Strike Back, Proud Goddess!

“Of course I’m clear!” Yang Jingxian replied coldly. “Rourou reached out her hand to us when you didn’t want to acknowledge her as your daughter back then, and from that moment on she became the child of our family. No one can take her away from me!”

Tears fell from Lin Ru’s eyes—she finally realized now that people couldn’t afford to take missteps. If they did, they wouldn’t be given the chance to make up for it, and neither the chance to even regret it.

“Rourou, I’m sorry. Mom shouldn’t have abandoned you. I’m sorry,” Lin Ru said suddenly, looking at Tang Xi. “I’m sorry I didn’t apologize to you and even drove you away when you came back. I’m sorry for what I did to you. If you want to live with your present mom and dad, I won’t force you. I just hope that you can allow me to come to see you, okay?”

Tang Xi didn’t know how to respond as she listened to Lin Ru’s sentimental words, and thus she didn’t say anything.

She looked at Yang Jingxian. She couldn’t decide for Xiao Rou and cut off relations with Xiao Hongyi and his family, but neither did she want to be associated with them, ignoring the feelings of her mom, dad and brothers. Only when her current family agreed would she agree to see Lin Ru.

Yang Jingxian thought for a while and said, “Don’t worry. Our two families are related by blood and can’t be separated. As long as you don’t try to take Rourou away from me, you can see her anytime and anywhere.”

Relieved to hear that, Lin Ru finally smiled and gave a grateful look at Yang Jingxian. “Jingxian, thank you. Please take care of Rourou for me. Rourou… I…”

Tang Xi didn’t have any understanding regarding familial ties since she was a child. Now seeing Lin Ru and Xiao Hongyi crying hard, she frowned and said, “Don’t cry anymore. Although this is not something to be happy about, I don’t like seeing you cry.”

Thinking that Xiao Rou was worrying for her, Lin Ru smiled through her tears. “Okay, okay. If Rourou doesn’t want me to cry, I won’t cry.”

Seeing that it was time for lunch, Xiao Hongyi tried to persuade Xiao Rou to go out for dinner with them. Lin Ru also looked expectantly at her daughter. Since Rourou had come back, she hadn’t had a meal with her… It seemed that she really didn’t deserve to be Rourou’s mother.

Xiao Yan also thought that as long as Xiao Hongli and his family were not around, it would be easier to persuade Xiao Rou. She, a girl who grew up in the countryside, wouldn’t have many views of her own; they could perhaps convince her during the meal.

Tang Xi didn’t want to go out to dinner with them. She wanted to wait at home for 008 to bring her news; her attention was all on Xiao Yao today and she couldn’t take any slack. “No, there are too many journalists outside and I don’t want too much exposure.”

Yang Jingxian nodded and said, “Rourou isn’t in good health. It’s not good to eat outside too much, so we’ve been cooking for her at home. If you want to go out for lunch, go ahead.”

She was obviously asking them to leave.

Xiao Hongyi and his wife and son left disappointed. In the car, seeing Lin Ru looking awful, Xiao Hongyi tried to comfort her. “Xiao Rou will come back to us sooner or later. Don’t be sad.”

Lin Ru rubbed between her eyebrows and gave a self-mocking smile. “I’ve realized that I haven’t even had a heart-to-heart talk with Rourou before. The day she came back, I went to my company after I sent her home because I had something to attend to, and when I returned, I found she had stolen Xiao Jinning’s necklace, scolded her hard and drove her out of the house. And then she had a car accident and was… When I went to the hospital to pick her up, I swore at her as soon as I saw her and blamed her for making troubles for me. I never treated her well and always picked on her.”

Xiao Yan looked at his mother in the rearview mirror, pursed his lips and didn’t speak. The one who had put them in such an awkward situation was that woman!

“Damn it!” Lin Ru gnashed her teeth. “I will never let that woman off. How could she be so vicious?! Did my Rourou do anything wrong? Why did she deliberately frame her?! She had only just come back home at that time!”

As he was driving, Xiao Yan said, “She had a good reason to do so. It was better for her to commit the deed before we developed any feelings for Xiao Rou. She would have had no chance if we started to get along with Xiao Rou and feel deeper affection for her than that woman.”

Lin Ru clenched her hands and said hatefully, “I’m going to make her disappear from City A! I have treated her well for more than twenty years! But in return she tried to murder my own daughter!”

Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows and said, “Mom, it seems that Rourou doesn’t hate you much. After all, you are her biological mother. You can go to see her often and talk with her. Maybe one day she will agree to come back home.”

Lin Ru gave a wry smile. Come back home? She could see how well Xiao Hongli and Yang Jingxian treated Rourou. That formerly skinny, pale and timid girl had become so beautiful in their home only after just two months.

To be honest, she didn’t think they could have raised Rourou so well even if she had been with them since her return.

Xiao Hongyi said, “If Rourou doesn’t come back, then our relationship with the Liu Family…” If that happened, Xiao’s Group would lose a great pillar of support!

Lin Ru frowned and looked at Xiao Hongyi coldly. “Xiao Hongyi, do you only have money in your eyes? That’s my daughter, not your trading tool!”

Not having expected his mother, who had always put profits first, to say something like this, Xiao Yan looked at her in surprise with raised eyebrows. Lin Ru continued, “I’m telling you, Xiao Hongyi, no matter what, don’t try to take advantage of Rourou, or else I’ll make you regret it. Do you hear me?”

Xiao Hongyi frowned and retorted, “Do you know what you are talking about? If it wasn’t to try and save our relationship with the Liu Family, we wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to get Rourou to come back while risking annoying my brother!”

“If you want to acknowledge Rourou only for the Liu Family, then I’d rather Rourou disown us!” Lin Ru said coldly. “Because of you, I’ve let my daughter be away from me for more than 20 years and failed to treat her fairly even though she came back. Now that Liu Chengyu doesn’t want Xiao Jinning, you want to use Rourou as your tool? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

Seeing that Xiao Hongyi was going to keep quarreling with Lin Ru, Xiao Yan frowned and said, “That’s enough. Rourou hasn’t come back. What are you two quarreling for?!”

“Enough?” Lin Ru glared at Xiao Yan and then burst into tears. “If I hadn’t rushed to City W to help your father with a business deal back then, I wouldn’t have given birth to your sister prematurely and lost her!”