The Best Candidate for a Daughter-in-Law

Yu Tiantian, noticing his expression, couldn't help but explode, her voice a few decibels louder than usual, "Would it kill you to show a little emotion? What if you scare our little Ai?" 

Li Moyang looked aggrieved as he watched his wife lose her temper. *I did show some expression, didn't I?* But knowing better than to voice his thoughts, he adhered to the sacred principle of "The wife is always right" and obediently accepted the reprimand.

Li Yaochen and Li Yaonan were completely unfazed, clearly accustomed to this dynamic between their parents. After all, they witnessed this almost every day—just part of the routine, nothing to be surprised about.

Li Moyang, being smart, decided to change the subject. "Honey, whose little girl is this?"

Only then did Yu Tiantian recall the events of the day. "Our Xiao Ai happens to be the young lady of the Weiai Group."

Li Moyang was puzzled. *I know you like girls, but was it really necessary to bring home the daughter of a rival company?*

"Let me tell you, darling, today I ran into my high school bestie, and it turns out she's the wife of Weiai's CEO! Can you believe how small the world is? Fate is truly a mysterious thing!" Yu Tiantian babbled on excitedly, clinging to his arm, oblivious to his reaction.

Seeing her so happy, Li Moyang couldn't help but smile.

"Is this the same bestie you used to talk about?" He had heard his wife mention this high school friend countless times, always with a tinge of worry and regret.

In fact, Li Moyang had secretly sent people to search for her friend, but with no success. He didn't want to give his wife false hope, so he never told her about his efforts.

"Yes, yes! She was in England all this time and only recently moved back with her family. No wonder I couldn't find her!" Yu Tiantian's voice brimmed with excitement.

"And she has a pair of twins and a daughter!" When she spoke of the children, her eyes gleamed with envy.

Knowing how much his wife adored girls, Li Moyang was just about to offer her some comfort when she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, I've got it! We may not have a daughter, but we can still have a daughter-in-law!"

Li Moyang: "…" Have you asked our son or the little girl for their opinion on this?

Li Yaochen, still in a daze after hearing his mother's declaration, was then hit with another comment from Yu Tiantian: "Son, turns out you're not completely useless after all!"

Having previously considered her son rather unimportant, Yu Tiantian now saw some value in him. No daughter? No problem—an excellent daughter-in-law would do just fine.

At that moment, Li Moyang silently pitied his son for a brief second… *I can't help you here, kid. You should've been born a girl.*

Li Yaochen had long given up resisting. *So this is what I amount to in your eyes…*

He should have realized this a long time ago.

Meanwhile, the little princess remained blissfully unaware that she had already been pre-booked as a daughter-in-law by Yu Tiantian.

…

During dinner, Yu Tiantian helped Xiao Ai serve her meal. Xiao Ai politely said, "Thank you, sister."

The moment he heard the word "sister," Li Moyang, seated next to Yu Tiantian, became restless. *Why is she a sister while I'm an uncle? That's not right!*

But remembering his wife's warning not to scare the child, he softened his voice as much as possible and asked with a smile, "Why do you call her sister and me uncle?" *Do I really look that much older than her?*

"Isn't there something wrong with that?" Yu Tiantian quickly interjected before Xiao Ai could respond.

*Of course, there's something wrong!* The hierarchy is all messed up—being called "brother" would be more appropriate.

The clever little princess immediately caught on and sweetly called out, "Brother."

Li Moyang was thoroughly satisfied, the corners of his mouth lifting into an even wider smile. No wonder his wife was so fond of this girl—she was both smart and adorable. Truly the perfect candidate for a daughter-in-law!

Yu Tiantian glanced at Li Moyang with disdain—*Childish!*

Just after dinner, the doorbell rang. Yu Tiantian guessed it must be Yimeng Yao and her husband coming to pick up their daughter.

She had the servants open the door, and sure enough, Yimeng Yao and Si Hao entered.

As soon as he walked in, Si Hao anxiously scanned the room for his daughter. Seeing his precious little girl sitting on the sofa sipping water, he called out, "Xiao Ai."

Upon hearing her father's familiar voice, Xiao Ai immediately put down her cup and ran into his arms, exclaiming with joy, "Daddy, you're here!"

"Mhm, did you miss Daddy?" Si Hao gently wiped the droplets from the corner of her mouth and affectionately ruffled her hair, his tone soft and loving.

This scene took Li Moyang by surprise. *Is this really the same cold, ruthless Si Hao I know from the business world? This is completely turning my perception of him upside down!*

Watching Xiao Ai nod eagerly, Si Hao finally looked content. If it weren't for Yimeng Yao stopping him, he would have picked her up the moment he got home.

