and her candy purse! Every time she wears her candy purse, it has to match the color of the skirt she’s wearing that day. Haven’t you noticed?"

The two sons’ words prompted Ji Muye to think back, and he realized they were right.

Was his precious moment of hearing the two "Dad" calls really gone that quickly?

Ji Muye looked ahead at his daughter clinging to Lu Xining’s neck. Her little face was as pale and soft as the moonlight, her eyes sparkling mischievously. When she saw him glance her way, she deliberately called out, "Uncle, cheap uncle—"

The corners of his mouth lifted, and he internally interpreted her words as: Dad, cheap dad.

Thinking about it like that made it sound much better.

Lu Xining slightly turned her head, watching her daughter teasing her father behind them. Her lips curled faintly. Both she and Ji Muye had reserved temperaments, and she often wondered who their lively daughter had inherited her upbeat personality from.

Probably her great-grandfather...

She’d heard that her grandfather had been quite mischievous in his younger days, relentless when pursuing his wife—a classic case of "a bold man chasing a stubborn beauty."

Ji Muye didn’t linger at the estate for long. He escorted Lu Xining and the three children to the manor’s gate before preparing to leave.

A black Maybach was parked nearby, positioned not too close to them.

The guards maintained a safe distance—not too near, not too far—to be ready in case anything happened.

He cherished the warmth of this moment.

But Ji Ze couldn’t stop himself from asking aloud, "Dad, after we go into the manor, can my brother and I drive the toy car the rest of the way inside?"

The manor gate was still a long way from the house.

The man’s faint smile disappeared as he turned to his youngest son and asked in return, "What do you think?"

"Uh... if it’s a no, it’s a no. But Dad, why do you have to use rhetorical questions? It makes me feel nervous. How will I ever help you out in front of Mom and little sister in the future? You’re no less prone to making mistakes in front of them than I am..."

Seeing their father’s expression darken, and noticing his younger brother hanging his head yet still mumbling on, Ji Chao quickly pulled his sibling behind him.

He glanced in the direction of the black Maybach. Knowing Uncle Ma Sai’s penchant for drama, if Dad didn’t have something important to attend to, he would’ve already turned off the engine and stepped out to watch the scene unfold up close.

But today, he hadn’t killed the engine.

Dad must have something pressing to do.

With a smile, Ji Chao said to Ji Muye, "Dad, you should go handle your work. My brother and I just wanted to see you, and little sister knows we wanted to see you too—that’s why she worked so hard to chase after the car. We won’t do anything so dangerous again; don’t worry."

The eldest son was always sensible and a bit more mature in his perspective.

Ji Muye crouched and patted his head, saying, "Once Dad finishes his work, I’ll come home and take you all out to play."

"Alright, we’ll wait for you to come home! And Dad, you should take care of yourself, too."

He didn’t know precisely what his father was busy with lately, but it was obvious his workload had greatly increased.

During school days, when they hadn’t yet gone on winter break, they rarely saw Dad. Even video calls and phone calls had significantly decreased.

Being as perceptive as Ji Chao was, he quickly realized this wasn’t something simple.

Whenever his younger brother missed their father and couldn’t resist trying to call him, Ji Chao would remind him to send a text first—so as not to disturb their father’s "work" with a sudden phone call.

Lu Xining released her daughter from her arms and helped untangle the child-sized toy car safety helmet from her head.

Little Dumpling spotted Ji Muye’s elongated shadow under the streetlight, rolled her eyes playfully, then shuffled forward in small steps. Out of his line of sight, she raised her tiny fists and pretended to "punch" the shadow under the streetlight, huffing and puffing like a fierce warrior.

The man caught her movements with a quick sideways glance, his eyes brimming with indulgence.

He even stepped forward slightly so his shadow drew closer to his daughter. Immediately, Little Dumpling’s eyes shone with excitement.

...Daughters really are adorable.

Ji Chao continued, "Dad, my brother, sister, and I will all miss you."

Miss him? Miss what?

Hearing her elder brother mention this, Lu Nuonuo immediately raised her head from the "grand shadow-punching operation" and declared loudly, "Nuonuo won’t miss him for now!"

After saying it, she thought her words sounded too absolute.

Well, maybe occasionally she would still think about him—but no way she’d let her "cheap dad" get too full of himself.

She quickly added, "Going forward... let’s see how Uncle performs, hmm?"

Since hearing his daughter call him "Dad" earlier, every word she said now was filtered through Ji Muye’s lens of paternal love.

With a smile tugging at his lips, he replied, "Alright. Dad will make sure to do well."