Chapter 9

Ruan Xizhi saw Ruan Miaorui dragging her little angel like a human trafficker.

How could she tolerate this?

Of course not.

She crouched down to carefully check if Su Tongtong was hurt, but fortunately, she wasn’t.

Ruan Xizhi shielded the two children behind her, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Ruan Miaorui.

Ruan Miaorui stiffened under her gaze, not expecting Ruan Xizhi to confront her. Didn’t she fear that Ruan Miaorui would go back and report her? Oh, right, Ruan Xizhi had already been kicked out of her family.

“I’ll take my children back, please move aside,” Ruan Miaorui still tried to maintain her image in front of the camera, not wanting to spoil her reputation with the audience for the sake of Ruan Xizhi.

Ruan Xizhi had seen all kinds of people and immediately saw through Ruan Miaorui’s intentions. She smiled slightly. “What if I don’t?”

“Stop pretending to be the good person here,” Ruan Miaorui gritted her teeth. “You abandoned these two children in the wilderness, I have the obligation to take Tongtong back!”

“It’s not dangerous with you; there’s sun and thirst over there,” Ruan Xizhi had seen their situation clearly when she went out to find a cave.

“I’ll say it one more time.”

Ruan Xizhi, who was half a head taller than Ruan Miaorui, took a step forward and looked down at her. There was an inexplicable sense of intimidation in her tone as she spoke slowly.

“Try moving her.”

[Wow, this version of Ruan Xizhi is so cool!]

[Ruan Xizhi, look at me!]

[Hahaha, as expected, they’re family. So protective of Tongtong.]

[This is really a bit too much from Ruan Miaorui. If the child doesn’t want to go, why force her?]

Ruan Miaorui had never seen Ruan Xizhi like this. Forced to take a step back, she felt a slight tremor in her heart and swallowed. “You… you… hmph, I can’t be bothered with you.”

She looked at Su Tongtong, coaxing gently, “Tongtong, come back with me, okay?”

Su Tongtong shook her head, “No.”

Ruan Miaorui: “…”

“Tongtong is the best,” Ruan Miaorui then took out her trump card, “We’ll video call mommy and daddy when we get back.”

Parents are always the children’s weakness.

Su Tongtong hesitated for a second, then blinked and asked Ruan Miaorui, “But auntie’s phone was taken by the uncle from the show group, how can I call my mommy and daddy?”

Ruan Xizhi chuckled aloud, giving Su Tongtong a thumbs up in front of Ruan Miaorui.

This was the highest level of irritation.

Indeed, Ruan Miaorui was so angry. She was being humiliated this much, and she didn’t want the child anymore. With a huff, she turned around and left.

As soon as she left, she regretted it, but her pride wouldn’t let her go back. She decided to let the program group handle it.

[Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter. The big one and the little one are really going to make people angry.]

[The most frustrating thing is to make people angry without trying.]

[Really getting to know Ruan Xizhi better.]

[The true and false daughters, it’s getting more and more dramatic. Looking forward to the next episode of the recording.]

Some were looking forward to it, but of course, some were criticizing, especially after Ruan Miaorui, the top female team leader in the country, was made to leave.

[Ruan Xizhi was kicked out by the Ruan family. Don’t flatter her as the ‘young lady.’ The Ruan family only has one daughter, Ruan Miaorui.]

[Exactly, who knows what Ruan Xizhi is trying to do by coming on this show.]

Ruan Xizhi no longer fought alone. Gradually, her temporary fans were no longer temporary. Seeing these kinds of comments, she couldn’t help but retort.

[Oh, oh, oh, big deal. The Ruan family’s young lady? Please search the Xing family on Baidu and see their background before bragging here. Oh, by the way, Ruan Xizhi is now Xing Xiaochi’s mom.]

[Always trying to pull out the background card. Even kindergarten kids are playing more advanced tricks than you.]

In her past life, Ruan Xizhi never let anyone bully her, and in this life, it was even less likely.

After sending Ruan Miaorui away, Ruan Xizhi took the two kids back to the cave.

As soon as they arrived, the two kids felt like they had opened a new world.

Su Tongtong blinked and spun around in the cave. “Wow, is this where wild people live?”

Xing Xiaochi, on the other hand, was attracted to the tree bed. He had never seen anything like it before.

But before he could get closer, Ruan Xizhi sat down on it and raised an eyebrow. “This, it’s mine.”

Xing Xiaochi pouted. “I just want to look.”

Ruan Xizhi plucked a leaf from the bed and handed it to him, “Here, take this and look to your heart’s content.”

Xing Xiaochi held the leaf, “…”

“Mean!” Xing Xiaochi was so angry that he puffed up like a pufferfish. “Who wants it!”

Ruan Xizhi lay back on the tree bed, propping her head on her hand. “Mm-hmm, not interested. Now, stay away.”

