In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 147: Flirtatious Father of the Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role (1)

When Qi Sheng woke up, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the scattered pieces of women’s lingerie on the pillow, which startled him. As he was about to get up and head to the bathroom, a woman beside him on the king-sized bed, awakened by his movements, struggled to sit up and look at him.
Qi Sheng had already absorbed the entire plot and understood the original body’s personality. Feeling extremely speechless, he got out of bed—only to trip again over a sheer dress on the floor. His body lunged forward sharply, making quite a commotion, which in turn woke up the other two women still on the bed.
With eight eyes meeting in awkward silence, Qi Sheng: “……”
Damn this system and the original body!
Qi Sheng, feeling like he might collapse from the constant shocks, still had to pretend to be calm as he walked out the door. In this situation, leaving first was his best option—he could freshen up later.
Outside the room, Qi Sheng stood on the second floor, looking down at the wine bottles and clothes tossed about from last night’s party. He was speechless. This was one of the original body’s private villas, a place reserved for his hedonistic lifestyle. Usually, he would invite a few close bros, throw in a bunch of beautiful women and handsome men, and indulge in a night of lavish partying.
Qi Sheng glanced around briefly. Thinking of the guest rooms where a few more people were likely still accompanied by women, he hurried toward the garage to avoid another potential “round two” after they woke up. He drove straight back to the Qi family’s old estate.
It wasn’t even six o’clock yet. The servants and the butler had just woken up, and seeing Qi Sheng suddenly return, they were visibly surprised. The butler, Song Yao, immediately stepped forward to take Qi Sheng’s coat. He noticed Qi Sheng’s brisk pace and hesitated to bring up what was on his mind.
Qi Sheng noticed the butler’s expression. He knew that this longtime, diligent steward of the Qi family had something to say, but at the moment, he just wanted to take a shower. He quickly went upstairs, headed straight to the bathroom from his bedroom, and finally relaxed under the warm water. It was only then that he began to ponder how to save the daughter who, in this life, resembled a tragic cannon fodder character.
After showering, Qi Sheng changed into fresh loungewear, gave his hair a quick blow-dry, and went downstairs, where breakfast was already set out on the table.
Butler Song Yao stood beside the table and served Qi Sheng a bowl of millet porridge. Seeing that Qi Sheng had a good appetite, he didn’t interrupt him during the meal. But once Qi Sheng swallowed the last bite, Song Yao couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “Sir, the young miss has been in a bad mood these past couple of days. Would you like to go upstairs and check on her?”
Song Yao had watched Qi Xinglin grow up, and compared to Qi Sheng, whose heart was full of wandering flowers, Song Yao actually cared more about Qi Xinglin. This time, Qi Xinglin had suffered a grievance, and her biological father hadn’t even reacted—Song Yao was heartbroken.
Qi Sheng thought about the timeline and quickly figured out what was going on with Qi Xinglin. Still, he feigned a frown and asked, “What happened to Xinglin?”
“She… she’s been wronged while working outside.”
“Wronged? Who could possibly wrong her?”
Song Yao struggled to explain. Although Qi Xinglin’s recent public shaming online wasn’t entirely without fault, in his eyes, she was a pampered young lady who had gone through freezing waters or endured hanging in harnesses all for the sake of filming well. It was pure torment. He gave a simplified version of what had happened, emphasizing how hard Qi Xinglin had worked and how unreasonable the online haters were, hoping Qi Sheng would stand up for her.
Looking at the butler who was fiercely protective of his charge, Qi Sheng pulled out his phone and logged into Weibo to check the latest hot searches. The incident had happened two days ago, but the backlash against Qi Xinglin was still trending. Comments calling for her to get out of the entertainment industry were overwhelming, and there were very few voices speaking in her defense.
Frowning, Qi Sheng clicked into a gossip blogger’s post, which was said to reveal all the “truth.” According to it, Qi Xinglin was either bullying others on set or staging fake scenes to gain sympathy. She had clearly used a stunt double but posted on Weibo claiming how hard she had worked and how much she had suffered.
