A Billionaire CEO Brings His Child Home: The Awakening of the Stay-at-Home Dad System

"Tingting," Chen Hao began, "Daddy wants to tell you about our hometown, okay?"

Shen Xiaoting turned her head and saw her father's eyes in the rearview mirror. She nodded gently.

"There's a huge camphor tree in my hometown," Chen Hao said as he drove. "My dad used to climb that tree to play when he was little."

"The trunk is so thick," he gestured, then stopped, remembering his daughter couldn't see from the back seat. "It would take several people holding hands to encircle it."

There's a big rock under the tree; it's especially cool to sit on in the summer.

Shen Xiaoting blinked, didn't speak, but was clearly listening.

"There's also a small river," Chen Hao continued, "The water is very shallow, only up to Dad's calves."

There are small fish in the river, about the length of a finger, that swim incredibly fast. You can't catch them with your hands.

There are also little crabs hiding under the rocks. If you turn the rocks over, they'll scurry away sideways.

"Crabs?" Shen Xiaoting finally spoke, her voice soft. "Will they pinch?"

"The little crab's claws are very small, they won't hurt if it pinches you," Chen Hao smiled. "But don't worry, Dad won't let it pinch you."

Shen Xiaoting's lips curled up slightly, but she quickly closed them again.

"And there are rice paddies," Chen Hao said. "They're huge, and in the summer they're all lush and green. When the wind blows, they look like ocean waves, one after another."

In autumn, they turn golden yellow, which is especially beautiful.

When my father was a child, he used to catch grasshoppers in the fields and string them together with foxtail grass.

"What is a grasshopper?" Shen Xiaoting asked.

"It's a green bug that can jump, it can jump really high," Chen Hao said. "But don't be afraid, it doesn't bite."

Shen Xiaoting tilted her head, as if imagining what a grasshopper looks like.

The wariness and unfamiliarity on her little face were gradually fading, replaced by a pure, unadulterated expectation unique to children.

"Dad," she suddenly called out.

Chen Hao was startled.

This is the second time his daughter has called him "Dad," but this time it's different from the first.

The first time was at the door of the rented house. Shen Mengyao asked her to call out, and she called out timidly, as if she were completing a task.

This time, she called out to him on her own initiative.

"Hmm?" He tried to keep his voice calm, but his fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel.

"Do you have swings back home?" Shen Xiaoting asked.

Chen Hao thought for a moment. He remembered that when he was a child, he did hang a swing on the big camphor tree at the entrance of the village. It was made of hemp rope and a wooden board. Later, the rope broke and he never hung it on again.

"Not now," he said.

"But Daddy can make you one. Do you want to swing?"

"Mmm." Shen Xiaoting nodded, her voice tinged with a hint of excitement. "When Mom took me to the park, I rode the swing. It was so much fun."

This was the first time she had mentioned Shen Mengyao on her own initiative, and she didn't cry.

Chen Hao glanced at her in the rearview mirror. Her expression was calm, even carrying a hint of the pleasure of reminiscing.

"Okay," he said. "When we get back, Dad will make you a swing, even better than the ones in the park."

Shen Xiaoting's lips finally curled up, revealing a small, faint smile.

When she smiles, two faint dimples appear on her cheeks. They are barely noticeable unless you look closely, but once you do, it brightens up the whole world.

When Chen Hao saw that smile, his heart felt filled with something, so full it was about to overflow.

He looked away and continued driving.

The car traveled at a steady speed on the highway, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from the tall buildings of the city to the low-rise buildings of the suburbs, and then to large areas of farmland and forests.

Shen Xiaoting looked out the window for a while, then gradually quieted down.

About twenty minutes later, when Chen Hao looked in the rearview mirror again, he found that his daughter's head was tilted to one side, resting against the side of the seat, her eyes were closed, her little mouth was slightly open, and her breathing was even and long.

She fell asleep.

Chen Hao turned up the car's air conditioning temperature a little, adjusted the direction of the air vents so they weren't pointing directly at the back seats, and turned off the music to keep the car as quiet as possible.

As he drove, he would occasionally glance at his sleeping daughter through the rearview mirror.

She looked so adorable when she was asleep. Her eyelashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow on her cheek, and her little hands slid down from the armrest and rested on her legs, her fingers slightly curled, like a small, soft, and fragile porcelain doll.

Chen Hao's nose started to sting again.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the sour feeling.

Now is not the time for sentimentality. He needs to drive safely to his daughter's hometown so that she can have a happy six months in the countryside.

He remembered the live streaming system he had just studied and thought he could try it out now.

Since his daughter was asleep, he didn't need to speak, so he just treated it as a test of the function.

He first parked his car on the side of the road, then took out his phone and opened the Douyin app.

He used to use Douyin (TikTok), but he had never posted a video or done a live stream.

He opened his profile page, which was completely empty. His profile picture was a default gray silhouette, his nickname was a string of system-generated numbers, and he had zero followers.

He clicked "Edit Profile," changed his profile picture to a photo of the sky he had casually taken while refueling, and changed his nickname to "Brother Hao Takes the Kid Back to the Countryside."

The profile reads, "Former programmer at a major internet company, now living a rural life with my daughter back in my hometown."

Then he clicked the "Start Live Stream" button, and the platform prompted him to complete real-name authentication.

He uploaded a photo of his ID card as prompted, underwent facial recognition, and was successfully authenticated in about two minutes.

The platform then prompted him to activate live streaming permissions. He clicked "apply," and since it was a regular video live stream with no requirement for the number of followers, the application was approved instantly.

He can now stream live.

However, he still needs to bind his live streaming account to the system.

He opened the system with his mind, found the "Live Streaming" tab, found the "Bind Account" button, and clicked it with his mind.

A dialog box pops up on the screen, asking him to enter his Douyin account's UID.

He switched back to the Douyin app on his phone, found his UID in the settings, and entered it using his mind.

[Ding—Douyin account successfully linked!]

[Account: Hao Ge Takes His Kid Back to the Countryside]

【UID：xxxxxxxxxxxx】

[The system's live streaming function has been unlocked. The host can start or stop the live stream at any time using their thoughts.]

Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

The binding was successful.

He glanced at the rearview mirror; Shen Xiaoting was still asleep, fast asleep, her little face serene and peaceful.

He took a deep breath, then started the car and drove onto the highway.

While driving, he mentally issued the command—to start the live stream.