Be Careful, Scum Dad! Mommy Is Back!
Chapter 431: Cheap Dad Uses Trickery

Chapter 431: Chapter 431: Cheap Dad Uses Trickery

Seeing she couldn’t outtalk her "discount dad," Lu Nuonuo immediately thought of seeking help from Mom.

She nestled into Lu Xining’s arms and whispered, "Mom, discount dad is cheating. I’m not playing with him anymore."

Every time her daughter said she wouldn’t pay attention to someone anymore, she’d forget her harsh words moments later and happily play with them again.

Lu Xining shook her head.

His worry about his daughter being easily "tricked away by young scoundrels" in the future grew a little deeper.

"Alright, Nuonuo can play with whoever she wants."

She was just about to take off the suit jacket draped over her daughter’s shoulders and return it to Ji Muye, figuring he must have other important matters to handle and wearing only a shirt would be inappropriate. But Ji Muye stopped her.

"The luggage is in the trunk; there are clean clothes inside. Let Nuonuo keep wearing this jacket for now."

"The night wind is chilly, and she was panting and huffing chasing the car a while ago. Who knows if she was sweating or not? With the jacket on, I’ll feel more at ease."

Ji Ze, who had just secretly handed the rope of the pedal car to the nearby security uncle, reflexively asked after hearing his dad’s words, "Dad, why don’t you worry about whether my brother and I were sweating? Boys sweat more easily, you know."

Ji Muye: "Boys also get smacked more easily."

"!!!" Ji Ze instantly regretted talking too much.

He grinned sheepishly at Ji Muye, trying to mask the awkwardness, "Dad, uh... I didn’t say anything just now, okay?"

His clear and bright eyes glimmered with intelligence and mischief under the moonlight.

Ji Ze deliberately covered his mouth with his hand, coughing as a hint to Ji Muye, "Dad, you said there’s a limit of one smack per day. You’ve already hit me once today, so you can’t smack me again. Even though I’m thick-skinned, I can’t handle two rounds a day."

"...If you hit me again, I’ll call Great Grandpa and have him deal with you."

The latter part of the sentence grew quieter and quieter.

At the end, he quickly hid behind his brother for protection, just in case.

Even though every time he got smacked, it was because he asked for it, Ji Ze would always forget the pain after healing and would bounce back for more mischief.

Ji Muye shot him a look, and Ji Ze shrank his neck, sensing that his brother might not be able to protect him this time. He quickly darted behind his mom and peered at his dad with a nervous smile.

Dealing with his youngest son’s antics was often an exhausting challenge for Ji Muye.

Fortunately, despite his playful nature, his heart remained pure and kind.

"Ji Ze..."

"Dad, you don’t need to say it. I can recite it all by heart."

He straightened up, cleared his throat, and began reciting every word Ji Muye would always say whenever he left, "Ji Ze, you aren’t allowed to cause trouble, you must listen to Great Grandpa, no skipping class, remember to finish your homework..."

With an impressive memory, Ji Ze repeated every word he’d heard in the past without a single error.

Just as he was about to continue reciting to prove he’d remembered everything, Ji Chao and Lu Nuonuo simultaneously reached out and covered his mouth.

Ji Ze: "Mmph? Mmm mmph..."

"Brother, stop talking, or your butt’s gonna get smacked again," Nuonuo warned him.

Ji Chao also joined in, "Little brother, you really shouldn’t say any more."

If he kept going, he’d probably end up sleeping facedown tonight.

Ji Ze: "???" What’s that supposed to mean?

Seeing the frantic exchange of meaningful looks from his brother and sister, Ji Ze was still a bit confused: Wait, he really did remember everything his dad said, and he just wanted to save him some saliva by not having to repeat it again—how was that wrong?

He felt a headache creeping on, like his brain was growing a tiny bit smarter.

Watching the two little troublemakers covering for each other, Ji Muye couldn’t help but smile wryly in his heart.

He turned his gaze to the side. Lu Xining was watching the three siblings banter with great interest. Her eyes were soft. "Xining, looking after the three kids must be tough for you. I’ll do my best to return soon to be with them."

She lifted her head to look at him, her expression calm. "They’re my children too. It’s not about what’s tough or not."

