Beneath the mask was, as expected, that handsome face which the entire Federation was crazy about . On it, was Ling Xiao's trademark smile, still as likeable and respectable as ever .

Ling Xiao's words made his two bodyguards stare in shock at Ling Lan . Although they had always known General Ling Xiao had a child, they had not known the particulars, much less that he was studying at the First Men's Military Academy . No wonder the general had randomly decided to come here this time — he was probably here to see his child .

Realisation flashed through the two bodyguards' eyes, and they turned unanimously to stare somewhere else, showing that they were unconcerned with their senior officer's private matters . But clearly, their ears were perked up high — deep inside, they were still very curious about how General Ling Xiao interacted with his son …

These straightforward words of Ling Xiao, filled with fatherly love, left Ling Lan somewhat uncertain on how to react . Mind you, when they had first met, Ling Xiao's demeanour had been extremely reserved . It should be said that, having been absent for the 16 years of Ling Lan's life when she had been growing up, Ling Xiao was completely clueless about how he should express his fatherly love … Equally fl.u.s.tered, both Ling Lan and Ling Xiao had been trying to adapt to their new roles, trying to accept each other's existence .

Unexpectedly, after this time apart, seeing Ling Xiao again, her father had actually changed his original warm but reserved manner completely, becoming extremely aggressive in his approach, all 'I am your father so you must accept me' … but this type of Ling Xiao was something Ling Lan was not ready for, so she actually did not know what to do anymore .

She couldn't very well say coyly back that she did not need her dad to miss her … right, this type of flirtatious conversation was really inappropriate between them . Therefore, Ling Lan could only react with silence!

“You've been gone for so long, we all miss you a lot . Also, your mum has been worried these days whether you're adapting well to life in the military academy, so when she found out about this opportunity, she asked me to come and see . ” Ling Xiao saw Ling Lan staying silent and felt that something was up, so after once more expressing how much he had missed his daughter, he decisively pushed the blame 1  onto his wife . Before outsiders, ahem ahem, he still had to maintain his dignity as a general somehow .

Ling Lan peered coldly at him, then replied evenly, “Tell mum that I'm fine on all fronts here . And also, if you are missing your son, I recommend, father, that you go back and discuss things over with mum . Based on the current situation, the both of you could just birth another one . At that time, you won't have the free time for your mind to stray anymore . ”

“Er … that's a matter for later . ” Ling Xiao could only chuckle awkwardly at this reply of Ling Lan's which gave him no face, but he did not dare to say anything in return . Who asked him to owe his own daughter so much as a dad?

The fact remained that it was all his fault — putting aside his disappearance for 16 years, why did he have to make such a huge blunder right after he returned? Actually sending his own daughter right into the great wolves' den of the First Men's Military Academy … every time he thought of this, Ling Xiao could not help but stamp his feet and pound his chest, unbelievably frustrated and annoyed .

Although Ling Xiao had received a blow from Ling Lan, his extraordinarily strong heart was completely fine . He continued to carry out his plan with determination . Yes, before he had to leave the military academy, he intended to capture the heart of his daughter and let her call him 'daddy' with full sincerity, not this cold and emotionless address she was using now . Just imagining his daughter coyly and adorably calling him 'daddy', he felt ardour and zeal coursing through his blood .

Right then, Ling Xiao had conveniently ignored reality — would Ling Lan, with her typically cold-domineering-unruly swag, really morph into a delicate and cute persona and address someone coyly? Clearly, Ling Xiao's imaginings would absolutely never become reality …

Before Ling Lan, even Ling Xiao had to back off sometimes — his initially warm smile filled with boundless suns.h.i.+ne even seemed a little awkward now — but it was precisely this conciliatory and compromising display of fatherly love which caused a mult.i.tude of feelings to well up in the hearts of Qi Long and the others . Some of them were even looking at their boss with admiration and reverence — as expected of their Boss Lan, even in the face of General Ling Xiao, he could be so collected and domineering …

Relating the relations.h.i.+p between Ling Xiao and Ling Lan to their relations.h.i.+ps with their own fathers, all of them felt like crying . Why was Boss Lan's father, General Ling Xiao, so good-tempered, so warm and nice, and so tolerant? When they thought about their own dads back home with angry slanted brows and full of criticism, they began to wonder whether they had been wild children randomly picked up from somewhere … 2

It had to be said that Ling Xiao's method of expressing his fatherly love had hurt the souls of these children .

As a result, after reflecting on this pain, Ling Lan's band of little companions all decided that when they returned home, they would raise their flags and fight for independence, beginning their prolonged revolutionary life . This would also cause their fathers to stab knives at Ling Xiao's image in the dark depths of the night when no one else was around …

Against this move of Ling Xiao's, even the composed Ling Lan was helpless and relented . How could Ling Lan have known that this national idol, this supreme elite of the Federation, would actually be this thick-skinned? Ling Lan, who had always not been good at expressing herself, could only rub her nose at this time, keeping her silence once again . She couldn't very well heartlessly chase away her dad who had travelled all this way to visit her!

At the heart of it, this behaviour of Ling Xiao's had still moved Ling Lan considerably — right then, she truly felt like she was a wild and unruly daughter being spoilt and pampered by her father .

Who was Ling Xiao? He immediately sensed the softening of his daughter's heart and was instantly overjoyed, convinced that he had done the right thing .

Honestly, regarding how Ling Lan had always been unwilling to accept him as her daddy, Ling Xiao had been very anxious despite feeling resigned to it . After saying goodbye to Ling Lan previously, he had constantly been thinking how he could resolve this distance between Ling Lan and him .

