These things, he thought, it would be better for her to tell the Ruan Family herself.
"Alright, you should go to sleep as well, oh, let me see your hand, are you hurt?"
"Jiaojiao is hurt." Xiu Xi shook his head; his thick skin could hardly be injured, only Ruan Jiaojiao had been hurt, the red mark swelling in the middle of her little hand.
"I’ll put some medicine on her later, you go wash up and sleep." Ruanlin Family checked his hand briefly, made sure there were no injuries, and then let him go.
After Xiu Xi left, Ruanlin Family carried an oil lamp to find the medicated oil, opened the mosquito net, and carefully spread open Ruan Jiaojiao’s little hand.
Ruan Jiaojiao was indeed raised very delicately, her little palms soft and white. Ruanlin Family usually couldn’t bear to let her carry even a bowl, and now her palms were covered with long red marks that truly pained her heart.
She bent down to kiss her little palm and muttered to herself, "Does it hurt? If it hurts, that’s good, you’ll know to listen and not run around in the future."
Ruan Jiaojiao was sleeping deeply and did not hear.
She had another dream.
But this time, the dream had none of those terrifying things, Ruan Qun wasn’t bitten to death by a snake, Ruan Chi didn’t drown, and Ruanlin Family was alive and well, up until she grew up, got married... had children... the whole family was fine...
Ruan Jiaojiao smiled.
And in reality, she smiled too, a very sweet smile.
Ruanlin Family watched her in amazement, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. After applying the medicine to her, she kissed her forehead and then went to tidy things up.
When Xiu Xi returned to Ruan Hao and his brothers’ room, both brothers were already asleep. Xiu Xi sat on the empty bed for a while, his gaze piercing through the dark night towards the Wa Family’s direction, emitting a chilling light...
When Ruan Jiaojiao woke up, she still felt her entire body ache, as if she was falling apart.
Xiu Xi, unusually, did not come in as soon as she woke up. Instead, it was Ruanlin Family who entered with clothes for her to change into. Seeing her waking up, she didn’t look at her, just put down the clothes and left.
She didn’t even bother with her.
Feeling wronged, Ruan Jiaojiao bit her little lips, changed out of her clothes by herself, climbed down from the tall bed, put on her shoes, and ran out.
Outside, the several older brothers were already having breakfast and greeted her when they saw her come out.
A night’s rest was enough for the boys to be lively and energetic again.
Ruan Jiaojiao glanced at them once, then looked at Ruanlin Family, who was busying herself. She picked up the comb from the windowsill and walked over, carefully shaking Ruanlin Family’s skirt hem.
"Mother... comb my hair."
"Comb it yourself!" Ruanlin Family.
"..." Ruan Jiaojiao, such a fierce mother.
Little Fatty had just finished his breakfast and, seeing Ruan Jiaojiao with her loose hair and the comb in hand, seemed eager to try. He ran over, "Sister, let brother comb your hair."
"Stop causing trouble!" Ruan Feng walked over, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him away, winking at Ruan Jiaojiao before leaving.
Ruan Jiaojiao pursed her lips, struggling to suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth. Clutching the comb in her little palm, she let out a hissing cry of pain.
As soon as Ruanlin Family heard the sound, she immediately turned her head, and Ruan Jiaojiao, seizing the moment, squeezed out a pitiful expression, whining, "Mother, my hand hurts."
"..." Ruanlin Family.
She glared at her irritably, took the comb from her hand, skillfully combed a ponytail, tied it with a yellow hair ribbon, and was about to turn around to put the comb back when she was hugged around the legs by Ruan Jiaojiao from behind.