CH 42.2

Do You Still Hate Her? 32 – The person who doesn’t cherish the people who loves them is the wrong one

Upon seeing the gift brought by Shang Lu, the little girl clapped her hands in joy and then said, “So pretty, Sister is so kind.”

Jiang Jing looked at Shang Lu with a hint of helplessness and explained, “This child has been by my side since she was little. Besides me, only the nanny takes care of her. My social circle is very small, and I don’t have many friends. This is the first time she’s received a gift from someone other than me, so she’s been excited and couldn’t sleep since last night when she heard you were coming.”

Shang Lu nodded to indicate understanding and then gently patted the soft little head, saying, “Don’t focus on the scarf for now. Sister has prepared other gifts for you.”

Ruanruan held onto everything Shang Lu brought, seemingly unable to let go. The young girl had no resistance to these pretty, delicate things.

Then suddenly, Ruanruan said, “Sister, please wait for me.”

After saying that, she ran back to her room in a few steps. There was quite a bit of noise, and it wasn’t clear what she was doing.

A few minutes later.

Ruanruan came running back, holding a piece of white paper and a plush doll, making a *da da da* sound. She presented the doll to Shang Lu with utmost seriousness, saying, “Mommy has given me many dolls, and this is my absolute favorite. I want to give it to Sister.”

“Wow, the thing you like so much is adorable. Sister also really likes it.” Shang Lu took the doll, showing a very happy expression, which made Ruanruan smile too.

Shang Lu looked at the piece of paper and asked, “What’s this?”

“This is for Sister too,” Ruanruan said as she handed over the paper. She was a bit shy and expectant, saying, “Teacher taught me this in the last class.”

Shang Lu took the paper and unfolded it, revealing a red rose drawn with oil pastels.

Shang Lu was a bit surprised and then asked, “How did you think of giving me this?”

“Mommy likes this flower. There are usually many of them in vases at home, but they were all thrown away by Mommy yesterday.” Ruanruan answered seriously, “Mommy said that if Sister touches this flower, it will make her very itchy. But this flower is very beautiful, and I wanted to give it to Sister.”

Shang Lu never thought that in two separate instances, she would receive things related to roses, but in such completely different circumstances.

The little girl didn’t even understand what allergies were. She just thought the rose was very beautiful and it would be a shame if she couldn’t see it, so she wanted to give her the drawn rose.

Shang Lu hugged Ruanruan and earnestly said, “Ruanruan, you’re so talented. The flowers you drew are very beautiful. This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

Upon hearing Shang Lu’s praise, Ruanruan smiled happily and quickly planted a kiss on Shanglu’s cheek, saying, “As long as Sister likes it.”

Shang Lu covered her cheeks, feeling like her heart was being softened by the little girl.

At this moment, Jiang Jing saw the harmonious interaction between the two and couldn’t help but wipe her tears in the kitchen alone.

Then she composed herself, put on a smile, brought the food to the table, and urged, “Alright, you two, wash your hands quickly, finish your meal, and then you can play.”

Jiang Jing was quite skilled in cooking, almost on par with Xu Ze and Chi Yan.

Shang Lu enjoyed the meal a lot, especially because Ruanruan attempted to peel shrimp for her and Jiang Jing during the process.

Although it wasn’t very successful, the peeled shrimp looked like they had gone through a rough time, it didn’t hinder Shanglu’s improved mood.

After dinner, Ruanruan pulled Shang Lu to her room to look at photo albums. There were many photos of Jiang Jing taking her to various places for trips, taken every month.

Then Shang Lu saw a photo of a young couple, with the man wearing a plaid shirt and the woman in a light-colored dress, holding a baby in her arms. Even from the big eyes, it was recognizable that the baby was Ruanruan.

As Shang Lu gazed at the photo, Ruanruan began to introduce to her softly, “Mommy said, this is my Dad and Mom, the ones who truly brought me into this world. I stayed in Mom’s tummy for a very long time, but Dad and Mom are no longer here. So now I live with Mommy.”

Although Jiang Jing had mentioned this on the show, that she hadn’t hidden it from the child, but hearing these words from such a young child’s mouth still surprised Shang Lu.

