CHAPTER 3: The 108 Male Idols 

“That’s money you gave me—I have every right to spend it,” Yi Xiaoya insisted.

“You’re still a student. What do you need that many tablets for? You tried to buy three at once.” Yi Yao scoffed. “What, you think the tablets will come to life? One to tutor your English, one for math, and one for Chinese?”

“That’s horrifying!” Yi Xiaoya cried. Normal people would at least say one for massaging legs, one for shoulder rubs, and one to feed snacks. But her dad? All academic subjects.

“If you want tutors, no need to wait until the weekend. Your tutor will be here tonight!” Yi Yao said through gritted teeth.

This daughter was always up to something. If he didn’t give her things to do… More importantly, her grades were just too awful. Back in his day, he was always one of the top students in class. He didn’t make it as the provincial top scorer, but he wasn’t far off—definitely within the top few dozen.

But Yi Xiaoya? Not even sure she could break into the top hundred in her grade.

This school wasn’t like her old No. 4 High. Most of the students here were outstanding. Their families had money and hired private tutors from a young age. They were raised under elite guidance—nothing like Yi Xiaoya, a halfway-returned heiress.

“Dad, you have no honor! Limiting my daily spending, even stealing my cash,” Yi Xiaoya cried bitterly.

The next moment, she threw herself onto her father’s leg and clung to it, lying flat on the floor.

“Put the money in my bank card,” Yi Yao said, glancing around—there were still police officers nearby.

“Nooo, I want a tablet! Just one!” Yi Xiaoya insisted. “Okay fine, no tablet? Then a smartphone works too. Just one, not asking for more.”

“I’m already in high school, not some kindergartener. All my classmates have tablets and phones. If they have them, I want one too!”

Ying ying ying! Yi Xiaoya pinched her own thigh. No way was she backing down this easily.

And lucky for her, they were still in the police station, and there were people around. Maybe her dad would give in for the sake of saving face.

“So fake,” Yi Yao said coolly. “You really ought to take some acting classes.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I wonder if I still have time to prep for the art college entrance exams,” Yi Xiaoya replied. “Even if I don’t pass, it’s the experience that counts.”

She could clearly see her dad’s expression twist slightly. As expected, this domineering CEO-type dad had a real obsession with winning. If she failed the art exam, would he sneak off somewhere to cry in secret?

Yi Yao tried to pull his leg away, but Yi Xiaoya was holding on tight—her arms wrapped around it, her head pressed against his thigh. If she weren’t his biological daughter, he would’ve kicked her off without hesitation.

The police officers nearby didn’t even bat an eye. They’d seen way weirder things in the course of their job. A kid hugging their dad’s leg? That was mild.

“Officer… um, sister,” Yi Xiaoya turned to a nearby cop. She had started to say auntie but quickly corrected herself. She was a high schooler now, a bit old to be calling people auntie. Call someone auntie and they might get offended, say you’re aging them.

“Didn’t a straight-A student recently… fall from a building? A high schooler?”

“We’re leaving!” Yi Yao yanked her up by the collar and dragged her out of the station.

All this drama over a tablet—was she really threatening him with the possibility of losing his only daughter?

Yi Xiaoya was stuffed into the car. She tried to resist, but without money in hand, she didn’t stand a chance.

“If you won’t buy me one, I’ll borrow money from my classmates and make you pay their parents back!” she huffed.

For every policy from above, there’s a countermeasure below.

Yi Xiaoya smirked triumphantly. “All those classmates are loaded.”

If her dad had left her at Fourth High, she wouldn’t be able to borrow thousands like that. But in this fancy elite school? Totally different story. Her classmates had mountains of pocket money.

“…” Yi Yao silently wondered why that woman hadn’t just gone through with the abortion. Why had she let Yi Xiaoya be born?

When they got home, Yi Xiaoya spotted a very handsome young man sitting in the living room. Her eyes lit up, and she walked over, asking brightly, “Are you my dad’s secret love child?”

Yi Yao nearly twisted his ankle. “He’s not!”

“I’m here because Uncle Yi said he needed a tutor for a high school student,” Mu Yan explained. He was a second-year university student, attending the top-ranked university in the city—which was also one of the highest-ranked nationwide.

Yi Yao had asked someone to help him find a tutor. Tutors weren’t hard to hire, but finding one with the right qualifications and a decent personality took more effort. So he asked a friend for a recommendation—who ended up sending his son.

“You’re this handsome and you’re not my long-lost brother? Dad, aren’t you worried I’ll fall in love early?” Yi Xiaoya batted her eyes at Mu Yan. “Hey handsome, do you have a girlfriend?”

She really didn’t want tutoring. Especially not at night.

This confirmed it: her dad was insane. No way. This tutor guy needed to go home.

“He lives next door,” Yi Yao said. “There’s streetlights. Don’t worry, he won’t get lost walking home.”

Yi Xiaoya tilted her head. Could her dad read minds? How else would he know exactly what she was thinking?

