Chapter 29 Published
Aunt Zhao replied in a low voice: "I have already told Xiao Gu, he said he will be back soon, in twenty minutes."
Okay, Ji Ruan sighed, then wait twenty minutes before going to sleep.
He took two steps into the living room, and Fang Lan just looked up, and their eyes met. She had delicate makeup on, and her eyeliner was raised high when she smiled. She immediately stood up to greet him.
"Xiao Ruan, long time no see!" Fang Lan held Ji Ruan's hand, as if she were a warm-hearted elder. "Oh, look, you're still so pretty... Come and sit down!"
Before Ji Ruan could say a word, Fang Lan pulled him over and pressed his shoulders down to sit on the sofa.
She took Ji Ruan's hand and looked at his face carefully, and patted the back of his hand: "You seem to be a little thinner. Is it because the food doesn't taste good? Or are you not used to living here?"
Ji Ruan felt a little tingling under her gaze. He was not used to her overly artificial enthusiasm, so he pulled his hand away: "Very well, I just had a cold recently so I may not have eaten much."
The hand that was tightly clenched suddenly loosened. Fang Lan paused for a moment, then rubbed her hands as if nothing had happened and said with concern: "You still have to take care of your health. Although the cold is not serious, it is still very tiring when you are sick!"
"Yes, you are right." Aunt Zhao brought Ji Ruan a cup of warm water. Ji Ruan took a sip, but his throat was still itchy, so he tilted his head and coughed twice.
Fang Lan pushed the paper bag on the coffee table in front of Ji Ruan and said to herself, "Look, Xiao Ruan, this is the snack that Auntie made herself. It's delicious. Xiu Li and Qi Ming like it very much!"
"This bird's nest is really good," Fang Lan took it out with a smile, "Top-quality bird's nest, I specially asked my friend to keep it for me, you can't buy such good quality on the market! And this tea -"
"Mom," Fang Qiming interrupted impatiently, "Why are you so attentive to him? He is the younger generation and you are the elder!"
"Qiming, stop talking nonsense!" Fang Lan winked and looked at Ji Ruan: "Xiao Ruan, don't worry about it, he is just like that."
"I..." Fang Qiming pulled his hair angrily, but under Fang Lan's stern gaze he finally said nothing, crossed his legs and started playing with his phone.
Fang Lan's voice was high-pitched and Fang Qiming's was loud. Ji Ruan was already feeling unwell and their quarrel made his headache worse. His temples were throbbing.
He closed his eyes and whispered, "Aunt Fang, why don't you just tell me what you want to say?"
"Hey, what can I do?" Fang Lan waved her hand lightly, her thin eyebrows gathered in a splayed shape, looking extremely sincere: "I just wanted to come and apologize to you."
"Apologize?" Ji Ruan took a sip of water.
"Yes," Fang Lan said with a guilty look on her face, "Xiu Li didn't know how to do things before and hurt you. He also didn't speak very nicely. I think about it and feel really bad about it. So I brought Qiming here to apologize to you."
Half a year has passed, and you're thinking of apologizing now?
Besides, at that time Gu Xiuyi was just using that incident as an excuse to send Gu Xuli abroad so that he could out of sight and out of mind. Fang Lan should be clear about this. It would be fine if she was not angry to death, but why apologize?
How about coaxing the children?
Ji Ruan pressed the solar plexus, his face a little pale: "Aunt Fang, I feel a little uncomfortable. If you don't want to talk, I'll go upstairs first."
After saying that, he stood up without waiting for her response.
"Hey, Xiao Ruan!" Fang Lan saw that he was really going to leave, and immediately grabbed his wrist. Ji Ruan couldn't bear the force and fell back on the sofa, his mind was a little confused for a moment.
Fang Lan raised a finger: "Well... there is indeed a little thing, I want to ask you for help..."
Ji Ruan raised his hand to straighten the tilted external machine, took a breath and looked at Fang Lan with a frown without saying a word.
Fang Lan coughed and pressed the fur collar of her coat. Her jeweled ring gleamed in the bright light of the living room. "Isn't the New Year coming soon..."
She looked pleading: "I wonder if you can help tell Xiuyi to let Xiaoli go home for the New Year?"
Ji Ruan raised his eyebrows but didn't answer.
Fang Lan added: "He has calmed down a lot in the past few months abroad. He will definitely not cause trouble when he comes back. We are all family. Can you help Auntie talk to Xiuyi?"
Ji Ruan pursed his lips and remained silent.
Fang Qiming snorted: "I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"
Fang Lan quickly tugged at his sleeve. He looked at her, pulled his hand away unhappily, and shut his mouth.
"Xiao Ruan..." Fang Lan touched her nose and said, looking like she was about to cry: "Can you help your aunt? Xiao Li is my son after all. It's not too much for me as a mother to want to see my son during the New Year, right?"
