Ruanruan, who was running away with her head down, suddenly collided with a pair of long legs and stumbled several steps backward.
"Ouch..." Holding her forehead that turned red from the bump, Ruanruan looked up with tears brimming in her eyes.
When she raised her head and saw the man's face in front of her, she froze.
"Mr. Mu, are you all right?" Li Yan asked with concern, but his eyes were actually on Ruanruan.
Wow... this kid is really good-looking, catching one's eye with just a glance, it's just a pity that she has no hair.
"I'm fine," replied Mu Shen indifferently, looking to leave without giving Ruanruan another glance.
However, Ruanruan put Little Baibai aside and, to everyone's surprise, suddenly lunged towards Mu Shen.
"Daddy!!"
"Sss..."
This one word, "Daddy," was so shocking that not only Mu Shen's assistant and secretary but also the group of bodyguards and villagers behind him gasped in astonishment.
Ruanruan, as if afraid that Mu Shen would run away, clung to one of his long legs with both arms and legs, hanging on like a bear cub.
Mu Shen looked down at the little creature clinging to his leg and his brows furrowed tightly.
"Let go, you've got the wrong person," he said, his voice tinged with a hint of impatience.
Kids, to him, were an annoying species, too noisy.
Ruanruan held on even tighter, shaking her head repeatedly, "You are my daddy, I recognize you, Daddy Mu Shen, the Monk told me to come to you, you are."
"Ow..." Little Baibai ran over in a wobbly manner, bumping into Ruanruan.
"Let go," Mu Shen's patience had run out, and he reached to grab Little Monk, intending to throw him off.
Seeing the cold expression on his handsome face, Ruanruan, who already felt wronged, could no longer hold back the tears in her big eyes.
"Daddy, don't you want Ruanruan?" She didn't cry out loud, only tears uncontrollably streaming down; even with a dirty little face, her tearful appearance could soften anyone's heart.
Even Mu Shen's assistant and secretary, seeing the little one's pitiful look, couldn't bear it and wanted to say something, but looking at their CEO's usual cold and stern face, they dared not speak due to his deep-seated authority.
"Daddy, Ruanruan is very good, don't abandon me," Little Monk's voice was soft and sweet, seemingly touching everyone's hearts.
Mu Shen clenched the little one, intending to throw her away, but looking at her aggrieved little face, he somehow found it hard to let go.
"Why do you call me daddy?" Mu Shen said, his long, piercing Phoenix Eyes staring at her, a gaze that even his assistant couldn't withstand.
Yet Ruanruan gazed back at him with her moist and bright big eyes, clear and not showing the slightest fear.
"The... the Monk said so," Ruanruan dabbed at the tears on her face with her chubby hands, then took off her small backpack and pulled out a photo and some documents.
The man in the photo exuded an aura as if a sword was drawn from its sheath, his whole body radiated sharp intensity, with deep-set, three-dimensional features, and especially chilling were his Phoenix Eyes.
This man in the photo was unmistakably Mu Shen.
Mu Shen's fingers, with distinct knuckles, took the photo and looked at the person in it, then at the words written on its back, his narrow eyes dangerously squinting.
[Mu Shen, Ruanruan is indeed your daughter. If you don't believe it, you can redo a paternity test yourself. I hope you can take care of Ruanruan for a while. I will return as soon as possible to take her back. If you are not pleased, I also ask that you don't let her be saddened.]
The calligraphy was beautiful, with each stroke revealing an air of effortless grace.
Just from the handwriting alone, he could tell that the person who wrote it was proud and aloof.
However... looking at the little one clinging to his thigh, it turned out to be a little girl.
Then there was a paternity test attached to the photograph.
Seeing that the test showed a 99.99% probability of a father-daughter relationship between Mu Shen and Ruanruan, his pupils shrank, and in the next instant, his eyes became dark and dangerous.
"Who is your master?" His voice was still harsh, but Ruanruan wasn't afraid, as long as... as long as daddy didn't abandon her, that was enough.
Ruanruan furrowed her little brow in confusion, thought for a long time, then bit her finger a few times.
"Master... is just master, yeah."
Mu Shen "......"
Mu Shen was staring at Ruanruan in silence when a very discordant voice rang out.
"Damn it! Little slut, you still want to run! After hitting my son, it's only right to teach you a lesson."
From the other side, a couple pushed through the crowd, their faces fierce as they chased after her, but their momentum weakened considerably when they saw Mu Shen and the others.
Little Baibai bared his teeth upon seeing her, making a childish threatening sound.
The woman glared at Ruanruan covertly, then immediately put on a fawning smile when looking at Mu Shen and his companions.
"Oh dear, you must be the noble people the village chief said bought our mountainside, where are you heading? Why don't you come sit at my place? This little... child might have offended you. I've always said this Little Monk brings bad luck, just a cursed thing. Hand her over to me, I'll take care of her and make sure she behaves."
The woman's demeanor was so repulsive to both Mu Shen and his companions that they couldn't stand it, yet she was completely oblivious, pushing her son forward to diligently say,
"Say hello to uncle, don't be shy! The village chief, really, he should have notified us. Come on, come to my house for a meal, don't be polite."
The woman was about to reach out and grab someone when a cold light flashed in Mu Shen's eyes.
Li, the assistant, stepped forward to block her, speaking coldly.
"No need, we have other matters to attend to, please step aside."
Even the assistant, who always had a smile on his face, now wore a cold expression towards these people.
The bodyguards quickly moved forward to form a protective circle behind Mu Shen and the others.
The burly one stood in front, his solid build and intimidating aura enough to make her step back several paces in fear. Her son was so frightened that he immediately started bawling.
Sensing trouble, the village chief internally cursed at Li Miao's family for causing unrest, glaring at Li Miao and her husband angrily.
"What the hell are you doing! Have some decency!"
The couple was the type who bullied the weak and feared the strong, and now truly frightened by the display, they put on a very strained smile.
"Heh... if you don't want to eat... then... we won't go."
Li Miao, seething with silent resentment, glared at Ruanruan, blaming the Little Monk for all this trouble.
"Let's go." Mu Shen put Ruanruan down and turned to leave, but Ruanruan quickly clung to his long leg again.
"Daddy, don't leave Ruanruan behind. Master is gone, and it was so hard for Ruanruan to find daddy, please don't leave me."
The more Ruanruan thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Master had abandoned her, and now that she had finally found a daddy, he didn't want her either. Was she really that detestable?