The atmosphere in the room was not as tense as Maodou had imagined.
Neither Mother Ji nor Ruan Su were the kind of people who would fight with others. However, they did sit down and have a conversation, and the content of their conversation was far from peaceful.
Today, Ruan Su’s performance not only shocked the Ruan family but also greatly surprised Mother Ji.
Mother Ji didn’t interact with Ruan Su much. Before Ruan Su came to Ji’s house, they had only met a few times in total. Although Mother Ji didn’t think Ruan Su was a pushover, she didn’t consider Ruan Su to be particularly formidable either. After all, Ruan Su was still young, not even twenty-five years old. In Mother Ji’s understanding, a twenty-four-year-old young girl, even if she was cunning and scheming, shouldn’t be able to deceive someone like Mother Ji who had experienced a lot in life.
Today, Ruan Su completely overturned Mother Ji’s perception. Mother Ji had originally thought that she was always bullied by Ruan Man, but now it seemed that it wasn’t the case. On the contrary, she was just concealing her abilities, or perhaps she didn’t care enough to bother. Once she decided to fight back, Ruan Man couldn’t withstand it at all.
Someone like Ruan Su was either genuinely good or incredibly cunning and scheming. It was hard to tell.
Mother Ji had originally not intended to pay attention to this matter, but considering Ruan Su’s decent behavior at home these past few days, she naturally wanted to express some words in advance.
“In the beginning, it was your Ruan family who did everything they could, knowing that my husband was soft-hearted and kind, which allowed your Ruan family to take advantage and form a marriage alliance with our family. After the marriage, the Ruan family gained countless benefits, your father may have told you, or maybe he didn’t. The reason I insisted on having a young girl like you marry into our family was for the sake of our reputation. But I never truly intended to trap you for a lifetime. If you are a good person and willing to consider this family as your own, then I naturally welcome you. But the prerequisite is that you genuinely consider yourself a part of this family and not someone with ulterior motives.”
Ruan Su listened without interrupting. She knew that Mother Ji had much more to say.
Mother Ji said, “If you don’t want to stay in this family, I won’t force you. Now that I’m no longer angry, and you’ve seen the situation at home, I’m not too keen on keeping an outsider with ill intentions. Perhaps you’ve heard from someone that I have something hidden away and you want to squeeze gold and silver from this old lady. Well, let me advise you, don’t hold onto that illusion. Maodou’s biological mother sends money every year, not a small amount, but it’s meant for Maodou, and that money will only be spent on Maodou. I don’t have much savings, and I haven’t been able to earn money these past few years. As for this house, I’ve already made a will. This house belongs to Maodou. Even if Mingchong wakes up one day, then he’ll only have half of this house.
“If you think you can gain something, save your energy. With your appearance and character, finding another way might be better for you. I’m not an easy person to fool. Even if I had something, which I don’t, I wouldn’t necessarily give it to my child, let alone to a daughter-in-law who could leave at any time.”
The youngest son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of the old lady. Mother Ji had lost her eldest son first and then her husband. The reason she could keep going was for her still unconscious youngest son and her grandson, Maodou. Everything she did was for these two people, not for herself. She would surely arrange everything and then pass away. How could she leave her life-saving assets to a daughter-in-law?
Mother Ji explained everything to Ruan Su, breaking it down for her, all for the sake of Maodou’s fondness for her.
It would be good if Ruan Su could understand and let go of any unnecessary thoughts.
As Ruan Su listened to Mother Ji, there was a moment when she wanted to explain the reasons why she had come here. However, in the end, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to complicate matters further. It was normal for Mother Ji not to trust her now, and if she were to reveal what happened many years ago, Mother Ji would probably suspect her motives even more. She came here simply to help this family and make Mother Ji’s life a little better, not to gain anything. If she could earn Mother Ji’s trust, that would be great, but if not, it didn’t matter.
When Father Ji helped her back then, he certainly didn’t expect anything in return.
Mother Ji silently watched Ruan Su sitting on the sofa beside her.
There was no doubt that Ruan Su was a beautiful woman. Both Father and Mother Ruan were good-looking, especially Mother Ruan. Back in the day, Mother Ruan almost stepped into the entertainment industry and was renowned for her beauty. Ruan Su inherited the advantages of both of them and was even more beautiful than Mother Ruan during her prime.
For a beauty like Ruan Su, if she truly had such intentions, it would be a waste of effort for her to stay in the Ji family. With the energy and time she had, she should think of other ways and explore different paths that might yield higher returns.
After a moment, Ruan Su spoke up.
Her hands rested on her knees, and her fingers were fair and slender.
“Don’t worry. I don’t have any ulterior motives,” she paused and continued, “When the time comes for me to leave, I will leave.”
