My Best Friend Begged Me to Be a Stay-at-Home Dad for the CEO Goddess - Chapter 24:

Chapter 24: Acquiring Grandmaster-Level Equestrian Skills

It took twenty minutes by car from their villa to the park. Jiang Ning drove the BMW that CEO Su had given him, taking Mengmeng along. Although he had gotten his license in his sophomore year and had driven occasionally in the two years since graduation, driving such a brand-new BMW still made him a bit nervous. Throughout the drive, he was fully focused, driving steadily and slowly, afraid that even a small scratch would cost him dearly—his salary definitely couldn’t cover it. A journey that should’ve taken twenty minutes ended up taking more than thirty.

When they entered the park, it wasn’t crowded since it wasn’t the weekend. Most of the people around were housewives with children, nannies watching over kids, and a few elderly folks walking or practicing tai chi. Young people were few and far between.

“Uncle Jiang, Mengmeng wants to go boating,” Mengmeng said, pointing to the center of the lake where a few mothers were paddling boats with their children, her eyes full of anticipation.

Jiang Ning smiled and replied, “Sure.”

He paid 20 yuan, which got them thirty minutes of boat time. They chose a yellow duck-shaped boat, put on life vests, and boarded.

“Yay! Boating time!” Mengmeng clapped her hands excitedly, her face glowing with joy. She was clearly in a great mood.

Just five minutes later, [Ding! Congratulations, Host. You’ve acquired Beginner-level Shipbuilding Skills.]

In an instant, a massive amount of shipbuilding knowledge flooded into Jiang Ning’s mind.

Jiang Ning smiled wryly. He had been getting so many new skills lately. Most of them were at beginner level and didn’t seem very useful to him. He couldn’t apply them, and Mengmeng wouldn’t understand them either—she didn’t need these things right now.

Half an hour passed quickly. [Beep beep—] The staff blew a whistle, signaling them to return the boat. Mengmeng was still immersed in the joy of boating, her face showing clear reluctance.

Seeing her pouty little expression, Jiang Ning helplessly shook his head. Kids always felt time flew by when they were having fun. They never thought it was enough.

“Mengmeng, be good. There are still lots of fun things in the park. Let’s go try something else, okay?”

Mengmeng pouted, a bit reluctant, but still nodded, “Okay.”

Just then, [Ding!] the system notification sounded again.

[Super Stay-at-Home Dad System upgrade available. Would the Host like to upgrade?]

“The system can be upgraded?” Jiang Ning was both surprised and delighted.

[Yes, Host. After this upgrade, the system will be able to merge multiple skills and rapidly elevate specific ones. With a bit of luck, it might even generate entirely new skills.]

The system asked again, [Host, would you like to upgrade the Super Stay-at-Home Dad System?]

Jiang Ning’s eyes lit up, and he answered without hesitation, “Upgrade!”

[Understood, Host. Upgrading Super Stay-at-Home Dad System… This upgrade will take 10 hours.]

“Ten hours? Will it affect me receiving mission rewards?”

[Don’t worry, Host. It won’t affect claiming rewards. You can still receive them, but they’ll remain at their original levels.]

“That’s good.”

Jiang Ning thought to himself, if the upgrade affected his ability to receive skills, it would be a waste if Mengmeng played something fun in the meantime. After all, he only had three months with her—every second was precious.

Unfortunately, most of the skills he had gained earlier weren’t very useful. But thinking it through, he couldn’t blame the system—it was his own knowledge that was too limited. For example, calligraphy—he already had a decent foundation. Swimming, too—he’d practiced a lot from elementary through college, so the system had awarded him Master-level directly. He could only hope this upgrade would bring some real good fortune.

“Uncle Jiang, can we ride the carousel?” Mengmeng pointed eagerly toward the nearby merry-go-round.

“Of course. As long as Mengmeng behaves, Uncle Jiang will agree to anything. Let’s go ride the carousel.”

Jiang Ning took her hand and quickly walked over to the carousel operator. It was 5 yuan per person, so he paid 10 yuan for both of them.

At that time, aside from them, only three other mothers with children were there. The ride required at least ten people to start.

“Boss, how long do we have to wait?” one woman grumbled. They’d already been waiting for over twenty minutes. If not for the children insisting on riding, they wouldn’t have wasted their time.

“Almost there, just a little longer. Please be patient,” the boss said awkwardly. Business on weekdays was always slow.

Jiang Ning understood. The ride itself only lasted three minutes. So he spoke up, “Boss, how about this? I’ll pay an extra 70 yuan. Let us go now and ride twice—six minutes total. How does that sound?”

The boss was overjoyed. What a great deal. He agreed instantly.

The nearby women also looked at Jiang Ning with gratitude.

“Thank you, little brother,” said a plump woman with a smile.

Hearing “little brother” made Jiang Ning’s face darken slightly. That title just felt weird. Still, he politely replied, “You’re welcome, ma’am. Let’s get on.”

“Yay! It’s moving! It’s moving! Uncle Jiang, this is so fun!” Mengmeng exclaimed happily as she sat on the wooden horse, tightly gripping its head.

Five minutes later, [Ding!]

“As expected, here comes the system reward,” Jiang Ning thought joyfully.

[Congratulations, Host. You’ve acquired Grandmaster-level Equestrian Skills.]

Immediately, a flood of equestrian knowledge rushed into his mind.

“System, how come this equestrian skill is at Grandmaster level right from the start?”

[Host, did you want Beginner-level instead? Do you think horseback riding is that difficult—that you need to start from Beginner level and work your way up?]

“Oh, I see. So the simpler the skill, the higher the level granted?”

[Correct, Host. The more difficult the skill, the more likely it starts from Beginner and takes longer to upgrade. For simple skills like foreign languages or horseback riding, higher levels are awarded from the start.]

“Got it.”

After several interactions, Jiang Ning had gradually figured out the system’s pattern. Complex skills like martial arts, shipbuilding, drawing, piano—things he had never studied or practiced—usually began at Beginner level. Sigh, it was just a shame that Mengmeng wasn’t his biological child, and he was only a temporary stay-at-home dad with just three months to spend with her. Otherwise, even Beginner-level skills could eventually be cultivated to Master or even Divine-level over time.

But taking custody of Mengmeng from Su Meng? That was impossible.

Jiang Ning sighed to himself. Forget it. Three months was already enough. No need to be greedy.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

Just as Jiang Ning was helping Mengmeng off the carousel, five gangsters with cigarettes dangling from their mouths swaggered over, surrounding them with a cocky and menacing air.