Chapter 369: To Be a Good Mom

"Mom, why are you suddenly being so good to me?" The little girl was a bit flattered.

Usually, Mom restricted her time watching TV and playing on the computer for fear she would become nearsighted; she would frown as soon as the TV was turned on.

The number of times she had proactively offered to let her watch TV was extremely rare, unless she had something very important to do and didn't want her daughter to disturb her; why would she proactively ask her daughter if she wanted to watch cartoons now for no reason?

It was a first.

And proactively suggesting they play computer games together made Shi Ran wonder if the sun had risen from the west.

Facing her daughter's inquiry, Shi Youxuan naturally couldn't tell the truth, so she covered up: "Silly girl, you are Mom's daughter, of course Mom should be good to you."

"That's not right."

The little girl was sharp as a tack and poked through it mercilessly: "I've always been your daughter, why weren't you good to me before?"

Shi Youxuan:...

If it were before, she would have definitely pinched her daughter's ear and questioned her for being a "little thing without a conscience," confidently stating that she had always been good to her daughter.

But now she didn't; she smiled gently and said to Shi Ran: "It was Mom who didn't do well before; from now on, Mom promises to be a gentle, good mom and be good to you."

Shi Ran:...

Mom's attitude wasn't right, which made her feel uneasy.

She suspected that Mom might be brewing some big move, preparing to deal with her all at once.

"Mom, you are already a good mom, really, no need to be better... You should just stay the way you were, don't smile at me like that, it's quite creepy!" Shi Ran was very unaccustomed to it.

However, Shi Youxuan only felt more guilty.

How severe must she have been in the past to make her daughter fear her like this?

But from now on, she would be good to her daughter and earnestly be a flawless, good mom.

Shi Youxuan began to show great concern for Shi Ran, asking her where she felt uncomfortable and if her head hurt.

Was there still a feeling of wanting to vomit?

Did she want to drink water? Drinks were fine too, including iced carbonated drinks.

Fizzy iced cola had always been something Shi Ran liked to drink, but Shi Youxuan rarely let her have it, the reason being that carbonated drinks were bad for the body when consumed in excess, and girls should eat less ice.

Shi Ran sat up from the bed; the little one keenly felt that it seemed like an opportunity had arrived!

She probed: "Mom, are you really going to be my good mom?"

"Of course." Shi Youxuan answered very readily.

Shi Ran continued: "Then I won't drink cola with ice cubes, can I change to a different request?"

The little one's eyes were shining; Shi Youxuan could guess what request she wanted to make.

But she still agreed: "Fine."

She knew that a happy mood was good for recovery; even if Ranran made that kind of request, it wouldn't be excessive, so she would just agree—for her daughter, she was willing to give everything!

Shi Ran didn't know what her mother was thinking; she was afraid Shi Youxuan would suddenly flip.

With her mother already having agreed, she didn't state her request immediately, but emphasized it again: "Are you sure? Any request is fine? It's still not too late for you to go back on your word now; once I say it, you aren't allowed to go back on it, okay?"

This child was too shrewd.

At such a young age, she already knew how to set a trap for her, blocking her escape route first.

"Mm, I'm sure, go ahead and say it."

"I'm saying it?" The little one kept a serious face.

Shi Youxuan smiled at her: "Say it."

Shi Ran said: "Mom, is Dad really my dad?" Although several godfathers and godmothers had told her quietly, she still wanted to hear her mother tell her in person.

"Yes, your dad is indeed your dad."

It was a bit of a tongue twister, but Shi Ran understood.

She didn't cheer with joy immediately, but tilted her little head and asked very seriously: "Mom, why did you separate from Dad? And why did you marry Daddy? Godfather said Daddy is a bad person, but he was clearly quite good to me, why would he poison me?"

These questions were very complicated and couldn't be explained clearly in a sentence or two.

And many things had changed by the end; Shi Youxuan also didn't want her daughter to harbor resentment toward past events.

She was at a loss for words.

The little girl immediately said understandingly: "Mom, I won't make things difficult for you; if you don't want to say it, then don't, I won't ask."

Not asking wasn't because she didn't really want to know, but because she knew Shi Youxuan had a bad temper and very little patience; it was easy for her to get angry if asked too much.

But Shi Youxuan didn't get angry this time; she sat beside her daughter, earnestly organized her words, and said to her daughter: "Back then, Mom and Dad separated because of a misunderstanding. At that time, you were still in Mom's belly. I took you to L Country to hide from your dad, but I didn't expect the plane to crash..." Recalling the events of that year once again, Shi Youxuan was surprisingly shocked to find that she no longer felt resentment, but was narrating it very calmly.

Calmly, as if telling someone else's story.

The little girl rested her chin on her hands, listening very earnestly!

Sheng Hanyu leaned against the wall outside the Hospital Ward, also listening very earnestly.

As for what happened after Shi Youxuan arrived in L Country, he had only heard it from Jian Yining; this was the first time he was hearing her tell it herself.

She spoke lightly; when Shi Youxuan told the child about the past, she omitted many unpleasant details and just told it to the child as a story.

But Sheng Hanyu was not a child; he could hear how dangerous it was inside the story.

When Shi Youxuan first arrived in L Country, she had spent almost her entire pregnancy in a dark Dungeon!

Other pregnant women had their husbands by their sides showing great concern and care, while Shi Youxuan hadn't had a single good day since the day she became pregnant with Shi Ran.

When she first arrived in L Country, not only were the conditions arduous, but she was also worried and afraid every day, not knowing when she would be dragged out to be executed...

At the time, she and Zhu Yiwen could be considered to have shared hardships, but she didn't expect that he would later use her, and without the slightest hesitation.

But Shi Youxuan was born optimistic; she could even tell the injustices she had endured to her child as a story.

Sheng Hanyu clenched his fists tightly; he didn't even notice that his nails had dug bloodstains into his palms!

He loathed himself, hated himself for not having made things clear back then, which was why Xuanxuan had suffered so much.

"Mr. Sheng, why aren't you going in?" The doctor spoke outside, and was heard by the people inside.

It was already too late for Sheng Hanyu to stop her; the person inside had already stopped speaking.

So he followed the doctor inside, and Dr. Jiang said to Shi Youxuan, "Ms. Shi, it is best for you as parents to provide personal care these next few days, and then record every subtle change on this form."

He handed Shi Youxuan a form; the form was very detailed, with dozens of items including taking temperatures at morning, noon, and evening, observing the tongue coating, and daily sleep duration.

The doctor went out, and Sheng Hanyu followed him out as well.

It was quite a while before he returned.

Upon returning, he sought Shi Youxuan's opinion, asking if he could also stay to look after the child.

If he hadn't just overheard Shi Youxuan telling a "story," he certainly wouldn't have sought her opinion, but would have tried every possible way to stay.

But now he would not; Sheng Hanyu's heart was now completely filled with guilt, as Shi Youxuan had sacrificed too much for the child and had it too hard.

And he had been a very unqualified father.

Shi Youxuan agreed to his request, and both of them stayed to look after the child!

The high-end Hospital Ward was a suite with a dedicated place for caregivers to rest, but it was still different from home—it was too close!

Being close was convenient for nursing staff to look after patients.

But this room layout made Shi Ran incredibly happy; it wasn't much different from living in the same room.

With both Mom and Dad accompanying her, the little one was so happy she nearly jumped off the hospital bed, not looking like a patient at all.