Auntie Wang’s mouth opened and closed, as though someone had grabbed her by the throat. Not a single word could come out.
Her face shifted between green and white. Under Ruan Jiaqi’s steady gaze, she turned around dejectedly and went into the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later, a bowl of plain boiled noodles was placed in front of Ruan Jiaqi.
Ruan Jiaqi glanced into the bowl, then casually turned her eyes toward Auntie Wang.
“Where’s Mr. Hua?”
Her voice was soft and light, impossible to tell whether she was angry or not.
Auntie Wang stood half-turned away, dragging out her words lazily. “Mr. Hua is in the study, discussing things with the young master and young miss.”
Ruan Jiaqi said nothing. She picked up the bowl and turned to go upstairs.
Seeing this, Auntie Wang grew slightly uneasy and hurriedly reached out to stop her.
“Hey, hey, hey! Where are you taking that bowl?”
The corners of Ruan Jiaqi’s lips lifted faintly. She spoke slowly and gently.
“Mr. Hua hasn’t had dinner yet. I’m taking these noodles up for him.”
Auntie Wang immediately panicked and slapped her thigh.
“Oh my! Look at my memory! I forgot to add salt to the noodles! Wait a moment!”
With that, Auntie Wang snatched the bowl away. The laziness vanished from her face in an instant as she carried the tray back into the kitchen.
She moved as fast as a gust of wind.
Ruan Jiaqi said nothing, simply watching Auntie Wang’s flustered retreat with quiet amusement.
Such a clumsy little trick.
That first bowl of noodles probably hadn’t merely been “missing salt,” had it?
She had probably added a few “special ingredients” as well—saliva, snot, and the like.
It wasn’t that Ruan Jiaqi was particularly perceptive or calculating. She had simply spent too long surviving in the cannibalistic environment of the Ruan household, while Auntie Wang’s tricks were so childish that a little probing was enough to make her expose herself.
A few minutes later, a steaming bowl of noodles that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious was brought back to Ruan Jiaqi.
Pink shrimp were neatly arranged on top, fresh green vegetables rested against one side, and right in the center sat a golden, glossy soft-boiled fried egg.
The fragrant steam immediately filled the air.
Ruan Jiaqi picked up her chopsticks and quietly lowered her head to eat.
Auntie Wang stood beside her, eyes wide with disbelief.
“You—you said you were taking it upstairs for Mr. Hua, didn’t you?”
Ruan Jiaqi slowly swallowed the noodles in her mouth and looked up, her cheeks slightly puffed.
“I said that?”
Auntie Wang froze. “Yes!”
“Oh.”
Ruan Jiaqi smiled brightly at her, revealing a row of small white teeth.
“I lied.”
She picked up the spoon and took a sip of the noodle broth, her eyes curving into crescents.
“Your cooking is decent. Keep making it to this standard from now on.”
Auntie Wang’s face turned white with fury. Her lips trembled, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath, but she didn’t dare say another word.
【Character Deviation -1】
【Character Deviation -1】
【Character Deviation -1】
The system finally couldn’t sit still anymore.
【Are you burning newspapers at a grave and trying to fool a ghost?】
【You’re not properly completing the main mission, but you’re awfully enthusiastic about exploiting bugs!】
Ruan Jiaqi blinked. “Is this not allowed?”
【……The “Guide to Managing Characters in Transmigrated Books” doesn’t explicitly say it’s forbidden, but—】
“If it doesn’t say it’s forbidden, then let’s just keep doing this for now.”
System: (´ཀ`」∠)
Forget it.
Let’s take it slowly.
Thunder rumbled across the sky as torrents of rain poured down outside.
Inside the study, things were just as heated.
A belt came down again and again with sharp whistling sounds.
“Are you wrong?”
“She deserved it!”
“You’re still talking back.”
“I’ll keep talking back!”
Hua Yan held his neck stiffly. Sweat rolled from his temples down his neck, soaking his entire shirt, yet his mouth remained stubborn even though his body obediently stayed still, not daring to dodge even once.
