The Kitty Became a Cutie and Was Pampered in the 80s
Chapter 1012: Jiang Xun (8)

Chapter 1012: Chapter 1012: Jiang Xun (8)

"Jiaojiao, you’re so pretty, like a doll." She exclaimed in amazement.

"You’re pretty too." Ruan Jiaojiao returned the compliment out of politeness, though the corners of her mouth were almost reaching her ears by now. She was overjoyed—she loved it when people complimented her looks.

Little girls’ emotions come fast and easy—a lollipop, a few kind words, and just like that, the two little girls became friends. Soon after, they were holding hands and wandering around together.

Yu Rou had been to the Jiang Family’s old residence many times and was quite familiar with the place. She enthusiastically gave Ruan Jiaojiao a tour, and Jiaojiao, feeling compelled, listened attentively. Meanwhile, Xiu Xi was left behind, seemingly forgotten.

Xiu Xi couldn’t quite figure out how things had ended up like this.

He walked side by side with Jiang Xun.

Ruan Jie trailed behind, one hand in his pocket, his demeanor casual and unhurried as he followed the group of children from a distance, quietly keeping guard.

Walking in the middle, Jiang Xun glanced over at Jiaojiao and Yu Rou, who were already holding hands and excitedly looking at the fish in the pond. Thinking that neither the people ahead nor behind could hear him, he turned to Xiu Xi and said, "There was a time when I envied you."

Xiu Xi and Jiang Xun used to be cousins, but because of tensions between their families, they seldom had much interaction over the years. Jiang Xun had once felt pity for Xiu Xi, but life had played its tricks; eventually, the roles reversed, and he became the one envying Xiu Xi.

Jiang Xun’s feelings toward Xiu Xi shifted from pity to envy, and then gradually transformed into jealousy and even resentment. The transition felt seamless, as if it was always meant to be this way.

What stoked that resentment further was when he unintentionally discovered that Jiaojiao had distanced herself from him entirely because of him. That realization ignited even greater hostility.

Now, Jiang Xun had risen to become the young master of the Jiang Family, while Xiu Xi remained a foster child of the Ruan Family. Jiang Xun’s gaze at Xiu Xi once again brimmed with pity.

"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me. I can ask my uncle to help you." When Jiang Xun said this, he felt great satisfaction, a sense of superiority disguised as benevolence.

Xiu Xi turned his head and glanced at him as if looking at a fool. Without a word, he stepped away and quickly walked toward Ruan Jiaojiao.

Up ahead, Jiaojiao was peering into the pond, completely absorbed in watching a particularly large koi fish. Her excitement was palpable—she leaned over the pond’s edge with a tree branch in her hand, poking her head as close as she dared, and waved her little hand excitedly at the three people behind her. "Come over here! Look! There’s a huge fish!"

She was clearly ecstatic, but her antics terrified Ruan Jie. Xiu Xi, too, lunged into action, instinctively wrapping an arm around her tiny waist to pull her away from the edge as fast as he could.

"Jiaojiao, you’re not allowed to do that again! What if you fell in?" Ruan Jie jogged over and steadied her shoulders, his voice filled with urgency and scolding her. Everyone in the Ruan Family knew that Jiaojiao had a fear of water. Falling into the pond on such a cold winter day would be a disaster.

"Ah, I forgot." Jiaojiao said, feeling a little embarrassed. She had gotten so used to her carefree days that her fear of water had completely slipped her mind.

She stuck out her tongue sheepishly. Seeing Xiu Xi’s grim expression, she was just about to apologize and promise never to do anything so dangerous again when suddenly a loud splash interrupted her. It sounded as though something—or someone—had fallen into the water.

Jiaojiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head to look. On the other side of the pond, a familiar figure stood at the water’s edge, shrieking for help, while in the pond, a small shadow bobbed up and down, thrashing and churning up the once-calm water into a noisy frenzy.