"There, there, the child is so upset already, how can you blame her? You should think about what to do now." Cheng’s mother protected Cheng Xining, not allowing Cheng’s father to blame her.
"It’s all because you spoil her." Cheng’s father wasn’t willing to blame his daughter, so he redirected his anger towards Cheng’s mother.
Seeing that the two were about to argue, Ruan Lingyu said, "Don’t fight anymore. Arguing isn’t going to solve the problem. You should think about how to handle this matter. Now that Xiaonan has gotten involved, simply letting it go definitely won’t work."
"Since Xining wronged her, we should compensate her. Whatever amount she spent on the clothes, let’s count that as ours and consider it an apology." Cheng’s mother felt that Shen Mianmian, coming from the countryside, was only fussing over this matter because she wanted money. Since that was the case, she would just give Shen Mianmian the money.
On this point, Cheng’s father clearly agreed with Cheng’s mother. He pondered and said, "Xining was wrong in this case. However, making a big deal out of it isn’t good for anyone. Shen Mianmian is still a student, and this is affecting her too. How about this, you help negotiate with her and see if she and Xiaonan won’t pursue this further. In addition to the money for the clothes, we can offer an extra hundred yuan as compensation for her emotional distress."
Cheng’s mother thought the additional money was too much, however, she didn’t voice her disapproval.
Ruan Lingyu pursed her lips. She knew He Nan’s temperament. He Nan was not lacking this bit of money, and compensating in money certainly wouldn’t work; it would only make him angrier.
So she said, "Compensation in money definitely won’t be accepted by Xiaonan, and Shen Mianmian probably wouldn’t care about this one or two hundred yuan. If you don’t want to make this a big issue, the only choice is for Xining to humble herself and sincerely apologize to Mianmian."
"I certainly won’t." Cheng Xining immediately loudly refused, "Asking me to apologize to Shen Mianmian is worse than asking me to die."
"Alright, alright, don’t get agitated; we’re still discussing it," Cheng’s mother quickly soothed Xining, then looked at Ruan Lingyu with a tone of displeasure and said, "Sister-in-law, you shouldn’t be bending the elbow outwards. Xining has never been aggrieved since she was a child; making her apologize is like forcing her. What if she can’t take it and does something foolish? What would our family do then?"
Ruan Lingyu realized that her younger sister-in-law’s idea was incredibly peculiar; how had she never noticed it before?
She said helplessly, "This isn’t something I want to pursue; it’s Xiaonan who is pursuing it."
Glancing at Ruan Yiqian, and seeing his face darken terrifyingly, Ruan Lingyu knew that her son felt the Cheng family’s handling of the matter was a bit excessive, but what could she do?
The families were relatives, and it wasn’t appropriate for her to take the side of outsiders; she could only try to minimize the situation.
Cheng’s mother felt that Ruan Lingyu was deliberately laying the blame on He Nan. The He and Ruan families had a good relationship, years of friendship, so how could they possibly fall out over Shen Mianmian? ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
So she said, "It’s just a false accusation that Shen Mianmian stole clothes, right? It’s not a big deal. Ultimately, it’s just two kids playing around. If compensating her with money still isn’t satisfactory, what does she want? Does she expect Xining to kowtow and apologize?"
Cheng’s mother left her speechless.
Seeing Ruan Lingyu silent, Cheng’s mother turned her accusation towards Ruan Yiqian, "Last time Shen Mianmian damaged Xining’s face like that, we didn’t trouble her about it. And now, she, taking advantage of Xiaonan’s help, is making endless trouble out of a trivial matter."