They’d only just reunited, and yet he already understood her this well… Was this some sort of innate father-daughter psychic connection?

“Even better! A marriage alliance! Our stock prices will shoot up overnight!” Yi Xiaoya said enthusiastically.

The next moment, Yi Yao smacked her on the head.

“Any harder and I’ll lose brain cells!” Yi Xiaoya rubbed her scalp, wincing.

“Talking about marriage alliances when you don’t even have your adult teeth yet?” Yi Yao said, completely uninterested in the idea. Right now, all he wanted was for his daughter’s grades to stop being embarrassing.

Back in his teenage years, he had crushed all competition. In his cringe-phase, he’d even made dramatic declarations like: “My children and grandchildren will be better than yours!”

And now look what he got—Yi Xiaoya, with her one-subject-only strengths and shamefully low total score. When the results came out, people were definitely going to laugh at him.

He probably had some dream about getting revenge for his daughter, and that dream must have included redeeming the disgrace she brought on his name.

“You young people always say arranged marriages are doomed, right?” Yi Yao said. “All I ever hear is Cinderella and domineering CEO stories.”

“Big bro, a marriage between equal families isn’t bad either,” Yi Xiaoya said to Mu Yan. “If you really want love, that’s fine too—as long as you’re willing to pay for it. You can start supporting me now and—”

“No tablet!” Yi Yao cut in, staring Mu Yan down. “Don’t you dare buy her one. And don’t you dare start a raising sim.”

Mu Yan chuckled. “Uncle Yi, maybe you should talk to my dad. Who knows? He might offer a billion-yuan dowry.”

“Big bro, aren’t you embarrassed?” Yi Xiaoya looked shocked. He’s even joking around with us?

“My skin’s just slightly thinner than a city wall. Can’t really see it turn red,” Mu Yan replied.

“No, I think your skin’s actually a little thicker,” Yi Xiaoya said with a serious face, holding up her hand to demonstrate. “Maybe more like a trampoline—people can bounce off it and still be fine.”

“So, which subject do we start tutoring tonight?” Mu Yan asked.

“Nope, can’t—haven’t eaten yet,” Yi Xiaoya said. “Gonna get low blood sugar. Big bro, wait for me, okay?”

“One ‘little brother’ after another—do you think eye candy can be your next meal?” Yi Yao was speechless. “Might as well skip dinner entirely.”

He’d heard his daughter call him “Dad” plenty of times, but the way she called every guy “little brother” just rubbed him the wrong way. It made him want to flick her ear.

“He’s not my fiancé, not my destined other half. If he counts as eye candy, what about my future husband?” Yi Xiaoya said. “That’d be a huge injustice to my future partner. I’m a loyal person, you know.”

Yi Yao didn’t bother replying. He just dragged his daughter away so she’d stop embarrassing herself.

“Little brother, I’ll be back soon!” Yi Xiaoya called out, then immediately felt something was off—why did that sound like a villain’s catchphrase? She quickly added, “Handsome guy, you should go next door and bond with your parents for a bit!”

It was the first time Mu Yan had met someone as unpredictable as Yi Xiaoya. At first, she seemed like a bluffing kitten—clearly a baby cat pretending to be a tiger, trying to scare him with an opening strike.

An illegitimate daughter… Yi Xiaoya was an illegitimate child…

But Yi Yao didn’t have any other kids, so whether she was born in or out of wedlock clearly didn’t matter much.

Mu Yan returned home. Given the time, Yi Xiaoya would be finishing dinner soon. But she was still a young girl—she should rest early, no need to stay up late. With a father as wealthy as hers, she didn’t need to work herself to death.

When Mu Yan got home, he saw his dad sitting in the living room. He had a feeling his dad was purposely waiting for him.

“Is she pretty?” Mu Yan’s father, the second eldest in the family, didn’t usually live with the old man. He was somewhat carefree and irresponsible—preferred to collect dividends from the company and go off doing whatever he liked.

“She’s lively,” Mu Yan said. “Very suitable as a younger sister.”

“Are you stupid?” his father retorted. “If you get together with her, all of her dad’s assets are basically yours.”

“No, I take that back—she’s more suitable as your daughter. Like, biologically,” Mu Yan said, looking at the TV. His dad was watching another melodramatic rich-family soap opera, acting nothing like one of the heirs to a powerful family. No ambition at all, never fighting for the family inheritance.

“Works for me. I’ll toss you over there and bring her back here as my daughter instead,” Second Master Mu said. “Pack your bags and get lost.”

“‘Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west…’”

“No, no, that line’s outdated,” Second Master Mu interrupted seriously. “Young people need to keep up with the times. These days it’s all about ‘taking the money and doing nothing.’ If you want to leave, at least take the money first.”

“……” Mu Yan had a black line across his face. He’d only stayed at school a few extra days—how had his dad ended up like this?

After dinner, Yi Xiaoya skipped happily off to look for the handsome guy next door—only to find he’d actually left. “Is this the universe forcing me to go online and watch the 108-member boy band now?”