Ruan Tong was just thinking about going into her Space to fetch some traditional Chinese medicine to nourish herself when her sister-in-law, Gu Qin, pushed the door open and entered.
“Oh, you’re finally awake,” Gu Qin said, glancing at her sideways with a tone that was somewhat sarcastic.
Gu Qin was the youngest in the Gu family and was attending middle school in the village.
The girl was quite pretty, but her mouth was truly irritating.
Ruan Tong lowered her eyelids and ignored her.
Gu Qin was young and couldn’t hold back her impatience. She sat down on the bed and immediately started chattering away.
“You really can sleep—you’ve been out for three days straight. Mom and Fourth Brother took turns watching over you, afraid you might just sleep yourself away.”
As she spoke, Gu Qin rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her dislike.
During her drowsy state, Ruan Tong had woken up a few times and seen her mother-in-law keeping watch. But she was somewhat surprised to learn that Gu Bai had also been watching over her.
“How is Erbao? Is he feeling better?” Ruan Tong didn’t respond to her remark and instead asked about what concerned her.
Gu Qin gave her a suspicious glance. “Oh, is it going to rain red? You actually care about Erbao?”
“…” Ruan Tong really didn’t want to deal with this girl.
She could see now that Gu Qin had a lot of grievances against the original host.
What exactly had the original host done in the past to make everyone look down on her?
Ruan Tong frowned, glaring at her with a hint of irritation. “I asked you a question. How is Erbao? Is he still feverish?”
For all her boldness, she was still just a child. Scolded by Ruan Tong, she immediately answered obediently, “He’s… he’s much better. I heard you were the one who treated Erbao’s illness? You have that kind of skill?”
Seeing Gu Qin’s arrogance weaken a bit, Ruan Tong curled her lips into a slight smile.
“I can not only treat children’s illnesses, but I can also see what’s wrong with you. Has your period come yet? When it does, do you have unbearable pain in your stomach? Do you want your sister-in-law to take a look?”
Hearing this, Gu Qin jumped up like a cat with its fur bristling. “You… you… you wicked woman!”
With that, Gu Qin, her face flushed with embarrassment, ran out of the room as if something terrifying were chasing her.
Ruan Tong smiled, her lips curving upward. “With such thin skin, you still dare to talk sarcastically in front of me!”
Glancing at the sky outside the window, Ruan Tong didn’t stay in bed any longer. Just as she got up and changed her clothes, her mother-in-law, Wu Minzhen, entered the room.
“Tongtong, you’ve been asleep for several days. Are you all right?”
Ruan Tong gave her mother-in-law a sweet smile, knowing that she genuinely cared. She took her hand and led her to sit on a stool. “Mom, don’t worry. It’s just an old problem of mine. As long as I get a good night’s sleep, I’ll be fine.”
“Really, you’re fine?” Wu Minzhen looked at her doubtfully. How could a perfectly healthy person sleep for so long? She sighed and spoke earnestly, “Tongtong, you’re a doctor too. You must take care of your own health!”
“I know. Thank you, Mom, for watching over me these past few days,” Ruan Tong said sincerely.
“I only came by occasionally. It was Fourth Brother who watched over you the whole time.”
Wu Minzhen explained with a smile.
Ruan Tong pursed her lips. She knew very well how much her cheap husband disliked the original host. Why would he take such good care of her? It was strange.
But then again, why should she overthink it?
Weren’t the two of them just living together for convenience?
Just then, Dabao peeked in from the doorframe. “Grandma.”
Hearing the voice, Ruan Tong turned her head to see Dabao wearing a look of resistance that said “I hate it here,” calling out for Wu Minzhen repeatedly.
Wu Minzhen waved to him: “Good boy, come in quickly, this is your mother.”
Dabao’s little face was set in an extremely serious expression as he reluctantly took small steps into the room, burying himself in Wu Minzhen’s arms: “She’s not my mother! Stepmothers are all bad people who bully children!”
Hearing this, Ruan Tong merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
The Gu family currently had only two young children, Dabao and Erbao, who were doted on like treasures by the Gu elders. Moreover, the children were still so young and didn’t understand things, so Ruan Tong didn’t want to argue with such small children.
“You silly child!” Wu Minzhen glared at him sternly: “Didn’t Grandma tell you before that Tongtong is your and Erbao’s mother!”
“No, she’s a stepmother!” Dabao angrily broke free from Wu Minzhen’s embrace: “Stepmothers are bad people! I don’t like Grandma anymore!”
Dabao shouted as he ran out.
That dissatisfied and resentful little look made Ruan Tong helplessly rub her temples.
Wu Minzhen looked at Ruan Tong with some guilt: “Tongtong, he…”
“Mom, don’t worry either. Whether I treat them sincerely or not, I believe they’ll feel it in our future interactions.”
Ruan Tong spoke to comfort her. She felt she was already very fortunate to have met a reasonable mother-in-law who knew how to handle things.
It was just the bad reputation from the original host’s past behavior that gave her a bit of a headache.
Ruan Tong felt that being able to turn things around to the current situation was already a winning start; she would take things slowly from here.
Wu Minzhen, however, was somewhat surprised.
She hadn’t expected Ruan Tong to be so understanding and reasonable, almost as if she were a different person from what she had previously known. It was impossible not to feel a hint of doubt in her heart.
Seeing her expression, Ruan Tong had a sudden insight and explained without showing any change:
“Mom, I’ve grown up and become sensible now. I know my previous personality wasn’t good.”
Ruan Tong felt that saying these things to a reasonable mother-in-law like Wu Minzhen was most appropriate.
On one hand, her mother-in-law would surely help spread her words outside, letting everyone know she had truly changed.
On the other hand, she didn’t need to speak too explicitly; her mother-in-law would certainly understand the meaning behind her words.
This was the rhythm of wanting to live well with Gu Bai.
Sure enough, Wu Minzhen comfortingly took her hand: “Tongtong has really grown up and become sensible! Good, good. If Old Fourth ever bullies you in the future, just tell Mom, and I’ll stand up for you!”
“Thank you, Mom!” Ruan Tong smiled gently.
After chatting a while longer, Ruan Tong affectionately linked arms with her mother-in-law, and they left the room together.
Just as the second daughter-in-law, Xu Yan, stepped out of her room, she saw this scene—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talking and laughing together. Xu Yan gritted her teeth in anger, turned around, slammed the door shut, and went back inside.
“Didn’t you just go out? Why are you back already?” The second son, Gu Rong, leaned against the bedside, leisurely swinging his legs.
“It’s all because I ran into that vixen, Ruan Tong! Who knows what kind of bewitching potion she fed your mother, but she actually has her completely fooled. She must be blind!” Xu Yan said angrily.
Gu Rong, who had been relaxed, immediately darkened his expression upon hearing this. He sat up and looked at her displeased: “What ‘your mother, your mother’—that’s our mother!”
Xu Yan glared at him before turning her head away, not wanting to pay him any attention.
Gu Rong snorted coldly, “We’ve been married for three years now, and I’ve certainly put in plenty of effort, but your belly just won’t cooperate—you can’t get pregnant. Even if we had a daughter, she’d still be a treasure of our Gu family.
By then, wouldn’t Mom and Dad treat you like a revered ancestor?”
Mentioning children was one thing, but bringing it up made Xu Yan seethe with anger.