Shang Lu grew increasingly astonished, hesitating for a while with the words on her lips, but finally asked, “Does Ruanruan know where Dad and Mom went? Does Ruanruan miss them?”

Ruanruan said earnestly, “The house collapsed and crushed them. They went to another world together to protect me, but that’s a world I can’t go to. Of course, I’ll miss Dad and Mom. Life is the most important thing, I’m a treasure even more important than the most important thing to Dad and Mom, so I’ll love them forever.”

Shang Lu lowered her eyelashes.

Father Shang resented her because her mother had chosen to save her life during a difficult childbirth. In Father Shang’s eyes, his beloved wife had abandoned him for an unborn child.

Life is the most important thing.

Her mother made that choice, and she was clearly a precious treasure more important than the most important thing in her mother’s heart.

When Shang Lu was lost in thought, she heard Ruanruan’s voice again, “How come Sister doesn’t even know about this? Sister is silly.”

“Yeah, Sister isn’t as clever as Ruanruan,” Shang Lu gently pinched Ruanruan’s cheek with her hand and said, “Ruanruan understands these things. It’s only now that Sister finally understands.”

Meanwhile, in the study of the Shang’s mansion.

Father Shang frowned as he looked at the online news, saying, “I should have brought her back long ago. Would she have encountered such things if she weren’t out there? Trying to run before even learning to walk, it’s ridiculous.”

Shang Mu remained silent, only organizing the documents in his hand and handing them to his father.

After glancing at them and being somewhat satisfied, Father Shang asked, “And her? Is she really planning to never come back for the rest of her life?”

‘Her’ naturally referred to Shang Lu.

Shang Mu remained silent for a few seconds before saying, “Father, if you… are willing to break off the engagement between little sister and Jiang Yi, I’m confident that I can bring her back home.”

Father Shang’s expression grew colder. He said, “Do you even understand what you’re saying? It’s one thing that your little sister is young and naïve, but even you are not listening to your mother’s words? This is the marriage arrangement she set, and it cannot be broken off.”

Shang Mu took a deep breath and made up his mind. “Father, Jiang Yi is smart and capable, but he isn’t the right person for a marriage. If Mother were still here, she probably wouldn’t…”

*Bang!*

The ashtray was smashed onto Shang Mu’s shoulder by Father Shang. The pain made him frown, but he didn’t dare to dodge. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to his father’s violence, knowing that avoiding it would only lead to more severe beatings.

Father Shang was so furious his hands were trembling. “You’ve grown a bit capable and suddenly think that you have a say in this family, just because you’ve managed a few mediocre businesses? Since when is it your turn to speculate about your mother’s intentions? Kneel!”

After saying this, Father Shang got up, fetched a heavy wooden cane from the study, and ruthlessly struck Shang Mu again and again.

Shang Mu closed his eyes, letting out muffled groans through clenched teeth, but he endured it and straightened his body every time.

It wasn’t until Father Shang’s foot kicked his leg that he seemed to have finally vented his emotions. Then he said, “Go back to your room. Bring your little sister back in a month’s time. Neither you nor her should utter this kind of nonsense in my presence again.”

Shang Mu rose in silence, not answering, and walked out.

In the hallway, he saw a servant carrying a box out of Shang Lu’s room.

He stopped her and asked, “What are you doing?”

The servant lowered her head and answered with great respect, “Master said that Miss is no longer a child. The things from the past should be discarded. He instructed us to clean and redecorate the room before her return.”

Shang Mu’s gaze fell upon the box. On top of it was a worn-out doll, greatly contrasting with the elegance of the house.

Shang Mu also knew that this was the thing Shang Lu cared about the most. Without it, she couldn’t even fall asleep.

Once, this doll had been thrown into the storeroom by their father as a punishment for Shang Lu. As a result, Shang Lu had gone two whole days without sleeping.

But when she left, she surprisingly didn’t take it with her. So how did she manage to sleep these days?

Thinking about this, Shang Mu suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable irritability and reached out towards the servant, saying, “Give it to me.”

The servant hesitated for a moment, but didn’t dare to resist Shang Mu. She quickly handed over the box.

“When you’re asked about it, say that everything has been thrown away.” With these words, Shang Mu walked toward his room.