Chapter 1516: Not Her Own Child, Yet She Cares

After the meal.

Litian took out his wallet, preparing to pay: "Boss, how much is it?"

"No need for you to pay. You came to see me, so I'm treating you to the meal." Lu Feifei also took out her wallet, and the two of them scrambled to pay.

But the boss wouldn't accept money from either of them: "No money needed. Teacher Lu's boyfriend coming to eat at my little shop is giving me face!"

"We can't not pay. It's not easy for you to run a small shop from dawn till dusk. If you're like this, I won't dare to come again next time." Lu Feifei placed the meal money on the table, and the two of them ran off hand in hand.

With the two of them together, they had endless things to say, and time flew by.

It felt like the blink of an eye before it was time for Litian to go back.

"I have to go."

"Can't you go back two days later?" She pursed her lips, reluctant to part.

"I want to, too. I want to stay with you forever, but I only have three days of leave. I must return at the stipulated time."

So she stopped insisting: "Mm, go back then, but you must think of me."

"Of course, and you can't forget me either."

"Nonsense, my life was saved by you. I couldn't forget you even if I forgot everyone else; even if I lost my memory, I couldn't forget you."

The two parted with great reluctance.

Litian got on the tractor again, bumped along for the better part of the day, and only reached the airport after dark.

The ticket had already been bought, but the flight was delayed due to weather. Litian was anxious beyond words; what was he to do?

If he didn't return by the stipulated time, it would be a violation of discipline!

After suffering through two hours at the airport, the weather finally improved, the plane took off, and Litian returned to the troop on time!

Jiangzhou.

Sheng Family.

Shi Youxuan received a call from her daughter, who was hesitant and stuttering, unable to say what she wanted for a long time.

That was not her daughter's personality; she usually spoke directly and concisely, and had never been like this before.

Even though she didn't say it, Shi Youxuan knew what was going on.

Shi Youxuan gave a cold snort: "Hmph! Stop being embarrassed. You might be able to fool others with those little schemes of yours, but you can't fool me."

"Shi Yuan has nowhere to stay again, right? Don't discuss it with me; I'm not getting involved."

Shi Ran:...

That was correct.

She wanted to leave Shi Yuan at her maiden home for a while.

Originally, Shi Yuan had been staying just fine with Jian Yixin, but Jian Yixin's company had been very busy these past few days, so she had brought the child to the office to work while looking after him.

It was easy to make mistakes when distracted.

In a moment of carelessness, Shi Yuan slipped out to play, walked to the pantry, knocked over a thermos, and got scalded.

Fortunately, it was treated in time, and since the water in the thermos wasn't freshly boiled, Shi Yuan was not seriously hurt.

But it had scared Jian Yixin out of her wits; no matter how much she liked him, she didn't dare watch him anymore, as she couldn't bear the responsibility.

Actually, Jian Yixin had already called Shi Youxuan to tell her about this; she knew, but hadn't mentioned it.

She was not surprised when her daughter called.

Shi Ran was truly at her wit's end, which was why she called her mother.

She had already been home for three days and had to go to the company, but she couldn't leave Shi Yuan at home!

She requested her mother's help to look after him for a few days, and she would pick the child up once she found a responsible nanny.

Her mother hit the nail on the head: "Nannies can take care of other children, but with Shi Yuan alone, haven't you changed thirty, if not fifty, nannies? One or two didn't work, and so many others didn't either? It's not the nannies' problem at all; it's that Shi Yuan himself resists the status of a nanny."

"No matter what kind of person they are, as long as they are a nanny, he will resist!"

Shi Ran certainly knew this logic, but she was also helpless.

"Then what should I do?"

Shi Youxuan said straight to the point: "Send him back to his biological mother! He's not an orphan, why should you be the one adopting him?"

"You know what his biological mother is like; she can't treat the child well at all. Sending him back is being irresponsible to the child."

"But you can't take care of the child either, yet you insist on keeping him by your side; that is also being irresponsible to the child."

Shi Ran admitted: "Yes, everything you say is right."

Shi Ran hung up the phone and thought about it carefully.

Ever since she had her own biological granddaughter, her mother-in-law had been treating Shi Yuan worse and worse!

A child his age was at the perfect age for being mischievous.

Yet his grandmother was always scolding him; no matter what the child did, it was wrong, and he had become timid and cautious.

Shi Ran actually wanted to raise the child herself, but she was different from her mother.

Shi Youxuan had been a full-time housewife for most of her life, but if she were asked to give up her career, she wouldn't be willing.

She couldn't let go of the child, but she couldn't rest easy either, caught in a dilemma.

Although Shi Youxuan scolded her daughter, she still had to look after the child. Even if Shi Yuan wasn't her daughter's flesh and blood, he was her daughter's son in name; let's just call it loving the house and its crow.

Shi Youxuan hung up the phone and went to the Yun Family to pick up the child.

The August sun was very poisonous, scorching the earth with fiery heat.

There weren't many people outside; in such weather, as long as people had the means to stay in, they wouldn't leave the house—how pleasant it was to blow the air conditioning in the room.

But Shi Yuan was playing alone in the courtyard, his head covered in sweat!

There was no one around the child, and the courtyard gate was even left wide open.

If the child were to run onto the road and a car happened to come by, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Or if someone with ill intentions wanted to abduct the child, it would be simply too easy... Even though Shi Youxuan was mentally prepared, she had not expected Ma Ling'er to be so negligent with Shi Yuan!

"Yuanyuan, why are you all by yourself?"

Seeing his grandmother, Shi Yuan smiled shyly, then lowered his head to play again without saying a word.

Although this child was not as lively as Yueyue, he shouldn't be at the point of not even speaking when seeing people; he was becoming more and more introverted.

"Come on, let's go inside the house to play with Grandma. How about we come back out after the sun sets?" Shi Youxuan took his hand, and Shi Yuan did not resist, following her obediently through the front gate.

It was not as if there was no one in the living room.

A servant was cleaning the living room and hurried to call the mistress upon seeing Shi Youxuan.

Ma Ling'er came down from upstairs, greeting her with a beaming smile: "When did you arrive? Why didn't you call before coming? I could have prepared your favorite juice, squeezed it, and chilled it in the refrigerator—it's such a hot day."

Everyone was old friends who had known each other for decades, so if there was any dissatisfaction, they would just say it directly.

Shi Youxuan said: "You still know it's hot outside? Shi Yuan has been out there in the sun for half the day; why didn't you let him come in?"

The surprise on Ma Ling'er's face could not be hidden: "Oh my, I just told the nanny to watch him; where did the nanny run off to?"

"Yuanyuan, where is the nanny?"

Shi Yuan shook his head and timidly hid behind his grandmother.

Where did the nanny go? Nobody knew, but she certainly had not been keeping to her post.

This matter really could not be blamed entirely on Ma Ling'er, as her heart was entirely set on her own granddaughter. She had left Shi Yuan to be looked after by the nanny.

Since the mistress did not value him, the nanny was all the more happy to slack off!

"Alright, now is not the time to assign blame. I have come to take Shi Yuan to live at my house; you really cannot manage taking care of two children by yourself." Shi Youxuan realized her daughter had not been exaggerating.

Her daughter's worry was not at all redundant. In fact, the situation was even more serious than her daughter had described.