I Became the Eye Candy: Four Bigshots Claimed to be My Dad?

Xiang Minghou stared blankly at the canopy of his bed. The image of his mother holding a knife flashed through his mind, and even now, the thought made him tremble.

In his stupor, he had a long, long dream. It was a dream of his father, his mother, and his younger brother. It was the day his father died. A storm raged that night, and he was pushed into the well in the backyard.

The water rose over his head. He screamed, cried for help. Just as he was about to suffocate, he saw a figure appear at the mouth of the well...

The person at the top of the well just watched him. The rain was too heavy, blurring his vision. He couldn’t make out their figure, only hear a chilling laugh...

Just as the water was about to swallow him whole, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The face of the figure at the well’s opening was contorted into a vicious snarl. That face... that face...

Xiang Minghou shivered uncontrollably. ’It was his mother.’

He had indeed been pushed into the well on the day his father died. He had always believed the figure he saw before passing out was a hallucination, a trick of his mind from after he was rescued. But he had never, ever considered that the person could be his mother.

The dream was so real it overlapped perfectly with his memory of that day.

’The person at the top of the well back then... was it really her?’

Xiang Minghou’s breathing grew ragged and suppressed. Whether the dream was real or not, it was enough to fill him with absolute terror.

"Daddy."

In his daze, Xiang Minghou heard a soft, sweet voice.

The sound drove away the chill that had seeped into his bones, gradually soothing his inner terror.

The image of a small, fair-cheeked face, smiling radiantly, appeared in his mind. A sliver of resilience took root in his heart. Too many things had happened during his childhood, things that often jolted him awake in the dead of night.

He would never, ever let his daughter go through what he had.

With that thought, Xiang Minghou made up his mind.

"Luo Wen."

"General." Luo Wen stepped forward.

"COUGH, COUGH... Tomorrow, I need you to make a trip to Zhuzhou. Please... please ask the Xiang Clan Leader to come to the Capital City," Xiang Minghou said.

"General, are you planning to...?" Luo Wen asked, puzzled.

"Withdraw from the clan."

A family like this left him utterly disheartened.

Luo Wen was surprised at first, but then he understood. However, withdrawing from one’s clan was an extremely serious matter in Beili. To be without a clan was to be an outcast, scorned by all.

"General, are you sure you won’t reconsider?"

Xiang Minghou shook his head. Withdrawing from the clan was the best option. ’Since she doesn’t consider me her son, then... I’ll cut ties.’

"Daddy."

As the voice rang out, Ye Qianning pushed the door open and entered the room.

Xiang Minghou turned his head to see the little girl had already run to his bedside.

"Daddy, you’re awake! How are you feeling?" Ye Qianning stood on her tiptoes, her hands just able to rest on the edge of the bed.

Xiang Minghou reached out and took her chubby little hand. His voice was a bit weak. "I’m all better now. Why are you running over here so late?"

"I had a dream that Daddy woke up, so Pangtuan came to see. I didn’t expect you to really be awake!" Ye Qianning said, rubbing her eyes with a smile.

Hearing this, Xiang Minghou couldn’t help but laugh too, but it pulled at his wound, and he let out a muffled groan.

"Dad, don’t move! Don’t laugh either. You can’t make any big movements right now," Ye Qianning said with a pout.

"Alright, alright," Xiang Minghou agreed.

Ye Qianning squeezed his hand back tightly. After a moment of silence, she said, "Dad, I heard you and Luo Wen talking just now."

Thinking of his own mother’s attitude, Xiang Minghou felt a pang of guilt. "Pangtuan, don’t you worry. As long as I’m here, I’ll never let you suffer the slightest bit."

"With you here, I won’t."

"The truth is, I knew all along. I just wasn’t willing to face it. But now, I’m wide awake."

"None of this is your fault, Dad. It’s not worth withdrawing from the clan over." Ye Qianning knew how important clan ties were in this era. ’If anyone should be withdrawing, it’s them. On what grounds should Dad be the one to leave?’

Xiang Minghou sighed weakly. "I’ve already made my decision. Tomorrow, I will petition the Emperor to reclaim the General’s manor."