Even if he found Shu Jiao later, without Ruan Jiaojiao, it still wouldn’t be a home.
As this thought struck him, Ruan Jianguo slid down against the wall behind him, covered his face with his hands, and wept uncontrollably.
Du Qing and Wu Le, distressed by the sight, once again stepped forward to pull the Ruanlin family member away and softly consoled her, "Mom, we won’t stop looking for Jiaojiao. She made it through last time and she’ll definitely be fine this time too. Please don’t be so anxious."
"Yes, Jiaojiao is a fortunate child, and nothing bad will happen to her," Wu Le echoed. Even though her feelings for Ruan Jiaojiao had always been complex, she still loved her. Now she just wanted her to come back safely and had even thought that she would never feel uncomfortable again because of the Ruanlin family’s favoritism.
But the Ruanlin family member wasn’t listening to anything at the moment.
She knew better than anyone what the place called Qianshan was like. Ruan Jiandang had just been at the perimeter and was gored by a wild ox. What about Ruan Jiaojiao who had gone deep into Qianshan? At this thought, the Ruanlin family member felt dizzy spells, but fortunately, they were at the hospital and she was quickly carried to a bed.
The doctor administered a sedative to the Ruanlin family member, frowning as he looked at her family, "The old lady is advanced in age and can’t handle such turmoil. You should take better care of her."
"Yes, yes, we will take good care of her," Du Qing said repeatedly.
"Alright, it’s no use telling me. Just take good care of her. If this happens a couple more times, I’m afraid the old lady may also..."
The doctor trailed off, shaking his head. They had more or less understood the situation of the family from morning till night, especially during Ruan Jiaojiao’s previous hospital stay – the old lady’s doting on the young girl showed how important she was to the old lady.
It had been only a month since the young girl... The doctor didn’t know what else to say and left with a sigh.
"Big brother, why don’t you rest for a while? You haven’t slept in a day and a night," Du Qing looked at Ruan Jianguo with dark circles under his eyes and whispered.
Ruan Jianguo shook his head and numbly sat down in a chair to the side.
Not far away was Ruan Jiandang’s hospital bed. Having had surgery under anesthesia, Jiandang wouldn’t wake up until the next morning. Liao Zhaoji was still huddled in a corner, clutching her clothes and trying to make her presence as small as possible.
The Ruan family lived in the Sixth Brigade, and it was only two villages away from her parental home. The news should have reached there a long time ago, but they had not shown up yet, which left Liao Zhaoji feeling somewhat cold. However cold her heart was, she still couldn’t bring herself to go back and demand the money again.
She had never been favored in her parental home, where she was always busy with work, almost invisible.
After getting married, because the Ruan family was relatively wealthy, she would occasionally take some items back to her parental home. From that point on, she started enjoying a warmth she had never felt before. They would pamper her and treat her like an honored guest. Liao Zhaoji was neither foolish nor unaware that continually bringing things from her husband’s family to her parental home was not a good thing.
But she couldn’t help it; she relished in being doted on by her paternal family members.
And as she brought back more and more, her paternal family’s expectations grew larger. If she brought back less on any occasion, they would show their displeasure. Having enjoyed the status of an honored guest, how could she tolerate their attitude? This led to a series of events that followed.
She was a person who cared greatly about face; for her, asking for the money back that had already been given was more embarrassing than being beaten.