Xing Xiaochi crossed his arms and huffed. He was really mad.

“Cheapskate!”

“Hahahaha, what a mother-son duo.”

“I really like the way they interact like this.”

Xing Xiaochi, still angry, heard Su Tongtong shout from the side, “Guoguo, look, fish!”

Xing Xiaochi’s attention was immediately drawn, and he jogged over, “Where are the fish?”

Su Tongtong pointed at the puddle, “There, there, so big!”

Xing Xiaochi crouched down and, sure enough, saw several big fish swimming in the water.

Because he had once had a fish get stuck in his throat, fish had not appeared in the Xing family since then. Seeing the fish swimming now was incredibly novel.

Speaking of fish, Ruan Xizhi felt somewhat hungry.

She turned around and noticed the two children crouched motionless, like two greedy little cats.

Ruan Xizhi smiled, walked over, and reached into the puddle, splashing water as she caught a fish, which flopped in the air and splattered the two children with water.

The two children were stunned, and the live-stream viewers were also shocked.

The viewers had thought the two kids were just shouting randomly, but it turned out to be real fish!

“??? Show team, I suspect you’re playing me. Fish in a puddle? Did you put them there?”

“Hahahaha, that’s not it! I can testify that Ruan Xizhi caught the fish and put them in the puddle.”

“Yeah, I can also testify. Ruan Xizhi was so quick and skillful when catching the fish.”

“Is this really an island life? Wasn’t the plan supposed to be something like losing 10 pounds from hardship? But Ruan Xizhi seems to be on vacation instead!”

Ruan Xizhi held the fish and said, “We’re having fish for dinner today.”

“No!” Xing Xiaochi pouted and disagreed, “Fish are so cute, we can’t eat them.”

Ruan Xizhi was surprised to see the little guy so compassionate and smiled, “Then you’re not cute. Can I eat you instead?”

Xing Xiaochi found her really annoying; she always liked to tease him.

“Anyway, I forbid it!” Xing Xiaochi pointed at the fish in Ruan Xizhi’s hands, “I’m going to raise it from now on.”

Seeing how firm Xing Xiaochi was, Ruan Xizhi hesitated but then glanced at the fish and realized how hungry she was.

Just as the two of them were at an impasse, Su Tongtong stepped forward, “There are so many fish, Guoguo, you can raise this one, and we can eat that one.”

Ruan Xizhi’s eyes lit up.

That’s a good idea!

“Okay, you can raise this one,” Ruan Xizhi handed the fish to Xing Xiaochi and grabbed another one, “We’ll eat this one.”

With that, she turned and walked away, afraid of Xing Xiaochi’s determination.

Before long, the big and two small people were sitting by the fire, each holding a fish, looking very content.

The live-stream viewers were envious, and the director backstage was stunned.

He had filmed many island survival shows, but he had never seen anything so illogical.

The point of island survival shows was to show celebrities struggling and kids crying for their parents, but now… Ruan Xizhi was actually roasting fish with the two kids!

The fire was small, but just right for roasting the fish.

The fish gradually turned yellow under the heat, and the tender white fish meat split open, emitting a savory aroma that viewers could almost smell through the screen.

Director Wang Mingdong hadn’t expected Ruan Xizhi to have such skills. Originally, he invited Ruan Miaorui for the drama of fake vs. real daughter conflict, but Ruan Xizhi directly upgraded the situation, delivering an invisible slap to the face.

Well, that’s not his fault.

Having made so many variety shows, his specialty was creating visual contrasts.

Two minutes later, the live stream was filled with laughter.

“Director, you really know how to handle things ꉂ(˵¯̴͒ꇴ¯̴͒˵)౨”

“Hahahaha, the split screen is going to get smashed!”

“At first, I didn’t think much of it, but now I see it… they’re not on the same island, are they? Hahahaha, the living conditions are so different!”

The director split the screen into two.

On Ruan Xizhi’s side, she was enjoying sweet fruit in one hand and crispy, fragrant roasted fish in the other. The fish was so fatty that when she took a bite, extra juice spilled down the corners of her mouth.

Looking at the two kids, they were enjoying their food even more, their little faces smeared with fish, and their mouths made squelching sounds, proving how delicious the fish was.

On the other side, Ruan Miaorui was nibbling on a piece of compressed biscuit, drinking plain water provided by the show team, sitting alone on the beach, looking at the starry sky.

She hadn’t set up a tent and had to sleep on the ground with the sky as her blanket. It was a sad sight.

“I take back what I said earlier, now I’m really glad the kids are with Ruan Xizhi. They’re living so comfortably here. As a homebody, I genuinely envy them!”

“Tongtong, make sure to stick with Sister Zhi! For the next two days, she’s your provider!”

“I get it now. The deserted island equals vacation (•‿•)”