If there comes a day when Ji Mingchong wakes up and the Ji family is on the right track, at that time, she won’t be needed anymore, and she will leave.
She had already thought it through. If that day really comes, she will return to her former home, find an ordinary job, and if luck is on her side, meet someone she likes and build a happy little family.
But the prerequisite for all that is Ji Mingchong waking up.
If Ji Mingchong never wakes up, she has prepared herself mentally for that outcome.
After hearing what she said, Mother Ji glanced at her and was carefully pondering the meaning of her words when a sound came from the door. Maodou, who was supposed to be playing outside, sneaked in with a cautious expression on his face.
“Why are you back so early?” Mother Ji asked.
Seeing that the two of them weren’t fighting, Maodou breathed a sigh of relief and replied, “It’s not fun outside, so I came back.”
Mother Ji understood her grandson. Seeing the mischievous look in his eyes, she knew what he meant.
She also figured it out. Whether it’s a donkey or a horse, take it out for a walk and you’ll find out. Her eyes have never been deceived. Whether Ruan Su is good or not, it can’t be seen in just a day or two. Given enough time, true colors will be revealed.
“Then go do your homework,” Mother Ji said with a stern face.
Ruan Su also stood up and said to Maodou, “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll prepare it in advance.”
Maodou’s eyes lit up, “Anything is fine?”
Ruan Su replied, “…Not really, it depends on whether we can buy it or not.”
“Well, I want to eat those chicken wings from yesterday. They were so delicious.”
“Okay, I’ll make more today.”
Even Mother Ji had to admit that Ruan Su’s arrival had made her life much easier. She no longer had to cook every day or worry about her grandson’s meals. What surprised her the most was that Ruan Su was willing to stay in the master bedroom. During those two days, she was worried that Ruan Su wouldn’t get up at night to take care of her son, so she secretly got up and eavesdropped outside. As a result, she found Ruan Su actually got up every two hours to turn her son over and give him a massage.
After all, she was sixty years old this year and hadn’t slept through the night for several years. Her health was not as good as before. If Ruan Su was a trustworthy person, she would have to burn incense to thank the Gods.
Maodou shouted happily, “Great! I’m going to eat an extra bowl of rice today!”
Mother Ji urged him, “Aren’t you going to do your homework?”
Maodou shrunk his neck and casually picked up a picture book from the coffee table. He then rushed towards the master bedroom and said, “I haven’t talked to Uncle yet today. I want to tell him everything that happened!”
After speaking, he entered the master bedroom and closed the door.
In the living room, Mother Ji didn’t look at Ruan Su again. Ruan Su took money from the biscuit tin and prepared to go out to buy groceries. She had been relatively free recently, and with two weekends plus five days of wedding leave, she had nine days off and could familiarize herself with the Ji family’s house and the surrounding area.
In the master bedroom, Maodou dragged a chair and sat by the bedside. He only dared to talk to his Uncle during the daytime.
As time went by, he got used to it. Sometimes, when something unhappy or inconvenient happened that he couldn’t tell his Grandma, he would tell his Uncle.
Even if he cried because he was upset, his Uncle would not make fun of him. His Uncle was the best person to confide in!
Maodou looked at his Uncle and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uncle, since the day of the wedding, Aunt has been bullied by that vine. I’ve noticed that Aunt seems very pitiful. None of her relatives help her. Although Grandma is strict with me, if someone bullied me like that, Grandma would definitely help me. Uncle, if you wake up, please be nicer to Aunt because she is so pitiful. And, and, remember to buy Aunt the biggest and most beautiful ring. I told Aunt about it, and if you don’t buy it, she will think I can’t keep my promises and won’t trust what I say anymore.”
Ji Mingchong lay on the bed. The sunlight was streaming through the window, gradually moving until it finally shone on his legs.
He closed his eyes tightly and remained motionless, as if he had truly become a breathing plant.
But it was strange, because he just lay there like that, both Mother Ji and Maodou felt unusually at ease. They firmly believed that this man would definitely wake up, and as long as he was there, their family would be complete. If he woke up, it would be the best day ever!
Ruan Su went out to buy groceries and passed by a jewelry store that was having a promotion.
Out of curiosity, she walked into the store and looked at the jewelry displayed in the glass case. A thought crossed her mind. In her life’s first wedding, she didn’t have a ring or a groom. The groom was still there, so why not make up for the ring? The silver rings were quite affordable, and Ruan Su chose a pair of simple circle rings without any decorations.
She had no idea what ring size Ji Mingchong wore.
The salesperson assured her that if they were too big or too small, she could come back to exchange them.
Ruan Su walked out of the store with the pair of rings. The sunlight was just right, and she looked up at the sky, feeling that the wedding seemed a bit more complete now that she had bought the rings.
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