Ji Ruan took the paper box and placed it in front of him, and said calmly: "Don't you know how to video chat?"
"Hey, how can you talk like that!" Fang Qiming became excited again.
Ji Ruan got a headache when he heard his voice, and looked at him: "Can you speak a little more quietly?"
Fang Qiming's eyes widened.
"Wow," Fang Lan began to cry while holding a tissue, "Why is my life so miserable? The son I gave birth to with so much difficulty can't even come back to see me during the Chinese New Year..."
Fang Qiming immediately sat down next to Fang Lan and put his arm around her shoulders: "Mom, don't cry."
Ji Ruan couldn't help rolling his eyes and quietly moved away. He looked at the time and it had been more than twenty minutes.
But Gu Xiuyi hasn’t come back yet!
The continuous crying made Ji Ruan feel even more uncomfortable. He pressed his solar plexus hard. Why did this family's affairs have to bother him?
"Xiao Ruan... Xiuyi doesn't like me, and I can't persuade him. Can't you be kind enough to help your aunt..." Fang Lan cried and wanted to pull Ji Ruan, as if Ji Ruan had done her a great injustice, but she still endured it.
Extremely tired, Ji Ruan didn't have the energy to pretend with him, leaning against the sofa, he said calmly: "Then you have the wrong person, I can't say anything in front of Gu Xiuyi."
After saying this, he no longer wanted to care about these things. He held up his forehead and rested, letting Fang Lan cry.
Fang Qiming tried to persuade Fang Lan for a while, but seeing that he could not persuade her, he became even angrier and pointed at Ji Ruan's nose:
"Ji Ruan! Don't be so shameless. My mother has begged you so much. You'd better be smart and call Gu Xiuyi immediately to ask him to bring Xiu Li back to me! What's the point of a disabled person being so arrogant?!"
Ji Ruan pulled the corner of his mouth, the movement was very subtle, but it sounded more like a mockery, directly poking Fang Qiming's sensitive heart. He slammed the phone on the coffee table with a bang: "Are you fucking deaf!"
Ji Ruan's eyelids moved, and slowly opened. He looked lazy, and his pupils reflected the bright lights of the living room, which was particularly eye-catching.
He pointed to his ears: "I am deaf, of course I can't hear what you say."
Fang Qiming's words were really unpleasant. He had called Ji Ruan a disabled person several times, but Ji Ruan still held a grudge.
Fang Qiming was completely enraged. He stood up and grabbed Ji Ruan by the collar. He raised his other fist high, causing the glass on the edge of the table to roll off the table and break into pieces.
The moment happened so fast that Ji Ruan only had time to hear the sound of the glass shattering. A gust of wind flashed past his face, and he could only instinctively close his eyes and turn his head to avoid it.
One second, two seconds...
The expected fist did not come down, instead Fang Qiming let out a groan of pain.
Fang Qiming's wrist was in great pain and he turned around in a twisted posture, only to see Song Ling, the lackey who had always followed Gu Xiuyi.
When their eyes met, Song Ling curled his lips politely: "Master Fang, I'm sorry."
Fang Qiming's pupils trembled as he saw the curve of Song Ling's mouth disappear instantly. The next second, his eyes went dark and he was thrown to the ground. His back hit the carpetless ground, causing his internal organs to ache.
"Qiming——!" Fang Lan screamed.
How could a young master who indulges in sensual pleasures and cannot live without alcohol be a match for the judo champion Song Ling?
Ji Ruan was stunned and sat stiffly on the spot, his heart beating rapidly.
Suddenly someone touched his face, and then he felt warm. Gu Xiuyi hugged him. Ji Ruan was stunned for a second, then almost instinctively shrank into Gu Xiuyi's arms and was held tightly by that man.
Gu Xiuyi embraced Ji Ruan and led him away from the ground covered with glass shards. He touched Ji Ruan's wrist and began to check up and down to see if he was injured.
Ji Ruan was still in shock, and after taking a quick breath, he pulled up Gu Xiuyi who was squatting in front of him: "It's okay..."
Wearing long sleeves and long pants in winter makes it less likely to get scratched.
Gu Xiuyi didn't listen to him and continued to carefully check his exposed skin. After confirming that everything was fine, he gently hugged him, took off his external machine and put it into his shirt pocket.
He leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Are you scared?"
Ji Ruan was terrified.
They were all people who had received nine years of compulsory education, and he really didn't expect Fang Qiming to dare to take action in Gu Xiuyi's house.
"Hmm..." Ji Ruan responded softly, his voice trembling a little.
Gu Xiuyi placed his palm on the side of Ji Ruan's neck and felt his pulse beating very fast, but his face was very pale. Ji Ruan has always been easily frightened. Sometimes Gu Xiuyi can scare him with the slightest noise, not to mention this kind of scene.
Thinking of these, Gu Xiuyi couldn't suppress his anger.
