Chapter 1517: Not Her Own Child, Yet She Takes It to Heart 2

Although she was dissatisfied with Ma Ling'er, she still had to leave her some face.

"Yueyue is getting naughtier as she grows; I'm exhausted from looking after her. Since Yuan-yuan is about the same age, it's easier for the two children to play together than to look after just one."

"If I let Shi Yuan stay at my house, do you agree?"

With these words, Shi Youxuan had preserved both the substance and the face for Ma Ling'er.

"Thank you, thank you! I know you're doing this for my own good. You don't need to save face for me; it's only right that you blame me..."

"Enough nonsense, just tell me if it's a yes or a no?"

"Yes, of course it's a yes."

Ma Ling'er was not someone who didn't know what was good for her. She knew Shi Youxuan was only saying that to save her face, and she wasn't so pretentious as to make excuses or be falsely polite, so after thanking her, she agreed immediately.

"Have someone pack up Yuan-yuan's things; we're leaving now."

Ma Ling'er had someone go pack Shi Yuan's things, but she wouldn't let the two of them leave immediately: "What's the rush? Are you afraid I'll go back on my word? Sit for a while longer, eat dinner before you go back."

"I'm not eating. I have a whole household back home. Pack quickly; once it's done, I'm leaving."

"Then sit down, I'll go squeeze some fresh fruit juice for you. That should help you cool off, right?"

"That works. Hey, I want apple juice, light on the ice, and use the apples from the north—the sweet and crunchy kind." Shi Youxuan had quite a few demands.

Ma Ling'er asked Shi Yuan: "What kind of juice do you want to drink?"

"Anything is fine." Shi Yuan said in a tiny voice.

In reality, he was very, very thirsty.

Shi Yuan stared longingly at the water pitcher on the table, but he didn't dare take any.

"Alright, then you'll both have apple juice." Ma Ling'er went to squeeze the juice herself.

Shi Youxuan poured a glass of water from the cooling pitcher on the table and handed it to Shi Yuan.

He took it with both hands and drank it all in one go with a "gulp, gulp, gulp."

A whole large glass of water, and he drank it all—just how thirsty must the child have been?

But his eyes were still fixed on the water pitcher; he wanted more, but he had that little look of not daring to ask.

"Do you want more?"

"Yes."

Shi Youxuan poured another glass; this time he didn't finish it all, leaving half a glass.

The color of Shi Yuan's flushed little face returned to normal, and his sweating subsided.

"You were clearly very thirsty, why didn't you come into the room to drink water?"

Shi Yuan shook his head and then nodded.

Shi Youxuan didn't understand what he meant, but she didn't ask; she just sighed.

Ma Ling'er soon brought the juice over. There are basically no children who don't like sweet things, but Shi Yuan only took two sips.

At this moment, the nanny returned.

Ma Ling'er questioned her about where she had gone.

Why hadn't she looked after the young master properly?

The nanny's eyes darted around, and she was the first to cry injustice: "Ma'am, you can't blame me for this. The young master acts as if he can't understand human speech; he doesn't listen to anything I say, and he doesn't let me accompany him..."

"You are fired. Leave; the Yun Family cannot afford to keep you." Ma Ling'er dismissed the nanny.

Shi Youxuan prepared to take Shi Yuan home.

She was grabbed by Ma Ling'er again: "You're leaving just like that? Aren't you going to see your granddaughter? The little one changes every day; she's so lovable..." Mentioning her granddaughter, she beamed with joy, her eyes and brows full of smiles.

"Fine, I'll go see my granddaughter."

Shi Youxuan took Shi Yuan's hand and asked for his opinion: "Shall we go see your little sister together?"

He didn't say yes or no, but his gaze was clearly affirmative, yet he was still a bit hesitant, as if he were afraid.

Ma Ling'er was dissatisfied: "What kind of expression is that? It's as if I'm the one preventing you from seeing your sister."

Shi Yuan shrank further behind his grandmother.

He still followed them to his sister's room, but Shi Yuan didn't seem to like this sister. The little girl was very cute, but he only glanced at her once before squatting in the corner to play by himself.

Ma Ling'er complained: "Look, I want to like him, but how do you expect me to like him like this? People who aren't of the same family don't enter the same door. He doesn't like the people in our family, and I don't like him either."

"I know you have a good heart, but don't be blindly kind. He has a biological mother after all; sending him back to her is just right. The Black Widow isn't unable to raise him. How bad can a mother be to her own child..."

When she said these things, she didn't avoid Shi Yuan at all, which shows she probably said them often.

If it were an ordinary mother, she would certainly be good to her child and it wouldn't be bad, but the Black Widow was not an ordinary person.

Shi Yuan hadn't been by her side since he was small, and she had no feelings for this child. If she had even a shred of affection, she wouldn't only think of him when she had a use for him, just like last time.

Shi Youxuan interrupted her: "Alright, I know you mean well, but you don't need to worry about Shi Yuan anymore. Just look after your granddaughter."

"I only think my granddaughter is good..."

Shi Youxuan took Shi Yuan back. In the evening, when Yun Zhe Hao came home from work, Ma Ling'er said to him: "Shi Yuan has been taken home by Xuanxuan; he will live at her house from now on."

Yun Zhe Hao frowned, displeased: "You really are something. It's not like the house lacks the means; you can't even tolerate one small child."

Ma Ling'er felt wronged too, and she argued: "It's not that I can't tolerate him; I just always forget about him, so it's inevitable that there will be lapses in how I treat the child."

In truth, she knew everything, but she really couldn't bring herself to be better to Shi Yuan. It wasn't that she didn't want to; it was that she couldn't remember to.

Yun Zhe Hao understood his wife, so he only grumbled a couple of times and didn't say anything more.

The Sheng Family.

Sheng Hanyu came home from work to see Shi Yuan in the house, with Shi Youxuan directing the servants to tidy up a room; he smiled and said nothing.

Shi Youxuan glared at him: "What are you smiling at? What's so funny?"

"I'm laughing at how you have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Didn't you say you wouldn't get involved? Yet here you are, having brought the child back."

She sighed: "You don't know, at their house, in 40-degree Celsius weather at noon, the child was playing in the mud in the courtyard without even any shade."

"What Ma Ling'er is doing is going too far; she doesn't have to like the child, but how can she abuse him?"

Shi Youxuan explained: "No, she isn't abusing the child. She left the child with a nanny, but the nanny doesn't know where she went to slack off."

"Won't there be problems with Shi Yuan's personality?"

"It doesn't look like there are any problems now, but it's hard to say if it goes on for a long time."

The couple was just chatting casually, but they didn't expect their words to become a self-fulfilling prophecy!

A few days later, Shi Youxuan discovered the problem.

Shi Yuan and Yueyue play very well together; the two children have each other for company, but apart from Yueyue, he seems to have his guard up against everyone else.

Moreover, Shi Yuan's wariness is graded by levels.

He is okay with family members, closest to Shi Youxuan, most indifferent to Sheng Hanyu, but he trembles with fear whenever he sees the servants.

Usually, he only plays with Yueyue.

At mealtimes, he eats whatever amount is served to him and has almost no presence; it feels fine, but in reality, there are many hidden dangers.

Shi Youxuan discussed it with her husband: "This won't do. This child's personality worries me too much."

"Then what should we do? Should we send him back to his biological mother?" Her husband said the same thing as Ma Ling'er.