Wen Qiong's home was on the fourth floor. Little Tangtang's mother had already gotten Wen Qiong's message and was now busy in the kitchen.

Little Tangtang was lounging on the sofa, swinging her little feet clad in pink socks. She hugged a Peppa Pig doll as she watched the show on TV.

She beamed with joy upon seeing Xia Liang arrive. "Uncle Xia, you're here! Did you come to protect Tangtang?" she asked, walking over to him affectionately. Xia Liang squatted down and gave her a hug.

"Little Tangtang is such a good girl. Uncle chased all the bad guys away, so you don't have to be afraid anymore."

"Mhm! Uncle is the most, most, most awesome! So, can you be my daddy? Then you can protect me and Mommy. Oh, and my aunt, and Grandma, and Godmother, too!"

"..."

Xia Liang was stunned by Little Tangtang's words. This must be a family trait! First Wen Qiong's direct confession, and now even this little kid knows how to ask for a dad directly. I'm puzzled, though. Doesn't she have a father?

"Tangtang, don't talk nonsense. Go back to watching TV and don't bother Uncle Li."

Two people emerged from the kitchen, having heard the commotion. One was an elderly woman with graying temples, who smiled kindly at the guest. Following her was a woman in her early twenties, dressed simply in a black tracksuit and wearing a kitchen cap. As she walked out, she smoothly removed the cap, letting her silky black hair tumble down. She gave her head a light shake and deftly gathered her hair back with both hands. Every one of her movements exuded a mature charm.

The one who had spoken was this younger woman. She wasn't shy at all when she noticed Xia Liang looking at her and addressed him with composure.

"Mister Xia, I'm sorry for any trouble my child caused. I can't thank you enough for what you did yesterday. If anything happened to Tangtang... I don't know how I would've gone on living."

As she spoke, she bowed deeply to Xia Liang three times. The older woman beside her also began thanking him profusely.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal. I just happened to be there, that's all. It was no trouble," Xia Liang said, reaching out to gently steady the woman's slender shoulders.

Tangtang's grandmother's surname was Liu, and she was cousins with his landlord, so Xia Liang addressed her as Aunt Liu as well. Afterwards, Xia Liang played with Little Tangtang and her toys in the living room while the mother, grandmother, and aunt got busy in the kitchen.

CLICK!

"Mother Liu, are you making something good again today? I could smell it all the way from my apartment! That's it, I'm crashing your dinner tonight!"

A moment later, a figure popped in through the front door, already talking as she walked inside. Xia Liang turned and saw it was none other than Tang Jie.

She was wearing a long, pink nightgown that left her smooth calves exposed, and on her feet was a pair of slippers with long rabbit ears. When the young woman saw a man like Xia Liang in the room, she let out a yelp—"Oh my god!"—before spinning around and running off.

Xia Liang's lip twitched as he watched Tang Jie disappear, the long rabbit ears on her hood bouncing as she went. That completely overturned his impression of her. He never expected her to have such a cute side.

"Brother Xia, who was that just now?"

It was Wen Qiong's voice. She had only been getting in the way in the kitchen. She had wanted to show off for Xia Liang but was ultimately chased out.

"Oh, that was Tang Jie. She came by and then left. Does she live here?"

"Sister Jie's family lives right next door. Back when this area was still rural, we were neighbors. After the resettlement, the apartments we were given were still next to each other. See, we're in 402, and she lives alone in 401 now. We both have keys to each other's apartments. By the way, Brother Xia, where are you from? Do you like hot pot? Do you play games?"

Wen Qiong sat down right next to Xia Liang, peppering him with one question after another, looking as if she were determined to win him over.

After they chatted for a while, Wen Qiong was called away to set the table. Soon, one sumptuous dish after another was brought out from the kitchen.

Just then, Tang Jie returned. This time, she had changed into a fashionable outfit and put on some light makeup, exuding a youthful vitality. After greeting Xia Liang, she sat down in the seat Wen Qiong had just vacated.

The meal was ready in no time. With the family of four showering him with attention and piling food onto his plate, Xia Liang finished the bountiful lunch. He finally bid them farewell under Little Tangtang's reluctant gaze.

"Uncle Xia, you have to come visit me often, okay?"

Looking into her adorable eyes, Xia Liang ruffled her hair.

"No problem! Next time, Uncle will take you to an amusement park."

"Yay!" Little Tangtang was overjoyed.

Xia Liang continued his ridesharing journey for the rest of the day. Later that evening, after finishing his workout, he was incredibly excited, because today was a special day. Right at midnight, the voice of the System echoed in his head.

[Ding—Congratulations, Worker. This month's work has been settled.

Days Worked This Month: 31.

The System will now issue rewards: Basic salary of 160,000.

Your monthly wage of 160,000 RMB has been deposited into the System Bank, available for withdrawal at any time. Bonus: 8,000. Perfect Attendance Award: 8,000.

Work Points Issued: 160.

Host's RMB Balance: 487,664.98.

Work Points Balance: 2,168.]

Yes!

Xia Liang was ecstatic. With the rewards distributed, he eagerly prepared to check the job for the next month, but nothing appeared.

[Ding—Host has completed 10 consecutive work assignments. The System is now upgrading. Upgrade process will take 7 days. Reward: 7 days of paid leave.]

Huh? Xia Liang thought, stunned. He had no idea there was such a thing as paid leave.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.