He took a deep breath and covered Ji Ruan's ears: "Be good, don't be afraid, we won't listen."
Fang Qiming lay on the ground for a long time without getting up. Fang Lan was terrified and rushed to Fang Qiming, crying: "Xiuyi, what are you doing?! Qiming is your brother in name after all, how can you just do that?!"
Gu Xiuyi carefully protected Ji Ruan without raising his head: "He wanted to punch Ji Ruan, didn't you see it?"
"I... cough cough!" Fang Lan was choked by her tears and covered her mouth.
Song Ling folded his hands in front of him, no longer sloppy, and maintained the most respectful appearance of a special assistant, reminding: "Excuse me, madam, the other young master was the one who attacked me."
“What’s the difference!”
Fang Lan was filled with grief and indignation: "You know Qiming has this temper! Besides... besides, didn't he hit him?!"
Gu Xiuyi seemed to have heard a joke: "What you said is really interesting. If he really met Ji Ruan, would he still be able to lie on the ground?"
He held Ji Ruan in his arms, patting his back gently as if he was coaxing a child. He smiled at Fang Lan, but the smile did not reach his eyes, which inexplicably made people feel cold all over:
"I have the same temper, don't you know?"
"You...you..." Fang Lan's pupils shrank for a moment, and then she covered her face and cried bitterly.
"Gu Xiuyi...you, don't go too far!"
Fang Qiming sat up, holding his stomach. He had just been kicked several times by Song Ling, and it was difficult for him to speak.
"Mom came to beg Ji Ruan in a humble manner, just to see Xiaoli during the New Year. This thing you married..." He raised his hand and pointed at Ji Ruan, his fingertips trembling with pain.
"This guy not only refused to help but also spoke rudely and showed no respect for his elders. He doesn't behave like a junior at all. If I don't teach him a lesson - ah!"
"Qiming! My son..."
Fang Qiming bent over in pain, and Song Ling kicked him again.
Gu Xiuyi carefully protected Ji Ruan, his eyes solemn: "Who are you calling?"
Fang Lan hugged Fang Qiming and cried heartbreakingly: "I just wanted to see Xiaoli, what's wrong with me?! He is my own son!"
Gu Xiuyi sneered: "I know, so I had already planned to send you abroad to accompany him. Why are you so anxious to come here first?"
"W-what?" Fang Lan's tears froze on her face: "Going abroad? You want to take me out too?!... No, I can't leave..." She murmured: "My home is here, why should I leave! Xiaoli's home is also here, he should come back too!"
Ji Ruan was too sleepy, but couldn't sleep because of this farce. His scalp went numb when he heard any noise outside, and he rubbed Gu Xiuyi's shoulder uncomfortably.
Gu Xiuyi immediately lowered his head and patted Ji Ruan's back to comfort him.
He was fed up with Fang Lan's noise, and without even looking up, he ordered, "Song Ling, send the guest away."
"OK."
"——No! Xiuyi, you can't do this to me..." Fang Lan pushed Song Ling's arm away, patted her chest and cried, "Tell me honestly, have I treated you badly over the years? Is it easy for me to be a stepmother? But you don't even let me see my son..."
Her voice was so high-pitched that Ji Ruan could still hear it almost clearly even after taking off the external headset. The bursts of loud voice stimulated Ji Ruan's fragile nerves and he seemed to have some tinnitus.
As for stepmother Gu Xiuyi, Ji Ruan probably figured out her tricks. She was not smart, but difficult to deal with. Especially difficult to deal with. Song Ling tried to deal with her several times but was driven away.
Ji Ruan sighed in his heart and decided to help Gu Xiuyi resolve the issue quickly.
He chose the right angle in Gu Xiuyi's arms and closed his eyes.
"Oh my god, Xiao Ruan!"
Aunt Zhao screamed.
Gu Xiuyi felt a weight on his arms and looked down at Ji Ruan in surprise. Ji Ruan slid weakly in his arms, his eyes closed, sweat on his forehead and his face was pale.
"Ji Ruan?..."
Ji Ruan had no strength at all and was only able to avoid sliding to the ground thanks to Gu Xiuyi's support. His body was as soft as a cloud in the sky without a support, or like water that could not be grasped.
Gu Xiuyi's heart was also pulled and fell heavily.
The noise that echoed throughout the villa suddenly stopped.
Fang Lan sat on the ground with tears still flowing but she dared not utter a word. The sudden change in the atmosphere and the violent aura that suddenly emanated from Gu Xiuyi made Fang Qiming burp.
Gu Xiuyi picked up Ji Ruan horizontally, his eyes swept across their faces, and then he strode upstairs.
Even though his gaze didn't stay on them for even a second, they all shuddered at the same time.
"Song Ling, throw it out."
The voice was deep, yet it seemed to linger and was eerily clear.
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