"Jinrong, what do you think about me having Nianhua as my goddaughter?"
The words of Jiang Wanru shocked Su Jinrong. Ever since their daughter Xiaoyu had passed away right after her birth, Jiang Wanru had fallen severely ill and took more than a year to recover. During that period, Su Jinrong had considered adopting a child to raise under Jiang Wanru’s care, but she had refused.
As time went by, the premature death of their daughter Xiaoyu became a lasting pain for the family. Sometimes when lovely little girls visited their home, Jiang Wanru, despite liking them, was reluctant to adopt any except for her niece Su Xi, whom she was willing to get close to. To other girls of similar age, she remained distant.
According to Jiang Wanru, she didn’t want anyone to replace Xiaoyu, and she couldn’t allow someone else to enjoy what should have been Xiaoyu’s life.
"Why have you suddenly decided to have a goddaughter?" Su Jinrong recalled Xu Nianhua; she was indeed a very pretty young girl, with a bright, radiant smile that when she laughed, seemed like a spring breeze, making one feel very comfortable.
But such adorable girls weren’t rare; with so many girls around, how could Wanru, after knowing her for less than a month, suddenly want to have her as a goddaughter?
"I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I feel she resembles Xiaoyu a lot." Jiang Wanru gazed out of the window at the scenery, her eyes filled with deep memories, and she murmured, "I wonder if our Xiaoyu, had she grown up, would have been as beautiful, talented, and polite as Nianhua."
"Jinrong, I think if Xiaoyu has a spirit in heaven, perhaps it was she who brought Nianhua to us." Jiang Wanru didn’t know how to describe this feeling.
Seeing how excited Jiang Wanru was, Su Jinrong quickly took her hand and comforted her, "Wanru, if you want to have a goddaughter, then do so, but I think they might not agree to it."
"Is that so?" The possibility made Jiang Wanru very disheartened.
That evening, Su Xi indeed brought Xu Nianhua over, along with Su Jinrong and his wife Fei Meishu, and their daughter Su Xi.
Su Lie and Fang Manyin were at the sanatorium accompanying Xiao’en.
Jiang Wanru was very warm and friendly, and with Su Xi by her side, the atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious, making it feel like one big family.
"Nianhua, I would like to have you as my goddaughter."
After dinner, while they were eating fruit, Jiang Wanru spoke her mind, ignoring the shocked faces around her. She looked sincerely at Xu Nianhua and said, "I know this request is a bit presumptuous, but setting aside the fact that you saved me, I genuinely like you very much. We have only two naughty boys at home, so I would like to have you as my goddaughter, is that okay?"
Jiang Wanru kept her posture very low, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, and added, "It’s okay if you don’t want to. You don’t have to feel obligated, just tell us what you think."
With that, Jiang Wanru looked expectantly at Xu Nianhua.
Seeing this, Su Jinrong couldn’t stand to see his wife lowering herself so much and said, "As long as you’re willing, you are Su Jinrong’s daughter."
Su Xi’s eyes were almost popping out in shock; having been close to Jiang Wanru since childhood, she understood best. While her aunt seemed gentle and approachable, she was actually very formal with everyone, and gaining her aunt’s approval was extremely difficult.
She remembered that relatives had girls they wanted to adopt to Jiang Wanru. Thinking back, she felt that girl was well-behaved, sensible, and also pretty.