In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 153: Flirtatious Father of the Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role (7)

The chaotic, noisy life on set hadn’t calmed down even as filming went on, and Qi Xinglin’s pitiful acting skills hadn’t improved much despite gaining experience. But luckily, the storyline had finally reached the post-college graduation phase, and Qi Xinglin no longer had to awkwardly play the role of a pretend teenage girl. To mark the transition, she was planning a grand and glamorous entrance scene.

“Director, how about I arrive in a private jet, followed by a fleet of luxury cars clearing the way? What do you think of that shot?”

Director Liu tugged at his hair with a deadpan look. “I think it’s terrible.”

“Director…”

“Xinglin, this drama is meant to be inspirational. Inspirational! You’re being so flashy, it’s a bad influence on today’s youth!”

Qi Xinglin was unconvinced. “What’s so flashy about it? I just want to make the scene impactful. With an entrance like that, the audience won’t even need backstory to understand that the female lead and the second female lead aren’t just different in talent and smarts—there’s no comparison in family background either!”

“And if we do it your way, what’s the point of having the second female lead at all?”

Qi Xinglin smiled smugly. “She’s there to witness the perfect love between the male and female leads! Who else would we show off all that romance to?”

Director Liu: …

He was about to be driven insane by Qi Xinglin. He said, “Are you ready for the next scene? Did you understand the subtext I explained to you yesterday? Come on, recite part of the lines from Scene 10 this afternoon.” The previously arrogant Qi Xinglin: …

Not this again!

She hadn’t quite memorized her lines and was afraid he’d actually make her recite them. She pouted and said pitifully, “I was just giving you a suggestion, that’s all!”

With that, she slinked back to her dressing room.

Qi Xinglin originally intended to go back and study her lines, but when she passed by Xiao Ge’s dressing room, she suddenly stopped.

She quietly pushed the door open and, seeing that Xiao Ge was alone, tiptoed over to the recliner.

Crouching beside it, she peered at the sleeping beauty. Looking at his impossibly handsome face and those sexy thin lips, her heart started to race. She recalled the moment they had kissed and, with a twinkle in her eye, decided to sneak another one.

Just as she leaned in—

The person who had his eyes shut suddenly opened them.

“Qi Xinglin!”

“Hehehe, Xiao Xiao, you’re awake.”

Xiao Ge, seeing who it was, ruffled his hair in a mix of helplessness and frustration.

He rarely showed such obvious emotions in front of others, but Qi Xinglin was driving him crazy.

God knows what had gotten into her—ever since that first day’s food temptation, she’d basically glued herself to him.

Whether in the drama or in real life, this girl kept finding ways to barge into his world. At first, Xiao Ge tried to reject and distance himself, but somehow—maybe he’d gone a little crazy—he’d started to get used to her presence.

Just moments ago, he’d been reflecting on whether he’d lost his mind, thinking that although Qi Xinglin was spoiled and a bit willful, she could actually be kind of cute sometimes.

As the two of them slowly started becoming friends, Xiao Ge had thought this girl might finally behave. But yesterday’s unexpected incident had added an awkward layer of ambiguity between them.

They’d had a kiss scene scheduled, and although they had agreed in advance to film it with camera angles only, Qi Xinglin had suddenly leaned in and actually kissed him.

It had been Xiao Ge’s first kiss. If that had been the extent of it, he might have been able to rationalize it as “just acting.” But the worst part was—deep down he knew—he could have dodged it.

That was what really gave him a headache. He hadn’t slept well last night, and now he’d just wanted a moment to rest. But instead of rest, he got the same emotional disturbance from yesterday—and now the culprit had appeared right in front of him.

“Xiao Xiao, did you not sleep well yesterday? Then go back to sleep, I won’t bother you anymore.”

Xiao Ge looked at the girl in front of him, beaming with a dazzling smile. Somehow, all the frustration in his heart suddenly fizzled out. He deliberately avoided looking at Qi Xinglin and said lightly, “Mm, I’m going to sleep a bit longer.”

He had just planned to lie back down when he saw that she was still lingering there, making him almost laugh from exasperation.

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

Qi Xinglin smiled sweetly. “I want to watch you sleep.”

