He was immensely grateful, he had kept his daughter safe! Kept the family together!
Ruan Jiaojiao felt the strength of Ruan Jianguo’s embrace tighten around her and felt her own heart tighten in response. She couldn’t distinguish whether it was due to Ruan Jianguo’s force or... the consciousness of the original owner of the body?
She didn’t know what to say, so she silently let the emotional man hold her.
Meanwhile, the expression on the Ruanlin Family matriarch’s face remained cold throughout, and as her eyelids drooped, no one knew what she was thinking.
Ruan Jianguo was too excited to notice her odd behavior.
By the time he realized, the Ruanlin Family matriarch had already snatched Ruan Jiaojiao back, her face chilling as she asked, "What did she say in the letter? Why hasn’t she come back? Not a single word from her? Has she forgotten she still has sons and a daughter?"
Line after line, she posed four questions, growing colder with each one.
It was then Ruan Jianguo noticed his mother’s complexion was amiss.
He fumbled to take the letter out of his breast to show her, but the Ruanlin Family matriarch opened his hand and said, "I don’t need to see it, just tell me!"
On the other side, Ruan Hao and Ruan Jie had also walked over, their gazes intense as they looked at him.
Even if resentment had once been present, no child could truly remain indifferent toward their mother, just like Ruan Jie, whose eyes were practically glued to Ruan Jianguo.
Ruan Jianguo put his hand to his lips and coughed before he began explaining.
It turned out that when Shu Jiao left the Ruan Family, her journey north to seek out her relatives had been fraught with difficulties. Her family had been one of the top in Beidu and thus suffered the greatest turmoil.
Being the eldest child, she naturally assumed the responsibility and went to the countryside when the time came, while her younger brother and sister were still small.
After she left for the countryside, her parents were also sent away, and although things had calmed down in recent years, their health had been severely compromised during that period. It had taken her nearly three months to find them upon her return to Beidu.
When she found them, she had intended to write a letter to let them know she was safe, but unexpectedly, perhaps because she had resolved the issues that had always weighed on her mind, Shu Jiao’s mother passed away shortly thereafter, plunging the Shu Family into chaos. Her father was greatly affected as well and ended up in the hospital, his health never fully recovering.
As the eldest daughter, Shu Jiao managed everything from top to bottom, and by the time her father’s condition stabilized, a year had already passed.
She had sent a letter in March, but it was likely lost in transit, so they hadn’t received it.
As for why she was determined to return before the start of the school year, that was because Shu Jiao’s father also wanted to visit and see for himself how his dearest eldest daughter was doing, what kind of family she had married into.
But with his poor health, Shu Jiao could only wait patiently for his recovery before setting out on the journey back home.
Of course, the extent of the hardship and suffering she encountered while searching for her relatives in the north, Shu Jiao did not disclose in her letter. However, Ruan Jianguo, seeing the watermark on the letter, didn’t need to think too hard to understand that this almost year-long ordeal must have been agonizing for her.
Now everything was in the past, and she was finally coming back, their family would be reunited!
After hearing Ruan Jianguo’s explanation, the Ruanlin Family matriarch remained silent for a long time.
The death of their mother, Shu Jiao’s father being unwell, her staying by his side to fulfill her filial duty was not wrong, but... she looked at Ruan Jiaojiao in her arms, seeing Ruan Jiaojiao was also looking at her with open eyes, she asked with a touch of sorrow, "Jiaojiao, are you happy? Mommy is coming back."