Xia Xingchen lunged forward, only to slam into an immovable human wall. Two men in black suits blocked her path, their expressions impassive. "Miss, step back. That area is off-limits."
"Did you kidnap my son? Why? Let him go right now, or I'm calling the police!" She fumbled for her phone. The men didn't flinch. "The... gentleman is retrieving his own son. That is not against the law."
"His own son?" Xingchen froze.
Could it be…?
Had Daba's father finally sent for him?
Her gaze snapped towards the third Bentley. The window wasn't fully down, but from a distance, she could make out a man in the back seat.
His profile was sharply defined, posture impeccably upright. Hearing the commotion, he turned his head slightly. His gaze, deep and inscrutable, swept over her – piercing, cold, and utterly commanding. Xingchen felt pinned in place, struggling to breathe. Only when the convoy began to glide away, the man disappearing from view, and the other black-suited figures melted into the following cars, did the spell break.
Him? Daba's father?
"Daba!"
"XIA DABA!"
Panic seized her. She gave chase, kicking off her heels, running barefoot and desperate down the street, knowing it was futile.
No! He couldn't just rip her child away like this! Not when she still didn't even know who he was!
"Xingchen, stop! They're gone! Call the police! Get the traffic cameras!"
"Yeah, kidnappers with a motorcade like that? Who did you cross?"
Neighbors buzzed around her, but Xingchen's mind was chaos. She'd once wanted the father to appear, if only to reclaim that unjust slap. But now…
He'd arrived, and with effortless arrogance, stolen her Daba. So brazen. So shameless!
Bastard! Was he man, god, or demon?
Furious, Xingchen hurled one of her discarded heels down the empty street. It did nothing. But when she finally faced him… he'd pay.
...…
Elsewhere. A Luxurious Villa.
The air crackled with tension.
On an opulent leather sofa, a man and a boy sat facing each other. Man-sized eyes met child-sized eyes.
Mutual assessment underway.
"Finished staring? Good. Now, take me back." Xia Daba spoke first, unnervingly calm for a supposed kidnapping victim. He sat perfectly straight. "If I'm not home tonight, Big Bao will be heartbroken. And when Big Bao is heartbroken…" He paused dramatically. "Consequences are severe!"
He'd likely be sentenced to kitchen corner time! Utterly humiliating!
Bai Yeqing's handsome features remained sternly impassive. He merely flicked a glance at his Secretary, Leng Fei, standing behind him.
Leng Fei stepped forward, bowing slightly. "Young Master, starting today, this is your home."
Daba surveyed the grand room with exaggerated seriousness, nodding his little head. "Okay. Big Bao was worried she couldn't afford a house for me. No house, no wife. Now with this big house…" He puffed out his chest. "I can marry ten wives!"
Ten wives?
Leng Fei barely suppressed a laugh. Ten wives? With that little frame?
Bai Yeqing, silent until now, snorted faintly. "Small boy. Big ambitions."
"Of course! All ten wives will take care of my Big Bao."
"..." Was he hiring maids?
Leng Fei pressed on. "Young Master, from today, you will take the Bai surname."
"Bai Daba? Sounds awful. I'm keeping my name." Daba's little face scrunched in distaste. "Besides, why Bai?"
"His Excellency is your father. He is Bai. Therefore, you are Bai."
"Father?" Daba chewed on the unfamiliar word. He tilted his head, studying the imposing, strikingly handsome man opposite him – a face chillingly similar to his own, yet radiating icy distance. "You wantto be my father?"
Want to be?
"I am." The man's words were sparse, each one a hammer blow of finality.
"Well, that's weird." Daba blinked innocently. "Big Bao says my daddy is already dead. Are you a ghost?"
"..." Bai Yeqing's eyes narrowed dangerously. A single tap of his finger on the sofa armrest plunged the room's temperature several degrees lower.
This woman… Is this how she's been teaching his son?
Leng Fei broke out in a cold sweat. "Young Master! You must never say such things! Never again!"
Openly declaring the President of S Country dead? That was high treason!
"I'm not lying! Big Bao is always right. She never lies to me! I need to go home now. You brought me, you take me back." With that, he pushed off the sofa with his little arms, wiggled his legs, and slid down. Hands clasped behind his back like a little lord, he marched purposefully towards the door.
Watching the miniature figure stride away, Leng Fei couldn't help a smile. Definitely the President's son. The genes are uncanny!
Bai Yeqing's gaze followed the small back, deepening, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.
His son. Four years old.
Good.
That woman... had clearly served her purpose well.
"Steward. Take him upstairs!" At Bai Yeqing's command, the little figure marching towards freedom was suddenly scooped up and unceremoniously hoisted onto a shoulder. Tiny legs kicked futilely against the immovable hold.
"Meanies! You big meanies! Put me down! I HATE YOU!" Indignant, furious shouts echoed down the long hallway long after he disappeared.
Bai Yeqing remained on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the upper floor, deep in thought.
"Your Excellency, the next steps?" Leng Fei inquired softly.
"Arrange his education. Start with foundational etiquette."
"Yes, Sir."
"And the young master's mother... Xia Xingchen..."
"I will handle it."
...
Xia Xingchen felt herself spiraling. That convoy had paraded down the street in broad daylight! Witnesses everywhere! Yet, at the police station, they claimed no record existed.
She was an ant lost in a human desert, utterly clueless where to search.
As a junior intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she had no choice but to request emergency leave – a move that could jeopardize her future, but Daba was everything.
She mobilized everyone she knew. Even Mayor Xia Guopeng wielded his influence. But the man and her son had vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by the earth.
Later. Outside the Police Station.
Dejected after another fruitless visit, Xingchen stepped out onto the sidewalk. Suddenly, five sleek black cars screeched to a halt directly in front of her.