Chapter 218: The Bond Between Mother and Child Is No Match for a New Servant

The little girl threw herself into Mommy's arms: "Did you see that peach? Alisha climbed the tree herself to pick it. She wouldn't let me climb, but she wanted Mommy to have the biggest, sweetest peach, so she picked it for Mommy herself."

"Among all the people who serve me, not one is willing to pick peaches for Mommy; only Alisha would do that. Please, can you not send her away?"

The little one stared at Mommy with wet, earnest eyes, hoping Mommy would bring Alisha back.

But she was destined for disappointment.

The more her daughter spoke well of Alisha, the less Shi Youxuan would let her return.

It was the first time she had felt threatened, and for this threat to come from a servant was simply ridiculous.

Shi Youxuan felt uneasy all afternoon.

Unable to soothe her daughter, she simply stopped caring and let her make a scene!

Shi Youxuan thought that such a young child had no staying power.

A tantrum would pass; better a short pain than a long one. If that person were allowed to stay, it would be an endless source of trouble.

Yet, she felt very anxious inside.

Shi Youxuan sat restlessly in her room, pacing back and forth, wondering why Alisha's eyes always made her think of one person—Sheng Hanyu!

They were too similar; if Alisha weren't a woman, or even if she just looked different, she would have thought it was Sheng Hanyu in disguise.

The movements, the demeanor, and especially the gaze were exactly the same.

It couldn't be.

Shi Youxuan shook her head, trying hard to drive that person out of her mind.

How could that be possible? Sheng Hanyu had already left L Country.

Besides, he was a die-hard straight man; there was absolutely no possibility of him dressing up as a woman.

But Alisha just made her very uneasy, and Shi Youxuan was firm in her stance: no matter how much "Xiaozhu" cried and made a fuss, she would not agree to let Alisha return.

Zhu Yiwen returned.

Upon returning home, he called Shi Youxuan to the Study, and the two had a rather intense argument.

He believed Shi Youxuan was making a mountain out of a molehill; it was very unfair to Alisha, and even more unfair to "Xiaozhu"!

Mommy was irreplaceable in a child's heart; "Xiaozhu" had just met a servant who got along with her, and she hadn't done anything out of line, so how could it be as serious as she said?

Alisha wouldn't, and couldn't, steal the child away, but if she insisted on having her own way, she might hurt "Xiaozhu's" heart and create a rift between mother and daughter from then on.

Shi Youxuan couldn't explain it clearly to Zhu Yiwen; she couldn't tell him all the worries in her heart.

In the end, she still had Sheng Hanyu brought back.

"Alisha, you're back? That's great, you're finally back." Shi Ran hugged Alisha, crying and laughing, but she wouldn't let go.

Although Sheng Hanyu was brought back, he was severely reprimanded this time.

The butler scolded him to recognize his own status; even if his intentions were good, he could not go against the Madam's will.

Then he gave some instructions, and he nodded to each one, agreeing to everything.

Shi Ran rested at home for a day, but she had to go to kindergarten the next day.

From that day on, the task of taking the young miss to kindergarten was taken over by Alisha. Not only for drop-offs and pick-ups, but while Shi Ran was at kindergarten, he wouldn't leave either, watching from not far away.

This was the result of the kindergarten director and Shi Youxuan discussing it.

Shi Ran was too mischievous; if she wasn't watched, there was no telling what trouble she might cause, and the director was afraid of being held responsible if something happened.

It was better to let Alisha watch her, which could also serve as a safeguard!

This method hadn't been unused before, but when others watched her, Shi Ran would protest severely, saying she had no freedom!

But with Alisha accompanying her, she no longer objected and agreed very happily.

Shi Youxuan had initially been prejudiced against Alisha, but after half a month passed, Shi Ran hadn't caused any trouble, nor had she grown distant from her as a mother because of her closeness to Alisha, so she gradually set her mind at ease.

Under the shade of the trees.

Shi Ran's little face was flushed, and fine beads of sweat formed on her forehead, but she still performed a set of boxing moves meticulously, looking quite professional.

Sheng Hanyu guided her on the shortcomings of her movements from the side; he discovered that the child was only mischievous because she had too much energy.

Shi Youxuan was a good mother, taking meticulous care of her in other aspects, but she always hoped to keep her daughter locked in the room to practice the piano, learn flower arranging, and taste tea.

Of course, it was best not to go out; going for a walk was fine, but running and jumping around freely was not allowed if she saw it.

A little one like Shi Ran was destined not to become a lady!

Not every girl had to become a lady when she grew up; Sheng Hanyu couldn't teach Shi Ran martial arts openly, so he taught her in secret.

The little one liked it very much and learned it very seriously.

After practicing enough, Sheng Hanyu called a halt and handed her a cup of warm white water to drink.

Drinking hot water could effectively eliminate harmful impurities in the body, but people in L Country didn't drink hot water.

Shi Youxuan had also wanted "Xiaozhu" to drink hot water before, but she disliked that it had no taste, and when the weather was hot, it wasn't as refreshing as ice water, so she never liked it.

However, because Alisha told her to drink it, she drank it.

Shi Youxuan stood by the window watching the two, and without turning her head, she asked the butler behind her: "How is it?"

She had the butler send people to investigate Alisha's background; of course, not a simple surface investigation, but the kind where she wished they could investigate back several generations of ancestors.

The butler was respectful: "Replying to Madam, Alisha's ancestors were from Jiangzhou; for several generations, they were honest farmers and never had any bad records."

"Hmm, you may go."

"Yes."

The butler bowed and backed out, closing the door.

Shi Youxuan let out a sigh of relief; it seemed she had been overthinking it, probably because she was too tired.

A few years ago, she had suffered greatly, nearly losing her life in this foreign land, and at that time, "Xiaozhu" was still in her womb and had also nearly not survived.

Although the child was saved later, "Xiaozhu" had been born with a weak constitution and had been in poor health since she was small.

Before Xiaozhu was three years old, she managed to catch almost every single cold that went around, and no matter how many famous doctors were consulted, nothing could be done.

However, a week ago, there was a flu outbreak in L Country, yet she miraculously managed to avoid it.

Therefore, when Alisha taught her boxing and accompanied Shi Ran as she ran around outside, Shi Youxuan would just turn a blind eye and pretend not to see.

As long as she had a healthy body, let her be mischievous; it didn't seem like such a big deal, as what child isn't mischievous?

……

The kindergarten was organizing a parent-child summer camp.

It required at least one parent to accompany the child.

Zhu Yiwen said to Shi Ran with a hint of apology: "I'm sorry, Xiaozhu, Daddy has to go abroad and can't accompany you to the summer camp. How about letting Mommy go with you?"

Shi Ran pouted, unhappy.

Zhu Yiwen was in a difficult position; he had already made a promise to that person, and the two of them had even spent months planning this trip, never expecting it to clash with the timing of the summer camp.

But he couldn't bear to let Xiaozhu be disappointed, so he was caught in a dilemma.

Shi Youxuan hurriedly said: "Don't listen to Xiaozhu; she just doesn't know how to be satisfied. Is having Mommy accompany her not enough? If you pout again, I'll chase Alisha away."

The little one immediately changed her expression and smiled sweetly: "Mommy, please don't be angry. Daddy, if you have important business, go ahead and take care of it, but you must bring me a gift when you come back."

"Of course, what would you like?" Zhu Yiwen was also smiling, but he felt a bit uneasy inside.

Could it be that he didn't even have as high a status in Xiaozhu's heart as a servant?

Now the person feeling jealous had changed, and it was Zhu Yiwen's turn to be jealous of Alisha.