Qiangwei glanced up at Bai Tianlong, but then her gaze quickly shifted elsewhere.
Jiang Che slowly stood up, giving Su Mianmian's butt a firm pat. "Go sit over there."
"Meow—" A sharp, pained cry echoed.
The snow-white Ragdoll cat leaped off Jiang Che's lap in an instant.
[Jiang Che, you big idiot, I curse you to have a son with no asshole! %￥#@%￥#@......]
Hmm~ It was clear that Su Mianmian was cursing up a storm.
...
Jiang Che pulled Qiangwei closer. "Bai Jie must have told you, right? The paternity test report—I had her take it back for you to see."
Jiang Che's words startled Bai Tianlong. "Young Master Jiang, I saw the report. Is Qiangwei really my daughter?"
"My report was for the two of them. They're sisters. Whether you're the father or not, I can't say~"
"Uh..." Bai Tianlong's mouth twitched.
"Young Master Jiang, you must be joking. How could I not be her father? When I brought Xiao Jie back to the Bai family, I did over a dozen paternity tests!"
"Xiao Jie is absolutely my daughter, no doubt about it."
Jiang Che glanced at Bai Tianlong.
This old man is quite meticulous, huh? Isn't this supposed to be like those TV dramas where the rich guy's paternity test gets swapped by his evil stepmother, and then there's a whole mess of drama for dozens of episodes?
"Then it's settled. Qiangwei is your daughter."
After Jiang Che said this, Bai Tianlong's entire body trembled. "Qiangwei... how have you been all these years?"
Qiangwei: "......"
Jiang Che could tell that Qiangwei wasn't exactly thrilled about her biological father. The little girl still preferred him, her 'godfather.'
He spoke up on her behalf. "Do you think a young girl could have had an easy life wandering around the Middle East? It was a bit better when Bai Tianhuai was alive, but after that... well, you know."
"Qiangwei, your father has failed you..." Tears streamed down Bai Tianlong's face.
"Alright, alright, old man, if you want to cry, go cry somewhere else! Qiangwei is happy with me."
With all the nightly revelry, how could she not be happy?
Bai Tianlong: "......"
Jiang Che's casual "old man" almost sent Bai Tianlong into shock, but then he thought about Jiang Che's status... well, if he wants to call me "old man," so be it.
The pinyin for "old man" starts with a 'D,' and so does "dad." So, by substitution... Young Master Jiang is basically calling me "dad."
It's a good thing Jiang Che's 'mind-reading' ability only works on women, or else he'd definitely lose his composure.
"Alright, my Qiangwei doesn't seem too fond of you, her biological father. You can leave now."
Bai Tianlong was dumbfounded. "Young Master Jiang..."
"Someone, see him out—"
And just like that, Bai Tianlong was escorted out of the Jiang family estate.
As the gates slowly closed behind him, Bai Tianlong seemed to age ten years in an instant.
But soon, a thought struck him. "Since things have come to this, I might as well use this opportunity to boost the Bai family's influence in Hangzhou..."
Both my daughters are now Jiang Che's women. That should mean I've got a solid connection, right?
He smirked to himself. As the saying goes... laughter keeps you young!
......
With nothing better to do at home, Jiang Che started playing the piano again.
After all, his SSS-level piano skills couldn't just sit idle. His fingers danced gracefully across the keys of the pure white piano.
Qiangwei pulled up a small stool and sat beside him, her eyes fixated on Jiang Che as if she could see a radiant aura around him.
Jiang Che was playing "The Blue Danube," the melody alternating between soothing and lively.
[Huh? This tune sounds familiar... isn't this "The Blue Danube"? Isn't this a parallel world? How does this song exist here? That shouldn't be possible, right?]
Su Mianmian, the little Ragdoll cat perched on the wardrobe, was shocked!
Before her transmigration, she had been the most famous piano prodigy at the music academy, a provincial-level award-winning genius.
But sadly, before she could hold her own piano recital, she encountered her lifelong nemesis—a dump truck—which sent her into this parallel world, turning her into a pitiful and helpless Ragdoll cat, constantly bullied by a certain tyrant!
The little Ragdoll crawled into the wardrobe, skillfully pulled out a small phone, unlocked it with her paws, and started typing.
Piano piece: "The Blue Danube"...
[No results???]
[If this song doesn't exist here, then this guy... could he be from the same world as me?]
For a moment, Su Mianmian felt like crying.
When fellow countrymen meet, they might stab each other in the back... ahem, I mean, they shed tears of joy.
[Huh? This guy's piano skills aren't bad. He's got about 30% of my talent.]
["The Blue Danube" isn't a difficult piece, but not many can play it with such depth. If only I weren't a cat now, I'd show him a thing or two.]
But soon, Su Mianmian's attitude turned serious.
Jiang Che switched to another piece, shifting from the soothing melody to something intensely passionate.
[Is this... "Flight of the Bumblebee"? Ugh... this jerk is showing off again! He's decent, I guess, about 70% as good as me.]
Jiang Che continued to ramp up the difficulty, showing off with pieces like "Croatian Rhapsody" and "Piano Concerto No. 3."
Finally, he returned to "The Blue Danube," like the calm after a storm, but this time he pushed his SSS-level piano skills to the limit, creating a truly unique interpretation.
True piano masters rarely show off. It's the ability to play a simple, gentle piece with such mastery that defines a real virtuoso.
Su Mianmian—no, the entire cat—was utterly stunned.
She stared at Jiang Che's figure, and in this final rendition of "The Blue Danube," she seemed to see the shadows of all the great pianists who had come before.
Even MacArthur himself would have no words—
[Holy crap! A true master! Master, please accept my kneel!]
Jiang Che glanced casually at the restless Su Mianmian in the wardrobe, successfully gaining a new fangirl.
"Jiang Che, you're amazing!" Qiangwei's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Her small hand reached out tentatively to touch the piano keys, producing a pleasant note.
"Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
"Can... can I? But all I've ever held is a gun," Qiangwei hesitated.
Ahem, in the past, it was real guns, and now... well, it's still real guns!
"Of course, my dear. Let me teach you."
With that, Jiang Che lifted Qiangwei onto his lap and began teaching her how to play the piano, guiding her hands.
Jiang Che was, after all, a 'National First-Class Piano Athlete'!
What? You're wondering why he's a piano athlete instead of a piano master?
Well, those who know, know!