Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Slapping the Fake Daughter 41
Song Ruyi was both scared and anxious.
Zhao Han was also scared, but he could keep his composure better than Song Ruyi.
He quickly reassured Song Ruyi: "Don’t be scared. Our Ningning just didn’t have anyone to teach her in the past. From now on, we should spend more time with her, teach her these things, set some boundaries for her, and she won’t cause trouble."
After some thought, Zhao Han added: "I’ve also read quite a few books on psychology recently and I understand that children who grow up in the dark without a bit of love from a young age, like Ningning, are prone to extremism and can easily take the wrong path. But now we’ve brought her back home, we are her biological parents, and we get along well with our own child, so in the future, we should give her more love and let her feel the warmth of a family. She will gradually become cheerful and sunny."
Song Ruyi eagerly nodded: "Actually, these things are not the child’s fault. We, as parents, should love and guide her from now on, letting her change little by little in an environment of love."
Zhao Han filled Song Ruyi’s plate with some more food: "There’s also something we need to be careful about. Mingzhu won’t be able to come home in a short while. Her return would upset Ningning and negate all our efforts during this time."
Song Ruyi felt somewhat heartbroken.
But she still nodded firmly: "Yes, I understand."
Although not letting Zhao Mingzhu come back was tough for Song Ruyi.
But priorities must be set straight.
What’s most important right now is Anning’s situation.
For a person with high intelligence like Anning, if something goes wrong and she commits a crime, who knows how big a trouble she might cause? If something really big happens, the harm caused to society would be enormous.
By comparison, Zhao Mingzhu had to wait.
After eating a few bites, Song Ruyi remembered something else: "Actually, Ningning is quite loyal. Didn’t that Xiao Yuan just help her a few days ago? Look, as soon as Xiao Yuan had some trouble yesterday, she dared to confront Xiao Yuan’s father directly. Keep in mind, that’s the city’s wealthiest man! This child..."
Saying this, Song Ruyi laughed first.
"She sure is bold."
Zhao Han laughed along: "That’s from me."
"Come off it." Song Ruyi took a sip of water: "That’s from me."
"From you, from you," Zhao Han quickly pacified his wife.
After the couple had finished their meal, laughing and talking, Song Ruyi suddenly realized something: "Oh no, I... When I entered the school, I ran into Mingzhu. I had promised to see a teacher after Ningning’s parent-teacher meeting, but I just forgot because of this incident."
Zhao Han grabbed his coat and headed out: "Then you should hurry to the school."
Song Ruyi also hurried to follow: "How will you get back?"
Zhao Han went to pay the bill: "I’ll have the driver pick me up. You should hurry, don’t keep the child waiting, it’s not good."
Song Ruyi rushed back to the school in her car.
But by the time she arrived, the homeroom teacher wasn’t there, so Song Ruyi had to seek out other subject teachers to inquire about the content of the parent-teacher meeting.
When she learned that Zhao Mingzhu hadn’t done well on the tests, and her grades had dropped significantly, it didn’t sit well with her.
She also knew that Zhao Mingzhu’s poor performance was definitely because of leaving home.
But she couldn’t possibly let Zhao Mingzhu return.
After all, she couldn’t allow Zhao Mingzhu to provoke Anning again.
Having no alternative, Song Ruyi had to call Zhao Mingzhu out of her class, and spoke to her in a soft and gentle voice: "It’s okay that you didn’t do well on this test. We’ll try harder next time. Don’t stress yourself over it, don’t overthink, and remember to call me and your dad if anything happens."
"Mhm."
Zhao Mingzhu nodded lightly.
But when she looked up again, her face was covered with tears: "Mom, do you not want me anymore?"
""
Song Ruyi felt unsettled as she saw Zhao Mingzhu crying so much: "No, it’s not that we don’t want you, it’s just that our home... Once Ningning gets a bit better, we will definitely bring you back home."
Song Ruyi patted Zhao Mingzhu’s shoulder: "You need to know, dad and mom still love you."
"When will you bring me back home?"
At this moment, Zhao Mingzhu seemed extremely fragile, like a porcelain doll that could shatter with a single touch.
"We..."
Song Ruyi really didn’t dare promise when they could take her back: "We will definitely bring you back as soon as possible, please don’t overthink it."
"But."
Zhao Mingzhu cried even harder: "But I did do something wrong."
Covering her face with her hands, tears fell drop by drop: "I... I did and said things I shouldn’t have. I don’t have any malice, I just, just because my sister came back, I had to leave the place I’ve lived for so many years, my heart couldn’t take it, I was jealous of my sister, and I was scared that dad and mom wouldn’t want me anymore, so I said those hurtful things about my sister, I really didn’t mean any harm."
Zhao Mingzhu stepped back two steps, then all of a sudden, thudded onto her knees in front of Song Ruyi.
"Mom, I know I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong. I’ve been regretting it during this time, I’ve always been afraid to see you, and afraid to see dad... I... I’m just afraid that you will say you don’t want me, I beg you, please don’t reject me, don’t abandon me."
Zhao Mingzhu appeared very agitated, crying uncontrollably, her crying and kneeling attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Song Ruyi was also made quite distressed by Zhao Mingzhu’s crying.
She hurried over to help Zhao Mingzhu up: "Get up first, listen to what mom has to say."
But Zhao Mingzhu wouldn’t stand: "I was wrong, mom, I was wrong, you can hit me, scold me, I really know I was wrong, I will change."
Song Ruyi was beside herself with anxiety.
She tried to help Zhao Mingzhu to get up, but being not so strong herself and with Zhao Mingzhu resolute in her kneeling, she really couldn’t lift her up.
Song Ruyi was so anxious she broke out in sweat; she had never experienced a situation like this and desperately wanted someone to assist.
But it just so happened that at this time someone came out to speak up for Zhao Mingzhu.
"Aunt Song."
A tall and skinny but quite handsome boy squeezed through the crowd.
Song Ruyi saw the boy and managed a weak smile: "He Yang, when did you come back?"
He Yang walked up to Zhao Mingzhu, and seeing her cry like that, a flicker of distress crossed his eyes: "Aunt Song, what did Mingzhu do wrong? Even if she did something wrong, you could just talk to her at home, why push her to kneel here in school?"
Song Ruyi couldn’t clarify the situation.
All she could do was try to raise Zhao Mingzhu to her feet.
But He Yang felt that Zhao Mingzhu was grievously wronged and wanted to seek justice for her: "Aunt Song, what exactly happened here? I think you should explain a bit."
Song Ruyi was about to speak, when she heard a familiar voice.
"Sister, you say you were wrong, but what exactly did you do wrong?"
Song Ruyi’s heart lifted, and she quickly looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Anning walking over from the corridor.
She wore a cold expression, walking briskly with steps so forceful they seemed to carry the wind, her presence expansive like a 2.8-meter radius around her.
Song Ruyi sighed in relief.
Anning walked up to Zhao Mingzhu, smilingly asked: "Sister, can you explain what happened?"
Zhao Mingzhu was stunned.
But He Yang pointed at Anning and asked: "And who are you, popping up from nowhere? Who allowed you to bully Mingzhu?"