"Focus on your work. I’ll protect all three of them."

In the man’s eyes was a deeply hidden and unreadable expression, as though he was etching her figure into his mind. This mission he was undertaking now was among the top-level confidential operations. Whether he’d be able to return, or when, even he couldn’t say.

Ji Muye’s voice grew hoarse: "I’m leaving."

She nodded, then spoke to the three children, "Nuonuo, Xiao Chao, Xiao Ze, say goodbye to Dad."

Ji Chao and Ji Ze chorused together, "Goodbye, Dad."

Lu Nuonuo was just about to chime in with "Goodbye, Dad," but then remembered "discount dad’s" earlier "cheating" behavior.

She hesitated for a moment, and only after her two brothers finished speaking did she loudly say, "Goodbye, Uncle! Remember to come home to see my brothers!"

Ji Muye hugged each of the three children.

When he finally hugged the little dumpling, she seemed to catch on to the unusual mood of his departure, sensing something wasn’t quite right this time.

Lu Nuonuo stood on tiptoes and whispered near his ear, "Uncle, you have to come back soon to see my brothers. They’ll miss you a lot."

"When you come back next time, I’ll call you..."

She stopped herself mid-sentence, intentionally acting mysterious and blinking at him knowingly.

A "you-know-what-I-mean" kind of look.

Ji Muye gently smoothed down her hair, messy from the wind. Thinking about it, he realized it had been a long time since he’d properly looked at his daughter.

Little Dumpling had grown a bit more.

They say sons resemble their mothers and daughters resemble their fathers.

Perhaps because of his paternal filter, which had become stronger over time, Ji Muye felt that his daughter looked increasingly like him, stirring up some rather complicated emotions within.

"Nuonuo, Dad will do his best to come back to see you all. Be good and listen to your mom, alright?"

Little Dumpling beamed brightly and replied, "Nuonuo is always good!"

Warm moments like these always seem so fleeting.

The black Maybach glided through the night toward the airport.

Lu Xining and the three children stood at the manor gates, watching Ji Muye leave.

Seeing the reluctance in Ji Chao and Ji Ze’s eyes, she stroked their cheeks and reassured them, "Xiao Chao, Xiao Ze, Dad will visit you when he’s finished with work. Don’t be sad, okay?"

Lu Nuonuo also jumped in to comfort them, "Brothers, don’t be sad, okay? Nuonuo and Mom will be here with you."

"Mom, Sis, we’re not really sad, it’s just..."

Ji Chao paused, then scratched his hair uneasily, "It’s just that this time, Dad’s departure feels different. It doesn’t feel the same as before."

His eyes held a trace of worry. "I can’t quite explain it, Mom, but do you think Dad’s work this time is going to be dangerous?"

At first, he assumed it was just himself feeling this way. Turns out, the other kids had felt it too.

She crouched down and pulled all three children into a hug, soothing them, "Don’t worry, your dad is very capable. He’ll be fine. Your grandmother in heaven will always protect him."

"It’s late now. Let’s go inside and rest, alright?"

From the manor gates to the castle doors was still a long way off. If they walked back, it would take quite a while.

"Sis, Nuonuo, Xiao Chao, Xiao Ze, over here."

Jing Zheng had already pulled up in the car to pick them up but had held back earlier when he saw Ji Muye getting "clingy" with the kids. Interrupting would have been too disrespectful.

He made this concession out of consideration as an uncle, since Ji Chao and Ji Ze were particularly lovable.

Otherwise, for all of Ji Muye’s past actions toward his sister, he’d long since...

Jing Zheng inwardly sighed. Forget it. The man had been gradually changing, and for now, he would try to turn a blind eye.

Still, no one could have predicted...

This time, with Ji Muye leaving, their next meeting would turn out to be under such circumstances.

In the shadows, Fu Junhang watched as Jing Zheng drove them away. His gaze lingered for a long time on the three children’s pedal cars left by the manor gates. Scenes from earlier replayed in his mind.

He looked up at the brilliant starry sky above, with one star shining especially brightly, as if guiding his path.

Mom, I have so many family members now. Isn’t this good enough? Right?