With Lin Dayong’s comfort, Su Ting’s mood improved quite a bit, though she still wore a guilty expression on her face.
“I’m sorry, Dayong. I asked Xiaomei to go find her, but who knew she would play that obedient-on-the-surface trick with me! She just went out for a stroll and didn’t actually look for her at all.”
Lin Dayong reached out and rubbed Su Ting’s hair, speaking in a doting tone.
“Silly! Xiaomei is still young. Isn’t it normal for a child to want to play? I’ve already scolded Lin Ruanruan. Next time she’ll remember to come home when it’s mealtime!”
Su Ting nodded, then thought for a moment.
“I’ll reheat the food. We delayed for so long that everything has gone cold.”
“Alright.”
Lin Dayong went to find Su Xiaomei. He knocked on the door and stood outside, speaking gently.
“Xiaomei, your mom wants to apologize to you. She didn’t mean to be so harsh earlier.”
Su Xiaomei didn’t open the door. Instead, she buried her head under the pillow and cried even harder.
Why did Lin Ruanruan get so many good things?
Most importantly, she had such a good biological father. Unlike her own father, who disliked her for being a girl and always beat or ignored her.
Even the one person who loved her the most—her mother Su Ting—was now treating Lin Ruanruan better.
Lin Ruanruan, you big villain!
…
Ruanruan had already washed her hands and obediently followed behind her stepmother, watching her kill the fish and cook.
After all, her stepmother’s cooking was sometimes truly terrible. She didn’t want to torture her own mouth.
The sea fish were very fresh. Steaming them for fifteen minutes would be enough.
Su Ting mixed a sauce and poured it over the fish before preparing to take it out.
“Ruanruan, go wash your hands!”
“Okay, Auntie~”
Su Ting walked outside and called out, “Dinner’s ready,” before returning to the kitchen to wash the pot.
Lin Dayong came over and carried the food to the living room.
Su Xiaomei had cried a lot earlier and was now both tired and hungry. Her little stomach was rumbling loudly.
Thinking about her mother’s personality, she didn’t dare keep throwing a tantrum.
Otherwise, she would definitely get beaten again!
When Su Xiaomei walked out, she saw Lin Ruanruan already sitting at the table, holding chopsticks and staring eagerly at the dishes like a little glutton drooling over food.
Her mother and stepfather were sitting beside Lin Ruanruan. The scene looked like they were the real family, and it stabbed painfully into her eyes.
She quickly walked over and, in a fit of stubbornness, piled a bunch of meat dishes into her own small bowl.
Seeing this, a wave of anger rose in Su Ting’s heart.
Just as she was about to lose her temper, Lin Dayong put an arm around her shoulders, silently soothing her.
Ruanruan tilted her little head as she watched the interaction between her stepmother and father.
She felt somewhat uncomfortable inside.
Her bad dad cared a lot about Su Ting and her daughter!
Su Ting picked up a big piece of fish belly and placed it into Ruanruan’s bowl.
“Ruanruan, hurry and eat! Dayong, you bought too many fish today. If you want to eat more, I can go buy some tomorrow—they’ll be fresher.”
Seeing this scene, Su Xiaomei suddenly stood up and squatted by the doorway to eat.
“That’s not it. These fish were all caught by Ruanruan during the competition.”
Before Su Ting could get angry, Lin Dayong quickly spoke up, diverting her attention.
Sure enough, Su Ting’s attention shifted to Ruanruan. Her chopsticks paused midair as she looked at the girl in disbelief.
“A competition?”
“Yes. There was a fishing competition organized on the island. Ruanruan participated. When I went to find her, she was even teaching others how to fish. She looked so proud, just like a little leader!”
When Lin Dayong mentioned his daughter, a faint smile unconsciously appeared in his eyes.
Su Ting thought about how Ruanruan had brought home quite a lot of seafood recently. She knew the girl could fish, but guiding adults seemed a bit exaggerated.
Most likely the adults simply found Ruanruan chubby, fair, and adorable and didn’t bother arguing with a child.
Still, she praised her.
“Ruanruan is amazing!”
Ruanruan had been holding her bowl and eating happily. Hearing that, she lifted her head, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth. Her eyes looked puzzled while her mouth kept chewing.
Lin Dayong chuckled.
“Ruanruan, hurry and eat.”
So Ruanruan continued eating. When she ate, she was extremely focused.
For some reason, watching her made Su Ting feel a strange sense of satisfaction, and she unconsciously continued eating as well.
Lin Dayong continued speaking.
“You don’t know this, but the person Ruanruan guided turned out to be the director of the supply and marketing cooperative. Now I’ve made a connection with him. It’ll be easier for you to buy things later.”
In this special era, any good item either had to be fought over or obtained through strong connections.
Many times the best goods were bought long before they even reached the shelves.
Su Ting frowned and asked uneasily,
“Wouldn’t that trouble people too much?”
“What’s there to worry about? Friends trouble each other all the time—that’s how relationships deepen. Besides, I’ll be going out to sea after a while. Although the logistics department provides supplies, some things still need to be prepared ourselves.”
Su Ting didn’t say anything more.
She didn’t understand his work, but since Lin Dayong said so, she wouldn’t object further.
Ruanruan finished eating quickly. She smiled sweetly at Su Ting.
“Auntie, Dad, I’m full! I’ll go wash the dishes.”
Su Ting immediately said,
“Put that down! You’re still so small. Go back to your room.”
“Okay, thank you, Auntie.”
Su Ting waved her hand indifferently.
Su Xiaomei had also finished eating. Hearing her mother show concern for Lin Ruanruan felt like someone had overturned a jar of vinegar in her heart.
Sour jealousy kept bubbling up.
It’s all Lin Ruanruan’s fault!
She put her bowl on the table and walked out.
“Su Xiaomei! What have I taught you all this time? You have no manners at all!”
Seeing her daughter’s rebellious behavior—and comparing it with Lin Ruanruan’s obedience—Su Ting could no longer suppress her anger and scolded loudly.
Su Xiaomei burst into tears.
“You’re biased! No matter what I do, you always think it’s wrong! You’re a bad mother!”
After shouting that, she ran outside.
Ahead of her, Lin Ruanruan was walking slowly after finishing dinner.
A malicious thought flashed through Su Xiaomei’s mind.
She ran over and, while Ruanruan wasn’t paying attention, slammed her shoulder hard into Ruanruan’s small shoulder.
Ruanruan sensed the danger immediately and stepped aside, nimbly avoiding Su Xiaomei’s sneaky attack.
A trace of regret flashed through Su Xiaomei’s eyes. She glared viciously at Ruanruan before running back to her room.
Ruanruan gave her a sweet smile, not angry at all.
After all, she was a little lucky koi.
Big villains who bullied her would never end well.
The next second, Su Xiaomei’s steps became unstable and she fell to the ground with a thud, scraping her little arm.
She looked at Su Ting pitifully, wanting her mother to comfort her. But when she saw Su Ting’s dark expression—so dark it seemed water could drip from it—she quickly got up by herself and ran into her room.
Su Ting happened to witness everything.
She was so angry she could no longer sit still.
How could someone be so stupid—attacking directly like that, practically begging to be caught?
She was about to rush over to properly discipline Su Xiaomei when Lin Dayong grabbed her arm.