“Ruo Ruo, why are you so thoughtless? All you do is cause trouble for others day in and day out. When will you ever learn to give me some peace of mind like Yao Yao does?” Zhao Li first rattled off a long string of harsh criticism, then suddenly broke into a smile. “Now hurry and thank Old Mrs. Gu. She saw you faint by the roadside and called us to come pick you up.”
Lu Ruo stared blankly at Zhao Li’s face, which bore a faint resemblance to her own.
In the past, she would have believed that she truly had picked up bad habits in the mountain village, and that was why Zhao Li didn’t like her. But now, Zhao Li had seen her hospitalized and hadn’t offered a single word of concern—her eyes only saw Old Mrs. Gu.
Her eyes saw only profit.
Lu Ruo’s small face was deathly pale, yet she still spoke word by word: “Mom, I was outside because you held a family meeting and decided to make me find a place to live on my own. It wasn’t me being willful and running off.”
“Also, I’ve already told Lu Ze that I have no connection to the Lu family anymore. I no longer need your concern.”
Hearing this, Zhao Li’s expression turned shocked.
Hadn’t Lu Ruo been begging for their attention before? Today she had shown concern, so why was Lu Ruo being so ungrateful?
Could it be that she resented them for not letting her stay at the Lu residence and was doing this on purpose?
Remembering that the Gu family had been robbed before, Zhao Li spoke in a deliberately troubled tone: “Ruo Ruo, are you blaming your mother? If you hadn’t constantly stolen valuables from the house, we wouldn’t have made you move out.”
After saying this, Zhao Li looked at Old Mrs. Gu with guilt: “Please forgive me, Old Mrs. Gu. Ruo Ruo was kidnapped as a child and picked up some bad habits in the mountain village. That’s why she’s talking nonsense in front of you.”
How could Old Mrs. Gu not understand what was going on by now?
This girl’s own mother didn’t love her daughter at all!
Otherwise, why wouldn’t she say a single caring word, and instead claim her daughter liked to steal?
“Good child, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it upon myself to contact your family. I’ll have her thrown out right now and not let her spout nonsense here.”
Unexpectedly, Old Mrs. Gu wanted to kick her out. Zhao Li said urgently, “Old Mrs. Gu, you—you haven’t heard this girl say bad things about the Lu family, have you? Please don’t believe her. She’s always been a liar.”
“Lu Ruo didn’t say anything bad about you. In fact, she found our family heirloom and turned it in directly.” Old Mrs. Gu’s expression was indifferent. “She was clearly honest about returning what she found, yet you, as her own mother, would slander her in front of outsiders like this. You’re truly unfit to be called a human being.”
Old Mrs. Gu’s words left Zhao Li frozen in place.
Lu Ruo had returned something she found? Was that true? The Gu family was one of the top families in North City, so the value of their heirloom went without saying. Lu Ruo, who was always stealing from the house, had actually turned it in after finding it?
A flicker of guilt stirred in Zhao Li’s heart, but the moment she thought about how this connection to Lu Ruo could bring the family many benefits, she began racking her brain for ways to patch things up with her daughter.
Before she could think of a good approach, the bodyguards outside had already come in and hoisted her up directly.
Zhao Li couldn’t move, so she could only use her mouth: “Lu Ruo, your mother telling you to move out before was just said in anger. Say a few good words for me to Old Mrs. Gu.”
Zhao Li’s pleading stirred a trace of reluctance in Lu Ruo’s heart.
But then she remembered how every time she had been falsely accused in the past, she had begged Zhao Li to believe her, and Zhao Li had remained unmoved. Lu Ruo’s heart slowly turned cold again.
She looked up at Old Mrs. Gu and asked, “Grandmother Gu, where are Huahua and her kittens?”
She was afraid that while she was unconscious, she hadn’t explained things clearly, and Huahua hadn’t been taken away by the Gu family.
The criminal had hidden the bracelet and the ring there. If he came back and couldn’t find them, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t take out his anger on Huahua and her family.
People often said online that those who abuse animals are potential criminals. Conversely, real criminals would have no sympathy for animals either.
