Xu Zeqing heard this, turned around, and looked up at Xu Xingguang from the bottom of the stairs.

He gave a mocking smile and said, "Miss Xu, from now on when we meet, please call me Mr. Xu."

Xu Xingguang pursed her lips, and remembered that.

Xu Zeqing held back his anger and asked her, "Do you have anything else?" He thought Xu Xingguang was regretting her decision. He looked at Xu Xingguang thoughtfully but didn’t see any regret in her eyes.

Xu Xingguang handed her household register to Huo Wen’an.

Huo Wen’an quickly grasped it.

Xu Xingguang descended the steps. She came before Xu Zeqing, looked at him deeply, and said, "Although you signed the voluntary blood donation application for me, took off my oxygen mask, and even wanted to send me to marry a stranger, my body still carries the same blood as yours."

After she finished speaking, Xu Xingguang suddenly stepped back, then straightforwardly knelt in front of Xu Zeqing.

Her forehead touched the ground as she choked out, "The bond between father and daughter is still destiny, but it’s a pity we can’t be father and daughter for life. For giving me life and raising me, your kindness is as heavy as a mountain. Xu Xingguang, endlessly grateful!"

Next, Xu Xingguang forcefully kowtowed three times.

Xu Zeqing looked at his daughter, who was grateful on the ground, his expression complex and his heart mixed with various emotions.

If there were no You Mingyue and You Jiaoyang, then Xu Xingguang would be his only daughter, and surely he would protect this daughter at all costs like Mo Yinshu would.

But he wasn’t Mo Yinshu.

Mo Yinshu had only one child, Xu Xingguang, but he had three children.

With more children, there’s more choice, and thus more decisions to be made.

Towards Xu Xingguang, Xu Zeqing felt a bit of guilt, but this guilt wasn’t deep.

Xu Zeqing quickly suppressed the little pain of parting in his heart, he said, "I’ve given you life and raised you, but I’ve sold you several times. There is neither debt nor credit between us; you may rise."

Xu Xingguang didn’t hurry to get up.

She stared at Xu Zeqing, noticing some faint wrinkles at the corner of Xu Zeqing’s eyes, realizing he was nearly fifty, and felt complicated.

Xu Xingguang said loudly, "I wish Mr. Xu, henceforth, a life free from illness, disaster, and hardship, always upright in conduct and heart, and never to walk blindly into darkness!"

Since awakening, this was the most sincere thing Xu Xingguang had ever said to Xu Zeqing.

But upon hearing this, Xu Zeqing thought Xu Xingguang was cursing him for having bad intentions.

He snorted with anger and glanced at Huo Wen’an, who was standing on the stairs and watching everything, saying sarcastically, "I should wish for you to be upright in conduct, and avoid committing acts of theft and fraud!"

After saying that, Xu Zeqing turned around and left.

In Xu Zeqing’s view, Xu Xingguang being with Huo Wen’an, a little troublemaker, would become a woman with no proper occupation. Selling, stealing, cheating, or even gambling and drugs.

He lost all hope for this daughter.

Huo Wen’an, holding the household register, said with a troubled face, "My future father-in-law treats me like the plague, this is truly a headache."

Xu Xingguang shook her head, "Stop acting."

Huo Wen’an then showed a smile. He walked to her side and together they watched as Xu Zeqing’s silhouette slowly receded.

Only then did he ask, "Signing the voluntary blood donation, removing your oxygen mask, sending you to marry a stranger. Are those things true?"

If it were true, then Huo Wen’an could understand why Xu Xingguang insisted on severing the father-daughter relationship with Xu Zeqing.

Nodding, Xu Xingguang said, "Yes, but fortunately I woke up moments before he removed my oxygen mask. But he didn’t know, and stood beside my bed muttering many heartfelt words. Those words were truly chilling."

Xu Xingguang didn’t elaborate on the details of her awakening that night, but just thinking about it made Huo Wen’an feel sorry for her.

Unless truly heartbroken, no daughter would want to sever ties with her father.

Without a mother, and losing a father, starting today, Xu Xingguang truly had no home.

Huo Wen’an opened Xu Xingguang’s household register, suddenly had the urge to write his name in it. Then they would be family.

"Xingguang." This was the first time Huo Wen’an called Xu Xingguang by her name, rather than the polite "Miss Xu."

Xu Xingguang felt a bit unaccustomed. She lowered her eyes, and responded softly.

Huo Wen’an said, "If I can recover from my illness, someday, I’ll also transfer my household registration and put it together with yours." Huo Wen’an fixed his gaze on Xu Xingguang, asking, "How do you feel about that?"

Xu Xingguang snatched the household register away and chuckled, "Don’t try that trick on me. Just starting to date and already thinking about marriage, your dream is a bit too beautiful."

Huo Wen’an wasn’t discouraged, he said righteously, "Dating without the intention of marriage, isn’t that just fooling around?"

Xu Xingguang looked up at him, only then did she smile fully and say, "Let’s see how it goes; if it’s suitable, we become family; if not, we become strangers."

Xu Xingguang’s eyes were exceptionally clear and she was clearly not joking.

Huo Wen’an looked at her, deep in thought, "But, ’till death do us part, don’t most people yearn for that kind of love?"

Xu Xingguang bluntly told Huo Wen’an, "Boss Huo, I do yearn for that kind of love. But if the person isn’t suitable for me, I won’t force myself. You should know, in the vast sea of people, three-legged frogs are hard to find, but three-legged men are everywhere."

Huo Wen’an fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed helplessly, "Xu Zan."