When they went outside, Yi Anguo explained in detail to Li Xiao that although he had never been married, he had indeed been with a woman and fathered a daughter with her, but she had already left.

"You only have a junior high education, you've been with another woman, and you even have a child. How could my daughter possibly be interested in you? You are simply not worthy of her. Did you hide the truth from her, planning to reveal all of this only after tricking her into marriage?" Li Xiao said, fuming.

He had worked so hard to raise his daughter, a university graduate. He never imagined she would marry a man with only a junior high education. It was practically no different from marrying a divorced man, one who also came with a daughter. This was something Li Xiao had never expected, and something he was completely unwilling to accept.

"Dad! I haven't hidden anything from Si Si from the very beginning. She knows absolutely everything," Yi Anguo explained.

"Don't call me Dad. I can't accept that from you!" Li Xiao said angrily.

"In fact, Si Si and I haven't officially registered our marriage yet because we were afraid you would strongly oppose it," Yi Anguo explained helplessly.

"What? You mean you and Si Si haven't registered your marriage? So Si Si lied to us about all of this?" Li Xiao exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, because I didn't want to deceive you. I hope that if Si Si marries me, it will be with your blessing. I want her to marry me only when you are fully aware of my situation and still give your consent," Yi Anguo explained.

"That's enough. We will not agree to let Si Si marry you. For her, a proud university graduate, to marry someone with just a junior high education is already a great injustice. On top of that, she would immediately have to become a stepmother. We will never agree to let her marry you," Li Xiao interrupted.

"Even if you were somewhat capable and had money, it wouldn't matter!"

"I don't have money. I owe the bank a billion!" Yi Anguo said with a bitter smile.

He felt as though he had anticipated this outcome all along, so when he actually faced it, he managed to stay composed. The rest would depend on how Li Sisi chose to deal with this situation. No matter the outcome, he was prepared for it. If, in the end, Li Sisi could stand her ground and manage to convince her parents, he wouldn't mind truly marrying her and giving her a grand and respectable wedding.

"What? You owe the bank a billion?"

Li Xiao's eyes widened further in shock. He became even more determined that his daughter absolutely must not marry this man.

Li Xiao stormed away. Watching his back, Yi Anguo couldn't help but worry for Li Sisi. How will she face her infuriated father? Then again, these things have to be faced sooner or later. Deceit can't last forever. It's better to confront it early.

Han Ying was somewhat aware of Yi Anguo's situation. She knew that the quiet proprietress, Hu Jing, had a past similar to her own. However, Hu Jing was luckier; she had met a good man like their landlord. In contrast, the man Han Ying had been with never gave her much money, just enough to get by, and then he disappeared without warning. If not for the landlord's kindness, she would likely be dead by now, and her daughter would be a pitiful orphan. It was different for Hu Jing. The landlord treated her well, funding her business and helping her open several shops. Even if the landlord truly had no choice but to abandon Hu Jing one day, at least she wouldn't fall into immediate hardship as Han Ying had. Now that the landlord's official girlfriend's parents were opposing their relationship, it was actually a good thing for Hu Jing. There was a great chance she could become the legitimate one.

Yi Anguo took his daughter and went directly to the Hu sisters' residence. Li Sisi wasn't home, and the meal Fu Huanhuan cooked was far inferior to Li Sisi's.

Yi Anguo suddenly wasn't sure if he was falling for Li Sisi herself or just her cooking. Although Hu Jing's cooking wasn't as good as Li Sisi's, it was far better than that of her niece, Fu Huanhuan, who had no ambition to improve her culinary skills. Moreover, Hu Jing was eager to learn, so her cooking was constantly improving. It seemed she was trying to attract his attention this way. As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Hu Jing probably understood this principle very well.

Furthermore, Yi Anguo felt most relaxed when he was with Hu Jing, with absolutely no pressure. Hu Jing never made any demands on him, never pressured him into marriage, and he didn't have to face her parents. It was different with Li Sisi. She had a goal in their relationship—she was aiming for marriage. And she had a hurdle she couldn't overcome: her parents. Yi Anguo himself was someone who hated trouble. Having experienced a failed relationship—or perhaps, a betrayal—he had developed a resistance to marriage, maybe even a phobia of it. It's better not to be married. If we get along, we live together. If not, we part ways. It's nice and simple, and at least it isn't too painful. Getting divorced after marriage, however, is painful and complicates everything. It can even lead to resentment and court battles. Thinking about it now, Wang Liping's clean break from him wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least she didn't fight him for the child or demand financial compensation.

The two sisters were delighted to see Yi Anguo arrive with his daughter. They both smiled brightly, competing to talk and play with Yi Xinyi, leaving Yi Anguo feeling slightly neglected.

Yi Xinyi also enjoyed playing with the Hu sisters, especially Hu Qian, who was like a child who had never grown up.

"Xinyi! Can you stop calling me Aunt Hu Qian from now on?"

Hu Qian picked up Yi Xinyi and carried her into her room. As they started playing on the bed together, she spoke.

"If I don't call you Aunt Hu Qian, what should I call you?" Yi Xinyi asked innocently.

"You should call me Little Auntie, and call my sister 'Mom'!" Hu Qian told Yi Xinyi seriously.

"But I have a mom! Dad said my mom will come back for me when I grow up," Yi Xinyi replied.

Hu Qian thought for a moment and said, "Well, until you grow up and your mom comes back, you can call my sister, Hu Jing, 'Mom'!"

"That way, you'll have a new mom. No one will say you don't have a mother's love, and no other kids will bully you. Right?"

Yi Xinyi began to hesitate, torn between the hope of having a mother by her side to love and dote on her, and the fear that her real mother would be unhappy if she returned and found out she had been calling someone else Mom.

"Xinyi! Tell me, am I good to you? If you call me Little Auntie, I'll be even better to you. I'll play with you every day and keep you happy," Hu Qian coaxed.

"And if you call my sister 'Mom,' she'll be even better to you. She'll treat you like a princess, adore you, and you'll grow up happy with her."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.