Karina waited until Ruan Shu caught up to her before continuing. “You’ll be going to Class 5. Including you, there are thirteen students in that class, and they’re all quite gentle and calm.”
Knock, knock…
As Karina introduced Ruan Shu to her new class, the class teacher arrived.
“Let me introduce you. This will be your future homeroom teacher, Ms. Lu Lu.”
In walked a young woman with delicate features and a calm, gentle demeanor.
“Hello, Ruan Shu,” Ms. Lu greeted her warmly, though no one could tell just how excited she was inside.
Yesterday, when the principal told a few homeroom teachers that a new student would be joining one of their classes, no one paid much attention at first—and in fact, they were even a bit resistant. Who wanted another mischievous child disrupting the class? That could drive anyone crazy!
But once the principal revealed Ruan Shu’s background, suddenly every teacher wanted her in their class.
First of all, her father was Marshal Ruan—a living legend and idol for many! Even among the herbivore starbeasts, there was deep admiration for powerful figures. Who wouldn’t want to know Marshal Ruan? Plus, having a child with such a prestigious background in the class would certainly bring a lot of pride and confidence.
The second reason was that most of them, like everyone else, used StarNet to unwind. When Ruan Shu recently trended online, many teachers had seen it.
The video of her trying on clothes had been watched countless times.
As kindergarten teachers who had been worn down by all sorts of mischievous little ones, some even to the point of breaking under the strain, they couldn’t help but feel that a sweet, angelic child like Ruan Shu might be just what they needed to heal their tired hearts.
So, the homeroom teachers had actually fought over her spot, and in the end, Ms. Lu managed to, well, “win” her way to the top.
“Hello, Ms. Lu Lu,” Ruan Shu greeted her politely, standing there like an adorable, soft little marshmallow.
Her voice was so gentle and sweet, a stark contrast to the other loud, shouty children who seemed to communicate only by yelling!
Indeed, looking at this soft, chubby little dumpling, Ms. Lu felt rejuvenated.
Trying to contain her excitement, Ms. Lu bid the principal farewell and then led Marshal Ruan and Ruan Shu to Class 5.
Ruan Shu clung tightly to her father’s finger. Her small, chubby face looked serious, lips pressed together as she stayed silent. At a glance, she appeared quiet and obedient, but a closer look revealed unease in her clear eyes.
As they got closer to the classroom, she held her father’s hand even tighter.
By the time they reached the classroom door, Ruan Shu was too scared to take another step forward. In a moment of panic, she gripped her father’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go. She lowered her head, her tightly pressed lips growing pale, and her eyes beginning to well up.
She had been so optimistic when they arrived, thinking she’d have a happy school day with her dad there to pick her up afterwards.
But now that she was actually at school, right at the door of her classroom, fear and anxiety surged up from deep within her.
At that moment, memories from her past life resurfaced in Ruan Shu’s mind.
Starting from kindergarten, whether it was parent-teacher meetings or any other activity requiring parents’ participation, she was always the lonely one, standing by herself.
Gradually, adults and teachers began to look at her with pity, and her classmates would often ask, “Ruan Shu, do you not have parents?”
Ruan Shu didn’t know how to answer. She had parents, but it also felt like she didn’t.
They’d start teasing, using innocent voices to ask if her parents didn’t want her anymore.
Though they were merely stating the truth—her parents really had abandoned her—the words left her with an indescribable sense of suffocation. As a result, she grew quieter and more withdrawn, eventually dreading going to school.
But no one cared about her feelings. The compulsory nine-year education meant that even if her parents didn’t want her to attend school, she still had to finish those nine years.
Ruan Shu was grateful for that policy because, in the end, her world was reduced to nothing but her studies and books.
At some point, she let her bangs grow long enough to cover her eyes, keeping her head down and staying quietly in the corners no matter where she went. She became the most invisible, peculiar student in the eyes of her classmates and teachers alike.
Despite sitting in a classroom filled with people, it felt as though she was in her own world—a world completely isolated from everyone else.
She had nearly forgotten that deep, solitary feeling from her past life. When had those symptoms started to ease?
It seemed to have been when the Ruan Shu of that world died, and she opened her eyes in this new one.
Her soul and memories were still hers, yet she didn’t feel quite so alone.
Even though “Mom” still didn’t like her, she now had her little cat.
Ever since her birth in this world, it felt as though a soft, tiny ragdoll cat had nestled into her heart, keeping her company.
“Mom” was absent most of the time, and whenever Ruan Shu was by herself, she would let her tail and ears emerge, hugging her tail and patting her ears. Even alone, she didn’t feel lonely anymore.
Later on, her heart wasn’t just filled with the cat; she also had a father who cared for her, a brother who complained she was a nuisance yet carried her and bought her snacks, her kind older brother Qingran, Grandpa Butler, and Xiaomi…
She cherished these people so deeply.
But she had forgotten: ever since arriving in this world, she was either alone or surrounded by the family she depended on—her father and brothers—when interacting with others.
There was only one exception, in that hospital room, where she faced the young man with radiant golden eyes.
But that time, she only had to deal with one person. Now, she was facing so many people—and starting school.
The moment she saw the classroom, memories she had buried deep inside suddenly surged back, and she felt that profound, unbearable loneliness from her past life all over again.
“Shushu… Shushu…”
Her father’s voice sounded in her ear, and Ruan Shu slowly looked up, her vision blurred, to see her father kneeling in front of her, worry filling his eyes.
Uncontrollable tears slipped down her cheeks, landing on Ruan Xiao’s arm, making him flinch as if burned.
“Daddy, I’m sorry. Am I really so foolish? I’m such a coward, I can’t do anything right.”
The small, soft, snow-white girl stood in front of her father, her nose and eyes red, with sparkling tears trailing down her trembling eyelashes.
She looked at him with red eyes, forcing a smile as she softly apologized in a trembling voice, calling herself foolish, saying she couldn’t do anything right.
She hadn’t wanted to make her father worry; she’d resolved to be happy and cheerful. But she really was so foolish.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. It’s all my fault. Please don’t be angry—please don’t abandon Shushu.”
She tried so hard to wipe away her tears and force a smile, but they just wouldn’t stop coming.
Her small body was suddenly enveloped in a cool, faintly scented embrace.
Ruan Xiao held her tightly, yet with exceptional gentleness.
“I’m not angry. Shushu is very good.”
He spoke these words with a seriousness and gentleness he had never shown before. If anyone who knew him well had been there, they would have marveled at the sight of the ice melting.
TL: What is this thing coming out of my eyes?
