Chapter 384: Deep Father-Daughter Affection is the Bond

Afternoon.

Shi Youxuan went to the school gate to pick up her child.

Usually, when school let out, Shi Ran would come bouncing out of the school, as cheerful as a little bird.

But today, when she came out, she was listless and dispirited.

"What's wrong, Ranran?" Shi Youxuan touched her daughter's head. "Did someone bully you at school?"

The little girl shook her head: "No, don't ask."

Shi Ran missed her father; although it had only been one day since she last saw him, she had already started to miss him.

After arriving home, getting out of the car, and going upstairs, when they reached the elevator, the little one suddenly said: "Usually, when Dad walks from the main gate to here, it only takes fifty-eight steps, but I have to take one hundred and thirty-eight steps."

Shi Youxuan:...

This was a very boring question.

Yet it carried the little girl's feelings for her father, and Shi Youxuan couldn't tell her it was boring for fear of hurting her daughter's feelings.

But she had no way to answer, either.

After arriving home, Fang Jie had already finished making dinner.

With Fang Jie in the house, Shi Youxuan's home had returned to a normal life.

She was very capable; she tidied the rooms, did the laundry, cooked, and arranged the mother and daughter's life in an orderly fashion.

The dinner was very sumptuous; Fang Jie had made eight dishes and one soup.

There were both meat and vegetable dishes, and it was rich in nutrition.

The four of them actually couldn't finish so much, but because Sheng Hanyu had instructed that he must be well taken care of, Fang Jie made extra, trying her best to let the two of them eat a little better.

When the food was on the table, Fang Jie and Shi Liu did not sit down, but ate in the kitchen.

There weren't many people in the house to begin with, and having to eat separately made Shi Youxuan feel it was unnecessary.

Therefore, Shi Youxuan asked Fang Jie and Shi Liu to come over and eat together, saying that in the future, they shouldn't separate at mealtimes, as it was livelier with more people.

But the two of them refused no matter what, saying this was the rule, and rules could not be broken!

In the end, the two of them still ate in the kitchen, and there were only the mother and daughter at the large dining table.

Shi Ran picked up a large shrimp, but instead of putting it in her mouth, she held it up to look at it.

She said eloquently: "Dad isn't home, no one is peeling shrimp for Bao, Bao is so pitiful..."

So Shi Youxuan hurriedly peeled a large shrimp and put it in her daughter's bowl: "Mom will peel it for you."

Shi Ran picked the shrimp meat back up and gave it to her: "No need, Mom, you eat it yourself. You can't even take care of yourself, so you don't need to worry about me."

Shi Youxuan:...

She had been looked down upon.

For the rest of the meal, Shi Youxuan felt it was even harder to endure than lunch!

Shi Ran couldn't go three sentences without mentioning Sheng Hanyu; this dish was made well by Dad, that dish Dad would use such-and-such seasoning...

And where had Dad gotten to?

Why didn't Dad call her?

Could she go see him when she was on break?

Shi Youxuan's mind was filled with the word "Dad."

She had never known that Sheng Hanyu had already filled her life like the air.

She didn't feel it usually, but once he left, she realized how important he was!

"Shut up, can you eat a meal quietly?" Shi Youxuan couldn't take it anymore and finally lost her temper at the child: "Eat your food properly; no talking while eating or sleeping."

"I won't!"

Shi Ran refused.

If Mom didn't want to listen, she would talk to herself.

Dad likes this dish.

Dad wouldn't use such a fierce tone to talk to Ranran.

Where has Dad gotten to now?

It seemed like she had gone in a circle and come back again.

In the end, Shi Youxuan compromised and took the initiative to suggest that when Sheng Hanyu's plane landed, she would let Shi Ran video call him!

"Really? And Mom will be with me, right?" The little one blinked her big eyes and made an extra request.

Shi Youxuan said: "I won't video call with you; your Sister Bingbing is with your dad, don't let people misunderstand." She regretted it as soon as she said it.

