"Hello," Ye Tiao said with a smile, looking at Shi Xuebai in front of her, "Uncle, our Shi Mei has just recovered from a serious illness. May I ask what brings you here?"
Shi Xuebai was taken aback. "Who are you? I’m speaking to my daughter. I am Shi Mei’s father!"
"Really?" Ye Tiao looked surprised. "But I heard that Shi Mei doesn’t have parents, that they passed away a long time ago!"
"Raising a child is a greater kindness than giving birth to one. I’m her adoptive father!" Shi Xuebai wiped away tears. "Her birth parents died early, and all these years, I’ve treated her as my own daughter."
"Oh, I see," Ye Tiao nodded. "Then, if she’s your daughter and has been having a fever for several days, why are you only coming now?"
"No one notified us!" Shi Xuebai said angrily. "If it weren’t for my daughter calling for her father in her high fever, I wouldn’t have known that such a serious thing had happened to her!"
Standing by, Aunt Chen couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke up. "I called you the day before yesterday!"
"Oh..." Ye Tiao shook her head in disapproval. "So, what have you been doing for the past two days?"
Shi Xuebai found himself cornered and responded angrily to Ye Tiao’s aggressive questioning, "What does it have to do with you, an outsider? What right do you have to meddle in our family’s affairs?"
"You’re the outsider," Shi Mei said timidly from behind Ye Tiao. "You’re not Shi Mei’s father; Shi Mei’s father is dead."
Shi Xuebai immediately burst into tears again. "My Shi Mei, I know I didn’t give you enough attention, but I’ve raised you for over twenty years. Throughout these years, I have loved you with all my heart!"
Shi Mei stayed behind Ye Tiao, saying nothing.
Even Tang Jingming couldn’t stand it anymore. "Mr. Shi, now that Shi Mei is in the early stages of recovery from a serious illness, I think if you have anything to say, you’d better say it quickly. If it’s about reminiscing, I think that’s already been done."
Seeing the situation, Shi Xuebai could not continue crying and, wiping away his tears, said, "I just missed my daughter and came to see her."
"Then you can leave now that you’ve seen her. Aunt Chen, please show the guest out."
Shi Xuebai quickly said, "Wait, actually, there is one more thing. Isn’t it Old Lady Shi’s seventieth birthday the day after tomorrow? As a granddaughter-in-law of the Shi Family, Shi Mei should be the one to take care of it, but she’s not sensible. Of course, it can’t be her responsibility. But as parents, don’t we wish to see our children have some prestige? To avoid any mistakes by Shi Mei, I have asked her cousin to come teach her how to entertain guests early the next morning, as a way to help."
Ye Tiao widened her eyes. She almost applauded Shi Xuebai for his speech.
She’d never seen anyone describe usurping someone’s place in such a fresh and refined way before!
He kept saying he was afraid Shi Mei would make a mistake and that her cousin should teach her. But in reality, wasn’t it just a way for this cousin to ’perform’ in front of all the relatives and friends?
If they were lucky, and a relative from the Shi Family took a liking to her, it would be a great opportunity for the Shi Family to ’rise to the heavens’!
Shi Xuebai, entirely oblivious to the disgust and disdain around him, continued earnestly, "I’m doing this for the good of Shi Mei. As a granddaughter-in-law of the Shi Family, she represents our dignity! Everyone can make a mistake, but not Shi Mei. With her cousin’s help, she definitely won’t make any."
Ye Tiao laughed out of frustration, ready to shoo him away. But unexpectedly, Shi Mei suddenly spoke up first: "Okay then!"