Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 108 - 103: There’s Only One Room Left, You Two Will Have to Make Do Together
Hearing this, Lin Qiaoxin thought it was bad news. It seemed there would be no donkey cart to take people back to the village today. If she had known earlier, she could have made it back, but now it was too late, and she feared she would have to spend the night at the rundown temple.
On such a cold day, spending the night in a shabby temple might freeze a person stiff, so Lin Qiao decided to be generous for once and spend a dozen or so cents to stay in town for a night. "Uncle, we’ll head back early tomorrow, let’s stay in town for the night."
"What about Grandpa and Grandma?" Song Tingfan asked worriedly.
Lin Qiao chuckled, "Grandpa Zhou’s donkey cart broke down, Grandpa and Grandma will figure it out."
Hearing this, Song Tingfan thought for a moment and then nodded.
There were only two inns in the town, one slightly cheaper and the other relatively more expensive.
Lin Qiao checked the cheaper inn’s room. The quilt was so thin it rivaled the ones they had at home, so she went to the other one, where the room was much better, with hot water and charcoal fire.
Eighteen cents a room.
"Shopkeeper, we need two rooms."
Just as she finished speaking, the young man quickly shook his head, "Just one room, I can make do in the hall for a night."
Eighteen cents was too expensive; it was enough to buy more than a pound of meat.
Though their relationship was quite good, Lin Qiao still didn’t have the nerve to let him sleep in the hall. If it got cold in the middle of the night and he started to have wild thoughts, he might think that his sister-in-law could sleep in a room but he couldn’t.
The seed of darkness would sprout from the disparity.
Lin Qiao shook her head, "Shopkeeper, two rooms, please."
"One room," Song Tingfan quickly interjected.
Seeing the two of them going back and forth, the shopkeeper chuckled unkindly, "There’s only one room left. You two can make do, my bed is big enough for two."
"Fine, then we’ll take one room, shopkeeper, please have two dishes cooked and brought to the room."
Lin Qiao paid the silver coin, took the room key, and left. After taking a couple of steps, she noticed Song Tingfan wasn’t following, so she went back to drag him along, teasing him quietly, "Uncle, are you shy?"
Song Tingfan’s face turned beet red at her words, "It’s not good for sister-in-law’s reputation."
"Reputation doesn’t matter. As long as you have a clear conscience, let people say what they will, just let it go in one ear and out the other." Lin Qiao had long ceased to care about reputation, immune to even the most venomous words.
Anyone who has experienced an internet storm knows how hurtful it can be.
The White Lotus incident almost drove her to depression and leaving the industry, but luckily she came through and reclaimed her peak, slapping those critics in the face.
To be fair, the local gossip here wasn’t as fierce as internet trolls, who could curse ancestors of eighteen generations up and wish her a painful death while offspring-less.
Some even went so far as to Photoshop a funeral photo.
So truly, no one fit the role of Widow Song better than her.
The only downside was there was no pay. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Song Tingfan thought carefully and shook his head, "I don’t want others to speak ill of sister-in-law."
They could say whatever about him; he could endure it all.
But speaking ill of his sister-in-law was not okay.
Such a sensible "son," Lin Qiao felt gratified and patted his back.
After entering the room, Lin Qiao reached out to warm her hands at the fire, rubbing her stiff hands, "Uncle, come quickly and warm up."
Song Tingfan nodded, closed the door, set down the basket on his back, and joined in warming himself by the fire.
The inn’s room was slightly smaller than their room at home; apart from the bed space, there was only enough room for a table.
Lin Qiao inadvertently met Song Tingfan’s handsome face. Under the firelight, his eyelashes were unusually prominent. Few men had such long, curled, thick eyelashes, probably why his slightly slanted eyes lacked aggression, and his entire face appeared very pure.
In her dream, she knew this villain was handsome, but seeing him up close was breathtaking.
She wondered which lucky girl would marry into his family in this lifetime.
Her gaze was so intense, as if she wanted to eat him up, that Song Tingfan became too nervous to sit still. Quickly, he stood up with a stutter, "Sister-in-law... I’m going to the privy."
Before Lin Qiao could respond, he turned and rushed out.
Seeing him flee so urgently, Lin Qiao assumed he had a pressing need, not realizing it was due to her.
...
The inn’s meal was abundant, and though the two of them ate to their fill, there was still some left. Song Tingfan, unable to waste it, saw that his sister-in-law had stopped eating, so he forced himself to finish it.
Seeing he was struggling to swallow with his cheeks puffed out for so long, Lin Qiao was afraid he’d make himself sick, "Uncle, if you can’t eat anymore, just spit it out."
Song Tingfan shook his head, and after a while, he finally swallowed everything, but as soon as he wanted to speak, he burped.
Instantly, his face flushed unnaturally red with embarrassment, and he didn’t dare meet his sister-in-law’s eyes.
Lin Qiao found it both funny and helpless, "Uncle, in the future, don’t force yourself if you can’t eat anymore." She said while gently patting his back.
Fortunately, Song Tingfan only burped once.
The two stood by the window for a while, watching the sparse lights outside and the faintly drifting snowflakes.
After standing for a short while to digest, Lin Qiao called the waiter to bring hot water for washing.
In the past, they always washed up separately at home, so when Song Tingfan saw Lin Qiao taking off her socks, revealing her fair feet, he quickly averted his gaze.
Unaware, Lin Qiao cheerfully invited him to soak his feet, "Uncle, quickly soak your feet, the water is hot."
"Sister-in-law... I..." Song Tingfan’s face was nearly dripping with sweat, not knowing what to say, and he eventually clutched his stomach and ran away, "Sister-in-law, my stomach hurts, I’m going to the toilet."
Lin Qiao: "..."
See, she told him not to force himself, but he insisted on doing it.
The villain was a silly rabbit indeed.
She hurriedly washed her feet, went out to ask the shopkeeper for a bowl of digestive soup, and when Song Tingfan returned, he saw her holding the bowl over the charcoal fire to warm it.
Lin Qiao called him over, "Uncle, come have some, it will make you feel better." She placed the bowl on the table and couldn’t help but rub her hands.
This time it wasn’t from the cold, but from the heat of the charcoal fire.
Song Tingfan stood in place, feeling complex and touched. He only mentioned a stomachache, yet his sister-in-law expressed concern for him.
This was how his parents used to treat him.
Then he closed the door and walked over, silently drinking the soup.
The soup was warm, warming his heart completely.
Lin Qiao suddenly noticed tears falling from his lowered face and paused, "Uncle, does it hurt a lot?"
Song Tingfan took a deep breath, reminding himself not to cry, as he was a man.
At this moment, he finally felt from the bottom of his heart that he was not an orphan anymore.
He had a sister-in-law.
His sister-in-law cared for him.
Little did Lin Qiao know, the villain truly accepted her from the bottom of his heart during their night at the inn.
She gently patted his head, "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? I’ll go find a doctor." Saying that, she stood up, ready to call someone.
He reached out to stop her, sniffled with a heavy nasal tone, "Sister-in-law, you’re really kind."
It seemed a bowl of soup stirred his emotions, and Lin Qiao was amused yet speechless. She playfully flicked his forehead, "I’m your sister-in-law; treating you well is a given."
She thought to herself that she hadn’t performed any act today. Unexpectedly, just by serving a bowl of soup, the villain was moved.
Was this an unexpected success?
She secretly congratulated herself.
If she had reflected on herself more, there would be no room for smugness.
