Just now, she almost resorted to violence over a bit of meat, which goes to show that in her heart, her brothers don’t compare to her own family.
Ruan Chi was truly frightened by her this time, hugging her tightly, still in shock after a long time, and didn’t even notice the footsteps approaching from outside.
"Is anyone from the Ruan family there?" It was the voice of the village’s Second Elder.
He was just passing by the Ruan Family house and heard crying from inside. The door was not locked, so he thought something had happened and came in to ask.
Following the sound, he found his way to the kitchen and saw the two children clinging to each other. The older one’s face was flushed red, the younger, pale as death, which startled him as well: "Jiaojiao, are you alright? Your complexion looks terrible."
Ruan Jiaojiao shook her head, her little head feeling weak on Ruan Chi’s neck.
She had cried so hard just now that she was gasping for air, now feeling quite ill and dizzy, only able to nestle in Ruan Chi’s arms without moving.
Ruan Chi picked her up and pleaded with the Second Elder, "Second Grandpa, could you please go to our family’s field and call Grandma? Tell her my sister is feeling unwell and to hurry back."
The Second Elder shared kinship with the Ruan family; his father and Ruan Manchuang’s father were first cousins. According to their seniority, they should also address him as ’Grandpa’.
The Second Elder glanced at Ruan Jiaojiao and agreed to go, but still feeling uneasy, he asked, "Should we take you to the health clinic first?"
He knew of Ruan Jiaojiao’s frail health.
"No need, Jiaojiao just needs to rest for a bit," Ruan Jiaojiao replied softly, her voice weak. It was unclear if it was because she had choked so heavily on her cry or something else, but she truly felt awful, headache and all. Despite this, she didn’t want to trouble others.
The Second Elder nodded, though still worried, he went out first. Fearing his own pace wasn’t fast enough, he stopped a strong young man passing by to go send the message.
Meanwhile, the Ruanlin Family was becoming anxious. It shouldn’t have taken her this long to change a pot of water, as she had always prepared it in advance and kept it in the main room. All that was needed was to pour it in; why was it taking so long?
Feeling uneasy, they then saw a young man running towards them, telling them there was trouble at home, that Ruan Jiaojiao was feeling unwell.
The young man might have wanted to add to the drama and exaggerated the severity, which frightened the Ruan Family, causing them to drop their seedlings and all run towards home. Neighbors watched the entire family rush home in shock, wondering if something serious had happened.
Ruan Jianguo and Xiu Xi were at the forefront, both running so hard they were sweating profusely, their hair standing on end.
Upon entering the house, they saw Ruan Jiaojiao cradled in Ruan Chi’s arms, listless, sitting on the threshold of the main room.
"Jiaojiao," Xiu Xi and Ruan Jianguo rushed over, but neither dared to touch her.
Ruan Jiaojiao was feeling much better and looked in surprise at the two, sweaty from head to toe.
Ruan Jianguo hugged her close, "Where does it hurt, where are you uncomfortable?"
Xiu Xi looked at her, full of worry.
The rest of the Ruan Family also arrived at this moment, with the Ruanlin Family matriarch pushing through the crowd to snatch Ruan Jiaojiao into her arms, her voice trembling, "What happened, my sweet girl, what happened?"
Ruan Jiaojiao hadn’t expected the commotion to be so great and felt a deep sense of guilt.
Clinging to the Ruanlin matriarch’s neck, and despite her desire not to cry, tears started streaming down her face, a sour feeling in her heart.
"Chizi, speak quickly, what exactly happened to your sister?" Ruan Hao asked urgently.
Ruan Chi looked at Ruan Jiaojiao and then at the anxious faces of the Ruan Family members. In the end, he decided not to hide anything and recounted everything that had happened just now.