Hua Yao had originally curled herself into a tiny ball in the corner. But seeing Hua Feng hit harder and harder, she couldn’t help speaking up for Hua Yan in a tearful voice.
“Second Brother didn’t hit her for no reason! Big Brother, you have no idea what that woman was saying nonsense about at the banquet!”
The more Hua Yao spoke, the more agitated and aggrieved she became. Her eyes gradually reddened, two little pools of tears gathering in them.
“Big Brother… How long has it been since you came home? Second Brother and I counted down the days until you returned to the country, and what happened? The moment you came back, you started disciplining us over an outsider!”
Her method of acting spoiled had been perfected through years of practice and had always worked before.
But this time, unexpectedly, it failed.
Hua Feng turned his cold gaze toward Hua Yao.
“I haven’t even gotten to you yet. As a girl, where did you learn all these methods of bullying people for fun?”
Hua Yao had rarely seen her elder brother speak to her so harshly. She immediately felt terribly wronged, tears swirling in her eyes.
“I didn’t!”
“You didn’t?”
The corners of Hua Feng’s lips curved into the faintest smile.
“Throwing someone into the middle of nowhere in the dead of night, mixing gasoline into someone’s bathwater. Do I have to list every single thing you’ve done? Hua Yao, you’ve certainly become quite capable.”
Hua Yao had never imagined that all the things she had done to get revenge on Ruan Jiaqi would reach her elder brother’s ears from thousands of miles away.
Although she didn’t think she had done anything wrong, she knew very well that her elder brother had always disliked her acting too domineering and using the Hua family’s power to bully the weak. He also absolutely forbade members of the Hua family from turning against one another.
But how could Ruan Jiaqi possibly count as weak? And what kind of Hua family member was she?!
To hell with her!
That woman was rotten to the core!
Seeing Hua Feng’s stern expression, Hua Yao’s eyes darted around nervously.
“D-Did she complain to you?”
Hua Feng’s eyes were dark and cold.
“There’s no need for anyone to complain. I know every single thing you’ve done.”
Hua Yao bit her lower lip and unwillingly argued, “Even if I did teach her a lesson, I only did it to stand up for you, Big Brother! Who told her to—”
“You’re making excuses!”
Anger churned in Hua Feng’s eyes. His patience had run out.
“Hand.”
Hua Yao stared in shock.
Big Brother was actually going to hit her?
She looked at Hua Feng in disbelief. Tears immediately spilled down her cheeks. Hurt and frightened, she stubbornly stretched out her left hand.
“I’ll give it to you!”
The moment she opened her palm, the belt came down, instantly raising a red welt.
Hua Yao clutched her palm and burst into loud sobs. Tears the size of beans poured down like a broken faucet.
He had barely hit her once, deliberately holding back his strength, yet she cried as though the sky itself had collapsed.
“You hit me! Not only did you hit me, you used the same belt that just hit Second Brother’s butt to hit my palm! I can’t use this hand anymore, waaaah…”
“Big Brother, you’ve changed! You don’t love Yaoyao anymore, waaaahhh!”
Hua Yan, supporting himself against the long table, snapped irritably at Hua Yao.
“Shut up! You’re so noisy!”
Hua Yao choked on her sobs after being yelled at by Hua Yan. She blinked a few times, then threw her head back and cried even louder.
“I only got hit on the palm because I was defending you, and now you’re yelling at me too!”
“I can’t stay in this family anymore! Which kind-hearted person will come adopt poor little Yaoyao, waaaahhh… Mommy, I want Mommy!”
Hua Yan: “……”
Hua Feng pressed his thin lips together, utterly exasperated. He slowly closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Just then—
“Knock, knock—”
A cautious knock suddenly sounded.
“Come in.”
Hua Feng’s deep voice rang out as he turned his head.
The heavy golden nanmu study door was timidly pushed open a crack from outside.
Ruan Jiaqi stood awkwardly at the doorway, her entire figure resembling a hibiscus flower washed clean by autumn rain and morning dew, possessing a fragile, translucent pallor.
She was beautiful without the slightest hint of aggression.