香蕉下载安卓版

Chapter 155

Gu Xiaoxin nervously stepped onto the doormat, her feet in tattered plastic sandals instinctively shrinking back. As soon as she entered, she was dazzled by the luxurious decor. She kept her head down, not daring to look around any further.

Yu Shu said, "Raise your head. It\'s normal to observe your surroundings in a new place. Everyone does that."

Gu Xiaoxin then mustered the courage to look up. The house was even bigger than she had imagined, with a swimming pool and stairs visible from the entrance.

"Poor thing," Shen Youlin sighed while fetching slippers for Yu Shu. Out of sympathy, he tossed a new pair of slippers near Gu Xiaoxin\'s feet.

Gu Xiaoxin glanced at her blackened feet and shrank back again.

Yu Shu sighed, wondering how long it would take to correct her timid behavior.

"Nevermind, you should go take a shower first." Yu Shu instructed the maid to show Gu Xiaoxin to the bathroom, then went upstairs to change clothes and find an outfit that would fit her.

Shen Youlin immediately followed her upstairs to their bedroom. Pouting, he said in a sour tone, "Why are you so concerned about her?"

"She\'s my illegitimate daughter."

Shen Youlin jumped up, "You\'re kidding a three-year-old! How could you have an illegitimate daughter this old?"

Yu Shu rolled her eyes. "You\'re at most two and a half years old. Why are you getting so jealous over a little girl?"

"But she admires you so much! She listens to everything you say. When you went upstairs earlier, she stared at you like she wanted to glue her eyes to you."

Yu Shu pinched the bridge of her nose. "You were being nice to her too, you even got her slippers."

Shen Youlin had never fetched slippers for anyone else besides Yu Shu.

"I did that because I pitied her."

"I pitied her too," Yu Shu squeezed his puffed-up cheeks, "and besides, she can make money for us."

Yu Shu explained the situation to him, and Shen Youlin\'s heart settled down. He prepared to extend the hospitality of a host and properly welcome this pitiful little girl.

Gu Xiaoxin took a long shower to wash off the black dye that had covered her originally fair and translucent skin.

Yu Shu\'s dress was a bit loose on her, making her look like a child playing dress-up.

Yu Shu couldn\'t help but sigh. The girl was indeed just a child, not even fifteen for another two months - actually younger than Wenwen by a month.

Zheng Xinming, who had been playing on his phone on the sofa, looked up and was dazzled by Gu Xiaoxin\'s fresh appearance. He circled around her, marveling, "Your skin is so white and flawless, without a single blemish. Why did you put on so much black makeup? You look so much better like this."

Zheng Xinming immediately regretted his words and slapped his own mouth.

For a beautiful girl born into poverty, her beauty was more a curse than a blessing. With only her bedridden father to rely on, if she were harassed, there would be no one to defend her.

Gu Xiaoxin\'s face flushed red as she awkwardly touched the dress. In a voice barely above a whisper, she asked, "This dress...it must be very expensive, right?"

"I can\'t hear you, speak louder. Look at me and say it again," Yu Shu instructed.

Gu Xiaoxin bit her lip and looked directly at Yu Shu. "This dress is very expensive. I...I don\'t deserve to wear it."

Yu Shu didn\'t contradict her. "It is expensive, so at the very least you\'ll have to work for me for the next ten years."

Shen Youlin couldn\'t stand it anymore. "Let\'s eat first, eat first. I\'m starving!"

The dishes had gotten cold, so the maid reheated them before bringing them out from the kitchen. Gu Xiaoxin rushed to help but was pushed back into her chair by Yu Shu. "Sit. I didn\'t bring you here to be a maid."

"I...I only know how to do chores and serve dishes."

"If you don\'t know, you\'ll learn. Otherwise, how will you earn money for me? Eat first, we\'ll talk after you\'re full."

Throughout the meal, Yu Shu gently reminded her, "Keep your back straight. Don\'t just eat, serve yourself some dishes too. Be more at ease. What are you afraid of? I\'m not going to eat you."

Yu Shu spoke tenderly, like a caring older sister teaching her younger sibling proper etiquette. Gu Xiaoxin didn\'t find it unpleasant at all and followed her instructions.

Noticing that Gu Xiaoxin seemed to enjoy the fish but only took small bites from the tail and back, Shen Youlin eventually couldn\'t stand it anymore. He moved all the meat from the fish belly onto her plate. "Eat up, we don\'t starve children here."

Gu Xiaoxin cradled the bowl, tears dripping into it. "Thank you."

"Don\'t cry. I hate it when people cry, especially during meals," Shen Youlin said, his head aching.

Yu Shu handed her a tissue. "Wipe your tears."

"Yes, thank you sister," Gu Xiaoxin obediently took it.

"If you call her sister, you should call me brother-in-law!" Shen Youlin insisted.

"Brother-in-law."

"Good girl!" Shen Youlin felt gratified and tossed the shrimp he had originally peeled for Yu Shu into Gu Xiaoxin\'s bowl.

By the time they finished their meal, night had fallen outside. The dazzling night view across the river could be seen through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.

Gu Xiaoxin, however, had no time to admire the scenery. She sat nervously on the sofa, worried that it was time for her to return and feed and bathe her father.

Zheng Xinming walked in after a phone call and sat beside her. "Are you worried about your dad?"

Gu Xiaoxin nodded. "I can\'t stay too long. I need to go back soon."

"Go back where? Under the bridge?" Zheng Xinming tsked. "I just got a call. Your dad isn\'t there anymore."

Gu Xiaoxin panicked at the thought that her father might have been moved. "Where...where is my dad now?"

"Don\'t be scared, I\'m not messing with you. Your dad has been arranged to go to a nursing home. From now on, he\'ll have professionals taking care of him, and Yu Shu will cover all his medical expenses."

"But I...how can I...repay her kindness?"

Gu Xiaoxin\'s eyes welled up with tears once again.

She wasn\'t someone who cried easily because there was no one to console her. No matter how aggrieved she felt, she could only swallow her blood and tears.

But today, in just a few short hours at this place, she had cried several times already.

The feeling of being cared for and loved was something she had only dreamed of - a blissful, cloud-like fantasy.

She felt like Cinderella who had stumbled into a fairy wonderland. No, she couldn\'t even be considered Cinderella, whose father was still a nobleman. Her own father was just a bedridden invalid.

"Oh no, my little darling, why are you crying again?" Zheng Xinming hurriedly fetched tissues to dab her tears.

Yu Shu walked over and asked Zheng Xinming, "What did you do to make her cry?"

"How is this my fault?" Zheng Xinming was utterly baffled.

Gu Xiaoxin wiped her tears and sobbed, "I...I don\'t deserve your kindness."

A roadside weed could never be transplanted and nurtured like a greenhouse flower.

"Whether you deserve it or not, we\'ll see after Wan Tusui takes a look." Yu Shu had never been good at comforting others. Seeing Gu Xiaoxin cry only made her feel annoyed and irritable. "Where is Wan Tusui? Why isn\'t he here yet?"

Speaking of the devil, Wan Tusui rushed in. "Dad, Dad, I\'m here. Traffic was bad, so I was delayed..."

He caught sight of Gu Xiaoxin on the sofa and was transfixed, forgetting what he was about to say. Only four words echoed in his mind:

My muse!