Chapter 411: If Not a Son-in-Law, Then Be a Foster Son

It's not like it; it is it.

He even changed how he addresses you; he doesn't call you Uncle, he calls you Dad!

Shi Youxuan returned to find a scene of "fatherly kindness and filial piety" before her eyes.

"Sister Xuan is back? Well, I'll be heading off then. Goodbye, Dad; goodbye, Sister Xuan." Seeing Shi Youxuan, Shi Liu was like a mouse seeing a cat.

He had an innate sense of awe.

It wasn't that he was afraid of her; he was afraid of Sheng Hanyu.

"Why are you back so early?" Shi Yucheng asked, displeased.

Shi Youxuan:...

It was already dark when she returned, yet Dad actually still thought it was early.

However, the old man seemed very happy, his face glowing with excitement!

"Dad, did you win the lottery? You're this happy."

Shi Yucheng smiled without answering her question, asking first how Shi Ran was doing.

He felt sorry for his granddaughter; because of his burden, his daughter and granddaughter could not live together.

"She's doing quite well, you don't need to worry about her."

"Sigh! It's all because I dragged you down, how can I not worry? Ranran is still so young, it's exactly the time when she needs the love of her parents..." Shi Yucheng changed the subject.

"You and Shi Liu should get married as soon as possible. Before I close my eyes, if I can see you have a good home, I will be at ease, and we can give Ranran a complete family as soon as possible."

"In the future, let her have less contact with that person; don't let him teach my good granddaughter bad things..."

Shi Youxuan was stunned.

What is this situation?

She had only been out for an afternoon, and Dad had already decided her future for her?

"Wait a minute, Dad, please take a break. Can you explain to me what is going on? What is all this? I'm getting married to Shi Liu, and as soon as possible?"

Shi Yucheng laughed: "You girl, don't play dumb with me. Shi Liu likes you; don't tell me you don't know."

Shi Youxuan:...

She said to her father seriously: "I really don't know."

Shi Yucheng was unconvinced: "That's because he's too shy to confess to you. The boy is timid and thin-skinned. I didn't speak too bluntly to him either, but he speaks of you with nothing but praise; he must like you."

Shi Youxuan:...

She thought to herself, is speaking with nothing but praise the same as liking someone?

I am his boss; would he dare to speak ill of me in front of you?

But she couldn't say this to her father; her father didn't know Shi Liu was her bodyguard.

They had only met for the first time this morning, and by the afternoon they were getting along famously; this speed was truly something else.

"You take a rest, I'm going to go talk to Shi Liu."

"Good, good, good, go ahead. No need to rush back, I'm getting ready to sleep."

Shi Yucheng might as well have said that it would be fine if she didn't come back all night.

Shi Youxuan:...

Was her father really that eager to marry her off?

Yet he refused to agree to her being with Sheng Hanyu no matter what.

She arranged to meet Shi Liu at a cafe near the hospital.

Shi Youxuan first thanked him for helping her out in the morning and for keeping her father company in the afternoon.

Then she asked gently: "Shi Liu, what did my dad say to you this afternoon? Can you tell me?"

Shi Youxuan didn't mention a word of what her father had said to her, because she was certain there must be a misunderstanding, and now she wanted to hear what Shi Liu had to say.

Shi Liu sat opposite her, looking like a child who had done something wrong, his head lowered, his hands fidgeting uneasily.

But he still repeated everything the two of them had said that afternoon to Shi Youxuan, word for word.

It was indeed not the same thing.

She understood as soon as she heard it; the two of them had chatted all afternoon, very warmly, but in reality, they were talking about two completely different things.

The old man wanted to play matchmaker for his daughter, Shi Youxuan, and Shi Liu.

But sticking to the fine tradition of Chinese modesty and caution, he insisted on beating around the bush for things that could have been explained in a single sentence!