The day had felt dull without his daughter around, and even though Yimeng Yao explained her meeting with Yu Tiantian, he had barely been able to finish dinner before coming to pick her up.

Without his daughter, it felt like he couldn't even eat properly. Waiting this long to fetch her was already pushing his limits.

Yimeng Yao had long since grown tired of her husband's obsession with their daughter, so she let him be. She walked over to Yu Tiantian and asked, "I hope Xiao Ai didn't cause you any trouble?"

Yu Tiantian replied, "What are you saying? Xiao Ai was so well-behaved!" *Even if she caused a little trouble, it wouldn't matter at all!*

"You just haven't seen her when she's being mischievous," Yimeng Yao, fully aware of her daughter's nature, couldn't help but vent.

Yu Tiantian responded, "If I had a daughter, I wouldn't care if she caused trouble every day!"

Hearing this, Li Yaochen felt his heart sink.

Despite her complaints, Yimeng Yao felt the same way.

Meanwhile, the men exchanged their pleasantries.

As the host, Li Moyang spoke first, "President Si, long time no see. A pleasure."

"It hasn't been that long. We just met recently at the Huancheng project, or have you forgotten, Mr. Li?" Si Hao responded coldly, his business demeanor fully restored.

There was no need to show courtesy to someone who had whisked away his daughter, even if it wasn't him directly. After all, his wife was also part of the equation.

Of course, Li Moyang hadn't forgotten. Si Hao was merely reminding him that his company had won the Huancheng project.

Under normal circumstances, Li Moyang would have retorted, but thinking of his potential future daughter-in-law, he chose to hold back.

"Your company's strength is truly admirable. I accept my loss wholeheartedly."

Si Hao found Li Moyang's behavior unusually compliant today, almost as if he was being flattering. This had to be his imagination—after all, it was rare for anyone to curry favor with him, let alone Li Moyang.

This left Si Hao at a loss for words. If Li Moyang had acted like his usual self, Si Hao could have easily quipped back, but he wasn't following the script today. All he could muster was a brief, "You flatter me."

After chatting for a while longer, Yimeng Yao finally said to Yu Tiantian, "It's getting late. We should head back."

Yu Tiantian was reluctant to part with them. "Bring Xiao Ai over to play more often, won't you? We're so close by."

She made sure to tell Xiao Ai directly, "Come over any time you like, okay? Just have your mommy call me, and I'll send Yaochen to pick you up!"

Xiao Ai politely agreed and bid everyone farewell before heading home with Si Hao and Yimeng Yao.

The next morning.

At the Si family mansion.

Si Hao was in the study on the second floor, reviewing some documents, with the door slightly ajar.

Suddenly, a small head peeked in from the doorway. "Daddy, it's time for breakfast," said a sweet voice, her large eyes blinking softly, and her long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

Hearing his daughter's voice, Si Hao immediately lifted his head from the documents, his heart melting at how adorable his little princess looked.

"Alright, sweetheart. Daddy will be right there."

Si Qian'ai opened the door fully and walked over to Si Hao's side, obediently waiting for him.

Si Hao scooped her up onto his lap, gently ruffling her hair. "How about you come with Daddy to the office today, hmm?"

Si Qian'ai thought for a moment. The office wasn't really fun, but seeing the hopeful look in her father's eyes, she couldn't bear to disappoint him, so she agreed. "Okay!"

Once again, Si Hao successfully convinced his daughter to accompany him to the office!

He gathered his documents, placing them into his briefcase, then carried his daughter downstairs for breakfast.

As they entered the dining room, Si Muhan and Si Moxuan were already seated, waiting.

Si Moxuan greeted first, "Good morning, Daddy," but Si Hao merely responded with a brief "Hmm," without paying much attention.

Si Muhan, as usual, sat quietly, not saying much.

Si Moxuan, seemingly accustomed to his father's indifference, was unperturbed.

Seeing his sister in their father's arms, he smiled warmly. "Good morning, little sister."

"Good morning, Second Brother," Si Qian'ai returned his smile sweetly, then greeted Si Muhan as well, "Good morning, Big Brother."

Si Muhan smiled faintly. "Good morning, Qian'ai."

After setting Si Qian'ai down beside his seat, Si Hao went into the kitchen to help his wife. Yi Mengyao had recently been learning how to make mango mousse cake rolls.

The moment Si Hao entered, Yi Mengyao was already bringing out the breakfast. He took the plates from her and placed them on the dining table. A few servants followed, bringing out milk.

