Chapter 180 Do You Want to Be My Mommy?

Xie Qingtang and Zhou Jinfan walked out after checking on Ah Ben, followed closely by a somewhat breathless Ah Xiang. Ah Xiang called out to Xie Qingtang and said with genuine emotion, "Dr. Xie, thank you. Thank you for everything."

"It's nothing. This is simply my instinct as a doctor," Xie Qingtang said indifferently, not even turning her head as she walked straight toward the front hall.

Just as the two of them reached the front hall, Dong Weiyi arrived with his daughter, Dong Shien. Their appointment had been set for the day before yesterday, but due to a minor accident at the Dong household, it had been postponed to today.

"Dr. Xie." Dong Weiyi walked in holding his daughter's hand, a natural smile blooming on his face the moment he saw Xie Qingtang.

Dong Shien's large, round eyes gleamed with curiosity. As her long eyelashes fluttered, she tilted her little head and said with a feigned air of inquisitiveness, "Daddy, why do you smile whenever you see Auntie Xie? It's exactly the same as when you look at me. Daddy loves Shien, so you smile when you see me. Does that mean Daddy loves Auntie Xie too, which is why you smile whenever you see her? Am I right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere inside Chunshantang instantly turned intensely ambiguous, and even the surrounding temperature seemed to rise a few degrees. Zhou Jinfan chuckled and said, "Boss, this little girl is so smart!"

With a slightly embarrassed glare, Xie Qingtang shot Zhou Jinfan a look, then put on a poker face as she walked up to Dong Weiyi and said, "Let's head to the consultation room."

"Alright, children say the darndest things, Dr. Xie, please don't mind her." Dong Weiyi nodded with a smile, then led his daughter toward the consultation room. Still, he quietly cautioned his daughter, "Shien, stop talking nonsense."

To his surprise, Dong Shien pouted slightly, glanced back at Xie Qingtang's retreating figure, and spoke even louder, "I am not talking nonsense at all! Daddy does like Auntie Xie, and he wants Auntie Xie to be Shien's mommy."

Walking ahead, Xie Qingtang stumbled slightly upon hearing this, her mouth twitching for a long moment. Fortunately, her back was turned to the father and daughter, sparing them from seeing her expression.

The walk from the main hall to the consultation room was very short, but both Dong Weiyi and Xie Qingtang found it agonizingly long.

By the time they reached the consultation room, Dong Shien finally kept quiet. She obediently climbed onto the chair by herself, extended her little arm—resembling a string of lotus roots—and looked curiously at Xie Qingtang, asking, "Auntie Xie, do you have someone you like right now? What do you think of my daddy?"

This uninhibited remark made Xie Qingtang pause for a second. Then, pretending as if nothing had happened, she placed her fingers on the child's pulse without answering.

"Auntie Xie, why aren't you saying anything? Well, silence means consent. You definitely don't have anyone you like right now, and you think my daddy is pretty good, right?" Dong Shien rambled on.

With things having reached this point, Xie Qingtang could no longer pretend to be indifferent. She gave a light cough, smiled at the little girl in front of her, nodded, and said, "Shien is very smart. Auntie Xie indeed doesn't have anyone she likes, and I do think your dad is a good person. But the relationship between your dad and me isn't the kind of relationship you're imagining, you know."

"Could it be that Auntie Xie actually knows what kind of relationship I'm imagining? But it doesn't matter if Auntie Xie doesn't like my daddy right now. My daddy is an outstanding person, and sooner or later, Auntie Xie will fall in love with him. Don't you want to be my mommy, Auntie Xie?" Dong Shien asked nonchalantly, tilting her head and dropping yet another startling remark.

Choked by this sudden declaration, Xie Qingtang let out a cough. Dong Weiyi could no longer pretend he hadn't heard and, with a slight cough of his own, reprimanded Dong Shien, "Shien, what are you saying? Stop talking like this and making it difficult for Dr. Xie."

"But didn't Daddy ask me before if I would like it if Auntie Xie became my new mommy? Now I can clearly tell Daddy that I would love Auntie Xie. So please, Auntie Xie, just be my new mommy!" Dong Shien said with a cheerful grin, revealing a row of small, white teeth as she gazed innocently at Xie Qingtang.

Knowing that the little girl genuinely wanted her to be her mother, but realizing she and Dong Weiyi shared no such relationship, Xie Qingtang fled the consultation room in a somewhat flustered manner.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Xie. I didn't expect my daughter to say things like that and put you on the spot," Dong Weiyi apologized as he hurried out after her.

Xie Qingtang waved her hand dismissively. While hurriedly and nervously gathering the prescribed herbs from the sheet, she said to Dong Weiyi, "It's fine. Children speak without malice; I understand."

"Is that so? Well, actually, I wish Dr. Xie didn't understand. If that were the case, I'd rather you got angry," Dong Weiyi said with a hint of disappointment, which left Xie Qingtang somewhat bewildered as she busied herself with filling the prescription.

Dong Weiyi's disappointment lasted only for a fleeting second before vanishing entirely. Acting as if nothing had happened, he returned to the consultation room to keep his daughter, Dong Shien, company.

After finishing the packaging, Xie Qingtang handed the bag of medicine to Dong Weiyi. She then crouched down, stroked Dong Shien's hair, and smiled as she said, "Take your medicine properly, and your health will get better day by day."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie. But I hope that one day I won't have to call you 'Auntie' anymore, but 'Mommy' instead." Parting ways with a final playful jab at Xie Qingtang, Dong Shien waved cheerfully and climbed into the car.

Watching the car slowly drive away from Chunshantang, Xie Qingtang finally snapped out of her daze. She let out a speechless, amused sigh and turned around to find Zhou Jinfan munching on an apple, standing behind her like a spectator. Shaking his head, he remarked,

"I never would've thought Mr. Dong has such thin skin, yet he has a powerful wingman of a daughter. I reckon if President Gu doesn't step up his game, Boss, you're going to be captured by Mr. Dong sooner or later."

Listening to his rambling analysis, Xie Qingtang slapped him across the forehead and said coldly, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How did my and Mr. Dong's business drag Gu Xiujin into it again? I really don't know what goes on inside that head of yours all day long."

"Oh gosh, the things I think about every day are endless! The relationships between you, Mr. Dong, and President Gu are enough to keep my head spinning. It's terribly complicated," Zhou Jinfan muttered to himself.