Chapter 1068 - 1070: Diao Yao Scolds Ruolan_1
Little Dengdeng was very capable; he walked back to the yard by himself. Perhaps because he had tired himself out, he swiftly fell asleep afterward and didn’t make much fuss.
Bai Ruozhu touched her sleeping son’s little nose, feeling increasingly that her son’s nose looked like his father’s. This made Bai Ruozhu slightly annoyed, but this small irritation was soon replaced by longing.
Jiang Yichun had only sent a letter back at the beginning because the nature of the mission he undertook was special. It required not to casually send messages and expose his whereabouts along the way, so Bai Ruozhu had no idea where he was now. She had even thought about asking the Commerce Association for help to check on him, but she quickly dismissed the idea. The Emperor had assigned a mission to be carried out in secret; would it not be akin to pulling the dragon’s whiskers for her to investigate?
Such thoughts left her without any desire to sleep, so she had no choice but to get up from the bed.
After instructing Nanny Zhang to watch the child, she walked to where Diao Yao and Chu Hai lived. She knew Diao Yao and Chu Hai didn’t have the habit of taking a nap, so she went to take Chu Hai’s pulse to check his condition.
Upon arriving at their yard, before seeing the two of them, she heard a woman’s delighted laughter, but upon listening carefully, Bai Ruozhu realized that the voice wasn’t Diao Yao’s.
She quickened her pace and then saw that the person laughing so happily was Bai Ruolan.
Bai Ruolan was chasing butterflies, while Chu Hai sat by the stone table, resembling an iceberg, standing there silently, without sorrow or joy.
Bai Ruozhu wanted to greet them, but then she saw Ruolan suddenly catch a butterfly and cheerfully run towards Chu Hai. Bai Ruozhu paused involuntarily, standing from afar and silently watching their interaction as if afraid of disturbing Ruolan’s happiness.
Because Ruolan’s eyes showed too much delight, a delight that Bai Ruozhu hadn’t seen for a long time. Something in her heart seemed to have been plucked. Did Ruolan like Chu Hai?
That gaze seemed like that of a woman facing the man of her heart. Suddenly, Bai Ruozhu just wanted to watch and no longer wished to disturb them.
Ruolan brought the butterfly to Chu Hai and said, "For you!"
Chu Hai remained impassive as if he were a block of ice. He slowly stretched out his hand, opening up his palm. Ruolan started smiling and placed the butterfly in Chu Hai’s palm.
Probably because Ruolan hadn’t been gentle enough, she injured the butterfly while catching it, and now it lay motionless in Chu Hai’s hand.
"Why isn’t it moving?" Ruolan tilted her head, her confusion resembling that of a naive child.
"It’s dead," Chu Hai said in a bland tone, still without sorrow or joy.
Ruolan looked at the butterfly and suddenly pouted, crying out loud.
"Why did the butterfly die? Did I kill it?" She cried very sadly, like a child, her tears and snot streaming down. She wiped her face haphazardly, soon dirtying her small face, losing any semblance of a lady’s child, which made her already ordinary face appear somewhat ugly.
Chu Hai’s icy facade finally cracked. It was as if a mask on his face had split open, revealing a look of panic. With his hand supporting the butterfly remaining stiff, he didn’t know what to do.
"It’s not you; butterflies die eventually." Chu Hai managed to squeeze out these words after a long while, clearly, he had no idea how to comfort a child, and Ruolan right then seemed just like a child.
"But I like it, and now that it’s dead, who will I like? Can I like you?" Ruolan asked between her sobs, rubbing her eyes.
Chu Hai’s face turned cold again, and then he stated definitively, "You can’t!"
Ruolan pursed her lips, her eyes welling up with tears once again.
"What you like are beautiful things, and I am not, I only look good on the outside while my inner strength has long been rotten," Chu Hai’s tone became even colder.
Ruolan evidently did not understand; she suddenly threw her arms around Chu Hai’s neck and yelled, "I don’t care, I just think you are handsome, and that’s why I like you!"
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her mouth; she thought if Ruolan were a normal woman, she would be too embarrassed to behave like this. But since Ruolan was, after all, her cousin, it was not appropriate to let her continue this foolish behavior.
Just as Bai Ruozhu was about to take Bai Ruolan away, a sharp shout suddenly came from the other side. Diao Yao rushed over, her feet swift as the wind, grabbed Bai Ruolan, pulled her away from Chu Hai’s body, and then unceremoniously tossed her aside.
Chu Hai’s face showed a slight change. He stretched out his hand to intervene but was too late; he quickly said to Diao Yao, "What are you doing? She simply has the heart of a child."
Diao Yao’s eyes were red with anger, "But is she really a child? She’s older than me; how could she be hugging and embracing you like that?"
Chu Hai was momentarily stunned and did not know what to say.
Diao Yao looked furiously at the fallen Ruolan and shouted loudly, "I’m warning you, stay away from my senior brother in the future, or don’t blame me for not being nice!"
Ruolan sat on the ground, rubbing her eyes and crying loudly, angrily kicking her legs, looking just like a six or seven-year-old child.
"Bad woman hit me! I just like him, it’s none of your business!" she cried and yelled.
Diao Yao picked her up in one swoop, "You fool, what do you know about liking someone? Look at the ugly way you cry; would Han have liked you? Just stop disgusting him!"
"Enough, Diao Yao!" Chu Hai called out angrily.
Bai Ruozhu was also angry; she quickly walked over, snatched Ruolan from Diao Yao’s hands, and said to Diao Yao, "You were originally a kind girl, but how have you become so mean-spirited with your words?"
Diao Yao, having been scolded by both Chu Hai and Bai Ruozhu, began to cry out of grievance, saying through tears, "Sister Ruozhu, why don’t you ask her what she has done? She’s been handsy with Brother Hai; even if she is sick, she can’t just behave recklessly like that, can she?"
Bai Ruozhu sighed; she looked around and found that Mei Mei was not nearby, so she called other maids to send Ruolan back. Ruolan, seeing her appear, seemed to realize that she had done something wrong and did not make a fuss, allowing the maid to take her away obediently.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at Chu Hai, then took Diao Yao aside to speak privately.
"If Ruolan was clinging to Achun, I would also be displeased, so I can understand your anger," Bai Ruozhu got straight to the point. She had been very upset, but thinking about it from another perspective, she felt that she should properly advise Diao Yao.
Diao Yao’s face turned red, "I, I didn’t mean anything else, I just can’t stand her behavior, and even if she is sick and lacking mental capacity, she is still a girl, how can she act so inappropriately?"
"Just as I said, if she were clinging to Achun, I would be unhappy too, but I wouldn’t handle it like you did," Bai Ruozhu said, sighing deeply, and continued, "I would try to prevent such incidents from happening, not scold her or insult her. Think about it, was your impulse just now helpful? Did it perhaps make Chu Hai unhappy?"
Diao Yao bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.
"If you can’t handle it yourself, you can always talk to me. You were originally a kind girl; you shouldn’t let yourself become sharp because of a crush, nor should you become a dreadful sight out of jealousy," Bai Ruozhu sternly admonished.