After Xu Tingyu realized she had said something inappropriate, the man didn't even utter a single sarcastic word. In fact, when she wasn't looking, the corner of his mouth even twitched upward.
Since he didn't pick a fight, the atmosphere quickly became harmonious.
Especially Youyou. Qi Shifeng never suppressed his natural instincts. Even at such a young age, he didn't teach him to eat in silence and go to bed without talking.
He wasn't much of a talker on normal days, but now that he had met Xu Tingyu, it was as if he had opened a floodgate of words.
While eating, he would look at Xu Tingyu with a big smile on his face and would introduce to her from time to time which dish was delicious.
Even Qi Shifeng could clearly tell from Youyou's eyes that he liked Xu Tingyu, and the more he got to know her, the more he liked her.
His personality had become much more cheerful these past few days.
If Xu Tingyu could always be with him, he would surely be the happiest kid.
He lowered his head while eating, his mind racing with thoughts.
Suddenly, a piece of beef landed on the plate in front of him.
"Dad, eat some meat. I just haven't seen Mom for a long time, so I've been paying a lot of attention to her. Maybe I've been a bit neglectful of you, Dad. Please don't be mad at me. I love you too."
Youyou picked up a piece of food for Qi Shifeng and winked at him.
Qi Shifeng paused for a moment and finally smiled.
Although the two adults hardly communicated with each other, the meal was quite enjoyable.
After the meal, Youyou dragged Xu Tingyu to his room.
While he was about to unwrap his gifts, Xu Tingyu took a quick look around the room.
This children's room had been decorated when she was pregnant, and the soft furnishings were even hand - picked by her.
She could still remember that at that time, with her big belly, someone had neatly arranged all the styles of the crib, the patterns of the wallpaper, the styles of the carpets... and brought them to her for selection.
Now, Youyou was still using all these things, which gave her the illusion that she had participated in Youyou's growth.
"Mom, I love all these gifts. Can you play with me?"
Youyou had already unwrapped all his gifts and lined them up in a row. He looked at Xu Tingyu with excitement on his face.
Xu Tingyu sat down beside him with a smile and started to build Lego with him.
Although Youyou was young, he was very smart. He had excellent logical thinking and strong hands - on abilities.
So, although they were building together, in fact, Xu Tingyu was just passing things to him and watching him build.
During this time, Qi Shifeng didn't come in. It was just the mother and son spending time alone.
And happy times always flew by.
Before they knew it, it was 8:30.
Youyou glanced at the time and stood up very self - disciplinedly. "Mom, I'm going to take a bath. Can you stay and sleep with me tonight?"
He had never slept with his mom before.
But Xinxin could always sleep with her mom. When she was sick, sad, or wanted to act coquettishly, she would sleep with her mom.
Xinxin said that mom smelled nice and that sleeping with mom was very happy. Mom would also tell nice stories.
His mom smelled nice too, and he wanted to listen to stories too.
Xu Tingyu naturally couldn't bear to refuse her son's request, but she knew very well that Qi Shifeng wouldn't allow her to stay overnight.
So she smiled and said, "Mom will wait for you to take a bath and then tell you a story. I'll leave after you fall asleep, okay?"
No matter how reluctant she was, she wouldn't lie to him.
Although Youyou was a bit disappointed, he quickly came to his senses and nodded. "Okay, Mom. I'll go take a bath now."
He obediently went to get his pajamas and ran into the bathroom.
Xu Tingyu still sat in the same place, playing with the Lego that Youyou had built.
It was obvious that Qi Shifeng had done an excellent job in raising Youyou, which showed how much effort he had put in.
More importantly, Youyou didn't show any aversion to her at all, which meant that Qi Shifeng had never said anything bad about her.
She believed that with Qi Shifeng's grace, he wouldn't speak ill of her in front of the child.
Moreover, the negative remarks from the old mansion hadn't reached Youyou's ears, which said even more.
She stared at the Lego in front of her.
Why?
Why did he do this?
Just as she was in a daze, Qi Shifeng knocked on the door and then walked in.
Xu Tingyu stood up instinctively, her expression rather complicated.
He knew she was in Youyou's room, but he still knocked on the door before coming in.
After not seeing each other for four years, Qi Shifeng seemed to have become much more polite.
She sneered inwardly, but showed nothing on her face.
"Youyou wants me to lull him to sleep. I'll leave as soon as he falls asleep."
She explained proactively.
Qi Shifeng frowned slightly and walked towards her.
For some reason, looking at the man striding towards her, Xu Tingyu felt a sense of danger and instinctively took a step back.
Seeing her step back, the man became even more dissatisfied.
He gradually cornered her to the edge of the bed and then stood still in front of her, looking down at her.
"Xu Tingyu, have you ever thought about this? If you get so close to him now and then leave in three months, how is he going to adapt?"
He stared at her, his tone cold but with a hint of inexplicable expectation.
Xu Tingyu instinctively explained, "No matter where I am, Youyou is my son. As long as you allow it, he can live with me."
After a pause, as if afraid that he wouldn't believe her, she explained further.
"If you don't mind, I can shift the focus of my work to Jingdu. If you do mind, I can commute between the two places."
"Mr. Qi, I've already missed four years of Youyou's life. I really don't want to miss any more."
There was expectation and eagerness in her eyes.
No one could refuse such a cute plea from her.
But Qi Shifeng knew that she was good at acting cute and deceiving people.
So he remained unmoved. His dark and deep eyes were half - smiling, with a hint of coldness.
"You can come and go as you please. What do you take me for? What do you take Youyou for?"
He was very close to her. His breath seemed to envelop her completely, cold and dangerous.
Suddenly, Xu Tingyu felt a pang in her nose. Her eyes turned red, and tears welled up but didn't fall.
"Qi Shifeng, be fair. Did I want to leave? If I hadn't left, would I still be alive? Would my mom still be alive?
"You're from the Qi family and the successor of Old Master Qi. You should know better than me about his methods, right?"
"Yes, my mom was unforgivable. She was crazy and wanted to hurt Youyou and you. She deserved to die. But she was my mom. Who else did I have in this world?
"Old Master told me to leave and spared our lives. Could I say no? Did I have the right to say no? Did I have the ability to protect myself?"
She originally didn't want to show her weakness in front of him so soon.
But she couldn't wait any longer.
She wanted to be with Youyou.
"Fine, I believe this reason of yours. But what about the whistle - blower letter?"
Suddenly, Qi Shifeng reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
He had imagined this confrontation countless times.
But he had never thought that the moment her eyes turned red, his heart softened.
Whether she was really forced or just going with the flow, he wanted to forgive her.
Forgive her for submitting a whistle - blower letter with complete evidence before leaving.
Exposing the Qi Group's involvement in financial fraud.