Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 177 - 172: She Staked Her Life

Lin Qiao sighed in her heart, "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself. Ping’er and An’er just started studying, there’s plenty of expenses coming up for them, save it for them."

"We’ve saved for them, and we’ve also saved for you."

"Really, there’s no need. I’m doing quite well at the Song Family. Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle all treat me well, and I believe Uncle will treat me well in the future." Lin Qiao had already noticed the young man "eavesdropping" at the door out of the corner of her eye.

Ahem, he must treat her well.

She’s gambling her life on it.

She absolutely did not want to end up like her predecessor. If it ever came to that, she’d find a rope and hang herself before letting him abuse her.

It’s tragic enough just to see, let alone experience firsthand.

Although Li Guifen was eager to marry off her daughter, she didn’t force it when the daughter said she didn’t like him, "Then I’ll keep looking for you. How about that boy Liang Wei?"

Lin Qiao tried to remember who Liang Wei was, but couldn’t recall. Li Guifen, seeing she had forgotten, explained, "Your cousin, he hinted to me a couple of years back, and he still hasn’t married yet." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

At that time, she was quite fond of Wei. However, since her daughter liked Zhang Dong, she didn’t agree.

Cousin?

Lin Qiao: "..."

Marrying a cousin is even more ridiculous than marrying the uncle—at least he isn’t a blood relative, but the cousin is!

She bit back the words about not marrying relatives within three generations.

"Mom, drop this matter, it’s definitely not possible."

Li Guifen swallowed back all the nice things she wanted to say.

Finally sending off the Li Family, Lin Qiao yawned several times. Song Tingfan was pouring wine to rub Song Rong’s back. She watched for a while, then went to bring the bedding drying in the courtyard back to their respective rooms.

In Song Tingfan’s room, she laid out his bedding for him and finally changed his pillowcase with a clean one.

The villain had a cleanliness obsession, frequently changing such items, but he was diligent and would wash them himself.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed from behind. She turned around to see the cause. Likely due to the short door frame, it accentuated the youth’s tall figure.

He seemed to have grown taller again.

Tall enough now, but still needed to grow a bit more to be standard, "Finished rubbing Grandpa’s back?"

"Yes." Song Tingfan came over to arrange his pillowcase, glancing at his sister-in-law with a hint of joy.

He felt happy just having her beside him doing nothing.

Recalling something, he added, "Sister-in-law, the peach blossoms are about to fall. Should I pick them all?"

"Yes, after I return from town tomorrow, I’ll pick them. Uncle, someone wants to buy the recipe for the cold dishes for thirty taels of Silver. Once we get the Silver Coin, we can renovate the house." Lin Qiao watched his reaction.

Thirty silver coins?

Song Tingfan was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned complex. His sister-in-law was quite good at making money. Would she not need his support in the future?

He must be better at making money than his sister-in-law.

"Sister-in-law, the house is still livable. You keep it yourself."

"I’ll definitely save some." Lin Qiao blinked and added, "To marry you a wife in the future."

"I heard Hehua is engaged to Wu Erwa?"

She was a bit gossipy; ahem, she initially had her eye on Yu Hehua.

"Yes, Tie Dan is having a hard time." Song Tingfan pulled a stool for her to sit on, then sat on the edge of the bed.

"Does Tie Dan have feelings for Hehua?"

"Yes."

The young man looked at the young woman for her reaction. She just smiled and showed no other expression.

For some reason, he felt happy. His sister-in-law didn’t care about Zhou Tiedan.

After chatting for a while, Lin Qiao went back to her room.

...

As summer approached, the sky brightened earlier and earlier. By the village’s first rooster crow, the sky was already slightly bright.

In the courtyard, a young man in cloth clothes picked peach blossoms continuously with a basket, the morning blossoms covered with dewdrops soon wet his palms.

Soon, the young woman came out, seemingly unaware someone was in the courtyard. She stretched her arms upwards, leaning slightly back to stretch her body.

With this stretch, her chest too protruded, drawing a perfect arc.

The boy in the tree naturally saw it, momentarily unable to look away. Once he realized what he was seeing, he shyly averted his gaze.

In a fluster, he slipped, suddenly falling from the tree with a "thud," scattering peach blossoms everywhere.

Lin Qiao was startled, and upon seeing it was Song Tingfan who fell from the tree, she hurriedly ran to help him.

However, before she could assist, he had already flipped himself up.

"Uncle, are you okay?"

"No, no problem." Song Tingfan flushed, avoiding her gaze, then squatted to pick up the blossoms.

"Are you sure you’re fine, or just pretending?"

Worried he was holding it in, Lin Qiao reached out to touch his back, "Does it hurt?"

What was an ordinary touch made Song Tingfan feel as though his back was on fire. Instinctively, he avoided it, anxiously raising his voice, "It doesn’t hurt!"

His reaction made Lin Qiao assume he was in pain. With a bit of seriousness, she dragged him inside to sit, "Let me check your back."

Song Tingfan’s already red face turned even redder. He stammered, unable to form words, "No, no, no..."

"Take it off quickly, or I’ll do it for you." Lin Qiao’s tone was slightly urgent, carrying a subtle hint of concern.

"Sister-in-law, I, I..."

Before he could finish stammering, Lin Qiao began untying his belt, rendering him as stiff as a statue.

After a long while, he abruptly stood up, holding his collar tightly, shamed, "No... no need!"

Lin Qiao: "..."

Making it seem like she had ill intentions.

Ahem, she wasn’t boasting, but if she really wanted to do something to him, he wouldn’t be able to escape!

At this moment, Song Rong and Song Qin entered. Seeing this scene, they froze momentarily. Song Qin asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Grandpa, check on Uncle. He just fell from the tree, landed on his back." Lin Qiao knew he was shy and left the room willingly.

Song Qin checked on Song Tingfan and found no problem. Lin Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Song Tingfan was about to pick more peach blossoms, she stopped him, "Uncle, don’t go picking, I’ll pick them myself."

"I must pick." Song Tingfan had only gotten up early to pick peach blossoms.

Seeing his stubbornness, Lin Qiao took on a sister-in-law’s authoritative tone, playfully smacking his arm, "Don’t be so stubborn like an ox, you aren’t allowed to pick the blossoms. What if you fall again like before?"

"I won’t." Song Tingfan softly replied.

Earlier... he had fallen because he was looking at her...

In the end, Lin Qiao couldn’t deter this "stubborn" ox. He continued up the tree to pick peach blossoms.

The "culprit" herself was oblivious, worried about his fall, she held the ladder below, and the boy dared not look down.

Even by breakfast, a third of the peach blossoms still needed picking. Lin Qiao poured the picked blossoms into a wooden bucket, soaking them in clean water.

Breakfast was simple, with last night’s cold dishes and rice reheated.

As Song Tingfan was leaving, Lin Qiao hurriedly called him, handing him a bamboo tube, "Take this water with you to drink. I told Grandma to bring more by around seven o’clock."

These days, the heat made him thirsty easily. The bamboo tube was small, only lasting a few sips.

Yesterday, he lied, not expecting his sister-in-law to actually take it seriously and give him water. Song Tingfan felt somewhat guilty, yet inexplicably joyful, "Thank you, sister-in-law."