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When Song Zhou saw Ruan Qi’s bad mood, he ignored his injuries, stood up from the wheelchair and walked up to her.

He held her cold hand and asked worriedly, “Ruan Qi, what happened?”

“Nothing. I’m fine. 1 thought that you guys would be eating delicious food behind my back, so I came back.”

Tang Beibei frowned. Logically speaking, if Ruan Qi suddenly went home around the new year, her parents would have cooked something delicious for her. But she looked like she’d been kicked out of the house.

Ruan Qi rarely talked about her family but from the looks of it, things weren’t going well.

Song Zhou held her hands and smiled gently and dotingly.

“If you don’t want to tell me, 1 won’t force you. But you have to be happy when you’re by my side.”

Ruan Qi felt the warmth in the man’s hands and her mood improved significantly.

She was already very happy that she had someone who would tolerate and accept her, warts and all, and was willing to accompany her through anything.

After lunch, Ruan Qi rested for a while before she practiced dance again.

She had no choice. Non-professional dance students had to practice every day. Tang Beibei went to find her and asked her what had happened.

Ruan Qi did not hide anything from her good friend.

“A relative came to my house for Lunar New Year. She has a child with her on this trip and they are staying in my room.”

“The kid went through my things, and I told him off. My relative scolded me, and my family didn’t help me. They even scolded me for being insensible. Even my younger brother scolded me for being redundant and that I shouldn’t have come back.”

The more she spoke, the more upset she got, and her eyes turned red.

Her family didn’t understand her and she got lectured by a relative. She felt very wronged.

It was normal for relatives to visit over the new year, but the kid was rummaging through other people’s things. Not only did her relative not discipline her child, but she even scolded Ruan Qi.

Such a relative was ill-mannered, and her family was also unreasonable.

Tang Beibei didn’t like such relatives either.

However, she didn’t want her good friend to be sad. She said, “When we are older, we’ll need a healthy distance from our parents. You can use physical distance to create the necessary emotional distance. Qiqi, I’m here for you.”

“I’m not really sad. I just feel that it’s suffocating to spend even a minute more with such a family. Moreover, my mother still expects me to give her a monthly allowance and said that I should give some extra money to the family for Lunar New Year. I feel so helpless.”

Ruan Qi let out a sudden chuckle. “But compared to you, at least 1 still have parents, although they feel fictional.”

Tang Beibei also laughed, but she didn’t know what about. She just looked at Ruan Qi.

Ruan Qi felt awkward under her gaze and asked, “Are you sad that I said that? If you mind it, I won’t say it again.”

“I don’t mind it. You’re right. I don’t even know where my parents are.”

“Some people give birth to children but don’t raise them. Some people raise their children very half-heartedly, treating them like kittens and puppies, as if feeding them was all they need to do.”

“They don’t know how to respect others. Perhaps it’s because they’ve never been respected. Arguing with them is like trying to solve an unsolvable math problem.”

“Expectations lead to disappointment and disappointment leads to anger. If anger is suppressed for too long, it will grow into hatred and resentment.”

“Put bluntly, parents have their own lives. The expectations we have of them are just our own doing.”

“They refuse to listen to our reasoning and trying to change their minds is simply self-torture.”

“So, you don’t have to be sad. If you’re unhappy in that family, then find a way to leave.”

“It’s natural for children to leave their parents when they grow up.”

Ruan Qi was filled with hatred, but after hearing Tang Beibei’s words, she felt as if a constrictor knot in her heart had been untied.

She let out a relieved smile, which was also filled with admiration.

“Beibei, where did you learn all this? Did you figure it out yourself?”

“I learned this from books. Actually, many young people our age have had similar experiences. You are not the only one feeling such complicated emotions.”

“Some of them write books to share their experiences, which resonated with me. I also tell myself not to have too high expectations of others, or I’ll be the one suffering.”

Ruan Qi glanced at her. “Didn’t you have any expectations of your husband before?”

Outside the dance studio, Jiang Jingchen was about to open the door to find Tang Beibei. When he heard Ruan Qi’s question, his hand stopped.

Tang Beibei shook her head and said frankly, “What can I expect from a man who’s in a wheelchair, has scars on his face, who’d start coughing after saying just a few words? How can 1 have any expectations of someone so weak and powerless?”

“Having no expectations allowed me to accept whatever comes my way. At that time, 1 was already prepared to live an unfulfilling life.”

Ruan Qi frowned when she heard that. She changed the subject with a smile, “Beibei, then you’re quite optimistic.”

Tang Beibei grew up in a difficult environment, yet she kept her bright personality. It was quite a surprising feat.

“What else can I do other than being optimistic? I was naive when I was young, thinking that all other children were like me and get beaten up at every turn.”

“It was only when I was in primary school that I realized that beating a child was wrong, but I couldn’t fight back. 1 could only endure all the bullying at home. After a while, I just got used to it. Sometimes human behaviors can be strange.”

“Many people know that it’s wrong to stay up late playing with their phones, or leaving their homework until the last minute, but they still do it. It’s a form of self-torture that’s addictive.”

Ruan Qi clicked her tongue. “I’m not going to talk to you anymore. The more you talk, the more profound you get. No wonder you’re so good at philosophy. Just looking at it gives me a headache and I’m mostly sleeping in philosophy classes.”

Tang Beibei chuckled and did not say more.

The scars from the past would disappear if one didn’t feed it.

She was weak and powerless at that time and would starve to death if she left the Rong family, so she had always looked forward to having her own money.

Outside the door, Jiang Jingchen’s handsome face was cold. His eyes were full of pity as he looked at the still smiling woman.

Early morning on new year’s eve…

After Tang Beibei washed up, she changed into new year clothes that Jiang Jingchen had specially bought for her.

She even told him then that she was no longer a child and didn’t need new clothes for the near year. But when she wore a new outfit for the new year, she felt as happy as a child.

This was her first time wearing new clothes for Lunar New Year!

She ran down the stairs excitedly and walked up to Ruan Qi. She twirled around and asked Ruan Qi quietly if she looked good.

Ruan Qi took a glance. It was a custom-made dress from Pli inspired by Han dynasty clothing, with life-like embroidery of winter plum blossoms that almost smelled like the flowers. There was also a piece of jade on the collar. Looking at the dress alone told her that it was very expensive.

“Did your husband buy this for you?”

“Yes, I like it very much.”

Tang Beibei smiled and twirled around again.

Ruan Qi complimented her with a smile, “You look very nice indeed. Elegant with a touch of playfulness. It’s not boring but makes you look mature. It’s just right for a married woman.”

Tang Beibei’s smile was even brighter than the red plum blossoms on her dress.

Ruan Qi added, “I’ll put on some makeup for you. You’ll look even better.”

The two went to the guest room. Tang Beibei only came out when Jiang Jingchen knocked on the door and said that breakfast was ready.

Jiang Jingchen looked at her with his dark, smiling eyes.

“Are you wearing makeup?”

“Yes. Do I look good?”

Tang Beibei was a little nervous. Ruan Qi helped her trim her eyebrows and gave her a nude makeup look: foundation, light blush and nude color lipstick.

“No.”

“Oh…” Tang Beibei lowered her head in disappointment.

She then heard the man say, “You look exceptional, Obedient Beibei.”

Jiang Jingchen’s eyes were burning. He walked up to her, cupped her face, and gently brushed away the hair on her cheek..