Ruan Jianguo’s expression was somber, and he did not respond.
Seeing him , the Ruanlin Family’s matriarch knew he was obsessing over something trivial and said irritably, "A grown man fussing over such small matters all day long, truly lacks ambition. If you don’t trust your wife, go and find her. Could the family not manage without her? If you trust her, just get the house in order and wait for her return!"
A matter so simple, yet he insisted on complicating it.
Hearing this, Ruan Jianguo could only offer a wry smile.
As it has always been, things are easier said than done in this world.
Before bed that night, Ruan Jiaojiao and the Ruanlin Family’s matriarch, with a hand on Jiaojiao’s small head, asked her,
"Mom hasn’t come back yet, is Jiaojiao anxious?"
Ruan Jiaojiao shook her head.
The Ruanlin Family matriarch sighed, suddenly remembering that Jiaojiao had wanted to see Shu Jiao’s photo before, but too many things had happened and she had forgotten about it. She had found the photo when they moved recently and had placed it in the drawer beside the bed.
She touched Ruan Jiaojiao’s small back and said, "You wanted to see your mother’s photo last time. Grandma forgot to find it for you during the day, but now the photo is in the middle drawer of the bedside cabinet. If you want to look, go ahead."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Jiaojiao paused for a moment, then nodded her head.
But she... didn’t really want to look anymore, and couldn’t explain why.
Maybe it was the nightmares that kept haunting her, or perhaps it was the lingering consciousness of the original host resisting the idea of a mother she had never met and who didn’t exist in her memory.
On August 29th, Ruan Hao needed to head into the city early to handle his school’s enrollment procedures, so Ruan Jianguo got up early in the morning, intending to leave before the sunrise to avoid the unbearable midday sun.
The restaurant space in the city was ready, and the Ruanlin Family matriarch wanted to check it out. Thus, the whole family decided to take the tricycle to the city that day to see how things were going.
The tricycle had to carry Ruan Hao’s luggage and seat five people, which was impossible, so Ruan Hao had to hold Ruan Jie in front, while the Ruanlin Family’s matriarch held Ruan Jiaojiao in the back, and Xiu Xi sat on top of the luggage.
They set off before dawn and arrived in the city just after seven in the morning.
The family headed straight for Ruan Hao’s school.
As they entered the high school, Ruan Jianguo looked somewhat conflicted because this was a place where Shu Jiao had once been. With her high level of education, she had started as an elementary school teacher when she first came to their team. Later, when college entrance exams were reinstated and good teachers were scarce in the city, she was invited to teach at the high school. She had taught there for a few years, and even now, their neighbors had been her students.
Ruan Jie was still young with a short memory. Furious yesterday, he had forgotten about last night’s events by this morning. Now, seeing the high school his elder brother was about to attend, he was exceptionally excited.
"Big brother, which university are you planning to attend?" Even though he had just started high school, Ruan Jie was already wondering which university he would aim for.
"Naturally, Qing University," Ruan Jianguo replied with a laugh, full of pride as if Ruan Hao had already been accepted there.
Although college entrance exams had been reinstated, their area was rather underdeveloped and teaching standards were not high, resulting in very few students making it to university. Even those who did were admitted to lower-tier institutions. Still, that was enough to make everyone envious.
But Ruan Jianguo felt that his and Shu Jiao’s children were the most exceptional and had no doubts about getting into Qing University, though his confidence was baseless.