"Uncle?"
Ruan Xingchen turned around and tilted her head, looking at Lu Jingyuan. A smile slowly appeared on her small face.
"That won't do. You're Xiaobai's uncle, not mine. And Xiaobai said you can't just claim relatives casually."
Growing up, aside from her late mother, Ruan Xingchen had basically only had Lu Xiaobai by her side. So when it came to Xiaobai, she trusted her completely—almost to the point of always listening to her.
Lu Jingyuan met her serious gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Fair enough."
Ruan Xingchen looked at the faint curve of his lips and felt something was… off. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly felt strange.
After saying goodbye to him, she returned to her apartment, locked the door carefully, and immediately pulled out her phone.
She opened her contacts and called Lu Xiaobai.
The call connected quickly. Xiaobai's anxious voice came through,
"Ruan Luoli! I heard from Sister Li that my uncle took you away. What happened? Did he give you a hard time?"
When Xiaobai had seen her uncle earlier, she had wanted to run. But after leaving the club, she became worried—afraid Ruan Xingchen might get bullied, or worse, left alone to deal with other people.
So she had gone back, searched everywhere, and finally asked Sister Li—only to learn that Ruan Xingchen had been taken away… and that she herself had been fired too.
She didn't care much about losing the job—it was only for accompanying Ruan Xingchen anyway. What worried her was whether Lu Jingyuan had caused trouble for her.
"Sir?"
Ruan Xingchen blinked.
"He didn't do anything to me."
After a pause, she pouted.
"Xiaobai, we lost our job…"
Xiaobai quietly let out a breath of relief and comforted her,
"It's okay. We can find another one. Next time we'll definitely find something easy, high-paying… and safe."
"But Xiaobai," Ruan Xingchen said, blinking, "he said he has a job for me. Easy, well-paid, and safe. He told me to think about it."
"What?!"
Lu Xiaobai was stunned.
Her uncle… offering Ruan Luoli a job?
Since when did he become so… helpful?
Forget it. She'd ask him about it another day.
On the last day of the holiday, Ruan Xingchen had planned to sleep in until the afternoon.
But early in the morning, the doorbell rang.
Judging by the rhythm, it wasn't Xiaobai.
She turned over, pulled the blanket over her head, and decided to ignore it.
But the person outside was persistent. After more than ten minutes of continuous ringing with no response, they still didn't give up.
Ruan Xingchen scratched her messy hair in annoyance, got out of bed reluctantly, slipped on her slippers, and walked over while yawning to open the door.
"Xingchen?"
A plainly dressed middle-aged couple stood outside, looking her up and down.
She froze for a moment.
"And you are…?"
The two exchanged glances. The woman smiled kindly.
"It really is Xingchen. You've grown so much more beautiful after all these years."
"Yes, yes," the man quickly added. Seeing her cautious expression, he hurried to explain,
"You might not remember us. I'm your uncle Fang Rong, and this is your aunt He Xiuzhen. When you were little, we even held you."
Ruan Xingchen blinked in confusion.
She didn't even know her mother had any sisters.
He Xiuzhen handed her an old photo.
"We're not lying. Your mother and I were cousins."
The people in the photo were indeed this woman and her mother.
Ruan Xingchen stayed silent, studying them.
Even if they weren't lying, Xiaobai had once said: relatives who suddenly show up without reason usually bring trouble.
Especially distant ones.
The couple smiled awkwardly. He Xiuzhen nudged her husband.
Fang Rong quickly handed over a small box he had been carrying.
"We only recently found out about your situation. It just so happens your cousin is studying in the city, so we came by."
He Xiuzhen added,
"We're simple people from the countryside. We don't have anything valuable… These are just some farm eggs we brought. A small token of our sincerity. We hope you won't dislike them… or blame us for not visiting all these years."
Ruan Xingchen hesitated, then accepted the box.
"Thank you, Auntie… Uncle."
Fang Rong seemed like he wanted to say more, but He Xiuzhen tugged his sleeve. She took out a small piece of paper and handed it over—it had a phone number written on it.
"It's getting late, we should go. If you ever need anything, just contact us."
Ruan Xingchen nodded.
"Take care."
She watched them enter the elevator.
Just as she was about to close the door, the corner of her eye caught a familiar figure.
That was…
The "uncle"?