The city library has a large collection of books.
Ruan Chen not only absorbed knowledge voraciously, but also read a lot of books, both interesting and uninteresting.
For example, "The Real Heiress Returns and Tears Apart the Green Tea and White Lotus," and "After Being Taken Home by Her Wealthy Parents, the Real Heiress Ran Away from Home."
In the Ruan family's magnificent hillside villa, Ruan Chen stood "uncomfortably" under the crystal chandelier.
Ruan Zhengde said gently, "Chenchen, sit down. This will be your home from now on, so don't feel uncomfortable."
Ruan Chen tugged at her clothes and said softly, "It will get the sofa dirty."
She wanted to make Ruan Zhengde feel deeply guilty.
Ruan Zhengde pulled Ruan Chen over with heartache and made her sit beside him. "Mom has prepared new clothes for you. Mom will take you to change in a little while."
Ruan Chen nodded vigorously, then looked around the villa.
She saw a photo frame on the table, a happy family of four.
The woman nestled in Ruan Zhengde's arms was not particularly beautiful; in fact, her smile had a somewhat naive quality, suggesting she had been spoiled and had a smooth life from childhood.
Ruan Chen had also seen this face on television.
Five years ago at the National Business Forum, Ruan Chen could recite the host's introduction verbatim: "Ye Huanhuan, wife of Ruan Zhengde, a well-known Chinese entrepreneur, and also Mr. Ye's only daughter..."
Ruan Chen recalled that the Ye family's net assets last year were slightly lower than the Fu family's.
"You must be Chenchen?"
Lost in thought, Ye Huanhuan had already come downstairs, lifting her skirt.
With Cao De, her stepfather who wanted to sell her, as an example, Ruan Chen was very wary of Ye Huanhuan, her stepmother, and shrank back to Ruan Zhengde.
Ruan Zhengde said, "This is Aunt Ye. From now on, she will be your mother. Chenchen, call her Mom."
Ye Huanhuan quickly said, "Just call me Auntie, no need to change how you address me."
Ruan Zhengde immediately frowned. "How can that be? What will others think of our Ruan family if word gets out?"
Ye Huanhuan playfully slapped Ruan Zhengde, "Take it slow, kids are shy around strangers. You left them, mother and daughter, all alone in Meicheng for over ten years without ever asking about them. Now Chenchen has just experienced such a major change, she needs time to recover..."
At this point, Ye Huanhuan actually started wiping away tears, "Poor thing, you know how stubborn my sister is, she hasn't even come to our door to ask for help all these years, we wouldn't really not lend a hand..."
The "sister" she was referring to was Cong Rao.
Ruan Chen tilted her head and looked at Ye Huanhuan.
If it's crocodile tears... wouldn't that be a bit too sincere?
We still can't let our guard down; let's observe first before making any decisions.
"Mom and Dad!"
A girl slightly younger than Ruan Chen, wearing a princess dress, skipped down from upstairs.
Ye Huanhuan quickly wiped away her tears, "Chenchen, this is my little sister, she's ten years old, and her name is Yu'er."
Even though Ruan Chen was mature and experienced, he still felt a trace of uncontrollable jealousy when he saw Ruan Yu'er.
Ruan Yu'er likely inherited half of her genes from her mother and was well-cared for from a young age. She stood there, fair-skinned, soft, and adorable, wearing layers of shimmering, rhinestone-studded princess dresses, looking just like a little princess straight out of a fairy tale.
Ruan Chen: Hmm... my little sister is so cute, but I wonder if her personality will be as annoying as the scheming bitches in novels.
Also, Ruan Yu'er is ten years old this year, which means... when Ye Huanhuan was pregnant, Ruan Zhengde was even living in Meicheng for a long time, deceiving both Ye Huanhuan and Cong Rao.
Ugh, what a scumbag, disgusting.
Ruan Yu'er's dark eyes swept over Ruan Chen, filled with wariness and vigilance.
Then she took Ye Huanhuan's hand and said in a childish voice, "Mommy, I don't want you to be someone else's mommy."
After saying this, Ruan Yu'er gave Ruan Chen a provocative look, then reached out and took Ruan Zhengde's hand, "Dad, you can only be my and my brother's dad."
