After leaving the Yanlong Courtyard, Ruan Qi entered Lanyuan and saw Gu Ling'an welcoming him out with a smile.
Looking at the little girl in front of him, who looked as fresh and refined as flowers after a spring rain, Ruan Qi's originally unhappy mood instantly improved a lot.
On the first day back home, Ruan Qi and Gu Ling'an wrote poems and songs, played chess, played the piano, and painted in Lanyuan. They even had lunch there, just like they did in Jiangnan in the past.
Ruan Mianmian stayed with Zhou Yuning all day long. Although her mother seemed fine on the surface, she could feel her uneasiness and sadness.
Finally, after sunset, I heard the waiter outside saying that the third master was back. Ruan Mianmian did not want to see Ruan Qi. She stood up to say goodbye but was pulled back by her mother.
"Sanlang." Zhou Yuning blurted out when she saw Ruan Qi coming in.
Seeing Zhou Yuning's face filled with anticipation and her eyes red, and then hearing the familiar name, Ruan Qi's heart softened.
"Yun Ning, I have wronged you in the past few years."
"I'm not wronged." Zhou Yunning's eyes turned red.
Ruan Qi stepped forward and held Zhou Yunning's hand. Seeing this, Shuang'er winked at the servants around her, and they quickly withdrew.
Ruan Mianmian also let go of Zhou Yuning's hand and took Jiu'er back to the room to change clothes.
This evening, the family of three had dinner together for the first time.
Ruan Mianmian was not willing at all, but when Zhou Yuning came to call her in person, she could only cope with it.
Except for Jiu'er and Shuang'er who stayed by Ruan Mianmian's side, Zhou Yunning sent out all the other servants.
The couple looked warmer than when they first met. Ruan Mianmian didn't smile much, but she didn't have a straight face either. She was still unhappy with Ruan Qi, and she wouldn't let down her guard because of his slight change.
"Mianmian, come on, eat more." Zhou Yunning did not ignore her precious daughter.
"Thank you, mother."
Ruan Qi showed a displeased look: "How old are you? Your mother has to take care of you even for meals."
"Only four years old." Ruan Mianmian took the words and grinned at Zhou Yuning, "My mother loves me, and I am willing to be pampered by her."
Whether the dumplings with small breasts are soft or hard, it almost makes it clear what it has to do with you. Zhou Yuning didn't notice, but Ruan Qi understood the meaning of her words.
Ruan Qi suddenly remembered what Gu Lingan said today in Lanyuan. She said that Ruan Mianmian was a mature child, and his savvy was far beyond her age. Even she was ashamed of herself.
Now that I think about it carefully, everything Ruan Mianmian says seems to be true. She has a delicate heart. If she takes the right path, it will be good. If she goes wrong, it will be troublesome.
Facing the face that looked so similar to his own, Ruan Qi made up his mind to straighten Ruan Mianmian while he was still young.
Ruan Mianmian didn't know what Ruan Qi was thinking, but she guessed from the way he stared at her that what he was thinking about at the moment must be related to her.
She lowered her head slightly and covered up the ridicule on her face. Ruan Mianmian was really not afraid when soldiers came to cover up the water and earth.
"Yun Ning, you should be enlightened when you are three years old. Mianmian is already four years old, so there is no time to delay."
Ruan Qi was not stupid either. He discovered that Ruan Mianmian's only weakness was her mother, so it was better to tell Zhou Yuning instead of talking to Xiao Naituanzi.
"There is no delay." Zhou Yunning naturally noticed that the relationship between father and daughter was not harmonious, but in her opinion, they just needed time to get along.
Ruan Qi frowned: "She will be five years old soon, and it will be too late if she doesn't get enlightened. My Ruan Qi daughter can't even recognize her words at such an old age. Doesn't this mean she's trying to smear me?"
"Don't think you are so great." Ruan Mianmian swallowed the food in his mouth and retorted, "Without you, someone else would naturally teach me. So far, it seems that my teaching is quite good."
At this point, the little breast dumpling paused for a moment before continuing: "I'm much better than you."
"Are you better than me?" Ruan Qi simply wondered if his ears had heard it wrong. He had been told that he was inferior to others for the first time since he was a child, but he was actually said in person, and the person who said it was his own daughter.
Zhou Yuning listened to Ruan Mianmian boasting and didn't say anything, but just covered her mouth and snickered.
Ruan Mianmian was eight percent full after eating. She took the handkerchief handed over by Jiu'er and wiped her mouth, then glanced sideways at Ruan Qi: "If you don't believe me, ask my mother."
I also ate the food, which was a favor to my mother. The couple need to communicate well, so there is no need for me to be a light bulb here.
"You guys take it easy, I'm leaving first."
"Stop." Ruan Qi came to his senses and shouted sharply, "I have something else to ask you."
Ruan Mianmian turned around suddenly with a displeased look on her face: "There is nothing my mother doesn't know about me. If you have anything you don't understand, you can just ask her. It's up to you whether you believe it or not."
She originally wanted to get along with him, but when she saw him, she thought of Gu Ling'an, and Ruan Mianmian felt uncomfortable. There was no reason, she simply didn't like that woman.
Ruan Qi slapped the table, startling Zhou Yunning, but Ruan Mianmian walked away with Jiu'er as if she didn't hear him.
"Look, how have you spoiled me?" Ruan Qi turned to Zhou Yunning without being able to lose his temper with Xiao Naituanzi.
Zhou Yunning looked aggrieved: "Mianmian is very sensible, and what she said is right."
"That's right. It's true that she is arrogant to this extent." Ruan Qi was very angry, "Listen to what she said. She said she is much better than me? Who taught her?"
"The person who taught her was your father." Zhou Yuning replied in a nonchalant manner.
"She was taught by..." Ruan Qi was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses, "You said it was my father who taught her personally?"
Zhou Yunning straightened her back and finally regained her face: "Yes, Mianmian was enlightened and taught by Mr. Hou himself."
"Brother, my second brother didn't have the chance to be taught by his father, so I was enlightened by him personally." Ruan Qi finally accepted this fact.
In response to Zhou Yuning's defeat, Ruan Qi tried to save face for himself: "But she shouldn't lie."
"She didn't lie. The old Marquis said more than once that Mianmian is better than her master." Zhou Yunning frowned. Her mother was not happy when she heard someone slandering her children, even if that person was her husband, she was no exception.
If the parent-child relationship between mother and child is connected by blood from the moment of pregnancy, then the parent-child relationship between father and child mostly does not begin to develop until after the child is born.
Ruan Qi disappeared shortly after Zhou Yuning became pregnant. He really didn't have much affection for his daughter. In his mind, Ruan Mianmian was not as good as Gu Ling'an, who had been with him day and night for five years and took good care of him.
Even Zhou Yunning and Ruan Qi no longer remember how they started dating her, but they do remember every detail after she entered the house.
In Ruan Qi's heart, Zhou Yunning was his wife, just a woman, nothing special. He didn't even understand why he married her despite his parents' objections.
At this moment, Ruan Qi had mixed emotions in his heart. He had always had a high self-esteem and was arrogant about his talents. But this was the first time he was belittled like this. Not only did he not have a good impression of Ruan Mianmian, he even felt a little disgusted with her.