Ruan Shu didn’t know how long she had been asleep; she woke up in pain.
Once the anesthesia wore off, her hands and legs indeed hurt a lot.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she opened her eyes in confusion, raising her throbbing hand to her face.
“Shushu.”
Just then, the door opened, and Ruan Xiao walked in with a cup of milk juice.
“Daddy.”
She called out weakly, her voice soft due to her physical exhaustion.
Ruan Xiao sat by the bed and helped her sit up before bringing the milk juice to her lips.
Ruan Shu didn’t complain about the pain and obediently began to drink.
“I’ll spray a bit more anesthesia for you.”
Seeing the sweat on his daughter’s forehead and her pale face, Ruan Xiao’s eyes filled with concern.
“No, thank you.”
She shook her head softly, rejecting him. “The anesthesia takes too long to work. Daddy, I’m fine; it only hurts a little, really.”
Ruan Xiao simply stroked her soft hair without saying anything.
After a difficult day, the effects of the medication in this world were still quite effective. Even someone as fragile as her felt less pain after a day.
Her older brother completely abandoned his work to stay at home with her, along with their grandfather.
The next day, Qingran, her older brother, also came to change her bandages.
Ruan Qingran gently applied a creamy ointment to her wounds, his movements tender.
“After a couple of days of medication, girls must avoid scars, especially such a lovely and pretty little girl like you.”
Ruan Shu couldn’t help but smile bashfully at his words.
“Brother, how long will it take for me to get better?”
She felt like a little useless creature, always getting hurt.
Her brothers, even if injured, seemed unaffected in their movements, but she was different.
She needed her big brother to carry her up and down.
Oh, her felted toy seemed to have fallen off the bed.
“Qingran, I’ll go find something in my room.”
“I’ll carry you there.”
Ruan Shu quickly found what she was looking for by the pillow on her bed, her eyes brightening as she handed it to her cousin.
“This was made from the hair that Big Brother combed out; I want to give it to him.”
Originally, she had planned to give it to her big brother at his company, but who knew so many things would happen afterward? Thankfully, everyone was alright.
Ruan Qingran’s gaze fell on the little toy, his eyes flickering slightly.
“Once you’re better, you should comb my hair too.”
He wanted a little toy made by Shushu’s own hands.
Ruan Shu felt as if she had received praise and smiled brightly, nodding emphatically. “Okay!”
She had finally given the felted toy to her big brother.
When Ruan Fengsi received the gift, he pretended to dislike the toy’s silly actions and expressions, but his hands didn’t slow down in taking it.
“If you’re so good at complaining, then you shouldn’t accept it,” Ruan He muttered, unable to bear his grandson’s smug face.
Ruan Fengsi: Heh, his grandpa is just jealous!
The Ruan family appeared to be living in peace, but outside, chaos was already erupting.
The national website had disclosed the crimes of Chairman Daniel and his wife, and the citizens whose homes had been destroyed were furious.
Some hot-headed individuals even rushed to Chairman Daniel’s house, intent on killing him.
However, the Daniel family had already been arrested. They would be tried and all their crimes made public before any sentencing.
As for Chairman Daniel’s wife, investigations had led to the capture of many spies, unearthing several rebel strongholds through their confessions.
Almer collaborated with Ruan Xiao, without notifying anyone, and led the Third Legion and the Imperial Knights to those locations, launching a devastating assault on the rebels before they even had a chance to react.
“What did you say?”
In a dimly lit secret room, a man’s voice came out, thick with anger.
“Three strongholds have been destroyed! What about the data? Was anything destroyed?”
In less than a month, he had received no news at all. The Emperor and General Ruan had actually led troops to obliterate three of their strongholds.
And at such a critical moment, were they both insane?
“They came too suddenly; you didn’t receive any news, let alone us. Many files couldn’t be destroyed in time. We can only hope they don’t find too much.”
“Useless!”
The man spat out those two words through gritted teeth, barely managing to calm himself down.
“It seems we’ve truly angered them this time. Tell everyone to lay low and hide for now. Don’t make any moves, or else if Almer catches wind of it, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“Yes.”
On planet F4199, after the artillery fire had returned to silence, the starships of the Star Beast Empire landed.
Ruan Xiao and Almer, clad in military boots, stepped out, surveying the destroyed buildings and the fallen “former kin” around them. Their expressions were calm, even devoid of any excess emotion.
Almer held a gun in his hand; even amidst the ruins, he was elegantly dressed, a gold chain adorned with jewels tied into his black hair.
Every time Ruan Xiao glanced at him, his mood soured a little more.
In just a month, Almer had changed his hair accessory four times!
He certainly knew who made those accessories, but as a father, he felt it was utterly absurd to have only one.
“This is the last stronghold we managed to track down,” Almer said as he approached a man in a white lab coat, who looked like a researcher. He bent down and pulled a tightly held document from the man’s grasp.
The man was still alive, desperately clinging to Almer’s shoe, trying to snatch the document back.
The Emperor lowered his gaze, his golden eyes reflecting a touch of detached pity. He raised the gun in his hand, aimed it at the man’s head, and smiled slightly as he pulled the trigger.
“Bang.”
Kicking the man aside, Almer opened the document with his gloved hands.
“The Sacrifice of the Dark Beast God—what a bunch of worthless creatures. I say, General, you should take a look at this. I’ll go see if there are any more stragglers.”
With a smile, Almer handed the document to Ruan Xiao, the accessories in his hair swaying conspicuously.
“I wonder how Shushu is doing. It’s been a month since I’ve been out, and I miss her.”
His small mascot, soft and fluffy, particularly reminded him of the Star Beast Cat.
Ruan Xiao looked at him with a blank expression. “Your Majesty, I believe it would be best for you to keep your distance from my daughter. And about your bracelet…”
He paused, sincerely expressing his gratitude. “Thank you very much for your affection towards Shushu. If it weren’t for the Holy Light bracelet you gave her, she might… But once we return, please take the bracelet back.”
He would create a new defensive accessory for Shushu.
Almer chuckled awkwardly. “General, you’re being too formal. I’m Shushu’s friend; let her keep wearing the bracelet for now.”
Fearing Ruan Xiao might frown and refuse again, he quickly found an excuse to slip away.
“I’ll go check over there.”
Ruan Xiao: “…………”
If it were anyone else, he would have thrown them into the sky!