With her squeezing in like that, there was almost no place for Ruan Chen to sit.
The moment Ruan Chen was touched by Ruan Yu'er, she stood up in a panic, her fingers twisting helplessly at the corner of her tattered clothes. She bit her lower lip and held back the tears that were forced out. "It's okay, little sister, I won't fight you for it."
She then turned to Ruan Zhengde and said, "Dad... if my sister doesn't like it, I can live outside."
Before Ruan Zhengde could speak, Ye Huanhuan slapped Ruan Yu'er and scolded her sternly, "Didn't your parents tell you before that your sister and we are family? Didn't your mother tell you that people should keep their word and do what they say? Do you want to be a child who doesn't keep their word?"
In the past two days, Ye Huanhuan has gone to great lengths to get her two children to accept Ruan Chen's upcoming return, buying them things and coaxing them until the two children finally agreed.
Ruan Yu'er lowered her head and tears streamed down her face.
Ye Huanhuan slapped Yu'er and then gave her a sweet treat, "Alright, Mom knows Yu'er is a good girl. Wipe your tears, change into your favorite white dress, and come downstairs to eat ice cream, okay?"
Ruan Yu'er dragged her fluffy skirt upstairs, wiping away tears as she ran.
Ye Huanhuan pulled Ruan Chen aside and said apologetically, "Chenchen, we've spoiled Yu'er, and she's sometimes immature. As her older sister, you should discipline her directly instead of giving in to her."
Ye Huanhuan's hands were soft, and a faint fragrance emanated from her body, surrounding Ruan Chen. Her voice was also very gentle.
Ruan Chen was somewhat stunned.
This stepmother... seems actually alright.
No, no, we can't be fooled by appearances. It's only the first day. Who knows if she'll reveal her true colors later!
Soon, Ruan Yu'er, having changed her clothes, came downstairs with a boy.
Ruan Yu'er changed into a close-fitting, comfortable white cotton dress and held her brother Ruan Luo's hand.
Ruan Luo is fifteen years old this year, but her body has already fully grown, with a height of nearly 1.8 meters, broad shoulders, long legs, and sharp, deep-set eyebrows and eyes.
Ruan Chen couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, giving Ruan Luo's looks a perfect score.
Hopefully this handsome guy is a good person, otherwise he's going to suffer a lot.
Ye Huanhuan personally took Ruan Chen's hand and arranged for her to sit between her two children, instructing Ruan Luo, "Luo'er, this is little sister Chen. You must take good care of her in the future."
Ruan Luo gave a cool "hmm".
Although he disliked Ruan Chen, this uninvited guest, he wasn't as foolish as his sister, who wore her emotions on her sleeve.
There's plenty of time in the future; he'll get rid of this annoying, pitiful brat from his house sooner or later!
As he thought about it, he picked up a piece of beef brisket covered in black pepper sauce and gave it to Ruan Chen, secretly preparing a "surprise" for her inside.
Ruan Chen was enjoying his small bites when suddenly a piece of meat appeared in front of him.
"Thank you, brother, but I'm full. You should give it to my sister." She then picked up a piece of food and placed it on Ruan Yu'er's plate.
Ye Huanhuan and Ruan Zhengde looked at their three children, who were like brothers and sisters, with satisfaction.
Before Ruan Luo could stop her, Ruan Yu'er puffed out her cheeks, took a bite of the beef brisket, paused for two seconds, and then burst into tears, her little face turning bright red from the spiciness.
Ruan Chen jumped up in a panic, apologizing nervously. Her voice trembling with tears, she bowed repeatedly to Ye Huanhuan, "Auntie, I didn't know my sister couldn't eat this. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Ruan Zhengde picked up his youngest daughter and gave her a creamy ice cream to relieve the spiciness, while Ye Huanhuan quickly walked over and picked up the beef brisket that Ruan Yu'er had spat out.
It was covered with inedible dried red chili threads.
This is for garnishing fried eggs; Ruan Luo knows very well that it's not edible.
Ye Huanhuan slapped her son on the head. "Ruan Luo, come upstairs with me!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com