Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Is the Original Host’s Consciousness Still There? (3)_1 Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Is the Original Host’s Consciousness Still There? (3)_1 When the Ruanlin Family returned, Ruan Jiaojiao had already been coaxed to sleep by Du Qing, even without having the chance to wash up.
Du Qing, holding her, was waiting in the Ruanlin Family’s room.
Upon entering, Ruanlin Family looked surprised and asked, “Why haven’t you washed her face and feet?” She drew closer, saw the tears on Ruan Jiaojiao’s face, and her own face immediately darkened, “What happened? She was just fine a moment ago.”
Du Qing disliked Liao Zhaoji and didn’t hide it, recounting the recent events in the kitchen once more.
The Ruanlin Family, her teeth itching with anger, turned around to settle accounts with Liao Zhaoji but was held back by Du Qing.
Du Qing urged, “Mom, Jiaojiao has just fallen asleep. If you go and argue with Liao Zhaoji now and she wakes up and hears it, what do we do then?”
The fury in the Ruanlin Family dissipated completely upon hearing these words.
Yet she was so choked with anger that even her chest began to ache, and she cursed bitterly, “That miserable wretch, the Ruan Family really fell on hard times by marrying her. Were it not for the children’s sake, I’d have her and Jianguo divorce in a heartbeat.”
Du Qing couldn’t respond to this. She wasn’t the Ruanlin Family’s biological daughter, so such matters were not hers to discuss.
After the Ruanlin Family vented some more, Du Qing then said, “Mom, when you have time, talk to my second brother and ask Liao Zhaoji not to spout nonsense in front of Jiaojiao. Jiaojiao isn’t strong, physically. The last time the second sister-in-law went crazy and upset Jiaojiao by saying her mom didn’t want her, it wasn’t like Jiaojiao would have just run away that same evening, falling into a ditch, with all that fever she got. If not for divine mercy, our Jiaojiao might have…”
Recalling the recent close call with Ruan Jiaojiao’s life, Du Qing felt another jolt in her heart.
Ruan Jiaojiao had always been attached to Shu Jiao. When Shu Jiao secretly went to take the college entrance exam and look for relatives up north, she left without telling Ruan Jiaojiao, and that was almost a year ago without a single word in the meantime.
The spiteful Liao Zhaoji told Ruan Jiaojiao that her mother didn’t want her anymore, that she had gone to a faraway place, would have new children, and would never love and cherish her again.
Ruan Jiaojiao, young and naive, didn’t understand that she was being provoked by Liao Zhaoji. She got angry and ran away from home that very day, wanting to find her mom, only to fall into a small ditch at the entrance to the village. Fortunately, the water there wasn’t deep enough to be fatal, but in early March, it was so cold. Ruan Jiaojiao stubbornly stayed in that ditch for more than four or five hours before being discovered. By the time she was brought to the health clinic, she was nearly gone. They had to send her to the big hospital in town overnight.
After staying in the hospital for most of a month, going through repeated crises and nearly losing her life several times, she only recently recovered completely.
If it were to happen again now, who knows what might result.
The Ruanlin Family had evidently also recalled that incident from a month ago and her face turned utterly grim.
The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Ruan Jiaojiao was taken out early by her eldest brother, Ruan Hao, who said he would take her outside to walk around and breathe in some fresh air. Ruan Jiaojiao, thinking of Ruanlin Family’s stern face that morning, guessed what might be happening. Without much fuss, they took each other’s hands and left the house together.
The morning air in the countryside is the freshest. Ruan Jiaojiao, noticing the new buds on the branches, took a few deep breaths, imitating what she thought proper, which made Ruan Hao laugh heartily.
If Ruan Jie greatly resembles Ruan Jianguo and is his spitting image, then Ruan Hao should be the one who particularly resembles Shu Jiao, with outstanding looks and an elegant demeanor, like a fairy tale prince come to life.