Xiao Ge raised an eyebrow. “And then?”

“You’re so smart, Xiao Xiao. I want to kiss you again.” She blinked, looking completely sincere.

Xiao Ge was almost amused—and a little flustered—by her blunt response. He quickly masked his emotions, stood up, and pulled her to her feet.

“Go back to your dressing room. Don’t sneak in here again.” He gestured toward the door.

Qi Xinglin had originally planned to go back and review her lines—she had just made a quick detour to tease Xiao Ge. Seeing him clearly displeased, she immediately compromised: “Okay, okay, see you this afternoon.”

Once Qi Xinglin finally left, Xiao Ge locked the door and collapsed back onto the recliner with a bitter smile. He pulled on his sleep mask and sank into another round of headache. That damned girl Qi Xinglin was going to be the death of him!

Ever since that kiss, Qi Xinglin had been full of joy. But to her surprise, Xiao Ge had started to distance himself again!

Qi Xinglin was furious. Unfortunately, when she tried to use her usual tricks to get close to him again, she found they no longer worked.

Because of Xiao Ge’s attitude, Qi Xinglin felt extremely down. Her mood was in the dumps, and every time she had to act opposite him as if nothing had happened, she wanted to pounce on him and bite him.

After wrapping up the day’s scenes, Qi Xinglin drove off gloomily. When she got home and saw Qi Sheng there, her pent-up emotions burst out.

“Dad! Your daughter has been seduced and abandoned!”

Qi Sheng was startled by her dramatic outburst, and when he realized what she meant, he was even more shocked.

Looking at the clearly upset Qi Xinglin, he realized this wasn’t a simple matter.

Qi Sheng couldn’t figure it out. As far as he knew, Qi Xinglin hadn’t even met the future male lead yet—how could she already be involved in a romance?

He quickly put down the book in his hands and asked anxiously, “Who seduced and abandoned you?”

Qi Xinglin angrily tossed her bag aside. “That bastard Xiao Ge! He kissed me and now he’s ignoring me!”

Qi Sheng frowned. “Xiao Ge? Isn’t he the male lead in your drama? What’s your relationship now?”

“Obviously, we’re in a romantic relationship!”

“…Huh? Seriously?” If it was that big a deal, why hadn’t Director Liu told him?

Qi Xinglin grew a bit guilty. “Well, we’re about to be in one…”

“He kissed you even before you two are together? That punk’s got guts, daring to take advantage of my daughter! I’ll teach him a lesson!”

With that, Qi Sheng grabbed his phone and pretended he was about to call his assistant.

Qi Xinglin hadn’t expected her dad to blow up even more than she had. Afraid of causing trouble for Xiao Ge, she immediately lunged to snatch his phone away.

“Dad! What are you doing?!”

“I’m going to straighten him out! Didn’t he bully you?”

Qi Xinglin thought her dad was genuinely mad. Even though she was angry at Xiao Ge for ignoring her, she still explained the whole situation to Qi Sheng.

After hearing her out, Qi Sheng finally understood. No wonder he hadn’t heard anything about her dating anyone.

“This sounds like acting, not a real relationship. How can you say you’re about to become lovers? Maybe he’s deliberately keeping his distance so you don’t get the wrong idea.”

In the original plot, Qi Xinglin didn’t continue filming this show. Instead, she ended up working as an assistant for Lian Jing. Because Lian Jing was a fashion magazine editor-in-chief, she had contact with many A-list stars—including the future male lead. Somehow, Qi Xinglin developed feelings for him, and later, out of jealousy toward the female lead, did a bunch of stupid things.

In order to prevent his little girl from falling hopelessly in love in the future, Qi Sheng not only supported her finishing the drama but even pulled some strings to send the future male lead overseas for a film shoot.

He didn’t expect that while he was busy keeping others away, the girl would end up developing feelings for someone else in the show.

And Qi Sheng vaguely remembered the name Xiao Ge—he was the good friend of the female lead. Qi Sheng rubbed his aching head. Why did his daughter always fall for the men around the female lead?

Qi Xinglin was not convinced by her father’s explanation. “It’s not just acting—I could feel that he likes me!”