When breakfast was served, everyone sat down to eat. Si Qian'ai was enjoying the mango mousse cake roll her mother had made, her face glowing with delight as she tasted the mango flavor.

Seeing how much her daughter was enjoying it, Yi Mengyao felt all the effort she had put into learning to bake had been worth it. "Is it good, Qian'ai?"

Si Qian'ai took another bite. "So delicious, Mommy! Do you want to try some?" She held up the cake to Yi Mengyao's mouth.

Yi Mengyao took a small bite, finding it indeed better than her previous attempts.

Even Si Hao, who usually didn't eat sweets, was intrigued by how much joy the mother-daughter duo was experiencing. "Is it really that good? Won't you let Daddy try a bit too?"

Knowing her father rarely ate sweets, Si Qian'ai was a bit surprised. But since he asked, she obediently offered the half-eaten cake roll to him.

Si Hao took a small bite. It was tasty, but far too sweet for his liking. He still couldn't understand why women were so fond of sugary things.

During breakfast, Si Hao mentioned to Yi Mengyao that he planned to take Si Qian'ai to the office. Since Yi Mengyao had already arranged a shopping date with Yu Tiantian that day, she agreed, feeling reassured that their daughter would be in good hands.

It was a Monday, and both Si Muhan and Si Moxuan had school, so Si Qian'ai would otherwise be left with the servants at home. Knowing her husband would take good care of her at the office, she felt much more at ease.

After breakfast, Si Hao instructed the servants to bring down his briefcase. His assistant arrived right on time, taking the briefcase from the servants and driving the car out of the garage to wait for his boss.

He didn't have to wait long before he saw his boss walking out with the little princess in his arms. Honestly, his boss was starting to look more and more like a doting father.

Once Si Hao and Si Qian'ai were settled in the car, Yi Mengyao also left for her day out.

As for Si Muhan and Si Moxuan, they had their own drivers to take them to school.

...

At the Weiai Group.

One of the office gossips in the design department was enthusiastically sharing the latest news with her colleagues. "Breaking news! Word has it that we're about to compete with the Li Corporation for another big project!"

"What? Already?" The entire office sighed in unison.

"But didn't we just secure the big Huancheng project the other day? Why are we diving into another project so soon?" one of the female employees grumbled.

Everyone had been pulling long hours to land the Huancheng deal, and they had all been hoping for a break, but now it seemed they would be busy again.

A male colleague tried to console her. "Well, that's the reality of working at such a big company. People are fighting to get in here, after all."

True enough, Weiai was one of the world's top multinational corporations, and many people would give anything to work there.

At that moment, another female employee squeezed into the group. "I've got some inside info! This time, no one's going to be competing with us for the project." She trailed off, intentionally leaving everyone hanging.

Her coworkers all looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

When she didn't speak up fast enough, they threatened, "Spill it, or we're coming after you!"

Satisfied that she had built enough suspense, she cleared her throat. "Well, a friend of mine works as a servant at the Si family mansion. She says the little princess of the Si family has already won over the Li family's heir!"

"Wait, what does that even mean? How does that have anything to do with the project?" one of the others asked, puzzled.

"Hold on, I'm getting to that! It turns out Mrs. Li and our CEO's wife are long-lost best friends!" she revealed dramatically.

Fearing she might get mobbed for taking too long, she hurried on. "Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Li are especially fond of our little princess. Mrs. Li even said she wants her to be their future daughter-in-law!"

"So that means... they're basically family now! If they want their son to marry into the Si family, there's no way they'd fight us for the project, right?" one of the employees deduced.

A male colleague exclaimed, "Wow, the little princess really saved us this time! We owe her one!"

Some of the female employees were gushing with envy. "I heard the Li family's heir is quite the looker! Those genes, though."

Another male coworker couldn't help but tease, "You can dream all you want, but unless you were born twenty years later, you don't stand a chance."

"Whatever," she huffed, not wanting to engage further.

The Si family was already rich beyond imagination, and now with the Li family involved, they were on the verge of becoming an unstoppable force.

One of the more level-headed male employees had a lingering question, though. "You could've gotten this gossip about the Si family from their servants, but how on earth do you know about the Lis' plans to marry off their son to the Si family's princess? Did they just casually tell your boss or his wife?"

Realizing they might've been too quick to believe the story, everyone looked at her with suspicion. "Yeah, how do you know all this?" they asked, wary of having their hopes dashed.

"Oh, well, I've also got a friend of a friend who works at the Li family mansion," she replied quickly, not wanting to leave room for doubt this time.

The others sighed in unison. "You sure have a lot of friends!"