Seeing that Lu Ruo hadn’t asked a single question about her own condition, Old Mrs. Gu only felt a pang of heartache.
She had seen the examination report in Lu Ruo’s pocket. Lu Ruo was so young, yet she had stomach cancer.
Not only was she sick, but her biological mother was such a piece of work—eyes only on profit, not caring at all about her daughter’s health.
“Don’t worry, Huahua is here.” Old Mrs. Gu suppressed the bitterness in her heart and had someone bring Huahua and her family over.
Seeing the bodyguard carry in a cat carrier, Lu Ruo called out anxiously, “Huahua?”
From inside the carrier came Huahua’s meow: “Human, don’t worry. Cat is here.”
The bodyguard closed the door and opened the cat carrier.
Huahua darted out of the carrier in a flash, not even glancing at her surroundings, and jumped straight onto the bed.
She had a piece of dried chicken in her mouth, which she eagerly offered to Lu Ruo: “Human, they said you’re sick. Don’t worry, Huahua saved the biggest piece of meat for you! Eat it and you’ll be all better!”
Lu Ruo’s eyes turned red.
Even a little cat knew to care about her being sick and hoped she would get better soon, while her own mother couldn’t be bothered with her health at all.
She stroked the kitten’s head and was about to speak when a voice came from outside: “Grandma, I heard Lu Ruo is awake. There are still some things about the case I need to ask her.”
The voice belonged to Gu Qi.
The polite young police officer finished speaking before striding into the open-door hospital room.
Seeing it was Gu Qi, Old Mrs. Gu said in a disdainful tone: “Why can’t you wait until the young lady has rested a bit before coming to question her?”
“I can wait, but the case can’t.” Gu Qi said coldly as he strode into the room. “Grandma, could you step out for a moment?”
Seeing that her grandson was giving her no face and actually asking her to leave, Old Mrs. Gu put on a fierce tone: “I can step out, but you’d better be gentle when you question her, or else I’ll kick your butt.”
That one sentence made Lu Ruo’s gaze involuntarily fall on Gu Qi’s rear.
This officer today was wearing a loose jacket paired with black athletic pants—black made his figure stand out more, so his butt looked quite perky.
Realizing what she was thinking, Lu Ruo quickly averted her gaze, her expression turning awkward.
Gu Qi didn’t notice Lu Ruo’s discomfort and only nodded seriously: “I won’t be harsh. Please go ahead.”
Old Mrs. Gu glanced at Lu Ruo once more.
This young lady really had a good temperament, having grown up with a mother like that without going astray.
If only she were her granddaughter!
But then again, why couldn’t she be?
The old lady had an idea forming in her mind and left happily.
Once Old Mrs. Gu was gone, the hospital room felt even more empty.
Gu Qi pulled over the accompanying chair from the side and sat diagonally beside Lu Ruo’s bed.
He didn’t say anything, just faced Lu Ruo with that strikingly handsome face.
Lu Ruo couldn’t quite figure out what Gu Qi meant by this.
If he wanted to ask about the case, she could just pull out the same story she’d told before. But Gu Qi’s silence made her heart fill with unease.
“Human, why aren’t you eating the meat the cat gave you?” Because of Gu Qi’s interruption, Lu Ruo hadn’t gotten to the jerky Huahua had given her. So the kitten anxiously nudged Lu Ruo’s arm with her paw, urging her as she spoke.
Lu Ruo couldn’t bear to let the kitten worry, but she also didn’t want to talk directly to a cat and be taken for a lunatic. So she picked up the jerky, brought it to her lips as if taking a bite, but actually broke off a small piece and hid it in a wet wipe.
After doing this, Lu Ruo handed the jerky back to Huahua, only pointing at the notch on it.
The beautiful little calico cat saw that only a tiny bit of the meat was missing and grew even more anxious: “Human, do you have no appetite?”
“Human, eating just a little meat won’t make you better. You need to eat more. Last time I was kicked by a bad human and my paw hurt a lot, but I got better after eating lots of the meat you gave me.”
“Human, say something!”