CH 6

The people in the living room of Ruan’s house had different reactions: some were surprised, some were instinctively afraid, while Ruan Man had a shocked expression. She could hardly believe what she had heard and stood up eagerly, only to see the butler bringing Ruan Su and others into the room the next second.

Seeing Ruan Su again, Ruan Man thought Ruan Su would be haggard, as Ruan Man had not slept for two nights when she first arrived at the Ji family in her past life. Fortunately, Mother Ji still had some humanity and did not force her to share a room with Ji Mingchong. The shabby house had only three rooms, and she did not want to stay in the so-called bridal chamber, so Mother Ji let her clean up the storage room as her bedroom. She still remembered that the room had no sunlight, only a table and a folding bed, and she could hardly believe that she could live in that room for two days.

In the Ji’s house, there were no maids or aunties, and Mother Ji cooked for the three of them at first. But after Ruan Man said she didn’t like the food, Mother Ji ignored her.

Ruan Man had never lived like that before. As for Ji Mingchong, she rarely went to see him and just stayed in her room counting the days.

She still remembered the day she returned to her parents’ home, looking haggard, and her mother and eldest brother were heartbroken.

Now, she thought Ruan Su would be the same.

But when Ruan Su walked in from outside, she was wearing a long dress, with a rosy complexion and the same lively eyes as before.

That didn’t make Ruan Man too uncomfortable. What she couldn’t understand was how Mother Ji and that brat accompanied Ruan Su back home?

In her past life, she came back alone at this time! Mother Ji didn’t even ask, and the brat never looked at her properly!

This was difficult for Ruan Man to accept.

The arrival of Mother Ji instantly quieted the entire living room. In these few years, Mother Ji had taken care of her son and grandson meticulously, doing everything herself. Compared to the wealthy lady she used to be, she visibly aged a lot. But she was still the person that Mother Ruan feared. Mother Ji and Father Ji were a couple who went through thick and thin together. When Father Ji started from scratch, Mother Ji went through countless hardships with him. She had an imposing aura back then, enough to make even Mother Ruan gasp for air.

Mother Ji was like a strict homeroom teacher, and Mother Ruan was a student in her class. Even after graduating, seeing the teacher again would make her heart beat faster.

It was Maodou who broke the silence. “Aunt, I’m thirsty and want some water.”

Ruan Su immediately replied, “Sure, right away. Sister Chen, please pour some water.”

Sister Chen, the housemaid, came back to her senses after hearing Ruan Su’s words, and hurriedly went to the kitchen to make tea.

When Ruan Man heard Maodou call Ruan Su “Aunt,” her eyebrows furrowed even tighter.

In her past life, Maodou had never called her like that. He didn’t even look at her in the eye most of the time, and the thought of it made her angry.

If Mother Ji weren’t here, Ruan Man would have already exploded. But with Mother Ji here, she dared not act rashly.

Mother Ruan was afraid of Mother Ji, and so was Ruan Man. In her past life, she had been tormented by Mother Ji countless times. She couldn’t bear the thought of having no future back then, and at first, she could hold it in and wait for Mother Ji to voluntarily hand over the hidden things. But when she realized that Mother Ji didn’t have anything at all, she became lazy and started dating other men. She wasn’t afraid of being caught, and one time, when a man offered to send her back, Mother Ji saw them. Mother Ji didn’t say anything, but after a few days, Mother Ji asked Ruan Man to pack her things and leave.

How can she be willing to leave without getting anything? She said she won’t leave!

But then, Mother Ji looked at her with disdainful eyes, “Is a person like you worthy of my son?”

After that, she didn’t know what Mother Ji did, but Father Ruan came to pick her up, and then she became single again.

Right now, Mother Ji sat on the side with Maodou, her expression cold and she didn’t take the initiative to greet anyone.

Mother Ruan pulled Ruan Su to her side and asked with a smile, “Are you still used to it over there?”

“It’s pretty good.” Ruan Su wasn’t used to staying at Ruan’s house. The people here were not simple, and every word they said had a hidden meaning. Compared to that, she preferred to stay at Ji’s house.

The other relatives originally wanted to ask if Ji’s house was really in that old and dilapidated neighborhood, really without even a hundred square meters, really without any servants, really without any professional housekeepers, but with the arrival of Mother Ji, those who wanted to see a joke and cause trouble all became quiet as chickens.

“It’s good that you’re used to it.” Mother Ruan looked at her daughter’s good complexion and finally felt relieved.

Including Mother Ruan, everyone present except Ruan Man didn’t believe that the situation at Ji’s house was really that bad.

They all thought that with Mother Ji’s character, how could she not leave a way out for her son and grandson? She must have many good things in her hands.

Now it seems that Mother Ji values Ruan Su quite a bit, and in the future, Ruan Su might even take over some of Mother Ji’s things, so everyone is being attentive to Ruan Su again.

Ruan Man watched coldly from the sidelines, and even felt like laughing.

Mother Ji doesn’t have anything in her hands!

If there really was something, how could Ruan Man not have discovered it after living in that house for several years?

