Chapter 220: Just My Daughter

The mother and daughter were chasing and intercepting the big fish, their joyful expressions and movements identical; Sheng Hanyu watched from the side, mesmerized.

He truly wanted to join them and play along.

He wanted even more to rip off his wig right now and loudly tell them who he was!

Then there would be no need for a paternity test; he could just take the mother and child back to the country.

Although no one had confirmed to him that Shi Ran was his own flesh and blood, Sheng Hanyu was no fool; he could guess it from all sorts of details.

Back then, Shi Youxuan had stayed in the operating room for a full dozen hours or more; a heart bypass surgery would have been finished in that time, so why would a minor miscarriage surgery take so long?

But protecting a pregnancy might not be the same.

The doctor who performed the surgery on Shi Youxuan back then was a gynecological master, known as "The Blade."

Not only was the medical skill superb, but the doctor was also a classmate of Jian Yining and had a close relationship with him.

If he had protected the child in Xuanxuan's womb and colluded with them to lie to him, saying the child had been miscarried, it was not impossible!

Shi Youxuan was eccentric and clever, with many tricks and a sharp mind.

She knew that if the child were fine, he would certainly never agree to divorce her, so it was very likely she had come up with such a plan.

Before, he had thought Shi Youxuan was dead and had never considered these things.

But now she was alive.

Not only was she living well, but she also had a daughter, so he could not help but think about it.

The daughter's age and birthday both matched up.

It meant she was that child from back then, and her eyes looked exactly like his; why do a paternity test? It was completely unnecessary.

However, impulse was impulse, and in the end, Sheng Hanyu still restrained himself.

He did not rush over to reveal his identity.

The timing was not right; he feared that if he revealed his identity now, Shi Youxuan would immediately take her daughter and hide far away, then have someone kick him out of L Country, and he would never see the mother and daughter again for the rest of his life.

Just being a servant and guarding them like this was not bad either.

The fish could no longer jump and was finally caught by the mother and daughter into the bucket.

While the two were just playing, Sheng Hanyu had used thick wire, a wooden stick, and gauze to make a net.

"Alisha, what is this for?" Shi Ran blinked her bright, sparkling eyes, staring curiously at the net.

He made a gesture of scooping shrimp in the river.

Using a gauze net to scoop shrimp was something not only Shi Ran but even Shi Youxuan had heard of for the first time.

"Will it work?" Shi Youxuan expressed doubt.

Sheng Hanyu prepared to demonstrate for the mother and daughter himself; just as he was about to roll up his pant legs... he stopped in time.

He couldn't roll them up; rolling up the pant legs would give the game away.

Although people in L Country were tall and big, it didn't mean women had hairy legs.

"Splash—"

He just jumped in like that, splashing up waves one after another.

"Alisha, be careful." The little girl reminded him in a milky voice from the shore.

He nodded, then took a bottle of sesame oil from his pocket and rubbed some on his legs.

Various small shrimp and fish smelled the fragrance and all gathered toward him; the river water was very clear, so clear that even the smallest fish fry could be seen.

Sheng Hanyu aimed at a spot and scooped down with the net—more than a dozen shrimp were in the net.

After pouring them into the bucket, he picked out the small ones to release and kept only the ones that were big enough.

"Mommy, I also want to go down and play with Alisha... no, contribute to the family together." The little girl looked at Mommy with her pitiful, big eyes, not holding much hope, but she really couldn't help it.

Going into the river was a big taboo; Mommy had said it so many times, but she just couldn't help it; it looked like so much fun.

And the weather was so hot; it must be especially refreshing in the water.

Other children were mostly playing in the water; was she the only one who couldn't?

Shi Youxuan hesitated and did not agree immediately.

Theoretically, this was a good opportunity to repair the mother-daughter relationship, and she should agree, but she was afraid that if she agreed this time, it would be hard to manage next time.

What if she got used to playing and ran over here often?

Qi Heng stirred up trouble in the river: "Shi Ran, come down; you aren't just afraid to catch fish on the shore, are you, and don't dare to come into the water to catch fish?"

There were other children on the side egging them on: "Oh!"

"Oh—"

"Shi Ran is a coward, she doesn't dare to go into the water, coward..."

Shi Ran was anxious; if Mommy weren't by her side, she would definitely jump down immediately to see if they still dared to call her names.

But Mommy was there, so she didn't dare.

Shi Youxuan had never known that not going into the water would make one disliked by children; she had always stayed behind closed doors in a wealthy family and did not know much about the local customs of L Country.

There was a lot of water here, and people had a tradition of playing in the water since ancient times; not daring to go into the water would be despised by everyone, even children were no exception.

It was just unfortunate that Shi Youxuan was someone who didn't dare to go into the water.

Now seeing the children egging her on and her daughter looking aggrieved yet eager to try, her own competitive spirit was also ignited; without waiting for Shi Ran to continue begging her, she took the initiative to agree: "Go play."

Having received Mommy's consent, Shi Ran quickly jumped into the water and played with the children.

They used nets made by their parents to catch fish and shrimp, having a great time.

At first, Sheng Hanyu was still protecting her from the side, fearing the child might have an accident.

Even if she scraped a bit of skin, his heart would ache terribly.

But soon he appeared to be in the way; Sheng Hanyu didn't feel it himself, but Shi Youxuan, sitting on the shore, felt that a big, bulky "woman" being so nervous in the middle of the children was both in the way and an eyesore.

So she called to him: "Alisha, come up."

Sheng Hanyu stepped onto the shore and stood beside her like a wooden post.

It was still too early to start a fire, so there was nothing to do for the moment and they could rest for a while.

Shi Youxuan was not a stern person by nature, nor did she have as many rules as the noble ladies of wealthy families.

She patted the spot beside her and said kindly, "Alisha, sit down and keep me company."

Keep her company?

Although Sheng Hanyu could not speak now, this was exactly what he had hoped for.

He sat down beside her cautiously, but when his arm accidentally brushed against Shi Youxuan's shoulder, he immediately pulled away as if he had been electrocuted.

He was afraid of being too close to her, afraid that she would discover the truth and recognize him.

However, Shi Youxuan did not think much of it; she only assumed that Alisha was mindful of the difference in their status and was afraid of offending her and being reprimanded.

Shi Youxuan felt a little guilty; she felt guilty for being too harsh when Alisha first arrived, to the point where she was now timid and acted like a mouse seeing a cat whenever she saw her.

"Alisha, I'm sorry."

She took the initiative to apologize to Alisha: "I scared you before, it was my fault. Can you forgive me?"

He shook his head vigorously, signaling that she was not at fault, and that it was all his fault!

Sheng Hanyu's apology was sincere; he was truly apologizing, apologizing for what happened five years ago.

It was a heartfelt apology; as long as Shi Youxuan could forgive him, he was willing to do anything, even if it meant dying right then and there.

"No, it was my fault," Shi Youxuan insisted.

At the same time, she also felt that this Alisha was too honest and had too strong a sense of servility.

L Country had clear-cut hierarchies, and people from the lower classes felt a deep-seated awe toward the nobility.

But Shi Youxuan was not like that; although there was a distinction between the rich and the poor in Jiangzhou, and differences between wealthy families and commoners, the classes were not rigid.

She was not used to servants being servile, especially not with Alisha; she was even less used to it!

Alisha gestured, insisting that it was her own fault.

She was determined to apologize to Shi Youxuan and earnestly begged her to accept her apology.

"Alright, I accept," Shi Youxuan compromised.