Ruan Kangri's hands and feet were so stiff that he didn't know where to put them.
Ruan Baozhu covered her swollen philtrum, her face showing a blank expression with a cleft lip.
Tian Tian lowered her head, a strange smile curving her lips.
Just as the atmosphere fell silent, Ruan Qing appeared inside the door and softly called out, "Dad's here, come in and sit down."
Because of the medicine applied to his face, the blisters burst, and half of his face turned red to purple, with traces of blood and red flesh on the wound, and the edges looked like they were ulcerated.
At first glance, it is terrifying.
Ruan Kangri and Gu Zhengchi remained silent.
Ruan Baozhu covered her mouth and suddenly screamed, taking a step back and almost falling down the steps.
After regaining her composure, realizing she had overreacted, she covered her mouth and tears streamed down her face. "Auntie, didn't you see a doctor? Are you deliberately punishing me with your health?"
Ruan Qingse shrank into the shadows, as if desperately trying to avoid something terrifying.
A smug glint flashed in Ruan Baozhu's eyes. She finally knew fear. Very good!
Gu Zhengchi took in all of this, and his anger grew even stronger. How similar it was to the way his mother had cowered in fear when the Gu family came to their door back then!
Looking at Tian Tian, who disregarded her own injuries and ran to protect her mother, her vision blurred for a moment, as if she saw herself many years ago, weak, powerless, and incompetent.
Suddenly, he spoke up, "Would you mind if I came in and sat down for a while?"
“Brother Zhengchi.” Ruan Baozhu’s face was pale and her body swayed as if she were about to collapse.
This despicable mother and daughter are trying to harm her. This is a trap. We must not let Brother Zhengchi into the house. They must have prepared evidence to frame and ruin her.
She looked at Ruan Kangri with pleading eyes, while the old man's face was gloomy.
Clearly, she was unhappy because of Gu Zhengchi's words just now.
The old man's fierce gaze swept across the mother and daughter's faces. "Did you instruct Tian Tian to lock Baozhu in the bathroom?"
These words were spoken to Ruan Qing.
Ruan Qing was stunned for a moment, and the confusion in her eyes seemed genuine, but she did not explain. Instead, she gestured to the neighbors who were openly watching from the left and right.
"Dad must be tired from standing. Come inside and talk. Baozhu's mouth needs some medicine too."
Without offering any explanation, they kept insisting he come inside. Ruan Kangri was quite certain that the mother and daughter must have prepared evidence against Baozhu inside.
The goal was to ruin the relationship between Baozhu and Xiao Gu.
He laughed angrily, "Fine, I underestimated you. You and your daughter tricked me."
This statement also tells Gu Zhengchi that what he heard and what he might see after entering the house were all part of a calculated scheme by the mother and daughter.
Baozhu was locked in the toilet, and when they came to settle scores, they had fallen into a trap set by others.
Even after calming down, Gu Zhengchi was a little suspicious, but he didn't have the habit of standing in the corridor being stared at like a monkey, so he took the first step.
Ruan Baozhu gripped her grandfather's clothes tightly, and Ruan Kangri patted her lightly to indicate that everything was alright.
Too many coincidences become a form of scheming.
Who is Gu Zhengchi? How could he not understand?
This mother and daughter are in too much of a hurry.
He confidently led his granddaughter into the house, but the telegram that he had expected to be placed in the most prominent position on the table, so that everyone could read it at a glance, was not there.
Ruan Kangri's expression changed slightly.
His persistent gaze swept around the room, but there was nothing there!
how so?
It made me think that my words were somewhat petty and narrow-minded.
But nothing is better than having evidence right in front of you. If the family makes too much of a scene, it will only leave a bad impression on Gu Zhengchi.
There were two vegetarian dishes on the table: one was stir-fried bamboo shoots, and the other was clearly leftover sweet and sour tofu from yesterday.
Ruan Kangri was furious. His daughter was injured and only ate this much. What would Gu Zhengchi think of him?
Great! Very good, I really underestimated them.
He feigned reluctance, and seeing the mother and daughter eating such a simple meal, it seemed as if the anger that had been building up outside had suddenly dissipated.
"Why are you only eating this? Your face is injured and you need nourishment. Are you out of meat coupons? Why don't you come home to get some?"
Tian Tian rushed into the room and ran to the table, only to find that the telegram she had deliberately placed on it was gone. Undeterred, she searched everywhere for it...
After her search proved fruitless, she looked at her mother with a helpless gaze, as if she resented her mother's lack of ambition.
Ruan Qing gripped her daughter's hand tightly, met her father's warning gaze, and managed a weak smile.
“You just had Baozhu deliver the food and meat coupons, how could they be all gone already? It’s too hot to eat meat, I’m sorry to have worried Dad. Sit down and let’s talk.”
Meeting her daughter's timid and yielding gaze, Ruan Kangri was satisfied. She wasn't completely stupid; she hadn't followed her daughter's foolish attempt to ruin the precious pearl.
Unbeknownst to him, Gu Zhengchi had been observing everyone's behavior as soon as they entered the room.
It's obvious now. Perhaps Tian Tian was trying to scheme against her cousin, but her mother stopped her and cleaned up the mess.
This reminded him of his mother.
During the years he was away from home with his mother, the eldest wife of the Gu family would often come knocking on their door. He even used what now seems like a very shallow tactic in an attempt to expose her to his grandfather.
The mother subtly deflected all of them.
She said that Grandpa Gu's heart was not with her and her son. Even with the evidence right in front of them, they would choose not to believe it and would even put him in danger.
Back then, he was young and impetuous, and every time he made a move, his mother would always follow behind to clean up the mess.
How similar it is to the scene here today?
This mother, like his own mother, is a woman of great wisdom.
Looking at Tian Tian, who was biting her lip tightly and whose eyes revealed hatred, no one thought she was stupid.
She just wanted to prove herself, she just wanted the elders to see that she was just a novice in her methods, what did she do wrong?
Tian Tian, who had been watching him closely, felt much relieved when she saw the smile that flashed across Gu Zhengchi's eyes.
Ruan Xianxian said that if she wanted to catch Gu Zhengchi's eye, or at least not let such a smart man dislike her from the start, then she had to become him.
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