After this post, fans who had praised her efforts a couple of days ago felt completely betrayed. Most of them had only been casual fans, and now, they immediately labeled her as a scheming faker.
Qi Sheng skimmed through the posts, and if he hadn’t known the full story, he too would’ve thought that his good-for-nothing daughter was deliberately staging photos to gain followers. That’s exactly what the original host believed, which was why he became more and more disappointed in her for embarrassing him. But as Qi Sheng read on, he couldn’t help it—he nearly burst out laughing.
He found that this daughter was so clueless it actually made his heart ache. He had no idea who she got her low IQ from. While the original host was a notorious playboy, he was also a shrewd and seasoned businessman. Qi Xinglin’s mother was a fashion industry powerhouse. Though she and Qi Sheng were divorced, she remained a formidable force in the entertainment world. Yet somehow, their daughter had inherited 200% of their combined good looks, but none of their brains—it was as if her intellect was just a joke.
There were all kinds of beauties in the entertainment industry, but the most popular type with fans was the sweet and harmless “pure white flower” kind. Since most fans were female, it was only natural they preferred someone easy on the eyes. Qi Xinglin had been born with a full skill set for reincarnation, and her looks were unquestionable. Unfortunately, she leaned more toward the “sexy and fierce” type—one of the hardest to manage in terms of public image. This archetype could attract fans too, but only with the right strategy. Sadly, his daughter didn’t even know how to position herself.
Qi Sheng put away his phone, planning to head upstairs and have a proper talk with his daughter. The original host had always opposed her entering the entertainment industry, so he had offered little support. The only reason Qi Xinglin had access to decent resources was that her birth mother, Lian Jing, had been worn down by her persistence and reluctantly helped out.
This time, even though Lian Jing felt sorry for her daughter, she had hardened her heart and didn’t step in. The people bullying her could be dealt with later—right now, the most important thing was to crush Qi Xinglin’s desire to stay in the industry.
So, despite her powerful background, Qi Xinglin was currently as helpless as a pitiful little white flower.
Qi Sheng went upstairs and knocked on the door for quite a while before waking Qi Xinglin.
She hadn’t been sleeping well these past couple of days and thought it was just the butler, Song Yao, calling her for breakfast again. She was feeling irritable and on the verge of snapping, but the moment she saw Qi Sheng, she visibly tensed.
“Dad…”
“It’s late. Get ready and come down for breakfast.”
“…Okay.”
Their conversation was short and simple—Qi Xinglin had long gotten used to it. After closing the door again, she ran a frustrated hand through her messy hair. Thinking about the scolding that awaited her, she already regretted coming back to the family home.
She washed up briefly, changed into comfortable loungewear, and shuffled downstairs in her slippers. When she saw Qi Sheng still sitting in the living room, she rolled her eyes inwardly—he really was waiting to lecture her!
She pretended nothing was wrong as she sat down at the dining table, stirred her red bean porridge listlessly, and stole a few glances at Qi Sheng, who remained silent.
Qi Sheng was reading the news on his tablet. Noticing his daughter’s glances, he looked up and asked, “Got something to say?”
“No.” Qi Xinglin shook her head like a rattle drum, feeling confused. What was this, the calm before the storm? Was he planning to let her eat in peace before unloading on her?
With that thought, Qi Xinglin decided to drag out her meal. She sipped the porridge slowly for nearly half an hour, hoping her father would eventually leave. Unfortunately, by the time she had cleaned her bowl, the man across the room was still calmly reading the news on the sofa.
Qi Sheng had already seen through her little ploy. He didn’t expose her nor rush. Only when she finally set down her spoon did he put down the tablet and say, “Xiaolin, let’s talk about the news these past few days.”
Qi Xinglin didn’t want to, but since this man held all her financial power, she reluctantly walked over.
Staring at her father’s emotionless face, she couldn’t guess what angle he would take this time. She sighed inwardly and had to comfort herself—just endure it, it’ll pass soon. If he got mad and cut off her bank card, she could forget about staying in the industry.
