Du Ruoxin glared speechlessly at her elder brother – what did he mean by remaking them?
These clothes still had room for repair! Why waste tens of millions?
She would never instill such a disregard for money in her daughter; every penny should be spent where it belongs.
Just because they were super-rich didn't mean they should be extravagant, wasteful, and clueless about spending.
This went against her values.
Du Ruoxin decided to ignore his dictatorial gaze. "No, if you make a mistake, you have to fix it yourself."
Dear elder brother, can you please stop hindering my efforts to educate Dou Dou?
If Dou Dou were to be educated by you, she'd definitely turn into a spoiled and willful girl.
Cristiano, seeing the woman's disdainful look, muttered, "Isn't Dou Dou still young?" He crouched down, pointed to the ruined clothes beside them, and smiled slightly. "What did Dou Dou use to cut them?"
Rong Dou Dou replied softly, "A small knife."
Cristiano looked at her dotingly. "Was it fun?"
A hint of excitement flickered in Rong Dou Dou's adorable eyes. "Mm." It was very fun; with one cut, *swish, swish, swish*, they all split into two, like magic.
She knew magic now.
Cristiano scooped up the little girl. "Come, I'll take you to play until you've had your fill."
He ordered several cabinets of clothes to be prepared, until the little girl had cut enough and played enough.
Du Ruoxin: ...
Damn it!
She jolted in fright and immediately snatched her daughter from her brother's arms. "No, knives are dangerous, you can't play with them. What if she cuts herself?"
Elder brother!
You're abetting a crime!
*%￥#@!
Please stay away from my daughter!
Du Ruoxin looked at her elder brother, a thousand words converging in her eyes, refracting into a gaze full of resentment.
Cristiano frowned, his displeasure evident at the hostile stare. "I'll watch her, I won't let her hurt herself."
Dou Dou cut up such a large room full of clothes, and she didn't hurt her hand, did she?
She wasn't stupid.
Hearing these words made Du Ruoxin's scalp tingle – would her brother really indulge Dou Dou's whims and spoil her into a menace?
"It's a no, and that's final!" She hugged Dou Dou, stating righteously, "Elder brother, when I'm educating Dou Dou in the future, can you not contradict me?"
Although it was a question, she spoke with an accusatory tone.
Cristiano was stunned.
After a while, he came back to his senses. He rubbed his nose and said in a low voice, "You never dared to speak to me in that tone before."
She had always been obedient, compliant, and sensible towards him. She would act cute when happy and sulk silently when unhappy.
Later, when she learned of his feelings for her, she began to fear him, to resist him...
But never like this, like a mother lion fiercely protecting her cub.
It was as if if he said or did anything more, she would fight him to the death – a mutual destruction.
Du Ruoxin: ...
She realized then that not only was her attitude and tone towards her elder brother bad, but she had also shown hostility.
But—
She could compromise on anything, but not when it came to Dou Dou.
Du Ruoxin quickly composed herself and said calmly, "She's my daughter, and I want to raise her well."
"When it comes to education, if two people have disagreements, it's impossible to succeed."
Children are incredibly smart and adept at reading people. They will learn from the dominant party and automatically ignore the weaker one.
Over time, the weaker party's words become meaningless, having no deterrent effect.
Therefore, she had to be strong.
On the long road of educating her daughter, she would never be overly indulgent, nor would she entrust it to others.
Cristiano didn't quite understand; he couldn't grasp the reasoning.
He lowered his gaze and looked at her. "I treated you the same way before."
Why didn't you have any problems? Didn't you grow up well?
So well that you could drive me crazy!
Du Ruoxin: "..."
She couldn't reason with him, so she stopped trying.
She took her daughter's hand and turned to leave the room, saying as she walked, "Elder brother can go have a cup of coffee. Dou Dou and I will clean up the mess."
Cristiano, of course, wouldn't stand idly by.
He was just saying it; he would always support whatever she did without question.
The group packed the clothes and went to the garment factory.
Du Ruoxin was responsible for the design, the workers for the sewing and repairs, and Cristiano for providing the factory, manpower, and money.
As for Rong Dou Dou, who knew nothing.
Du Ruoxin found her a physically demanding chore – standing next to a tailor and holding the hem of the clothes, ostensibly as the tailor's little assistant to help them finish the sewing and repairs faster, but in reality, she was just getting in the way and making it difficult for the tailor to work.
Rong Dou Dou also had to stand the entire time, not allowed to sit.
Tailor: ...
Cristiano: ...
Couldn't find a reason to bother the little girl, so they had to invent one?
He truly couldn't understand what was going on in Xin'er's mind.
Du Ruoxin, of course, had her own reasons.
She couldn't rely on Rong Dou Dou for the clothes repair work; she was too young to help.
So she found something for her daughter to do.
She wanted her to learn a lesson and realize the seriousness of the situation so she wouldn't repeat it.
Rong Dou Dou was initially excited to be a "little assistant," but as she stood for longer and longer, she couldn't bear it.
Her legs went numb, hurt, and felt uncomfortable, and her hands were also sore and tired.
She squatted down, her small body collapsing onto the floor.
Du Ruoxin shot a sharp gaze her way. "Stand up! You're distracting the auntie. You might tear the clothes again later."
The tailor made a perfunctory comment.
Rong Dou Dou pouted and refused to get up. "Mommy, I'm so tired, really so tired..."
Du Ruoxin's expression was stern. "Pouting won't work. You have to bear the consequences of your own mistakes. Hurry up."
Rong Dou Dou pouted and reluctantly stood up.
But after a short while, she sat down again.
Du Ruoxin raised the ruler in her hand.
Rong Dou Dou sprang up as if injected with chicken blood.
This repeated a few times. When the little one realized that no matter how much she whined or acted cute, it was useless, and her mother was unyielding, she finally behaved.
She obediently became a little assistant, holding the hem of the clothes, standing somewhat unsteadily, enduring the pain and exhaustion.
Cristiano watched, feeling incredibly heartbroken.
A little sprout of only three years old had to be so obedient?
And then he looked at Du Ruoxin...
Her busy figure, moving around, picking up a pen, and designing with intense focus, stirred his heart.