"Daddy..." Gu Mengyao wanted to cry, but with Xiaoshu beside her she had to maintain the dignity of an elder sister. Drawing a deep breath, she forced down her emotions and told Gu Pengzhan everything that had happened, exactly as it had occurred.

Wei Zhao himself had not explained things in much detail, so when Gu Mengyao repeated his words to Gu Pengzhan, Gu Pengzhan sank into deep thought.

"Hmm... From what Xiaoyi said, I have a rough idea of what he is thinking!" Gu Pengzhan mused for a moment before going on. "First, Xiaoyi wants to leave because he has lost his strength and fears he can no longer fulfill his duty to protect you. But that hardly matters. To be a follower does not necessarily mean to be a protector. I can hire another close guard. The key lies in Wei Zhao's own attitude, whether he is willing to stay. I must talk to him about that myself."

"Mm." Hearing her father speak this way, Gu Mengyao nodded, feeling reassured.

"Yaoyao, I remember you were once dead set on driving Xiaoyi away?" Gu Pengzhan could not resist teasing her. "Now that Xiaoyi has resigned on his own, why will you not agree to it?"

"Ah... well... that was then and this is now! He is Xiaoshu's and my lifesaver now. How could we be so ungrateful?" As Gu Mengyao spoke, she glanced at Xiaoshu. "Right, Xiaoshu?"

"Yep yep, Sister Yaoyao is already planning to give herself to him in return!" Shen Yushu nodded.

Gu Mengyao nearly burst with anger. She had wanted a word of support, so a simple "yep" would have been enough. What was that extra nonsense for?

"Yaoyao, come with me for a moment." Gu Pengzhan pondered briefly, then stood up and beckoned to his daughter.

"Oh?" Gu Mengyao was taken aback. What could not be said in the living room? Only Xiaoshu was there, and she was no outsider.

But seeing that her father was already walking toward Wei Zhao's room, Gu Mengyao had no choice but to follow him.

Gu Pengzhan entered Wei Zhao's room, and after Gu Mengyao came in, he reached out and closed the door. "Yaoyao, sit down first."

"Oh, Daddy, what is it? Why keep it from Xiaoshu?" Gu Mengyao looked at her father in confusion. She feared Xiaoshu might be hurt, because before this nothing had ever been hidden from her.

Shen Yushu was not hurt at all, only curious. After Gu Pengzhan and Gu Mengyao entered the room, she tiptoed to the door of Wei Zhao's room and pressed her ear against it, listening carefully to what was happening inside...

"Yaoyao, tell Daddy the truth. Have you fallen for Xiaoyi?" Gu Pengzhan looked at his daughter and asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Huh?" Gu Mengyao froze, staring blankly at Gu Pengzhan as her face turned bright red. "Dad, what are you saying? Why would I like Wei Zhao?"

"Hehe..." Gu Pengzhan smiled at his daughter's flustered and nervous look. "Then do you want Xiaoyi to stay or not?"

"I... I do!" Gu Mengyao stammered. "But what does that have to do with liking Wei Zhao?"

"If we want Xiaoyi to stay, we must have a respectable reason to offer, must we not?" Gu Pengzhan smiled. "Xiaoyi is a man of pride. He was wounded and can no longer perform his duty, which is why he resigned! Think about it. If we say we will support him and let him stay on in the villa, with Xiaoyi's character, would he accept it?"

Gu Mengyao paused, then slowly shook her head. Although that fellow Wei Zhao could seem thick-skinned at times, he was strongly principled. Getting him to stay would likely be very difficult. "Probably not... Otherwise he would have stayed before..."

"So to keep Xiaoyi here, we must have a reason for him to stay!" Gu Pengzhan said. "But Xiaoyi is neither kin nor kindred to us. Why should he remain?"

"This..." Gu Mengyao began to understand her father's meaning. If Wei Zhao were her boyfriend, then perhaps he would stay. But was he? He was not!

"In other words, if Xiaoyi became one of the family, why would he leave?" Gu Pengzhan watched his daughter's embarrassment, expecting no admission from her, though as her father he could guess well enough what was in her heart. "I want to marry you to Xiaoyi. What do you think?"

"Huh?" Gu Mengyao stared at her father with wide eyes, hardly able to believe him! She had long sensed that her father's attitude toward Wei Zhao was unusual. After their first family dinner, she had even discussed it with Shen Yushu, and Shen Yushu's answer at the time was that either Uncle Chu wanted Wei Zhao as a son-in-law, or Wei Zhao was his illegitimate son!

Now it seemed Daddy had been set on exactly that idea all along! Gu Mengyao was stunned. Did Daddy really want her to marry Wei Zhao? Was this real? And should she agree to it?

Gu Mengyao's breathing grew hurried. A voice deep inside urged her, say yes, say yes, is this not exactly what you want? Yet another voice rang out coldly, Wei Zhao already has a girlfriend!

"Wei Zhao... already has a girlfriend..." Gu Mengyao said.

"That is only a girlfriend, after all. They are not married yet?" Gu Pengzhan narrowed his eyes, looking at his daughter with a half-smile. "Things must be fought for. Right now I only want to ask how you feel..."

"I... I..." Gu Mengyao blushed to her ears, at a loss for how to answer. After a long bashful pause she said coyly, "Marriage is a grave matter. How could I decide? I have no one I like. If you insist on deciding for me, Daddy, then I suppose I will reluctantly agree... After all, he saved my life, and I ought to repay him."

"Hehe..." Gu Pengzhan laughed. It seemed his daughter's attitude toward Xiaoyi had changed a great deal without her even noticing. "Then I will talk to Xiaoyi and see what he thinks."

"Mm..." Gu Mengyao nodded, her expression very shy.

But just as the two were talking, with the mood warm and intimate, the door of the room was pushed open.

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