Because of Xia Sinian and Xia Meilin"s presence in the car, Li Hua wasn"t able to talk with Mu Xijiu and Li Bingbing in private about avoiding s.h.i.+ Fen.
When they arrived at the restaurant, the two families, including s.h.i.+ Fen, went to have dinner together.
"You looked so close with Xia Sinian rather than his sister." s.h.i.+ Fen said as he looked at Li Bingbing who was sitting in front of him.
Li Bingbing chuckled, she placed her hand on Xia Sinian and entwined their fingers, "That"s because we"re dating."
s.h.i.+ Fen raised a brow, "Dating?" He turned to Xia Sinian and looked at him with unreadable eyes.
It was really a good thing that Li Bingbing was dating someone from an elite family. Li Hua was really glad that it was one of the Xia family.
Meanwhile, s.h.i.+ Fen wasn"t sure if he should be glad about it since he doesn"t really know Xia Sinian except for being in an elite family.
"Boy, I"ll hunt you down if you hurt her." This was the way s.h.i.+ Fen was looking at Xia Sinian and just by meeting his gaze, Xia Sinian felt a chill run down his spines.
s.h.i.+ Fen was already treating Li Bingbing as his own child that was why he couldn"t help but be protective of her.
"Bingbing, if he made you cry, tell me okay?" s.h.i.+ Fen said as he turned to Li Bingbing.
"Nonsense! Why would my grandson make a wonderful girl like Li Bingbing cry?" Ji Ruo huffed.
Li Bingbing laughed lightly, "I"m pretty confident that Sisi would never hurt me, right Sisi?"
Xia Sinian nodded before he turned to s.h.i.+ Fen with a serious look on his face, "Li Bingbing is someone important to me."
Li Hua was glaring at s.h.i.+ Fen the whole time. Who does he think he is? He is not even a part of the family, he has no right to insert himself in Li Bingbing"s relations.h.i.+p!
After dinner, they all went on their separate ways and this time, it was Li Hua who dropped Mu Xijiu and Li Bingbing at home.
"Mom, I want to talk with Li Hua, can you go inside first?" Li Bingbing asked.
Mu Xijiu was worried about what Li Bingbing wanted to talk about but nonetheless, she said, "Okay."
Li Hua was curious about what Li Bingbing wanted to say so when Mu Xijiu left, Li Hua asked his daughter, "What do you want to talk about?"
Li Bingbing turned serious as she faced Li Hua, "Tell me, Mr. Li, what are you scheming?"
Li Hua was caught off guard by her question, "W... what do you mean?"
Li Bingbing scoffed. "You wanted to start anew with us, you are even trying to insert yourself in this family when you already have another family."
Li Hua lowered his head, "That..."
"Do you want me to accept you? Fine, I will only accept you in this family if you divorce that b.i.t.c.h you married and leave your new family."
Li Hua clenched his fists, "You know that"s not possible. If I leave her then the company I have will be taken away from me."
Li Bingbing snickered, "So why are you still here? You can only choose one, it"s either you choose us or the other, you can"t have both. You may be my real father but you stopped being one the moment you left us. You have a new family now, focus yourself on them and leave us alone."
"But Bingbing..."
"I won"t be able to change the fact that you"re my real father and because of that, I am willing to be in good terms with you again but leave mom alone. She deserved to be with a better man. She has already let you go so you have to do the same."
The reason why Li Hua wanted to have Mu Xijiu and Li Bingbing was because he felt responsible for them, aside from that, Li Hua still has feelings for Mu Xijiu but his situation was making it hard for him.
Li Bingbing was right, Li Hua would prefer to choose his riches than abandoning it for his real family. He wanted to have both but that wasn"t easy to attain.
"I am really happy that you have prepared a graduation gift for me and you knew what I liked but, Mr. Li, just because you made me happy doesn"t mean that I"m going to welcome you back in this family. We"re happier without you so I think that it"s about time that you step back."
Li Bingbing"s words were like knives, stabbing Li Hua"s heart and was slicing it to pieces.
Li Bingbing watched as Li Hua looked dejected and broken. She knew that she was being harsh to him but it was the truth, she didn"t want him in her life anymore.
"If you really want me to forgive you, then please respect our decisions." She went and hugged him, "The happy memories you have given during my childhood... I will always treasure them."
Tears formed on the side of Li Hua"s eyes as he was being hugged by Li Bingbing. He hugged his daughter back and buried his face on her shoulder. "I"m really sorry, Bingbing."
"I know..." She muttered as she closed her eyes. "We can"t bring back what we have before but... I forgive you, dad."
A warm sensation grew in Li Hua"s chest when he heard her words, especially when she addressed him as "dad". It made his tears fell uncontrollably and because of that, Li Bingbing"s s.h.i.+rt, the part of her shoulder became drenched with his tears.
After a short while, Li Bingbing finally pulled away from the hug. "You"re a man, you shouldn"t be crying."
Li Hua chuckled a bit as he wiped his tears dry, "How can I not? You called me "dad"." He let out a sigh before he straightened himself, "Can I have a word with your mother before I go? Don"t worry, after this, I won"t disturb both of you anymore."
"Fine, but make sure that you keep your word, okay?"
Li Hua patted her head, "I will, don"t worry."
Ever since that night, Li Hua never visited them anymore and it became more peaceful for Li Bingbing and Mu Xijiu.
Just like what her parents were expecting, Li Bingbing topped the entrance exam of Imperial University and because of that, her name was well known on the campus.
"I finally get to stay here!" Li Bingbing claimed happily as she dropped her luggage on the ground.
"I have prepared the guest room for you." Xia Sinian said.
Li Bingbing pouted, "Guest room? Why would I sleep there when I can just sleep with you instead?"
Xia Meilin cleared her throat, "Please don"t forget that I will be living here as well."
Li Bingbing frowned, "Go live in the dorm instead."
Xia Meilin rolled her eyes and decided to ignore Li Bingbing. She went to the guest room instead and started unpacking.
Li Bingbing pouted, "Tch, Sisi, why don"t you try to convince Meimei to live in the dorm instead of here?"
Xia Sinian sighed heavily, "You know that it won"t be easy to convince her if she made up her mind. I need to be reasonable if I"ll talk with her."
Li Bingbing crossed her arms, "Is your room soundproof?"
Xia Sinian blinked a few times, "Huh?"
"We need a soundproofed room if whenever we have our lovey-dovey time," Li Bingbing said with a mischievous grin on her lips.
Xia Sinian"s face became red when he was able to understand what Li Bingbing was trying to say. "That"s... yeah... it is..." He turned away from her, feeling shy.
Just then, the doorbell was heard.
"I"ll get it." Xia Sinian went to open the door.