Ruan Qingran clenched his fist. At this moment, he shared the same thought as Ruan Xiao: that woman must not be spared easily.
“How do we treat her?”
It took him a while to calm down before he asked.
Shen Yu adjusted his glasses. “There’s good news. Due to a lack of love, she longs for family affection, so she not only doesn’t reject you family members, but actually wants to get closer to you. The only downside may be that she’s rather clingy.”
But he thought to himself that being clung to by such a soft and obedient little darling didn’t seem like a bad thing.
“She won’t show extreme resistance to people you introduce her to as a bridge. Also, with you around, her reaction to new things and people from the outside world is much better.”
Ruan Qingran frowned slightly. “But she still has to go to school. We can’t be with her at school.”
Shen Yu nodded. “I don’t recommend medication. Her condition is fairly optimistic right now. In that previous home, she likely suffered long-term emotional neglect, which made her situation worse. However, after being brought back, she’s actually improved quite a bit, albeit by chance.”
“She still thinks of her beast form as a defective one, and she carries a deep sense of inferiority, fearing others’ disapproving gazes. Because of this, she only relaxes into her star beast form fully when she’s at home.”
“Interestingly, despite this inferiority complex, she doesn’t actually dislike her star beast form at all. Ruan Shu is a soft-hearted child. As long as you accompany her and guide her well, she’ll improve quickly.”
“As for school, let her learn to interact with her classmates and teachers on her own. She can’t stay within your comfort zone forever.”
Ruan Qingran understood this in principle. If it were any other child, he wouldn’t worry as much. But with Ruan Shu, he couldn’t help feeling concerned.
After Shen Yu left, Ruan Qingran returned to the villa. He saw the little one sitting on a small stool, studying intently. A hint of pain flashed in his cool gaze.
“Brother.”
Ruan Shu turned her head at the sound and, seeing who it was, gave a sweet and soft smile.
“Mm.”
He walked over and picked her up. “What are you studying?”
Ruan Shu pursed her lips shyly and smiled a little before picking up the A4 paper on the table to show him.
“I’m learning to draw.”
Her soft, milky voice carried a touch of bashfulness.
Ruan Qingran took the drawing. Although it was only a sketch, he immediately recognized that it was him.
Ruan Qingran ruffled her hair, his voice slightly hoarse.
“It’s beautiful.”
Being praised, Ruan Shu’s eyes curved into a pure, bright smile, free of any shadow.
But seeing such a good child, he couldn’t understand how anyone could bear to hurt her.
Ruan Shu snuggled into her brother’s arms and murmured, “I also drew Dad and Big Brother, but those didn’t look good. I want to wait until I can draw them nicely to give them to Dad and Big Brother.”
After saying this, she looked up, her voice soft and sweet. “I drew one of you too, Brother Qingran.”
Ruan Qingran’s throat tightened, and though he had many things to say, they condensed into a single word.
“Mm.”
At the Third Army Legion military district…
As soon as Ruan Xiao entered the military district, he keenly noticed the attention several people were directing toward him.
His mind was preoccupied with his daughter’s situation, so he paid little heed to these looks. It was likely due to the videos from yesterday.
“Marshal, what’s that?”
Someone quickly spotted the red pendant-like item hanging from the Marshal’s waist. They’d never seen it before, but it was quite eye-catching. However, seeing such a small decoration on the Marshal gave off a rather… unusual feeling.
Ruan Xiao lowered his gaze to look at the item hanging from his waist. His expression softened momentarily but quickly reverted to his usual demeanor.
“It’s a Chinese knot.”
“What’s a Chinese knot? This thing looks pretty nice. Marshal, where did you get it? We’d like to buy one too.”
Ruan Xiao shot a glance at the man. “You can’t buy it. My daughter made it herself and gave it to me.”
His tone carried a hint of pride, leaving everyone momentarily speechless.
“Ah, your… your daughter made it?”
“Marshal, that… that’s the child from yesterday’s video, isn’t it?”
Ruan Xiao gave a faint “mm,” and immediately heard several gasps.
“Marshal, that really is your daughter!”
“Is she real? I mean… many people online are guessing she’s some kind of new, highly realistic android because she’s just so well-behaved.”
“Marshal, your daughter really cares for you. She even made a gift for you with her own hands.”
Many people were openly envious. Several still had yesterday’s videos and photos saved on their devices, and those who didn’t had been asking around for copies. Even though the Marshal hadn’t been present, videos and photos of him with his daughter had circulated wildly in their private groups.
“What are you all standing around me for? Don’t you have work to do?”
Ruan Xiao cast a cold glance over the crowd, and they quickly dispersed.
Yet their enthusiasm didn’t wane as they eagerly flooded various chat groups with messages.
> [Latest news] Marshal confirmed that the adorable little one from yesterday is indeed his daughter!
> The Marshal’s daughter even made him a Chinese knot by hand, which is hanging from his waist right now. It looks pretty nice.
> My roommate has been repeatedly watching yesterday’s video during break, accompanied by a series of strange laughs.
> Totally relatable. Several people around me are doing the same, and some are even talking about wanting to get married and have kids. Ha… those with such thoughts probably don’t have younger siblings.
> I want a little one like the Marshal’s daughter. I’m willing to trade my roommate’s lifelong happiness for it.
> Watching videos of the Marshal’s daughter wearing all kinds of cute outfits has sparked an unprecedented desire in me—I, too, want a kid. But after watching videos of other kids, I’ve come back to my senses.
> Same here, I’ve also come to my senses. So, dear Marshal, would you mind sharing the secret? How exactly can one raise such a well-behaved child?
> I want to get a look at the Chinese knot the Marshal is wearing. By the way, what exactly is a Chinese knot?
> “No idea, but that’s what the Marshal said, and the key thing is, it was handmade by his daughter!”
> “Jealous, so jealous…”
Thus, wherever Ruan Xiao went, whenever anyone greeted him, he noticed their gaze would inevitably drift to his waist.
Even during meetings, everyone at the table couldn’t help but glance at his waist.
Ruan Xiao: “…”
Fine. These guys without daughters… if they want to look, let them look.
After the meeting ended, he received a video call from Ruan Qingran.
As soon as the call connected, Ruan Xiao saw a small, sleepy rice ball curled up in his nephew’s arms.
His icy gaze instantly softened.
“How is she?”
Ruan Qingran stroked Ruan Shu’s hair and calmly relayed everything Shen Yu had said.
Ruan Xiao’s expression remained unchanged, but the pen in his hand snapped with a crack, and the air around him grew colder by the second.
“I understand.”