Chapter 11 No Intentions to be a Sellout

• Ben's eyes widened in surprise. "D-Did I… hear you correctly? C-Can you repeat?"
• "Yup, you heard right – I'm asking you to be my daughter's father." She confirmed his question seriously.
• "Y-You are kidding!" Nevertheless, he still felt incredulous.
• "I'm dead serious about this."
• "I think you've probably gotten the wrong idea of me, Madam. Even though I'm poor, and you are beautiful, I can't accept this. I will never be a sellout no matter how poor I am–" he rejected solemnly, but she interrupted him.
• "What are you thinking of?" She glared at him before continuing, "I'm asking you to be my daughter's father, not to be my husband – please be clear on this. I'm only asking you to pretend to be her father in front of her. I hope you will get rid of all the dirty thoughts in your mind now."
• "Oh… I see. I-I thought… Hehe!" After hearing her explanation, he laughed awkwardly to cover up his blunder.
• "My daughter's days… might be numbered." He was shocked by her next revelation.
• "What?"
• "She has had leukemia since she was three. It has been two years since she fought against the disease, and I've tried everything I could think of. From the beginning, the doctors have already told me this is an incurable disease, but we still haven't given up. We've been to the best hospitals and consulted the best doctors. Over the past two years, she has been undergoing treatments, but her condition hasn't stabilized at all. Just last night, she was in critical condition again. Fortunately, it was over, thanks to the hospital's treatment. But the doctor told me six months is all she has left." At this point, she could no longer control her tears.
• "H-How is this possible? She's such a pretty little girl. How could this happen to her?" Ben could not believe his ears. Then, he asked, "Isn't it just leukemia? I'm sure chemotherapy could stabilize her condition. Or a bone marrow transplant could also cure her. You don't seem short of money – surely she could be cured!" He could not accept that such a cute little girl would be in such a dire condition.
• Nonetheless, the BMW woman shook her head. "It's the chemotherapy that has been keeping her alive until now. As for bone marrow transplants, we can't even find a suitable donor. We have already tried every one in the family and all who are related to her by blood. None of them match. I-If only my husband was still alive, we could try for another child to donate their bone marrow to her. But…"
• With that, she wiped the tears away from her face.
• Ben remained silent, not being able to accept this piece of news. He had always been a soft-hearted person. On top of that, the little girl was incredibly adorable. Hence, he could understand the woman's feelings.
• "I can't save her, so I can only try my best to make her as happy as possible. You saw it yourself – she missed her father a lot, and she thinks you are him. I don't want her to have any regrets in her last days, and I don't want her to be shocked. Hence, I would like to ask you to pretend to be her father and visit her occasionally. You don't have to do much; just come over and accompany her. I'm sure she will be happy enough to see you. As promised, I'll be paying you a salary. You said you could earn an average of ten thousand a month from your skewer stall. In that case, I'll pay you twenty thousand, deducting it from the money you owe me. This deal will last until my daughter passes. If… she can't make it until you repay all the debt, you don't have to pay the rest, and if she's lucky enough to live longer, I'll pay you by cash for the surplus," she continued.
• After a moment of silence, he replied with determination, "Alright, but I don't have time in the evening. My stall opens in the evening, you know."
• "She will be in the hospital for the entire day, and you don't need to be here all day long. Pay a visit regularly, chat with her, cheer her up, and tell her that she has a father who loves her. That would be enough. It won't affect your job."
• "Sure." He nodded and looked at the woman. "Can I see her now?"
• "Yes." She looked back at him in surprise before nodding. Then, she gave him a bright smile. This was the first time she had smiled at him since last night. After seeing that, Ben felt as though his heart had melted. After all, she was gorgeous.
• He then shifted his attention to the little girl and nodded at the BMW woman before turning around to walk into the ward, with her trailing after him. Just as he was about to open the door, he hesitated and asked, "I… I'll enter the room now?"
• "Go ahead."
• "Is it good to deceive a kid like this?" he asked hesitantly.
• "I just hope she can live her final days happily and leave without any regrets. Her biggest regret is not meeting her father."
• "I understand." Upon hearing her explanation, he nodded and opened the door.
• The little girl was still in bed with an oxygen mask over her face and an IV drip in her hand. The machine next to her was constantly beeping, and a middle-aged woman was sitting next to her.
• "Daddy, you are back!" Initially, she was in bed quietly, but as soon as she saw him, she immediately sat up excitedly.
• However, Ben was not used to being called 'daddy' by a stranger. He blushed, not knowing how to react to that. After all, he was not even married.
• "W-What should I say?" he asked the woman in a low voice while smiling at the little girl.
• "Her nickname is Annie. Just tell her that you've been working in the United States, and you've finally returned. Let her know that you will never leave again and that you will keep her company from now on. Also, tell her you love her and miss her a lot," she replied in a low voice.
• "Err…" He felt somewhat embarrassed to say such loving words, even though the person he was saying that to was just a little girl.
• "What's wrong, Daddy?" she asked.
• "Err… Daddy… misses you a lot. Did you… miss me too?" He picked up the courage to say that as he walked toward her.
• "Of course I do, Daddy. I miss you every day, very, very much. Why haven't you come back to visit me? Don't you like me?" she looked at him with wide eyes.