Facing Youyou's expectant and innocent eyes, Xu Tingyu hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.
Kids tend to overthink.
She still needed to leave an impression in front of him that his parents got along well, so as not to let him have nightmares that his parents didn't want him anymore.
But she still felt a bit awkward, so she explained to Youyou, "Even though Mom and Dad are not together anymore, we'll still be friends. Friends can meet each other if they miss one another."
Youyou seemed to understand but also not quite.
He didn't know how to distinguish between family love, friendship, and romantic love yet. He only knew that being friends meant liking someone.
You had to like someone to be their friend.
So, in a way, it meant that Mom also liked Dad.
He became delighted and said with a smile, "Mom is so nice. I have a gift for you. Mom, wait for me."
Saying that, he jumped off her lap and ran upstairs mysteriously.
Xu Tingyu watched his figure and couldn't help but remind him, "Run slowly."
At this time, Aunt Zhang placed the prepared breakfast on the table one by one. Seeing Xu Tingyu smiling, she also smiled and said, "Youyou really likes you."
She didn't know exactly what the relationship between Xu Tingyu and Qi Shifeng was, but she knew that since Xu Tingyu came back, both father and son had smiled a lot more.
In the past, when it was just the father and son at home, although they lacked nothing, during festivals, their home always seemed cold in the bustling atmosphere.
Now that Xu Tingyu was back, this home finally felt like a real home.
Xu Tingyu also smiled and sincerely thanked Aunt Zhang, "Thank you for taking such good care of Youyou all these years."
Youyou had really been taken care of well. As his mother, she was truly grateful to everyone.
"It's Mr. Qi who took good care of him. He really loves Youyou. I remember once when the season changed, Youyou caught a cold and had a fever. Later, it developed into pneumonia, and he was hospitalized for half a month."
"During those half - month, Mr. Qi accompanied him in the hospital personally while also having to work. When Youyou was discharged from the hospital, Mr. Qi fell ill. He lost a lot of weight."
"His personality also changed a lot. He always became much gentler when he was with Youyou."
Aunt Zhang had worked in the Qi family for many years and had watched Qi Shifeng grow up. She also had deep feelings for him.
When she talked about these things, her eyes even turned red.
It was obvious that in the past few years, it had been really not easy for Qi Shifeng to be both a father and a mother.
Xu Tingyu was a bit in a daze.
She knew how difficult it was to raise a child. Even with someone's help, parents always had a lot of concerns.
Moreover, Qi Shifeng also had the huge Qi Corporation on his shoulders.
She remembered the several cameras in his office.
Even after being discovered, Qi Shifeng didn't remove them for some reason.
She once watched his whole - day work. He was almost busy from the moment he entered the office, with endless meetings, subordinates to see, and plans to review.
Aunt Zhang wiped her eyes and then said with a smile, "I'm not trying to put any burden on you, Mrs. Qi. Actually, Mr. Qi is really a good person. If you can't be husband and wife, being friends is also good."
After saying that, she didn't say any more and quickly went back into the kitchen.
At this time, Youyou had already run back, carrying a small suitcase in his hand.
He ran to Xu Tingyu's side and stuffed the suitcase into her arms.
"Mom, this is the gift from Youyou."
Under his bright - eyed gaze, Xu Tingyu opened the suitcase and was stunned the next second.
There were a lot of jewels inside.
Youyou smiled and asked her, "Mom, do you like it?"
"I like it. But, baby, where did you get all these?"
Xu Tingyu, who had been raised in a materially abundant environment, could tell at a glance that these jewels were all genuine.
There was even a ruby necklace that she had seen in the newspaper not long ago.
It was said to be a collection of a foreign royal family and was finally bought at an astronomical price by a mysterious rich man.
Now, this priceless jewel was squeezed into this unassuming suitcase together with other jewels.
"I asked Dad to buy them for me," Youyou said proudly.
He had heard before that Xu Tingyu was going to work, and he had also heard that her life abroad was not easy.
Kids couldn't really understand what "not easy" meant. He just thought it meant lacking money.
His father had a lot of money, but if he directly asked his father to give a lot of money to Mom, Mom definitely wouldn't accept it.
Because his father had said that one should not accept rewards without merit.
Except for parents and children, no one would take others' money for no reason.
When Mom was in a difficult situation, she never asked Dad for money, which meant Mom was also such a person.
So he directly chose to ask Qi Shifeng for jewels.
In his world, he was his father's son and could accept gifts out of love.
And he was also his mother's son, so Mom could also accept the gifts of his love.
"Dad said he loved me, so he gave me gifts. I love Mom, so I give Mom gifts."
"Now these gifts were given to me by Dad. Once they're given to me, they're mine. Then when I give them to Mom, they're Mom's."
After explaining in his childish voice, he took out a black card from his pocket.
"This is my pocket - money card. But I'm a kid, and I don't need to spend money, so I give it to Mom."
"When Mom doesn't want to work and wants to rest, she can use the money in this card to buy delicious food. I'll support Mom."
He seriously stuffed the card into Xu Tingyu's hand.
His father had explained to him before why people had to work.
It was because people had to eat, sleep, and live a better life, so they had to pay labor and time to get them.
Working was very hard. He didn't want Mom to be so tired and hoped Mom could have time to rest.
Xu Tingyu was touched to tears.
She never thought that one day, her son who was less than five years old would tell her that he would support her.
She had never done anything for him, yet he had presented all his things and a sincere and pure heart in front of her.
She choked back her sobs, put the suitcase on the sofa beside her, and hugged Youyou.
"Mom is very touched and really thanks Youyou for the gift. Youyou's love for Mom is the best gift Mom has ever received."
"But Mom can support herself and is not as tired as Youyou thinks. Youyou don't have to worry about Mom, okay?"
She knew she couldn't be a kill - joy parent, but these things were too expensive.
There was absolutely no way she could accept such expensive gifts.
Moreover, what if this kid really thought she was living a terrible life and kept getting money from Qi Shifeng for her?
"But I want to give them to Mom," Youyou didn't understand. "These are all things for girls to wear, so they were originally bought for Mom."
Xu Tingyu didn't know how to explain the four words "expensive gifts" for a moment.
After all, the world of kids was different from that of adults.
And just as she was thinking, Qi Shifeng didn't know when he had walked over.
"It's your son's first time giving you a gift. Just accept it."