Inside Juan's room, there was an intense silence in the dark room where no light was turned on. One could barely hear the sound of sniveling. The little girl was curled up on her bed. Tears were falling down her face and because she rubbed her eyes too frequently, her eyes were getting red from it.
Suddenly, a beam of light projected on the wall, lighting up the room before Juan heard the voice of her godmother, "Queen An! Wait, I can't see my little Queen. Where is she?"
Hearing that voice, Juan immediately sat up on her bed and looked at the front where her godmother's face was projected on the white wall. Seeing those green eyes, those slender fingers running through her short hair, Juan's mood shifted instantly. She hurriedly got up to turn the lights on.
"Oh, there is she!" As darkness finally faded, Ru could see Juan's face dirtied with tears. She scowled slightly, "OH-MY-GOSH! There are pearls falling from your eyes."
Juan forced a smile for her as she voiced, "Those are tears, not pearls."
"No, no, no!" Ru waved her finger in a no-no as she argued, "My Queen An's tears are more precious than pearls." Juan didn't reply to her. She simply picked up her favorite teddy bear and hugged it. "An..." Juan looked up when Ru called her. Ru was the only one who never called her Juan or even Juju like her brother did. She had her own alteration for Juan's name. Instead of using the first character of her name, she used the last one. "Wipe those tears."
Juan immediately wiped her tears and pouted adorably. "Dad told you everything, right?" Juan scoffed, "I knew it. Does he want you to talk on behalf of his wife now?" Ru shook her head while Juan's face contorted in confusion. "Then?"
"He wants me to tell you that he's sorry." Juan widened her eyes as she heard that. "Your dad is really sorry. Also, you know how much it hurts him to see you cry, right? Jie's life revolves around you and your brother. And right now, you're hurting him by pushing him away."
Juan covered her ears as she shook her head. "I don't wanna hear it. Are you dad's personal lawyer? Why are you always clarifying for him? Juan doesn't want to forgive him. Dad is bad. He didn't take my side. Even worse, along with mom, he chided me."
Ru nodded her head as she sighed out, "Let's beat your dad together then." Juan stopped moving as she heard Ru's reply. She blinked her teary eyes at Ru as if asking was she really gonna beat her dad. Ru, however, smiled at her reaction. Juan might be moody but her life revolved around her father and brother. "Do you want me to beat your dad?"
Juan nibbled at her bottom lip before shaking her head back and forth, "No, dad will be in pain. Juan doesn't want that."
"I promise you he won't be in worse pain than he's feeling right now." Ru's words managed to catch Juan's attention. "My little Queen, your father is strong enough to deal with physical pain but you're his little girl. He can't bear to see you hurting. It's even more painful for him."
"Then why didn't he take my side?" Juan grumbled.
"Before I answer that, you tell me, why do you want him to take your side?" Juan raised her brows at her. "I don't just call you my little Queen. I know you're a Queen. And Queens don't need anyone to stand for them. We fight our own battles. We take the reins of our life in our own hands."
"If you're expecting someone to stand up for you, then how or when are you gonna stand up for yourself?" Ru's words got Juan to think deeply. From a young age, everyone told her she was a princess and everyone was willing to protect this princess. But only Ru had always called her the Queen. Because she was the only one who taught Juan that princess' need knights, Queens know how to rule the kingdom on their own!
"If you kept depending on others, this dependence will become a curse for you. It's not wrong to lean on someone when you're tired. By asking your dad or your brother to stand up for you, you're not wrong. But you're being unfair to yourself. And don't say you're still young and that's why you need them. That's just an excuse for incompetence."
Ru stayed quiet after that. Even though what she said might be too much for normal kids but the one before her was anything but normal. Although everyone called Bao a genius and Juan as a drama queen, only Ru could tell this girl's true nature. She was like a real wolf in sheep's clothing. Her cunningness was beyond her age and Ru understood that point very well.
Bao was very simple. One could actually see through him if they tried hard enough but Juan wasn't like that. She was deep. A very deep person who hid her real self well. And people like her were more dangerous.
After Juan processed her words carefully, she no longer felt like crying. Her thoughtful expressions definitely didn't look like that of an 8-year-old. She was carefully contemplating Ru's words.
"I was at fault," Juan spoke after her silence making Ru raise her brow slightly. "I really made Lin Song cry."
"I know," was Ru's simple reply.
Juan looked into her green eyes. "You won't ask why I did it?"
"I don't want to," answered Ru straightforwardly. "But I do want to tell you something... Ignorance is the key to happiness. But indifference is the way of life." Ru looked carefully at Juan's expressions before adding, "Revenge might be sweet but it leaves a bitter taste in our lives. Even if you don't like Lin Song, instead of using tit-for-tat, use your brain."
Ru never wished for Juan to grew up with the same hatred and bitterness that Xu Mey had in her heart. But if things kept going as they were, she could see that sooner or later, Juan was gonna end up with hatred and bitterness in her life.
"Now, be a good girl and open the door for your dad and your brother."
Juan pursed her lips and nodded her head. There was no way she could say no to her godmother. Because she knew one thing for sure, no matter what, her godmother would never blame her for anything. Not even for being rude.