“It’s just ordinary soap!” Liu Rongrong was delighted by the flattery. A daughter really was more thoughtful than those stinky boys—especially an adorable little glutinous rice ball like Ruanruan, so delicate and pretty.
She reached out and pulled the little girl into her arms. A milky scent drifted from Ruanruan, and Liu Rongrong couldn’t help herself—she planted a loud kiss on her cheek.
“You must come play at Auntie’s house more often!”
“Okay~” Ruanruan replied in her soft childish voice, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
That only made Liu Rongrong like her even more.
Beside them, Liu Qianqian felt a sour bitterness rise in her chest when she saw the scene. She turned and walked away.
She had grown up around Aunt Liu, yet Aunt Liu was always just polite to her. Why did she treat Lin Ruanruan like a precious treasure?
They were both girls—so why was Ruanruan different from the other children?
Soon the competition results came out.
Whether in number or weight, the fish Ruanruan caught completely crushed Chen Hai, who came in second.
However, the two quietly exchanged their prizes afterward.
Liu Rongrong looked helplessly at her husband, who was as happy as a child, and said in exasperation:
“It’s just a medal. Is it really worth being this happy? Fine—since you love fishing so much, I’ll allow you to go fishing twice a week. Think of it as relaxation.”
“Really? Honey, we have a deal—you can’t go back on your word!” Chen Hai’s eyes widened in shock, unable to believe what he’d just heard.
“I won’t go back on it! Alright, if you’ve got nothing to do, just stay over there!” Liu Rongrong rolled her eyes at her husband.
Chen Hai chuckled foolishly and didn’t say another word, afraid he might annoy his wife and make her change her mind.
He was extremely happy now!
Of course, all this good luck today was thanks to Ruanruan.
She was his little lucky star.
Lin Dayong arrived a little late. When he heard that the awards had already been given out, he felt a little regretful that he hadn’t seen his daughter receive her prize.
A leadership inspection had happened today, so he had been forced to stay and work overtime.
“Ruanruan!”
“Dad!” Sitting in Liu Rongrong’s arms, Ruanruan immediately waved happily when she saw her father.
Chen Hai walked over with a smile.
“Let’s take a walk over there and talk about what you mentioned to me yesterday.”
“Alright!” Lin Dayong immediately knew the matter he had brought up had succeeded.
Half an hour later.
The sun had already set, leaving the sky filled with red clouds.
Lin Dayong carried his daughter on his back, slowly walking home.
“Sweetheart, you helped Dad a lot today. As a reward, I bought you some White Rabbit milk candies. They’re already in your room.”
Ruanruan cheered.
“Dad, you’re the best dad in the whole world!”
Lin Dayong smiled.
After walking a bit further, he said, “Ruanruan, I bought Xiaomei a tin wind-up frog toy. If you mind, I won’t give it to her.”
Lying on his back, Ruanruan heard this and didn’t mind.
Although Su Ting and her daughter weren’t very nice, appearances still had to be maintained.
“I don’t mind! Ruanruan isn’t that petty.”
Lin Dayong’s eyes suddenly reddened, so moved that he couldn’t speak.
His precious daughter was simply too sensible.
Before they even reached the front door, they heard the sounds of smashing and arguing coming from inside the house.
Father and daughter immediately grew tense and hurried inside.
Ruanruan thought something serious had happened at home.
But when she got in, she saw that the visitor was actually Liu Dazhuang.
Her first thought was that he had come to cause trouble because she had exposed his cheating.
As soon as she entered, she spoke fiercely in her childish voice:
“Bad guy! What are you doing here?! If you have something to say, say it to me!”
“Ruanruan, you’re back!” Wang Guihua immediately dropped her usual shrewish attitude in front of Su Ting and instead put on a flattering smile.
“We brought that useless girl Liu Qianqian here to apologize to you! She’s reflected on her mistakes at home and realized she still wants to be good sisters with you!”
Liu Qianqian had slap marks on her face. She bit her lower lip, her whole body radiating unwillingness.
“Have you gone mute? What did I teach you before?” Seeing that Liu Qianqian didn’t speak, Wang Guihua slapped her again. Liu Qianqian groaned softly from the blow.
Lowering her head, Liu Qianqian felt even more wronged, large tears falling one after another.
She was afraid her parents might truly abandon her.
But she simply couldn’t bring herself to apologize to Lin Ruanruan.
Seeing how stubborn she was, Wang Guihua’s eyes turned venomous.
“You believe I won’t—”
Ruanruan couldn’t watch any longer. She ran over quickly and said fiercely in her childish voice:
“That’s enough, bad guy! I won’t let you bully the little kid anymore!”
Lin Dayong also spoke coldly:
“That’s enough. Children’s disputes should be handled by the children. It’s not your place as an adult to interfere like this.”
But instead of feeling grateful, Liu Qianqian became even angrier.
She shoved Ruanruan aside and said viciously:
“Stop pretending to be nice! I won’t fall for it! Sorry! Mom, I apologized. Can I leave now?”
Ruanruan’s expression instantly turned cold.
She had tried to help once, but if the other person didn’t appreciate it, she would naturally withdraw her kindness.
Seeing her daughter act like that, Wang Guihua angrily placed her hands on her hips and started shouting:
“Leave? You kneel in front of Lin Ruanruan until she forgives you!”
Su Ting couldn’t listen anymore.
She knew Wang Guihua was deliberately using this tactic to pressure her. After all, it was just a small quarrel between children—if a relative’s child ended up kneeling at their door, what would people say about her?
Would it affect her father’s promotion?
That was what she worried about the most.
“Sister-in-law, it’s just children arguing. Don’t make such a big deal out of it. If this becomes a big issue and attracts the attention of leadership, both our families will suffer. Ruanruan isn’t a petty child. Let’s just forget it. Qianqian, go home and rest first.”
Hearing this, Liu Qianqian immediately wanted to run away. She couldn’t stand staying here for even one more minute.
But her father grabbed the back of her collar, and she instantly froze.
Wang Guihua seemed satisfied.
Her gaze then fell on the fresh sea fish placed on the ground, and she said with a smile:
“These fish look pretty fresh. Why don’t you give me some?”
Without even asking Ruanruan, Su Ting directly agreed on her behalf.
“Sister-in-law, just take some home to eat. Our families are relatives after all—surely a small quarrel between children won’t make us distant?”
Lin Dayong nudged Ruanruan’s arm, signaling her to make a fuss.
Ruanruan shot her father a flat look. She understood what he meant.
She didn’t like Liu Qianqian, but she disliked Liu Qianqian’s parents—who beat their child—even more.
She didn’t want the conflict between them children to cause Liu Qianqian to be beaten again until she was covered in wounds.
When she used to fight with the little immortals in heaven, everyone understood one rule—
Conflicts between kids should be settled by the kids themselves.