Chapter 46 I Have a Dad

The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this. Xia Zhiyun's cheeks flushed bright red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Gu Zheng was stunned. He looked at Xia Zhiyun's reddened ears, then looked down at Yuanyuan's bright, expectant eyes, and couldn't bring himself to say no.

He already liked this little girl; she was clever and well-behaved, not to mention she was the nation's precious darling.

Even the central government issued a special official document to give her special protection, and countless bigwigs are scrambling to get involved with her.

Now that she's offering to acknowledge him as her father, how could he possibly object?

"sure,"

Gu Zheng squatted down to be at eye level with Yuanyuan, gently placed his hand on her head and patted it, "It's my honor."

Yuanyuan blinked her eyes, and it took her a while to react. She opened her arms and rushed into Gu Zheng's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Great! I have a dad now!"

Gu Zheng was overjoyed when she called him "Dad." He had never planned to get married in his life, so having a daughter like her made it all worthwhile. He bent down and kissed the top of her head.

"Um."

Xia Zhiyun sat on the hospital bed, her heart pounding as she watched this scene. First, she was surprised, then she felt a secret excitement.

It doesn't matter if Gu Zheng doesn't remember her; as long as he's willing to treat Yuanyuan well, that's enough.

She didn't expect anything to develop between them; all she wanted now was to watch her daughter grow up, and romance was no longer important to her.

"Daddy, Daddy..."

Yuanyuan kept calling out, and you could tell how excited and happy she was just by listening.

Gu Zheng's eyes and brows softened. If those old guys knew that he had recognized Yuanyuan as his daughter, they would probably be jumping up and down with jealousy.

Those people doted on Yuanyuan all the time, wanting to give her the very best, just to make her happy. They'd even bring her back some little trinket from the Beast World.

Gu Zheng patted Yuan Yuan's back, put her back on the stool, and casually picked up a tissue to wipe the egg foam from the corner of her mouth.

"Finish your meal first, and then your godfather will take you back to the Forestry Bureau. Your little pet is still waiting for you."

"Oh right! I wonder if the little wolf and the little snake are behaving well."

Yuanyuan slapped her forehead, picked up her chopsticks, buried her head in her rice, and stuffed her little mouth full.

Xia Zhiyun felt much better watching the natural interaction between the father and daughter.

"Mr. Gu, you've really gone to so much trouble for me, Yuanyuan..."

"Just call me Gu Zheng."

Gu Zheng interrupted her, "I like Yuanyuan, and taking care of her is part of my job, it's not troublesome."

He wasn't lying; there were so many people at the base vying to take care of him, but no one could get a turn.

After finishing his meal, Gu Zheng packed up the lunchbox, reminded Xia Zhiyun of the doctor's instructions, and then left the ward with Yuanyuan in his hand.

It was already completely dark outside, and the warm yellow light from the streetlights cast two shadows of different lengths on the ground.

The two walked to the helipad and boarded the helicopter.

The pilots inside were already seated and waiting.

The plane slowly ascended, and Yuanyuan leaned against Gu Zheng, chattering away about the beast world.

"Dad, the trees in the Beast World are so tall, taller than the Forestry Bureau's office building."

"The aunties there all have fluffy animal ears on their heads. I really like them and I want one too."

"There's another kind of herb that tastes sweet when you chew it and can cure stomach aches. I brought a lot back with me, I kept some for my mom and gave the rest to my dad."

Yuanyuan fell asleep while talking.

She didn't wake up when the helicopter landed, so Gu Zheng carried her off the helicopter.

Yuanyuan's new room is on the third floor. It's a suite, with a living room outside and a bedroom inside.

As soon as the door opened, a white shadow rushed over and circled around Yuanyuan's feet.

Seeing the little wolf Yuanyuan in Gu Zheng's arms look up at him and howl a few times.

Seeing that he wouldn't let her down, she bit his trouser leg and tugged at it gently.

Although the wolf cub was small, its bite force was not weak, and Gu Zheng could clearly feel that his pants had been torn.

I wasn't angry.

He carried Yuanyuan and continued walking forward.

A moment later, the little snake swam out from under the sofa. It swam to Gu Zheng, swished its tail, and raised its head, trying to see Yuan Yuan, but Gu Zheng was too tall to see it at all.

"Hiss?" He tilted his head in confusion.

Finally, she climbed up Gu Zheng's trouser leg, while Gu Zheng, stiff as a board, held Yuan Yuan without making any other moves.

Yuanyuan was awakened by the coldness on her wrist.

He opened his eyes and bumped right into the little snake's vertical pupils, and was stunned for a while before he came to his senses.

When Gu Zheng saw that she was awake, he put her down.

Yuanyuan tapped the little snake's head, "Was the little snake good today?"

"Hiss!"

"Have you been a good girl and not caused any trouble?"

He knelt down again, picked up the little wolf, and asked, "Have you eaten properly?"

"Awoo!" The little wolf nodded and licked the back of Yuanyuan's hand with its tongue.

The little snake coiled twice around her wrist, remaining motionless.

"Huh, this isn't my room?"

Yuanyuan teased the two little ones for a while before realizing something was wrong with the room.

"This is your new room. It has a living room so you can move around freely."

Gu Zheng pointed to the corner, "That's the toy area where you can play with toys."

Upon hearing this, Yuanyuan could no longer sit still and excitedly ran to the toy section.

In the corner, there were piles of colorful building blocks of all kinds, on the wall hung a game board that could stick suction cup balls, and on the ground were various running plastic animals, the models of which were made very realistically.

There are also various toys that little girls like to play with.

"Wow!"

Yuanyuan threw her hand away and rushed inside, squatting down in front of the pile of building blocks and rummaging through them. She didn't forget to turn back and shout towards the door, "Little wolf, come and see! There are so many fun things here!"

The little wolf darted to her feet, rubbed its head against the back of her hand, and scratched at it with its little paws, mimicking her actions.

The little snake slid down her wrist, coiled around the toy shelf next to her, and wiggled its tail, peeking its little head inside.

Full of curiosity.

Gu Zheng then pointed to a small door next to him, "That's a small study, filled with many books and picture books. You can take a look when you have time."

Also, practice your calligraphy. You need to practice writing more every day; this is a crucial time for learning characters.

"Okay, Dad."

Yuanyuan didn't even look up.

Gu Zheng waited for her to play for about ten minutes before speaking:

"Yuanyuan, it's getting late. Go wash up and go to bed. You have training tomorrow."

It's already 9:30.

"Okay, Dad."

Yuanyuan looked up from her toys and said, "Daddy, you should get some rest too."

"Okay." Gu Zheng ruffled her hair, then turned and left the room.

...

After closing the door, Gu Zheng's smile faded slightly, and he took out his phone to send a message.

The reply came quickly: "Professor Gu, the coaching arrangements for tomorrow are as follows:"

The morning schedule includes a 3-kilometer run, an hour of shooting practice, and identification of 15 different herbs. The afternoon will feature terrain analysis and risk avoidance simulation in the animal kingdom. Everything is ready.

Gu Zheng put away his phone, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

Yuanyuan's training needs to be intensified. According to video analysis from intelligence feedback, meteorological experts predict that the rainy season will begin soon after the hot season, and it may rain for several months.

The stronger her abilities, the more secure she will be in the beast world.

The higher-ups have issued a new mission: to try to get Yuanyuan to bring special forces with her when she travels back in time, so that they can enter the Beast World together.