Ling Xiao had never been a father before — so suddenly having a daughter emerge out of nowhere made him exceedingly fl.u.s.tered, unsure how to communicate with her . Although Ling Xiao did not know what to do, he was someone who was willing to learn . Thus, even while he was working on establis.h.i.+ng the 23rd Division, he had not forgotten to purchase lots of reading materials about parent and child relations.h.i.+ps from the virtual network . Outside work, whenever he had the free time, he would hide away in his study and pore over these books diligently, trying hard to seek a solution to his problem …

After reading through countless books, he finally felt it was time to progress to the next stage . Thus, he had decisively grabbed the chance to come down here to the military academy and rushed over excitedly, prepared to sweep away this issue that had been plaguing him for so long in one concerted attempt . In short, he would definitely become the most perfect daddy in his daughter's eyes .

Therefore, the moment they met, he had followed the instructions of the books: Fatherly love should not be hidden . It must be explicitly expressed, otherwise your child will not feel it and think you do not love him … Only by letting your child feel your love will he accept you, and only then can you establish a close relations.h.i.+p with your child …

Of course, when Ling Xiao read those books, he was absolutely ignoring that line of extremely small print at the bottom of the covers: This book is only suitable for use on babies aged 0-3 .

Ling Xiao felt as if he had gained something, which made him even more convinced of the efficacy of the books' guidance . All smiles, he looked towards the few youths standing behind Ling Lan and said kindly, “You all must be Ling Lan's good friends . It's a pleasure meeting you all for the first time . And also, thank you all for taking care of Ling Lan all this while . ”

Ling Xiao's friendly manner fl.u.s.tered Qi Long and the others . Overwhelmed by this unexpected show of favour, they quickly replied, “Not at all, G-general Ling …” Fine, having gotten used to the stern authoritative image of their own fathers, Ling Xiao's att.i.tude of treating them like equals was undoubtedly a shock to them .

Of course, at the same time, their expressions were dreamy . Even though they had long known that Ling Xiao was Ling Lan's father, they had never met him before . In their minds, Ling Xiao was still that national idol far away out of reach, their lifelong goal in their studies . And now, they had finally encountered their idol in the flesh in such close quarters .

“You all are my son Ling Lan's good friends . Just call me Uncle Ling,” said Ling Xiao with a wide smile . When Ling Lan heard this, the frost on her face thawed a little .

Ling Xiao yelled a great big YES in his heart — sure enough, to be a qualified dad, one must treat the little companions who played with one's child with a good att.i.tude . This would make the child feel that they were respected, and they would just love you more and become even closer with you .

“Yes, Un-uncle Ling!” They looked at that face of Ling Xiao's which was so youthful it could almost pa.s.s off as their own elder brother's, and once more compared it to the grizzled faces of their dads adorned with white sideburns, and were instantly tearing up inside . This cry of 'uncle' was truly quite difficult for them . But they were well aware that these words of Ling Xiao meant that he had acknowledged them, accepting them as Ling Lan's confidants .

Watching Ling Xiao conversing with Qi Long and the others with full sincerity, his att.i.tude warm and an easy smile on his face, Ling Lan stared up into the sky, utterly speechless .

Ling Lan knew her dad's charisma was boundless, but this was truly too much . With just a simple exchange of words, he had completely taken Qi Long and the other four in under his spell . Seeing their faces filled with idolisation and adoration, Qi Long and the others might have already forgotten that they still had their boss by their side . This made Ling Lan feel a little wistful — as expected, she was still no match for her dad …

Even more frightening was the fact that, in the minds.p.a.ce, Little Four had been screaming his adoration non-stop ever since Ling Xiao had arrived . He was making so much noise that her head hurt . Not only that, he was even complaining that Ling Lan was not giving him a chance to talk with Ling Xiao . His various antics expressing his gloom and sadness almost made Ling Lan resort to domestic violence once more . Luckily for Little Four, after being tempered by Instructor Number Five's countless perverse training torments, Ling Lan still managed to restrain herself before she went berserk .

Still, right after, Little Four was heartlessly thrown by Ling Lan into a small dark room, and the world was instantly peaceful and quiet again . Ling Lan felt refreshed and at ease down to her very soul .

However, Ling Lan's good mood soon turned sour again . This was because she could hear Qi Long and the others telling Ling Xiao everything that had happened ever since they had entered the military academy without any reservations . They told him how they had been pressed by the seniors since joining the school, forced to accept a wagered fight with Leiting, and how three members of the New Cadet Regiment had been injured heavily in the subsequent arena, requiring Boss Lan to use his mighty fist to settle the issue, etcetera etcetera …

Fine, telling him all this, so be it . But unexpectedly, that brat Luo Lang actually told Ling Xiao all about the incident with Tianji with a grieved expression on his face . When Ling Xiao heard that there were actually evil and manipulative students within the school that liked the same gender 3 , his initially warm and genial smile finally cracked …

With a 'boom', the livid Ling Xiao slapped a powerful palm down onto the onlytea table 4 in the living room of Ling Lan's villa, pulverizing it into dust .

“b.a.s.t.a.r.d, how dare he!” Ling Xiao roared . His force of presence whipped free for an instant, and all the lights in the hall shattered with consecutive pops, plunging the entire villa into darkness .

Apparently, his daughter, who was as lovely as flowers and jade, was still in so much danger even though she was disguised as a boy …