Jiang Li paused in the act of sipping his coffee and turned to look at Youyou. "Why do you think so?"
"Dad is just really unhappy. Although he didn't say it, I can feel it."
On Youyou's little face, his expression was extremely solemn.
Jiang Li took a moment to think while sipping his coffee before answering. "Maybe it's because he's been sick recently."
But Youyou disagreed. "Dad isn't the kind of person who gets unhappy because of being sick. I know why he's unhappy."
"Why?"
Jiang Li began to regret bringing up this topic with him. After all, Youyou was really too smart, and he was a bit afraid of saying the wrong thing.
"Because Dad likes Mom, but Mom doesn't seem to like Dad very much, and Dad is very sad."
As Youyou said this, he even let out a sigh and shook his head, looking rather distressed.
Jiang Li choked for a moment before asking, "Can you help Dad then?"
Youyou shook his head. "I can't. If Mom doesn't like Dad and she's with Dad because of me, then she won't be truly happy."
He stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Jiang Li.
The meaning was obvious: both hands were equally dear to him. He loved both of them, so he couldn't be partial to either.
Jiang Li was startled by his understanding and maturity, and then he laughed. "Youyou is really a sweet little angel."
It even made him, a commitment - phobe, think about getting married and having kids.
But then Youyou said another thing.
"I'm not. Grandma came to our house today and said that my existence was preventing Dad from pursuing happiness."
"Last time when she saw me, she even asked me if I could help her and help Dad meet a new girlfriend."
Youyou was still young and didn't quite understand the complexities among adults. He only knew that Grandma wanted him to ask Dad for a new mom when he got home.
At that time, Youyou just thought Grandma was very strange.
Mom wasn't something that could be replaced. He had his own mom, so why did he need a new one?
In Youyou's view, Dad's girlfriend was just Dad's girlfriend, and he would call her auntie. But Mom was the only one.
Jiang Li was also shocked that Liu Ning had actually said such things to Youyou.
After all, he knew how much his boss disliked Liu Ning, and usually, he would never let them meet.
So he quickly asked, "When was the last time? Was General Manager Qi around when you met Grandma?"
Youyou shook his head. "No. Last time, Grandma came to the kindergarten to find me, but we didn't meet for long before the teacher took me away."
In fact, he didn't really like Grandma, but Grandma was Dad's mom, and he didn't want to make Dad embarrassed.
So he didn't tell Dad about this either, for fear that he would go and quarrel with Grandma.
Jiang Li secretly noted this down, but said, "Youyou, adults don't usually ask a little kid for help, so what Grandma did was wrong."
He also knew that the old family was pressuring his boss to get married, but he didn't expect that they would even pressure a child.
Most importantly, she actually went to the kindergarten to find Youyou and managed to talk to him.
This was a big problem.
"I know, so I never told Dad about this. Dad is an adult. If he wants a girlfriend, he'll find one himself."
Youyou once again showed maturity beyond his age.
After chatting for the time it took to finish a cup of coffee, Youyou stood up and said coolly, "Let's go. Let's go back. I have to buy a cup of coffee for Dad too."
While the two were buying coffee, Qi Shifeng was in his office and received the second call from Xu Tingyu that day.
She had just landed. While picking up her luggage, she still couldn't rest easy. After much hesitation, she made this call.
Qi Shifeng answered quickly. The moment his deep and steady voice sounded, her heart settled a little.
"I'm really sorry, but I heard that Ms. Liu went to your place. I'm very worried about Youyou."
She chose her words carefully.
After turning on her phone after landing, she received a message from Qi Ruixi, saying that Liu Ning had seen the news and went to find Qi Shifeng today.
"Sis, I don't know if it's right to tell you this, but over the years, my brother has never let Youyou have contact with the old family, so their relationship isn't close."
"What I mean is, judging from Mom's personality, she might very well make trouble because of the news. My brother will be fine, but I'm just afraid that it won't be good for Youyou to know."
After a while, probably seeing that she didn't reply, Qi Ruixi sent another message.
"Ah, forget it. I can't take back the message anyway. Just pretend you didn't see it. I heard that Mom was sent back, so it should be okay."
When Xu Tingyu read this, her brows furrowed even more. She even wished she could fly back immediately.
After all, if Liu Ning was "sent back", there must have been something unpleasant.
Youyou didn't go to kindergarten today. When she called, he was still with Qi Shifeng. So when the unpleasant thing happened, Youyou must have been there too.
From the information she had, Liu Ning wasn't very close to Youyou. She had even said to her noble - lady friends more than once that she would make Qi Shifeng have more children.
"The bloodline of Youyou's birth mother has doomed him to be unable to take on great responsibilities. It's a waste for our Shifeng with such good genes not to have more children."
These were her exact words.
Xu Tingyu didn't mind her hating herself, but she wouldn't allow her to say such things about Youyou.
After she returned to the country, the other party had been quiet, so she had also done nothing for the time being.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she left, Liu Ning started causing trouble.
If she had known, no matter how urgent the situation was today, she wouldn't have left. She would definitely have rushed over.
After reading the message, she thought and thought, and finally called Qi Shifeng.
Qi Shifeng didn't ask her where she heard the news from. He just grunted and said nothing more.
Hearing just this grunt and no other words, Xu Tingyu got a bit anxious.
"Qi Shifeng, if your family really doesn't like Youyou's existence, you can let Youyou live with me. I guarantee that I won't make his identity public."
"As long as you agree, I can also take him abroad to live. It definitely won't affect you."
People always say things without thinking when they're in a hurry.
Especially Xu Tingyu, who was tired and worried after a long - distance flight. It was inevitable that she would speak without thinking.
In fact, she knew Qi Shifeng's feelings for Youyou, but as soon as she thought of the means of the two people in the Qi family's old house, she couldn't help but be afraid.
This fear even made her voice tremble a bit.
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Finally, there was suddenly a sneer, tinged with self - mockery.
"Tingyu, what exactly am I in your heart?"
Did she think he couldn't even protect his son?
"What do you mean by 'it won't affect my life' that you mentioned?"
"Is it not affecting my life by hiding from the whole world that Youyou is my son?"
"Did you consider Youyou's feelings when you said that?"
"Do you know what he said to me today when I asked him if he wanted Mom and Dad to get back together?"
"He said he respected all your decisions. But what about you, Xu Tingyu? Have you really considered Youyou?"