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Chapter 1
Call Me Daddy - Chapter 1
[Do you feel angry? Clearly, you were a favored child of heaven, yet time and again, you became someone else’s stepping stone. Your family was ruined, and your kinship was obliterated...]
Who’s talking in my head...?
Su Aobai didn’t know how long he had been asleep. A long, seductive voice woke him up, and in the next second, his mind was filled with countless awakened memories.
It was indeed pitiful; among so many lifetimes of memories, not a single one had a good ending.
In the first lifetime, he was a rich second generation, yet he caused his family to go bankrupt, and his parents committed suicide.
In the second lifetime, he was a second-generation cultivator, yet he led his sect to destruction, and his father died of rage.
In the third lifetime, he was the heir of a prince’s mansion. He humiliated a servant, who returned with a mighty army, overthrew the dynasty, and exterminated Su Aobai’s entire family.
...
...
Su Aobai thought he was truly unlucky, but perhaps his parents were even more unfortunate. They did nothing wrong, but just because they gave birth to him, their unlucky son, they were dragged down to death.
[Do you want revenge? The Cannon Fodder Face-Slapping System is at your service.]
The tempting voice continued in his mind.
Su Aobai wanted it. How could he not want revenge? He felt extremely wronged in every lifetime. If given a chance to start over, he would definitely be a proper second generation, obediently inherit the family assets, and never go against the favored child of destiny.
[Very well, Cannon Fodder Face... zzz... zzz... System error, system error...]
The Cannon Fodder Face-Slapping System looked in horror at its selected host’s hidden memories of several lifetimes.
No wonder... as a son, he always caused trouble for his father, but in past lives, he always caused trouble for his children...
Now, he even caused trouble for the system. This wouldn’t do. Before completing the main task of face-slapping, those past injustices had to be cleared up.
Suddenly, a chaotic and noisy sound erupted in Su Aobai’s head, like an old radio being interfered with by electromagnetic waves, making a static noise.
[System interference detected, warning, warning, system interference detected...]
Then came a prolonged beeping sound. After an unknown period, another voice emerged.
[Hello, upon inspection, the Cannon Fodder Face-Slapping System is incompatible with your essence. From now on, this system is officially renamed the Good Daddy System. The first task will commence shortly. Have a pleasant journey.]
Wait! Does this system come with an automatic transformation feature?
Su Aobai felt he had been tricked. What kind of system is Good Daddy System?
The name itself sounded quite dubious. He had been a son for so many lifetimes and had never been a father.
But before he could refuse, his head spun and he lost consciousness.
***
“Su Mingcheng, my mom said your dad abandoned your mom and you siblings. How can a fatherless kid like you be our leader?”
In the threshing ground of the Xiazhi Brigade’s lower brigade, two groups of children were facing off.
In this era, chubby kids were rare. Each child was skinny and tanned, like a group of agile little monkeys. The boy who spoke looked about 9 or 10 years old, with a bald head topped with a piece of newspaper smeared with plant ash, possibly from a mishap while an adult shaved his head with a knife the previous night.
At this moment, he stood with his hands on his hips, looking extremely arrogant and hard to deal with.
The boy standing opposite him was shorter, even skinnier, and darker. Upon hearing the boy’s words, he pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes full of anger.
“Get him!”
He raised his arm and lunged at the other boy, wrapping his limbs around him and bringing them both to the ground, wrestling fiercely.
Seeing their leaders fighting, the children on both sides also charged at each other with loud shouts.
By the time the adults arrived to break up the fight, both sides were covered in scratches and bruises, their bodies and heads smeared with the chaff that had scattered during threshing, looking utterly disheveled.
Circumstances force people to grow up. Although Jiang Lianmei still didn’t believe that her loving husband, who adored their two children, would not return, the increasing gossip made her change quite a bit.
In the past, if her son fought with other children and their parents came to complain, she would first look to her husband for help. If he wasn’t there, she would turn to her father, feeling helpless and lost, relying on those around her to handle everything.
“He deserved it!”
Su Mingcheng turned his head, lifting his chin high with a stubborn expression.
What could he say? Should he tell them that someone called him a fatherless wild child?
Wouldn’t that be admitting that others thought his father had abandoned them?
His mother had a soft personality and couldn’t handle such matters. Su Mingcheng felt that he was now the only man in the family and had to protect the women in the house from being hurt and saddened.
“That’s not true. Tie Zi first called the boss a fatherless wild child, so the boss fought him.”
Su Mingcheng wanted to be a man, but his little follower wouldn’t let him. The boy loudly repeated Tie Zi’s provocative words.
“How can you say such things!”
“Exactly, children learn from their parents. Tie Zi’s mother, is this what you teach your child?”
The surrounding adults started to criticize Tie Zi’s mother. Jiang Lianmei was well-liked in the team, while Tie Zi’s mother was known for her gossip. Moreover, people wanted to stay in the good graces of the Jiang family. Even if Su Aobai really didn’t come back, Jiang Lianmei was still the team leader’s sister.
“What did I say? Wasn’t it the truth? It’s been 3 months with no news. Educated Youth Su is definitely not coming back. He’s a city person. Who would want to return to the countryside for a hard life if they had a chance to stay in the city? Besides, there are plenty of pretty girls in the city.”
In the Xiazhi brigade, Jiang Lianmei was regarded as the village flower. But in the city, she was just another country girl.
Tie Zi’s mother didn’t say it outright, but her expression made it clear.
“It was your son who started it. Our Mingcheng did nothing wrong.”
Jiang Lianmei stood up, shielding her son, showing an uncharacteristic firmness.
“Whether or not my husband comes back, your Tie Zi, with both parents raising him, hasn’t turned out any better.”
These words almost made Tie Zi’s mother feel faint with anger. She nearly forgot about the Jiang family behind Jiang Lianmei and was about to attack her.
***
“Lanmei! Lanmei! Your Teacher Su is back!”
A woman came running from a distance, unwrapping the red cloth from her head and waving it excitedly.
Su Aobai is back!
Everyone’s expressions changed. Jiang Lianmei’s smile nearly reached her ears. She scooped up her eldest son and ran toward the village entrance.
Suddenly, she remembered something, and after a few steps, she turned back to puff out her chest at Tie Zi’s mother.
Humph, how could my husband possibly abandon me and our two children?
Though she didn’t say a word, the pride on her face was unmistakable. Tie Zi’s mother was both furious and frustrated but had nothing to say in response.
How could Educated Youth Su have come back?!
***
Meanwhile, Su Aobai, carrying a large bag of luggage, was feeling utterly defeated as he walked down the muddy country road.
In every life, he had been a second-generation elite. Even though he often ended up in ruin, he usually met his end quickly. He had never suffered much hardship or pain.
However, the stench of old feet mixed with livestock manure on the green train of that era made Su Aobai feel like he was dying countless times during the 3-day journey.
Su Aobai reflected on how he, a second-generation elite and prodigal in every sense, had ended up in such a miserable situation.
He wanted to break the contract, but the system wouldn’t allow it. Instead, it administered a series of electric shocks that forced Su Aobai to comply. Being a father to two children couldn’t be that hard, he thought. Perhaps I wasn’t great at being a son, but maybe I could excel as a father.
Su Aobai silently comforted himself, then mimicked the original owner by showing a warm and friendly smile to the familiar faces around him.
(T/N: Author has explained in a note that ML just doesn’t know these are also his past lives. However, translator might sometimes use ‘original owner’ and ‘original self’ interchangeably while mentioning past ‘Su Aobai’ to make it easier to understand when he finds out later.)