Thinking about how the Ji family was a real empty shell, Ruan Man became even more resolute and didn’t think that Mother Ji had anything to be afraid of. With this in mind, her expression also became much calmer as she looked at Ruan Su and asked softly, “Susu, why are you so late today?”

As if that wasn’t enough, she added, “Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time. This is not polite behavior.”

Ruan Su made a sound of agreement, as if responding to Ruan Man, but it was more like she didn’t want to pay attention to her.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The relationship between Ruan Su and Ruan Man was not good. One was a true heiress, and the other was a fake one. They had conflicting interests, not to mention that Ruan Man had also forced Ruan Su to accept this engagement. Despite the relatives’ flattery towards Ruan Man, they had also secretly whispered that Ruan Man was a thankless white-eyed wolf. Ruan’s family had fed and entertained her for so many years, but she had begged and pleaded to be engaged to Ji Mingchong in the first place. Now that she saw that the Ji family had fallen to this point, she pushed the engagement onto Ruan Su. Wasn’t this repaying kindness with enmity? Of course, this was only said behind Ruan Man’s back.

Ruan Man was mainly stimulated by Mother Ji’s arrival and Maodou’s calling Ruan Su “Aunt.”

This time, instead of stopping abruptly as she had done in the past, Ruan Man chuckled softly and asked, “Did you take a taxi here?

“When I was dating Xiangdong, I remember one time the driver couldn’t take me home, so I said I’d take a taxi. Xiangdong was very…”

Before she could finish bragging, she was interrupted by Mother Ji.

After taking a sip of tea, Mother Ji asked, “Is lunch ready, In-law’s Mother[1]?”

Ruan Man was choked : “…”

Mother Ruan quickly replied, “It’s ready.”

Mother Ruan’s response was prompt, like a capable servant. After realizing what she had done, Mother Ruan felt a bit regretful. How come she couldn’t break this habit after so many years?

Mother Ji was satisfied and looked at the other relatives. “Let’s go eat, the children are hungry.”

Ruan Su was slightly surprised. Before she got married, she knew her mother-in-law was a powerful, but she hadn’t had much contact with her mother-in-law. In the past couple of days, she had only felt that her mother-in-law was a bit cold, but not a wicked mother-in-law. But now, why did she feel that everyone was afraid of her mother-in-law?

With this doubt in mind, Ruan Su followed them to the dining hall.

Today, the Ruan family had prepared a sumptuous feast, which made Maodou very happy.

It’s been a long time since Maodou had such a good meal, and he increasingly felt that it was the right decision to follow along.

Ruan Man didn’t expect that Mother Ji would interrupt her without any mercy, and she was still holding a grudge. She didn’t feel good about anything and finally directed all her anger towards Ruan Su, who seemed to be the easiest to bully.

After thinking it over, only Ji Mingchong’s matter could make both Mother Ji and Ruan Su irritable.

Ruan Man smiled and casually said, “Susu, Xiangdong knows some very powerful medical professors. Let them help my brother-in-law later. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we should try. You’re still so young, and if my brother-in-law wakes up, you two are a perfect match. You don’t know, Mom is most worried about you. She couldn’t sleep last night. If you are doing well, your parents can also be at ease.”

Ruan Su’s eyes also turned cold.

Although she knew that Ruan Man would definitely cause trouble when she returned home today, now that Mother Ji and Maodou were here, what was Ruan Man’s intention in saying such things?

Although she had only been in the Ji’s house for two days, she could tell that both Mother Ji and Maodou firmly believed that Ji Mingchong would definitely wake up. Mother Ji, who was sixty years old, had been giving her son massages and turning him over every night without a full night’s sleep. Maodou, who was over five years old, would talk to Ji Mingchong every day, trying to wake him up.

Ruan Man’s words made sense, but Ruan Su knew that she deliberately brought up this matter to make them uncomfortable.

Ruan Su put down her chopsticks and was about to say something when a voice interrupted her.

“Brother-in-law? Who is your brother-in-law?” Mother Ji looked at Mother Ruan again, “In-law’s Mother, I remember you only have one son and one daughter. When did you have another daughter?”

Mother Ji has always looked down on the Ruan family. A family that could abandon their child and yet hold someone else in such high regard, how good could they be? It’s a joke just to talk about them. But this family remains oblivious and now they even let this unrelated person play host at the true child’s homecoming banquet. It’s truly laughable.

Mother Ruan was taken aback and, looking at Ruan Man’s face turning ashen, thought of Lin Xiangdong and gritted her teeth to say, “Manman has been raised by my side since she was little, and she is also my daughter.”

Mother Ji snorted, the mockery clear in her tone.

Although Maodou is young, he’s quite clever. Upon hearing these words, he also became angry. He stood up and shouted, “My uncle will definitely wake up!”

“And you,” he pointed at Ruan Man, “you bullied my Aunt, I remember. When my uncle wakes up, I will tell him, and you’ll be in trouble!”

Upon hearing this, Mother Ji’s face darkened. She loved Maodou very much, but she was rarely angry. She pulled Maodou back to his seat and said, “Ji Junting, do you forget what your Grandma has taught you? You can’t be impolite even if others are. This is basic manners!”

Maodou pouted. He was just angry.

Footnote(s)