Chapter 70: Causing Trouble Is No Big Deal—I've Got Your Back

Huo Yan let out a helpless laugh, the corners of his lips curving up as he rubbed her head. "Go on, then."

"Alright!"

Bai Lu entered the women's bathhouse, deliberately waiting a few more minutes to make sure the others had gone into the men's side before sneaking off with her wooden basin to her father's courtyard.

"Dad, open—" Before Bai Lu could finish, the sliding door opened.

Her father stood in the doorway, reached out, and poked the little tuft of hair on her head.

Bai Lu: "?????"

Lu Yiting nodded. "It really is quite pokeable."

Bai Lu: "………"

Utterly speechless.

What on earth is so fun about poking it anyway?!

She hurried through her shower in her father’s room, exhausted, and sprawled out on the tatami in the shape of a starfish.

"Sit up. I have something to say to you."

"Dad, lying down doesn’t stop you from talking," Bai Lu wheedled. "Daddy, I’m hungry again."

"Are you a pig?!" Lu Yiting scolded irritably. He picked up his phone and told his agent to bring over a late-night snack.

A platter of sashimi arrived soon after.

Lu Yiting didn’t let the agent in, going to get it himself, and dropped the plate next to her head.

"Eat."

Bai Lu didn’t move, only smiled sweetly. "Feed me, Daddy."

Lu Yiting clamped a cigarette between his lips and let out a cold laugh. "How about a taste of my belt instead?"

Bai Lu: "………"

Her father really ought to learn from Uncle Gu!

Resigned, Bai Lu sat up and had just picked up her chopsticks when her father tossed out, almost carelessly, "I don’t approve of you being with Huo Yan."

Startled, Bai Lu sprayed an entire piece of sashimi onto her father’s face.

The veins on Lu Yiting’s forehead bulged. "Are you asking for a taste of my belt?!"

Bai Lu coughed violently for a long moment before croaking, "Dad, you called me over just to say that?"

Lu Yiting raised an eyebrow. "What else?"

Bai Lu was at a loss.

She crawled to sit opposite her father, and spoke earnestly, "Dad, I do admit I’m tempted by Ah Sui’s face, but I already told you, I only want to help him debut and make money. Why can’t you trust your own daughter? I’m still young, I’m not even thinking about dating. I only want to focus on my career."

"I believe you." Lu Yiting sat casually on the tatami, one hand resting on the small table, casting her a sidelong glance. "But what about Huo Yan?"

Bai Lu was baffled. "What about him?"

"Gu Pianran says you’re clever, but you aren’t at all," Lu Yiting scolded. "You can’t even see that Huo Yan likes you."

Bai Lu scratched her head helplessly. "Dad, you’ve got it wrong. Ah Sui doesn’t like me. He’s nice to me because I helped him out of a big trouble once. Indirectly, I even helped President Huo."

Lu Yiting’s eyebrow arched. "Huo Yanfang? You’ve met Huo Yanfang?"

Bai Lu didn’t hide anything and told her father about the incident in the glass conservatory.

"Ye Jingyan said no one can control President Huo when he’s ill. That day, only Ah Sui was with him. I just happened to interrupt, and that’s when President Huo calmed down."

Lu Yiting was half convinced. "That’s all?"

"Really!" Bai Lu swore to the heavens. "Dad, how can you not trust your own daughter?"

Lu Yiting tapped the table. "I did hear about that. Huo Yanfang’s mental state is extremely unstable. When he relapses, he’s like a madman. Not only does he hurt those around him, he even hurts himself."

Bai Lu’s mouth was stuffed full. "That’s basically it."

Seeing her wolfing down food like a starving ghost annoyed Lu Yiting. "Did the Shen family not feed you?"

Bai Lu paused, slowly put down her chopsticks, and replied softly, "Mm."

Her hair fell forward, hiding her small face.

A lump formed in Lu Yiting’s throat and he slammed the table viciously. "Damn it—"

"They were afraid I’d grow too quickly and couldn’t model children’s clothes anymore, so they didn’t let me eat my fill." Bai Lu looked up with a brilliant smile. "But that was all when I was little. After I grew up, they didn’t starve me anymore."

Lu Yiting looked at his daughter’s radiant smile, thought of all the rumors he’d heard in the industry over the years, and nearly lost his temper, but he forced himself to hold back.

"Eat!" Lu Yiting picked up a piece of sashimi and held it to her lips. "You have a father now. No one will ever dare bully my daughter again!"

Bai Lu’s nose tingled. "Sashimi is so delicious. It tastes even better when Daddy feeds me."

A child protected by her father is truly happy.

Lu Yiting gritted his teeth. "Lu Xiaolu, listen up. You’re my daughter. If you have a grudge, you repay it. If you’re betrayed by kin, you deal with them yourself. If you want to do it yourself, fine. But you’d better make sure you finish off every last Shen. If you don’t, don’t blame me for taking a belt to you."

Bai Lu puffed her cheeks. "Dad, do you think I signed with Yuxing Entertainment just to destroy them? Killing the Shen family is too easy and would let them off lightly. What they want most, I’ll take from them. And I’ll do it bit by bit, cutting off all hope, making them suffer. That’s far crueler than death."

Lu Yiting snorted and continued feeding her. "Now that’s more like my daughter. If you ever need help, just ask. You have a father now—no need to shoulder everything alone."

"Don’t underestimate me, Dad," Bai Lu huffed. "If I couldn’t manage even this, I wouldn’t be worthy of being your daughter."

Lu Yiting was very satisfied. "Then do as you like. If you make trouble, I’ll have your back."

"Alright!" Bai Lu’s grin was full of mischief.

Lu Yiting was not angry at all. In fact, he told her, "You’re my daughter—you should be arrogant, you should show off. No one can say you’re overstepping by relying on your father’s power."

Bai Lu: "………"

Is her dad just calling her a dog in a roundabout way?

"Lu Xiaolu, one more thing." Lu Yiting drummed his fingers on the table. "Stay away from the Huo family. Your Uncle Gu found out—Huo Yan is Huo Yanfang’s biological brother."

Bai Lu was sharp enough to catch on immediately. "An illegitimate child?"

Lu Yiting’s lips curled.

That’s my daughter.

Ruthless, sharp, and smart enough.

"You know how Huo Yanfang became disabled?" Lu Yiting’s eyes narrowed with a sinister glint. "His own uncles did it. There was an explosion. Only Huo Yanfang survived—his parents died. He barely escaped with his life, ending up like this, neither man nor ghost. And it happened on his birthday."

Bai Lu lowered her gaze. "Dad, I know."

That was probably why her father had chosen to enter the entertainment industry and stay away from the Lu family business.

The power struggles of these wealthy clans were far more brutal, bloody, and inhuman than any TV show could depict.

"If you know, then stay away from the Huos. All of Huo Yanfang’s uncles, brothers, sisters—he got rid of them all. Only Huo Yanshu survived because she eloped with a penniless man early on and stayed out of the Huo family’s affairs. Now she keeps a low profile, so she was spared."

Lu Yiting issued his final warning. "If you have any thoughts about helping Huo Yan debut, drop them now! Don’t go looking for trouble!"