Other people joined the entertainment world to make money, but Qi Xinglin hadn’t earned a cent so far—in fact, she’d spent a lot. To prevent her father from jumping to conclusions, Qi Xinglin quickly spoke up first, “Dad, please don’t believe all that nonsense online. Someone’s targeting me on purpose! I’ve been super dedicated on set—if you don’t believe me, ask our director!”
Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Dedicated? Then what’s with all these stunt doubles? And these photos and videos?”
He tilted his chin toward the tablet, signaling Qi Xinglin to look. On the screen was a paparazzi photo of her stunt double, and beneath it, a video ready to play.
Seeing all the stuff online, Qi Xinglin almost couldn’t hold back her anger. Fortunately, she remembered her manager Shitou’s repeated warnings and gritted her teeth to start playing the victim.
“Dad, it’s not what you think. I didn’t use a stunt double at first, but the director kept nitpicking my performance—maybe on purpose. He wouldn’t let any takes pass. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I asked my manager to find a double for me.”
What she said wasn’t exactly false. At first, she had genuinely wanted to be a hardworking actress. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have excitedly asked her manager to take behind-the-scenes photos of her at work to post on Weibo. But things didn’t go as planned. Just as she began to win over a few fans, before she could even enjoy their praise, she realized that filming was pure torture. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but being suspended in the air over and over had her on the brink of collapse. She had never suffered hardship in her life, and after sustaining multiple injuries, she couldn’t hold on anymore and resorted to using a double.
Qi Xinglin was never the type to endure hardship. After using a stunt double once, she discovered how many benefits it came with and became instantly dependent. All her lofty ideals about acting vanished without a trace. Once she no longer had to do difficult or physically demanding scenes, she finally stopped regretting entering the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, just as she began to feel happy, rumors about her started spreading like wildfire.
While inwardly cursing the person scheming behind her back, she also felt bitter. She hadn’t even had the chance to enjoy being adored by fans before becoming the industry’s newest cautionary tale. For the past two days, Qi Xinglin had been utterly frustrated. She had no idea who was trying to sabotage her—but at the same time, she suspected everyone.
“Dad, it must be Chu Yi! She’s jealous of the great resources I’m getting and deliberately trying to ruin me!”
“Chu Yi? That actress who was really popular not long ago?”
“Yes, that’s her. But she’s not really popular—she just got a lot of press releases to make her look that way!” Qi Xinglin took the opportunity to talk Chu Yi down, then continued, “She’s been clinging to me like glue since college, always trying to leech off my fame. Now that we’re both in the entertainment industry, she’s clearly scared I’ll surpass her, so she’s spreading these scandals to smear me!”
Listening to his daughter’s confident “analysis,” Qi Sheng looked amused. “I checked your crew list—Chu Yi’s not even in your production. How could she possibly set you up?”
“That’s easy. She just had to bribe someone on the crew. Besides, she was the only one who came to visit the set these past two days—who else could it be?”
His daughter’s expression was full of certainty, and Qi Sheng could only mentally facepalm. He pressed further. “Just because she’s jealous of your resources, she went this far to sabotage you? From what I heard, her current opportunities aren’t bad either.”
Qi Xinglin choked on her words for a moment. Then, thinking it over, she argued, “She’s afraid I’ll steal her spotlight! She knows I’m your daughter, so of course she’s worried I’ll get even better resources and rise to fame too quickly. That’s why she’s trying to ruin me before I become popular. Cases like this happen all the time in the entertainment world. I’m pretty and come from a good family—of course she’s threatened by me!”
Qi Sheng was amused by his daughter’s inexplicable confidence and asked, “If she knows who you are, logically she wouldn’t dare provoke you, right? Are you sure it was her?”
“If it wasn’t her, who else could it be?” Qi Xinglin muttered, momentarily unsure. But then she suddenly remembered how Director Xiao treated the two of them so differently and immediately reaffirmed her belief that Chu Yi was the culprit.
Yes! It had to be Chu Yi. She was jealous that I got to play a couple with Brother Xiao!