Her appearance was like a deep-sea torpedo dropped on a calm surface of water, causing an uproar both inside and outside the courtyard!
Wenrou, Ye Guo, the Jiang brothers, and the like formed an instinctive reflex; upon hearing her voice, they immediately sought cover to hide.
The four people's simultaneous actions instantly emptied the bustling area in front of the educated youth settlement.
Before the new educated youth could even see who it was, they were drawn to the commotion around them.
One by one, they tilted their heads curiously, looking at the old educated youth who wished they could hide in a crack in the wall and had never appeared in this world, their eyes filled with confusion.
Wenrou had been sitting with her bottom half-pressed on the back seat for a while, unsure whether to get up or sit down.
Her eyes were fixed on the person slowly approaching her, her heart pounding in her chest. When Ruan Xianxian stopped in front of her, she managed a weak smile.
The smile on his face was more bitter than if he had eaten gall bladder. "You, you're back!"
“Yes, I came back to see you off on your final journey.” Ruan Xianxian reached out and patiently helped Wenrou straighten her disheveled collar.
She was fine when she didn't speak, but the moment she opened her mouth, the already tense atmosphere fell into complete silence.
There were two groups of people standing inside and outside the courtyard. How to describe it? It was like a wedding procession colliding with a funeral procession on a narrow road!
Both sides felt extremely unlucky!
Due to certain unspeakable insistences, there is no way to back down.
"Who are you? How dare you speak so rudely." Standing not far behind Wenrou, a woman with a slightly raised chin and an arrogant expression stepped forward and forcefully grabbed Wenrou's stiff arm.
"Jing-jie, don't you recognize my cousin?" Tian Tian, with a smile on her face but venom in her eyes, put on a friendly sisterly act and took Ruan Xianxian's arm.
"I haven't introduced her to everyone yet. She's Ruan Xianxian. She's the one my biological mother and nephew-in-law had an affair with."
To bring more money to the countryside, my cousin, who had signed me up for the Northwest China rural development program, even ran off with my rural allowance.
Ruan Xianxian lowered her head, looking at the hand that was pinching her arm hard, her voice very calm.
"Just talk, why are you pinching me?"
Pinching her soft flesh was a common tactic used by Tian Tian and Ruan Baozhu.
Every time the two of them got into trouble outside, they would come back and ask her to take the blame. In front of the elders, they would put on a show of sisterly harmony, but secretly they would be the ones to harm her.
During those years, there wasn't a single good spot on Ruan Xianxian's arms; they were always covered with bruises from being pinched so hard.
When Ruan Kangri saw it, he would only say one thing: "She was too naughty and bumped into something herself."
She tilted her head and raised her hand slightly, revealing the little tricks that Tian Tian was doing with her thumb and forefinger.
Those who saw it clearly gasped slightly.
What kid from the North hasn't been pinched like this by their mom after getting into trouble? Everyone knows how painful it is.
She was exposed. Tian Tian immediately let go, but there was no trace of guilt on her face. She stopped pretending and revealed a fierce and hateful expression, her eyes bloodshot.
"So what if I pinched you? I didn't slap you twice when we first met because I was still mindful of our sisterly relationship."
Ruan Xianxian, I also want to ask you, as your older cousin, what have I done to wrong you? Why were you so heartless, so heartless as to sign me up for the Great Northwest?
Do you know what kind of life I lived there? I lived in a cave dwelling, surrounded by endless yellow sand, and drank rainwater—have you ever drunk rainwater that was as sticky as snot?
With each word Tian Tian spoke, her eyes reddened further, until finally large tears fell. She hugged herself, squatted down, buried her head in her elbows, and sobbed.
The singing, recitation, acting, and fighting made the surrounding villagers who were watching the spectacle show expressions of pity, while in a certain corner, a strange sense of satisfaction arose.
Did people in Northwest China really live such a hard life?
Compared to their current lives, it's like they're living in a honey pot.
"Poor child." Ruan Xianxian patted Tian Tian's head like a puppy. "You've suffered!"
However, I remember that it was Ruan Baozhu who signed up for the Northwest China tour, how did it become you?
Tian Tian stopped crying abruptly, raised her red eyes with a hateful expression, and said, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault for registering my cousin Baozhu!"
The master couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he forced me to take her place.
She burst into tears, her cries so heart-wrenching that they brought tears to the eyes of all who heard and saw her. "Why, why do I have to bear the consequences of your feud with my cousin?"
Whom did I offend? What kind of demons and monsters did I provoke?
"Don't cry!" Ruan Xianxian patiently comforted her grieving and helpless cousin, then suddenly, the hand that was stroking Tian Tian's head gripped her tightly.
They grabbed the long hair on the top of her head, forcing Tian Tian to raise her head.
The sudden action caught Tian Tian off guard, and her smug yet twisted face was now exposed to everyone.
"Ouch! Cousin, why are you pulling my hair? It hurts! Let go!" The violent pulling on her scalp made her face change color at that moment.
He raised both hands and slapped them frantically.
Ruan Xianxian half-squatted down while grabbing her hair, her almond-shaped eyes revealing a chilling coldness, but a smile played on her lips.
"So, I was the one who registered Ruan Baozhu, and the decision for you to go to the countryside was made by Ruan Kangri."
"You couldn't afford to offend the first two, and you didn't dare to hate them, so you needed someone to bear your anger and hatred, and you chose me, the easiest one to control?"
"No, no!" Tian Tian denied loudly, and in the struggle, she saw the cold, indifferent faces all around her.
That's not right!
Aren't old women in the countryside the most fond of upholding justice and meddling in other people's business?
The women in the rural areas of Northwest China she was sent to would criticize her for everything, big or small, let alone such a heated conflict. They would even comment on her walking posture if they didn't like it.
Are the people here blind? Why aren't they jumping in to accuse Ruan Xianxian of being heartless and cruel to her sisters?
Didn't they already have a problem with this cousin? Why is it different from what I imagined?
The scalp was pulled painfully, and the pressure from Ruan Xianxian's face so close to hers made her burst into tears. This time, it was a real cry.
"What do you mean, 'not'?" Ruan Xianxian laughed. "Your mother bought a kitchen knife and crippled you for life. Instead of seeking revenge on your mother, you went after the knife seller. Is that reasonable?"
Onlookers: ...
For some reason, seeing this ruthless man make his move, their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down!
That's more like it! Starting a fight at the drop of a hat is the Ruan Shaxing they know!
Her words left Tian Tian speechless, and she could only keep repeating, "No, that's not it..."
"What is it?" Ruan Xianxian grabbed Tian Tian's hand and pulled hard, causing her to lean forward and fall to the ground with a thud, her mouth wide open in a wailing cry as she ate a mouthful of mud.
“If you hadn’t enrolled Ruan Baozhu in the Northwest, the master wouldn’t have made me suffer in her place. It’s all your fault.”
"Oh!" Ruan Xianxian said, drawing out the last syllable, "So you were left paralyzed from the waist down after your mother stabbed you, and instead of blaming her for patricide, you blame the person who sold you the knife. Why did you sell the knife to her?"
"This is really unreasonable!" Even after falling to the ground, Tian Tian was still forced to maintain a posture of looking up at her.
Suddenly, that little face broke into a smile as bright as spring flowers.
"But the truth I know is different from what you're saying?"
Tian Tian's pupils contracted sharply; she was truly terrified at that moment. No, she shouldn't say it aloud...
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