Shi Yucheng said he wanted to introduce a girlfriend to Shi Liu, someone older than him who had a child... Shi Liu never dared to think it was Shi Youxuan, thinking instead it was some poor woman who couldn't make ends meet while raising a child.

So he agreed.

If the woman just wanted to find a man to help raise her child, he could do that!

He could provide financial help, as long as the woman didn't interfere with his private life; it would be a win-win situation where each got what they needed.

After he agreed, Shi Yucheng was overjoyed and told him to change his address to "Dad"!

The old man had been longing for a son-in-law to the point of desperation.

However, since he hadn't made it clear, he couldn't say it directly, so he used "adopting a foster son" as a cover.

Shi Liu changed his address quite readily; he had grown up without a father, and Shi Yucheng had no son, so the two hit it off and got along very well.

Once Shi Youxuan understood the whole story, she felt it was necessary to make things clear to Shi Liu.

There were already enough misunderstandings here; she couldn't let any more get mixed in, or it would be too chaotic.

She said directly to Shi Liu: "The girlfriend my father wants to introduce to you is no one else, it's me!"

"Pfft—"

Shi Liu nearly spat out his entire mouthful of coffee.

Shi Youxuan handed over a tissue, but he didn't dare to take it.

He wiped his hands haphazardly on his clothes and hurriedly explained: "Sister Xuan, I didn't know, I really didn't know that Godfather... no, that your father meant this. If I had known, even if I were given a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't have dared to agree..."

Before Sheng Hanyu transferred him over to be Shi Youxuan's bodyguard, Qige had once solemnly warned him, telling him what things could be done and what things were absolutely forbidden.

Among all the things that were forbidden, having designs on Shi Youxuan was the most serious one!

Shi Liu was nearly scared to death and hurriedly denied it.

Shi Youxuan didn't make a sound; she just looked at him with a beaming smile, her expression noncommittal.

"Xuan, Sister Xuan, please don't look at me like that, I'm scared!" Shi Liu was truly scared; both of his hands had started to tremble.

So that was the idea the old man had in mind; if the Boss found out about this, wouldn't he skin him alive?

Originally, Shi Youxuan had wanted to tease him, but seeing him scared like this, she let it go.

She told Shi Liu not to be afraid, that it was no big deal, and that he just needed to go and explain it clearly to her father tomorrow.

But he could still call her "Dad".

Her father had always wanted a son, and now he was incredibly happy to have accepted Shi Liu as his godson.

Shi Youxuan told him: "My dad has accepted you, so from now on you are my younger brother. You don't need to call me Sister Xuan anymore, just call me Sister."

The boss didn't blame him and even accepted him as a godbrother; Shi Liu was very moved, and the next day he confessed everything to Shi Yucheng!

The kid was honest; not only did he explain what happened yesterday, but he also directly stated that he was gay, didn't like women, and liked men.

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and although Shi Yucheng was disappointed, there was nothing else to be done.

He still quite liked the kid Shi Liu; although he couldn't be his son-in-law, the matter of him being his godson still stood!

……

When Shi Yucheng was about to be discharged from the Hospital Ward, Jian Yixin and Sheng Zerong arrived.

Not only did the two of them come, but they also brought Shi Ran along.

As soon as the two of them arrived at the Hospital Ward, they complained to Shi Youxuan, complaining that she hadn't told them when the old man was hospitalized, treating them like outsiders.

The old man smiled and told Jian Yixin: "You can't blame Xuanxuan for this; it was I who didn't let her tell you. You are already busy with work and it's the end of the year, so there was no need for you to be distracted for my sake."

Jian Yixin was someone who couldn't sit still; not long after entering, she complained that the hospital environment was poor and the Hospital Ward was too small—the software was fine, but the hardware wasn't as good as her own hospital.

Then she proposed transferring him to the Jian Family hospital.

Both Shi Yucheng and Shi Youxuan felt there was no need to go through the trouble; they were already planning to be discharged, so what was the point of making a fuss now?