“Uh…” Qi Sheng didn’t really trust her gut feelings. This girl had always been overly confident in herself. He figured she was just smitten by Xiao Ge’s good looks.

“Xinglin, listen. I think you need to keep your work and personal life separate. You’re almost done with this drama, right? Once it’s over, come to the company with me. I’ll introduce you to some decent young men.”

Fathers with daughters always worry more than those with sons. Qi Sheng hadn’t had a break lately. After all this time spent with his daughter, he had come to the conclusion that grooming her into a powerful CEO-type woman was a lost cause—his “main account” was pretty much useless now. So, he decided to work through his “side account” instead and began scouting for a future son-in-law, planning to secure his future grandchild as early as possible.

Qi Sheng was thorough—he had standards for character, looks, temperament, and family background. Unfortunately, because the bar was set too high, he hadn’t found anyone he was truly satisfied with yet.

Just as he was worrying about his daughter’s lifelong happiness, the little girl went and opened her heart on her own.

But Qi Sheng didn’t think she was being reliable. He figured he would have to personally step in sooner or later. Under his daughter’s dissatisfied gaze, he continued, “You’re playing a couple in the drama, so it’s understandable that you might misunderstand his feelings. But silly girl, he’s a professional actor. He can separate work from real life.”

Qi Xinglin wasn’t happy with that conclusion, but remembering Xiao Ge’s recent behavior made her feel a bit down again. Suddenly, on impulse, she blurted out, “Dad, do you have a sugar baby or mistress lately? If not, I can introduce you to one.”

Qi Sheng: ??? Weren’t we just talking about your love problems?

“You want to introduce me to someone?”

“A beauty! That Chu Yi—she’s not stunning, but her looks are passable.”

Qi Sheng: …

He was practically speechless. So this is what being a cannon fodder character is like? The man she likes can change, but her drive to challenge the female lead never falters!

Wanting to teach the girl a lesson, Qi Sheng picked up the tablet next to him and looked up Chu Yi’s photos online. After glancing at them, he said, “Chu Yi, huh? She does look pretty good. Fine, I’ll go meet her sometime.”

The moment he said that, Qi Xinglin jumped up.

She stared at him in disbelief, looking like she was about to cry.

She regretted her impulsive suggestion the moment it left her lips. She’d only said it because she’d been upset about Xiao Ge’s behavior and thought maybe it was because he had feelings for Chu Yi. That frustration made her lash out without thinking. She was already miserable because of Chu Yi’s interference—how could her dad actually be tempted by her now?

“How could you?! No! You’re not allowed to go!”

Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one who suggested it?”

This was the first time Qi Sheng had ever been introduced to a mistress by his own daughter. Her wild, impulsive behavior really needed some discipline.

Qi Xinglin burst into tears. “I was just saying that randomly! Why would you take it seriously? You know I hate all your mistresses the most—how could you actually go and accept one?!”

Qi Sheng looked at his daughter crying but didn’t comfort her. Instead, he asked rather sternly, “Watch what you say. Weren’t you the one who brought it up? I just went along with it.” He thought to himself: doesn’t she know what kind of person her father is? Suggesting something like that—today was the perfect opportunity to show her the consequences of running her mouth.

Qi Xinglin immediately felt a little guilty, and seeing her father’s serious expression, she got scared. She quickly sat down beside him, clinging to his arm. “Daddy, I was wrong. Don’t listen to my nonsense. I just… I… Anyway, you’re not allowed to meet that woman! You’re my dad—you can’t get close to someone I hate!”

Qi Sheng didn’t respond.

Qi Xinglin panicked. “If you dare fall for her, I’ll drive over and kill her myself. Then I’ll commit suicide! Dad, you’re not allowed to go!”

Qi Sheng sighed at his daughter’s drastic words. He softened his tone and asked, “Tell me, what’s going on between you and Chu Yi? Weren’t we talking about Xiao Ge just now? And why did you suddenly join the entertainment industry? Didn’t I hear it had something to do with Chu Yi too?”

Even though Qi Sheng already knew the answers, he felt today was the right time to talk things out. This one-sided grudge between his daughter and Chu Yi needed to be addressed—before she caused even more trouble for herself by going about things the wrong way.