"Amber, you must remember not to run around when we get to the Chu Family's old mansion," Rong Lan earnestly admonished the cat that was obediently nestled in her arms.
"Meow~" The little Ragdoll cat mewed daintily, as if answering Rong Lan.
Chu Hengyuan shook his head and chuckled. "Lanlan spent half an hour emphasizing safety issues with it last night."
"I'm just worried that Chu Chuan will bully it." Based on Chu Chuan's character, if he saw little Amber alone, he would definitely make a move against it. Lately, little Amber had become quite lively. What if it was playing on its own in the Chu Family's mansion and ran into Chu Chuan? She was a novice in making talismans, and she wasn't sure if the safety talismans she made were reliable.
"If Chu Chuan bullies it, it can just fight back." Last night, while his little girl was taking a shower, he had a ten - minute chat with the little Ragdoll. He had instilled in the little cat the idea that if it had the ability, it could bully Chu Chuan as much as it wanted. Not only would he clean up the mess for it, but he would also reward it with dried fish and cat food when they got home.
Rong Lan shook her head. "No, no. Little Amber doesn't look like it can bully others."
While the car was stopped at the white line of a traffic light, Chu Hengyuan turned his head to look at the Ragdoll cat nestled on Rong Lan's lap. Admittedly, just from its appearance, he also thought it didn't look like a cat that could bully others. But you can't judge a cat by its appearance. Maybe it could.
When the two of them and the cat arrived at the Chu Family's old mansion, Chu Chuan was already there.
Since Chu Chuan came to the Chu Family as a guest with the intention of currying favor with the Chu Family's matriarch, he had to arrive earlier than Chu Hengyuan at least.
"Mother." As soon as Chu Hengyuan, with the cat in one hand and Rong Lan's hand in the other, reached the entrance hall, he called out. His past experiences told him that at this time, Zhen Rui would be watching TV in the living room, and she would definitely hear him when he called out from the entrance hall.
Sure enough, not long after he called out, Zhen Rui walked to the entrance hall.
When Rong Lan saw Zhen Rui, she obediently followed Chu Hengyuan and called out "Mother". As for Chu Chuan, who was following Zhen Rui, she pretended not to see him.
Seeing the two of them, Zhen Rui quietly let out a sigh of relief. She first responded to Rong Lan and then looked at Chu Hengyuan and the Ragdoll cat lying on his shoulder. "Is this the cat you posted on your Moments? Can I hold it?"
Chu Hengyuan held out the little Ragdoll cat. "Go ahead. Amber is very well - behaved. It won't hurt anyone no matter who holds it."
Zhen Rui took the cat and skillfully adjusted her holding position to make the cat more comfortable. "It's really quite well - behaved. Don't just stand here. Change your shoes and come in for some tea."
Chu Hengyuan replied, "Okay."
Rong Lan saw the karmic lines on Zhen Rui and was completely at ease handing the cat over to her. So she changed her shoes and sat down on the sofa in the living room. When Chu Hengyuan put a handful of sunflower seeds in her palm, she didn't refuse.
Anyway, someone was taking care of little Amber. She was quite happy munching on sunflower seeds.
"Lanlan, you can focus on observing Chu Chuan's expression," Chu Hengyuan whispered into his little girl's ear, sharing with her the joy he felt on such occasions.
Rong Lan looked at Chu Chuan, who was wearing an innocent and well - behaved smile on his face. She lowered her voice and shared her observations with Chu Hengyuan. "How did he convince himself to ignore the awkwardness and talk to Mother? Mother doesn't seem to be very interested in talking to him."
She counted. Since she sat down, Chu Chuan should have said dozens of sentences to Zhen Rui, but the total number of Zhen Rui's replies to him was less than the number of words in the two sentences she had just said to Chu Hengyuan.
"Mother is not a very talkative person in the first place. Moreover, she doesn't like Chu Chuan. But Father insists that Chu Chuan get along well with Mother. Even if Mother is cold to Chu Chuan, Chu Chuan has to bite the bullet and try."
"Is Mother the last line of defense for Chu Chuan to be included in the Chu Family's genealogy?"
"Yes. Although the elders of the Chu Family don't like Chu Chuan very much, if Mother gives the green light and Father insists on including Chu Chuan in the genealogy, the other elders of the Chu Family will probably just put up a token resistance."
"No wonder..." It was normal for someone who dreamed of being included in the Chu Family's genealogy to be able to bend and stretch.
Zhen Rui stroked the soft fur on the Ragdoll cat's back and responded to the topics Chu Chuan brought up in a desultory manner. She looked at the young couple huddled together on a single - person sofa whispering to each other with a complicated expression.
She thought that after Rong Lan arrived, she could spend time with Rong Lan so that she wouldn't have to talk to Chu Chuan. But she didn't expect that Chu Hengyuan had used a handful of sunflower seeds to get Rong Lan to sit beside him. The way they were so clingy was really something.
They could be together every day. Since they rarely came to the Chu Family, couldn't they come and talk to her? Chu Hengyuan was really so ignorant!
After secretly complaining in her heart, Zhen Rui was too embarrassed to interrupt the newly - wedded couple.
But after enduring for more than ten minutes, Chu Chuan kept sharing small company anecdotes with her. She really couldn't bear it any longer. She coughed lightly and, rarely showing a bit of a smile, looked at Rong Lan. "Rong Lan, come and sit here. I see Amber looking at you longingly. It won't even play with me when you're not around."
Rong Lan was flattered. Her fox - like ears twitched.
She didn't have many opportunities to get along with Zhen Rui, but she had heard from Chu Hengyuan that his step - mother was usually very cold - natured. She didn't like to talk or smile to people or things. He had said that if she met Zhen Rui on the road in the future and saw her greeting with a poker face, she mustn't misunderstand. It was just her nature, not that she didn't like the other person.
However, now, she saw Zhen Rui smiling!
Did that mean Zhen Rui really liked her?
The little fox immediately put the remaining sunflower seeds in Chu Hengyuan's palm, wiped the sunflower seed crumbs from her palm, and left Chu Hengyuan to sit on the long sofa facing the TV.
Since she wasn't very familiar with Zhen Rui, she left a space of about half a person's width between them when she sat down.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she sat down, Zhen Rui quietly leaned towards her, and the two of them were almost touching. Rong Lan was extremely surprised. After all, according to Chu Hengyuan's description, Zhen Rui wasn't the kind of person who could get close to others easily. But Zhen Rui was being overly friendly to her.
The little Ragdoll cat on Zhen Rui's lap stretched out a paw in front of Rong Lan and meowed daintily, as if it wanted to play with Rong Lan.
Rong Lan held little Amber's paw, looked at Zhen Rui, then at Chu Hengyuan, and felt at a loss.
Chu Hengyuan smiled at his little girl, signaling her not to be nervous.
There was actually still room for one more person beside Rong Lan. If he really wanted to squeeze in and sit with Rong Lan, they could manage. But his current position was better for observing Chu Chuan, so he decided not to go over.
He couldn't be glued to Rong Lan all the time. It was good for her to spend more time with Mother.
Due to etiquette, there was originally a space of about half a person's width between Chu Chuan and Zhen Rui. Now that Zhen Rui leaned towards Rong Lan, the distance between her and Chu Chuan became about one person's width. Compared with the closeness of sitting next to Rong Lan, the distance between her and Chu Chuan was quite far. She immediately took the initiative to find a topic to chat with Rong Lan, avoiding Chu Chuan's cheeky attempts to talk to her.