Chapter 10: Father Qin Anshun

Perhaps hearing the footsteps outside, a woman in her thirties, slightly plump, hurried out from the room. This woman was none other than Lady Woo, the former protagonist's stepmother.

"Xiao Ruo?" Lady Woo looked at Qin Xiaoruo with a hint of surprise she had never shown before, and then shouted into the house, "Anshun, Xiao Ruo is back!"

Perhaps the act was too exhausting, or maybe it was because Qin Xiaoruo's disdainful gaze was too obvious, but the somewhat fabricated smile on Lady Woo's face faltered, and, under Qin Xiaoruo's watchful eyes, it eventually retracted.

Lady Woo was astonished. She had been away only a few days, yet this girl seemed completely transformed, especially those eyes, which made people uncomfortable all over.

"Xiao Ruo, is that really you?" Qin Anshun's voice, both shocked and overjoyed, came from inside the house.

The sound of Qin Anshun's voice brought Lady Woo back to her senses. She felt like she was bewitched, rattled by the stare of a foolish girl. Suppressing the doubts in her heart, she put on a flattering smile again and affectionately approached Qin Xiaoruo, "Come inside quickly, your father misses you dearly."

Qin Xiaoruo sidestepped, her clear eyes appropriately showing a hint of terror, and the next second, she turned and rushed into the room as if a ghost were chasing her.

Lady Woo felt a blockage in her heart, and nearly ground her teeth to pieces.

This wretched girl, why act as if seeing a ghost?

Lady Woo felt stifled with anger. Yet, Qin Xiaoruo had said nothing and done nothing; there was no pretext for Lady Woo to vent, and she could only seethe with annoyance. The slight guilt she'd felt for leaving Qin Xiaoruo behind evaporated completely with this disturbance.

This wretched girl was certainly doing it on purpose!

After staying at the Fu Family for a few days, she thought herself too high and mighty, playing mind games with her. Did she really think she could escape from her grasp just like that?

Passing through the hall to Qin Anshun's room, Qin Xiaoruo could see everything was in disarray. What more did she need to understand?

"Xiao Ruo, are you truly well now?" Qin Anshun, upon seeing his daughter returned, couldn't help but burst into tears, uttering disjointedly, "It's good to be recovered. It must have been the Fu Family who called for a doctor... We must thank them properly... How much did it cost? Once we have money, we'll pay them back..."

Xiao Ruo's illness was severe, and with Lady Woo, that vicious woman, having abandoned her, he had steeled himself to be the bereaved. He never expected that Xiao Ruo would pull through... how wonderful... how very wonderful...

Qin Xiaoruo waited until Qin Anshun calmed down a bit before speaking, "Father, I'm really fine, don't be sad."

In her memory, Qin Anshun had never shed tears in front of her, except when the original protagonist's mother passed away. Now, seeing him cry so for her, Qin Xiaoruo felt somewhat moved.

"Xiao Ruo, your father has wronged you, wronged your mother..." Qin Anshun cried like a child, not only out of extreme joy but also because he felt he had let his daughter down.

Lady Woo, who followed into the room, saw what was happening and her expression turned ugly, "Child's father, what are you doing? It's as if I've wronged Xiao Ruo in some way!"

As a stepmother, Lady Woo considered that she had been rather good to Qin Xiaoruo, at least she hadn't abused the girl daily like other stepmothers, only making her do more chores. Yet, Qin Anshun still always thought she wasn't kind enough to the girl. Why didn't he look at how other families' stepmothers treated the children of former wives? Some of the crueler ones even went as far as to take their lives!