How could she say everything to a child?

Shi Ran was puzzled: "Why would Sister Bingbing be with Dad? Didn't Dad go to L Country?"

"I saw them at the airport today; they went to L Country together. In the future, if your dad marries Sister Bingbing, you won't be able to call her Sister Bingbing anymore; you'll have to change how you address her and call her stepmother."

Shi Ran:...

Shi Youxuan had been blinded by jealousy and was spouting nonsense in front of the child.

Shi Ran got off her chair without a word and ran toward her room, *da-da-da*!

"Ranran, you haven't finished your meal yet, where are you going?" Shi Youxuan thought to herself that it was bad; the child was upset.

Sheng Hanyu was already away on business, making the child unhappy, and instead of comforting her daughter, she had provoked her; she really wasn't a good mother.

She prepared to go apologize to her daughter, but Shi Ranran back with a laptop in her hands.

She placed the computer on the dining table, opened a webpage, and Shi Ran pointed to the entertainment news on it: "Mom, look, Sister Bingbing went to A Country."

She didn't need to point it out; Shi Youxuan had actually seen it too. The large headline was particularly eye-catching—A Country Tourism Ambassador, Wang Bingbing, was named by the President for a meeting.

There was basically no need to look at the content that followed; it was all praise about how Wang Bingbing had won glory for the country. This woman had transformed in a flash and completely cleared her name!

Of course, that was not the most important thing; the most important thing was that she hadn't gone to L Country, but to A Country!

But Sheng Hanyu had definitely gone to L Country; there was no mistake about that.

So, were those people at the luncheon at noon just playing with her?

Shi Youxuan was very happy... no, very angry.

She called Jian Yining to hold him accountable, blaming him for not being a good friend; she treated him as her best friend, yet he had actually joined others in making a fool of her without even tipping her off or anything.

Jian Yining used only one sentence to leave her speechless: "You don't even go online, so what have you been doing?"

Shi Youxuan:...

What had she been doing?

She had spent the entire morning and afternoon thinking about Sheng Hanyu!

Thinking about whether he and Wang Bingbing had flown off together, and perhaps by the time he returned, he would even be carrying a child back...

It wasn't that she wanted to think about it, but her brain simply wouldn't listen to her, especially in the afternoon; Shi Youxuan felt as if she had lost her soul, and she didn't even know how she had made it through.

As it turned out, after suffering for so long, the two of them hadn't even gone to the same place!

Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Jian Yining asked, "Xuanxuan, are you listening?"

"Mm, I'm listening."

Jian Yining urged her not to suffer just to save face, saying there was nothing wrong with taking the initiative.

She had Sheng Hanyu in her heart; everyone could see it, only she herself didn't know, and she was still hesitating and struggling.

Besides, she had been struggling for so long, when would it ever end?

A man like Sheng Hanyu was highly sought after in the matchmaking market; as long as he gave the word, many high-quality women would immediately flock to him, and by then, it would be too late for you to even cry!

The more Jian Yining tried to persuade her, the more agitated she became, so she found a random excuse and hung up the phone.

Let her take the initiative?

She wouldn't know how.

The next day after school, Shi Ran finally succeeded in having a video call with Sheng Hanyu.

"Daddy, I miss you. When are you coming back?" the little girl said sweetly.

Sheng Hanyu had not been off the plane for long and had just settled into his accommodation when he received the video call from his daughter.

"Ranran, I miss you too. Daddy just arrived here and will need many more days before I go back."

The signal in L Country was poor, and the video was intermittent, not as smooth as it was back home.

But this did not hinder the overflowing sense of happiness that welled up in Sheng Hanyu's heart; it felt so good to have someone missing him while he was away on business!

He was very happy, but if there were one more person missing him, he would be even happier.

Shi Ran told him about the fun things that happened at school and said she had gotten a hundred on her exam today...

She also asked her father to go see her old friends from kindergarten and represent her in giving them some gifts.