Ruan Lingyu sat down next to him, her expression clearly displeased, "I went shopping with Xining today and ran into Shen Mianmian. She had no manners at all, and she was disrespectful to her elders. I scolded her a few words."
Ruan Yiqian pursed his lips, fell silent for a moment, and said, "Mom, Shen Mianmian isn’t someone we raised. We aren’t entitled to educate her. Whether she’s right or wrong, we can’t be prejudiced against her just because of Xining. That wouldn’t be fair to Shen Mianmian."
Ruan Lingyu let out a cold laugh, "Yiqian, you really don’t understand Shen Mianmian. She might be young, but she’s very adept at using her tragic background to gain sympathy. Xiaonan fell for her trick, and now you’re being deceived by her too?"
What a clever tactic.
"I’m not being deceived. I’m just stating an objective fact." Ruan Yiqian felt that Ruan Lingyu’s strong opinion of Shen Mianmian was largely related to Cheng Xining, so he said, "Don’t take Xining’s words for it. She likes Xiaonan and sees Mianmian as a rival, so she definitely won’t speak well of Mianmian."
"This has nothing to do with Xining. My understanding of Shen Mianmian comes from what I’ve observed myself." Thinking of the morning’s events, she continued, "This morning, when I was out shopping with Xining, we happened to run into her. She looked quite decent on the outside, but who would’ve thought she’d stoop to stealing? No matter how much you change in a big city, your true nature doesn’t. You should keep your distance from her."
Ruan Lingyu could never look up to those who were dishonest, so her words were not kind at all.
Having grown up with her, it was the first time Ruan Yiqian had heard her use such words to describe someone. Ruan Lingyu had always seemed to him a reasonable person.
She was certainly not the type to look down on country folks.
But he couldn’t fathom that such words would come from her mouth. Ruan Yiqian’s face darkened as he said, "Mom, you haven’t even clarified the truth. How can you use such language to humiliate her? What did she do to make you hate her so much?"
"Dishonesty is enough for me to look down upon her," Ruan Lingyu said.
"What if it was Xining who framed Mianmian?" he asked. Read full story at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
Ruan Lingyu’s expression changed, "Yiqian, even if you want to defend Shen Mianmian for Xiaonan’s sake, don’t drag Xining into this. What does this have to do with Xining? She was with me the whole time. How could she do something like that? She had no opportunity to do such things."
Ruan Yiqian asked, "Are you sure you were together the whole time and she never left your sight?"
Cheng Xining was someone he had watched grow up. He knew her temperament better than anyone else. For Xiaonan’s sake, she was indeed capable of anything.
Ruan Lingyu pressed her lips together without speaking. Indeed, there had been a moment when she was trying on clothes that she and Xining were separated. But she believed Xining would not do such a thing.
Seeing her silence, Ruan Yiqian instantly knew the answer. He continued, "Mom, Xining is no longer the Xining she used to be. Because of Xiaonan, she’s capable of anything. She even tricked Shen Mianmian into buying a house in Meilin Garden. What do you think her intentions are?"
"Xining convinced Shen Mianmian to buy a house in Meilin Garden?" Ruan Lingyu’s face subtly changed. Every local in Beijing knew about the houses in Meilin Garden; those houses were notoriously strange.