Yi Anguo's heart skipped a beat. He had thought that his daughter, Yi Xinyi, had long since forgotten her mother, but he never expected her to bring the topic up at this very moment.

"Xinyi, do you miss your mom a lot?" Yi Anguo asked, his voice tinged with heartache.

Yi Xinyi nodded. "Mom wasn't as nice to me as you are, Dad, and I like being with you more. But everyone else has a mom, and I want a mom too!"

"What about Auntie Si Si? Isn't she good to you?" Yi Anguo asked.

"She is! But Auntie Si Si isn't my mom!" Yi Xinyi replied.

"What if we let Auntie Si Si be your new mom? Would you be willing?" Yi Anguo asked after a moment of thought.

"Why? I already have a mom! When I grow up, she'll come back for me, right?" Yi Xinyi said.

"But you don't have a mom with you right now, do you? Aren't you envious of other kids who have their moms by their side?" Yi Anguo asked patiently.

"I have you by my side, Dad. And I have Auntie Si Si, Sister Huan Huan, my third aunt, and Sisters Hu Jing and Hu Qian to play with. Even though Mom left me, I can wait! When I grow up, Mom will come back for us, right?" Yi Xinyi said. "If I called someone else Mom, she would definitely be unhappy when she comes back."

Every child without a mother misses their mother. Yi Xinyi was just more sensible than most; she knew her mother had left her and her father to go off on her own. She knew her father was heartbroken, and she also knew her mother didn't cherish and spoil her the way her father did.

So, although she missed her mother dearly, she tried her best not to mention it to her father, afraid it would make him unhappy.

But even though her mother didn't treat her as well as her father did, Yi Xinyi still found herself missing her mom sometimes.

This feeling was especially strong after she started kindergarten. Almost every other child was dropped off and picked up by their mother. She was the only one picked up by her father or Sister Huan Huan. In those moments, when everyone had a mother but her, the longing for her own mom would become particularly intense.

Many times, she found herself hoping her mother would suddenly return and appear right in front of her.

That was why, no matter how well Li Si Si treated her, she didn't want to call her "Mom." No woman could so easily replace her own mother.

A three or four-year-old child might seem ignorant, but they actually understand a great deal, and it isn't so easy for them to forget their own mother.

Thus, being a stepmother is hard. For a woman who has never been a mother herself, trying to be a good stepmother is even more challenging.

To treat a child as one's own, to love them as if they were one's own flesh and blood—it's easy to say but incredibly difficult to do.

"Uncle Landlord! Can I call you Daddy? It would be so great if you were my daddy!" Duo Duo suddenly said to Yi Anguo.

"Duo Duo! He's my dad! You can't steal my dad from me. My mom left me too, but I didn't try to steal your mom," Yi Xinyi said unhappily, hugging her father tightly.

"How about this? You let your dad be my dad, and I'll let my mom be your mom," Duo Duo suggested after a moment's thought. "That way, you'll have a mom, and I'll have a dad. We'll both have a dad and a mom! Then the other kids can't say that I don't have a dad or that you don't have a mom who loves you."

Yi Anguo spoke with a hint of helplessness, "A person only has one father. You both already have your own dads and moms, so you can't just call other people your father or mother."

"But my dad hasn't come to see me in a long time. He doesn't want me and Mom anymore," Duo Duo said, her voice thick with grievance.

"Your dad will come back for you and your mom one day. If you start calling someone else 'Dad', he'll be unhappy when he returns."

Taking care of two little girls—one missing a mother's love, the other a father's affection—while also trying to counsel them was honestly exhausting.

The unhappiness of a marriage and the breakdown of a family affect the children most of all. A broken home is extremely detrimental to a child's development, which is why children are the ones who suffer the most from a divorce.

After days of playing the devoted son-in-law, Yi Anguo spent several more as the attentive father, and then transitioned into being a caring brother-in-law, taking Hu Jing and Hu Qian to tour the nearby tourist attractions. They visited places like Happy Valley, Splendid China, Window of the World, Dameisha and Xiaomeisha beaches, Wutong Mountain, Phoenix Mountain, Daya Bay, and even took a trip around Harbor Island.

After several days of sightseeing, Yi Anguo felt like his bones were about to fall apart. Hu Qian, however, was overjoyed and showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever. Hu Jing also had a great time; women, it seemed, were born for shopping and could do it every day without getting tired.

Li Si Si's mood, however, had not been good lately. The arrival of her parents and their decision to stay and start a business in Shenzhen should have been a happy occasion. However, she discovered that their arrival had completely disrupted the rhythm of her life. Her old routine—going to work, coming home, and spending time with her husband and child—had made her life feel full and blissfully mundane.

Although Yi Xinyi was not her own child, the girl was utterly adorable, well-behaved, and sensible. Li Si Si genuinely liked her and was more than willing to treat her as her own daughter. But ever since her parents arrived in Shenzhen, that peaceful life had been shattered, and Li Si Si had no idea what to do.

Recently, Yi Anguo hadn't been sleeping with her. His excuse was that he needed to take care of his daughter, but Li Si Si knew he was being difficult, pressuring her to tell her parents about Yi Xinyi. Not only that, but also about the one-billion-yuan loan he owed the bank. She had to confess everything to her parents and face their judgment. For Li Si Si, this was a trial and a torment all its own. She couldn't even begin to imagine how her parents would react when she told them everything. If her parents adamantly opposed her relationship with Yi Anguo, what would she do? Fight them? Sever ties with her own family? But her parents had worked so hard to put her through college. To break with them now, all for a man, would be terribly unfilial.

As usual, Yi Anguo picked up the two children from school. He first dropped Duo Duo off at the Quiet Convenience Store in Blue Coast Phase Three before taking his own daughter, Yi Xinyi, home.

Just as he reached the convenience store, however, he ran into Li Xiao, Li Si Si's father, who was inside buying cigarettes.

When Li Xiao saw Yi Anguo, his face broke into a smile. But just as he was about to speak, he heard a little girl call out "Daddy" to Yi Anguo.

"Daddy! My teacher gave me a big red flower today. Can I have an ice cream?"

"Sure! But only one. Don't eat too much, or you might get a tummy ache."

By this time, Yi Anguo had also seen Li Xiao. He gave him a smile and a nod, then respectfully called out, "Dad!"

"What's going on with this child?" Li Xiao demanded, his tone turning angry. "You're divorced? And you have a child? Why didn't we know about this?"

He pressed on, "Does Si Si know you're divorced and have a child?"

"Dad, let's step outside to talk," Yi Anguo said, not wanting to argue with Li Xiao in front of his daughter.

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