Ruanruan suddenly felt a flash of realization in her little head.
Her dad, Lin Dayong, always said he loved her the most. But whenever her stepmother appeared, he became like a cat grabbed by the scruff of its neck—shrinking back and trying to smooth things over.
This… what was it called in storybooks again?
Oh, right!
Helping evil do its work!
Although her dad wasn’t a bad person, the way he handled things was exactly like those muddle-headed leaders who let good people suffer grievances.
And then there was Su Xiaomei.
On the surface she always looked like a pitiful victim, but in reality? She was like the crab in the Jade Pool that secretly nibbled on fish tails—quietly nasty.
“Sigh…” Ruanruan lay in her father’s arms and let out a worldly sigh, clenching her little fists.
From now on, she would only listen selectively to what Dad said.
And as for Su Xiaomei—she needed to be extra vigilant!
While Ruanruan was having her realization, the “villain alliance” wasn’t idle either.
Not long after Lin Dayong left with Ruanruan, Su Xiaomei slipped out of the house quietly while Su Ting wasn’t paying attention and headed straight to Liu Qianqian’s home.
Liu Qianqian still looked gloomy from being scolded earlier.
“Xiaomei, why are you here so late? Did Lin Ruanruan bully you again?”
“Sister Qianqian… no…” Su Xiaomei said, though she lowered her head and her voice grew softer and softer.
Liu Qianqian immediately understood. Thinking about how her mother had just compared her with Lin Ruanruan, anger surged up.
“Lin Ruanruan is such a troublemaker!”
“Sister Qianqian, don’t be angry,” Su Xiaomei sighed again. “Ruanruan just speaks without thinking. Last time… I even heard her tell Uncle Lin that your handwriting looks like crab crawling…”
“That’s nonsense! Her writing looks like crab crawling!” Liu Qianqian exploded, her voice rising.
“Sister Qianqian! Keep your voice down! If Auntie hears you, she’ll beat you again!” Su Xiaomei quickly covered her mouth and looked around.
“Sister Qianqian, you’re the class representative. The teacher likes you the most at school. If you want to deal with her, wouldn’t that be easy?”
“Hmph! If she embarrasses herself in front of the whole class, let’s see if the teacher still likes her!”
“Xiaomei, you’re right!” Liu Qianqian’s blood heated with excitement, already imagining Lin Ruanruan crying in front of her. “Tomorrow at school I’ll teach her a lesson! Let her see how powerful I am!”
“Liu Qianqian! You little brat! Where did you run off to again?!” Wang Guihua’s loud voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the girls’ conspiracy.
“Xiaomei, I’m going home first!” Liu Qianqian ran off immediately.
Su Xiaomei, satisfied with herself, also slipped back home before Su Ting noticed.
So when Lin Dayong returned home holding Ruanruan’s little hand, the first thing Ruanruan saw was Su Xiaomei staring at her without blinking.
Ruanruan felt a chill run down her back.
See? Dad still said she should get closer to Su Xiaomei.
How was that possible?
Ruanruan made up her mind.
From now on she would stay far away from Su Xiaomei and never give her a chance to harm her.
As for appearances…
She’d just maintain the “plastic sisters” relationship Dad talked about.
“Ruanruan!”
During recess one day, Ruanruan was squatting in the kindergarten courtyard watching ants carry food when Chen Zihao rushed over and plopped down in front of her.
“Ouch…” He didn’t care, brushing off his pants as his round face leaned close to hers.
“Big news! The Harvest Festival on our island is coming soon!”
“Harvest Festival?”
“Yep!” Chen Zihao excitedly gestured with his hands. “My dad said that this year people will take boats into the deep sea to catch big fish—giant groupers this big!”
Deep-sea fish?
How many points would those be worth!
Ruanruan had been eyeing the high-level items in the system shop for a long time.
And she still owed the system a huge amount of points!
She had to make a big profit and pay back her debt.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
“Brother Zihao, then I want to sign up too!”
“No.” Chen Zihao’s face fell immediately. “My dad said the sea waves are too dangerous. Children aren’t allowed on the boat. We can only watch from the shore.”
“Ah…” Ruanruan’s lips drooped and her little face fell.
The whole afternoon she was listless because of it, and even after returning home she looked gloomy.
“What’s wrong, Ruanruan? Were you unhappy at school?” Lin Dayong asked, frowning as he set down his briefcase.
“Dad!”
The next moment a small “cannonball” launched straight into his arms.
Ruanruan had already thought of an idea.
“Ruanruan heard that during the Harvest Festival you can ride a big boat out to sea to fish. Ruanruan wants to go too. Dad, will you take me?”
“Nonsense!” Lin Dayong’s heart nearly melted when she rubbed against him, but when he remembered how much attention she’d attracted with fishing lately, his expression hardened.
“The sea winds are strong. A gust could blow you away. Absolutely not!”
“Dad…” Ruanruan immediately puffed her lips, her eyes reddening as tears threatened to fall.
Lin Dayong felt his scalp go numb.
He quickly stood up and pinched her little nose.
“Be good. We’re not going. It’s too dangerous.”
Watching her father walk away, the little person in Ruanruan’s heart stomped her feet angrily.
Plan A—asking Dad—failed.
So she had to find another way.
If adults wouldn’t let her on the boat, she’d find the best fishing spots along the shore and win with quantity.
Over the next few days, after school Ruanruan dragged Chen Zihao all over the island.
“Ruanruan, slow down!”
Chen Zihao just thought the newly arrived Ruanruan was curious about everything, so he happily followed behind her every day.
His dad liked it when he played with Ruanruan.
Besides, he always discovered new and interesting things when he was with her.
“System, scan this place. Are there many fish here?”
“System, mark this spot!”
Ignoring Chen Zihao behind her, Ruanruan happily marked fishing spots on the blank map inside her mind.
After several days, the map in her mind grew brighter and brighter with more and more marked locations.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaomei had become much more obedient.
Every day after school she returned home on time, dropped her bag, and rushed into the kitchen to help Su Ting pick vegetables, wash vegetables, and prepare food.
Although her movements were clumsy, her attitude was extremely earnest.
Of course, she was only diligent in front of Su Ting.
“Lin Ruanruan! Come wash these vegetables!”
“Lin Ruanruan, go wipe the table!”
Whenever Su Ting wasn’t around, she would order Ruanruan around arrogantly.
Seeing her standing there with hands on her hips scolding like a little boss, Ruanruan slipped right out of the kitchen.
She only wanted to stay far away from Su Xiaomei!
When Su Ting returned, she saw Su Xiaomei alone at the stove, diligently washing vegetables with sweat on her flushed cheeks.
She looked around but didn’t see Ruanruan.
Her expression immediately darkened.
During dinner, Ruanruan sat beside her father with her little face flushed.
“Dad, guess what? I found a super big seashell today!”
“That’s great, Ruanruan!” Lin Dayong smiled, listening to his daughter’s sweet childish chatter, barely noticing Su Ting’s dark expression.
Finally, when Ruanruan excitedly waved her hands and nearly knocked over the soup bowl—
Bang!
Su Ting suddenly slammed her chopsticks on the table and glared at the stunned Ruanruan.
“Lin Ruanruan! Are you done yet?! Can’t you stop talking even while eating? Your constant chatter is so annoying!”