Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 189 - 184: The Broken Temple Scene in a Dream
In the following days, Lin Qiao stayed in, sewing clothes for Song Tingfan. He was growing fast, his body shooting up, and the clothes bought just before the New Year were already too tight. Sigh, especially around the chest.
It took some time following her own patterns, and she had only embroidered a small part.
As evening approached, Niu Er stood at the door, shouting, "Widow Song, Widow Song!"
Upon hearing his voice, Song Tingfan instinctively grabbed a chair, like a mother protecting her young. Lin Qiao quickly held him back, "Put it down, little uncle, it’s nothing." She then went outside.
Niu Er boasted smugly, "I got it done for you, made sure everyone knows, hehe, now let me touch..."
Before he could finish, he was pushed to the ground with great force, shouting an "ouch" as his bottom hit the floor.
Song Tingfan came over just in time to hear the last sentence and, without thinking, shoved him, then pulled his sister-in-law behind him, warning Niu Er fiercely, "Don’t come to my house again, or I’ll shoot you with an arrow!"
"Song Tingfan! I’m your sister-in-law’s husband, and this is how you treat me? Believe it or not, I’ll hit you!"
Niu Er got up and made a threatening gesture, but Lin Qiao quickly stepped in front, angrily saying, "Try hitting him?"
Niu Er’s hand froze mid-air, displeased he snorted, "You’re being unreasonable, it’s this brat who pushed me first. Why aren’t you hitting him? Are you out of your mind?"
"You can’t even teach your kid properly; one day this brat will ride over you, showing off, don’t come crying to me for help."
"Hmph! I’m leaving."
He said while rubbing his backside, glaring at Song Tingfan, who was even taller than him, wondering what he ate to grow like bamboo on the hillside.
He was also strong.
In a couple of years, he feared he’d lose a fight against him.
At the thought of that, he hurried to shake off the idea, how could he lose to him, even after ten more years he’d still beat him, hmph, once he became his brother-in-law, he’d hit him every day.
Once he left, Lin Qiao took the still glaring Song Tingfan back into the yard, ignoring the Li Family across the river watching with bowls in hand.
Shutting the gate, Song Tingfan barred the door with a thick wooden beam, saying gruffly, "Sister-in-law, don’t see Niu Er anymore, he’s no good."
"Alright." Lin Qiao agreed with him.
Probably still angry at Niu Er, Song Tingfan didn’t utter a word during dinner, and Lin Qiao sensed that the child was quick to anger, having lost count of how many times now.
Sigh, it was all her indulgence.
She was strangely a bit proud of it.
Wanting to console him, she gave him two more servings of vegetables, "Eat more, you’ll go to town tomorrow morning without breakfast."
"Okay." Song Tingfan obediently finished his bowl, then served himself another. Noticing her empty bowl, he reached over to scoop more. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Lin Qiao quickly stopped him, "No more, I’m full."
"You’ve only had one bowl."
Song Tingfan thought his sister-in-law ate too little; even grandpa and grandma had a bowl and a half. He pursed his lips, "Eat half a bowl more."
"I really can’t eat anymore, you just eat." Lin Qiao, used to controlling her diet as an actress, generally ate till she was about 70-80% full.
Of course, she ate more when working, otherwise, she couldn’t manage.
Song Tingfan stubbornly watched her without speaking, hoping she’d give in. They were at a stalemate for a bit until Lin Qiao let him serve half a bowl.
Adding half a bowl of rice for his sister-in-law, Song Tingfan was a bit happy, giving her a serving of vegetables, "Sister-in-law, eat more."
Song Qin chuckled, "Qiao’er really is too thin, should eat more, like Niu Niu, eating three or four bowls at a meal, to grow strong."
"Niu Niu needs to grow strong so he can handle things in the future."
"Grandma, I can handle it, I can carry two logs now." Song Tingfan said earnestly.
The family burst into laughter, Song Rong smiling as he taught him, "Handling things isn’t just about carrying stuff, but also supporting the family. In a couple of years when you marry, you’ll need to take care of the household, dealing with whatever arises."
If his parents were still around, they could share the burden, but since they weren’t, he had to shoulder everything, for better or worse.
Song Tingfan instinctively glanced at Lin Qiao. Meeting his gaze, she felt a bit mystified but didn’t think much of it.
As she pondered this, she remembered she hadn’t entrusted Grandma to speak to Grandpa about Song Tingfan’s ’birds and bees’ talk.
While washing dishes, Lin Qiao sent Song Tingfan outside to sweep, staying behind with Song Qin in the kitchen, "Grandma, can I talk to you about something?"
Seeing her speak quietly, Song Qin lowered her voice as well, "What is it?"
"No one has told little uncle about that stuff. I’m not comfortable talking about it, so I was hoping Grandpa could." Lin Qiao mentioned, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Song Qin felt a bit embarrassed too, "I’d almost forgotten about that. I’ll ask your Grandpa to talk to Tingfan later."
A quarter of an hour later, as Song Tingfan was about to go back into the house, Song Rong called him, "Niu Niu, come to my room for a bit."
"Alright."
Song Tingfan walked in, "Grandpa, what’s up?"
"Close the door."
After he closed the door, Song Rong rummaged through a cabinet for a while, eventually pulling out a cloth package, wrapped in three or four layers of old fabric, before finally handing him a yellowed book, "This talk should’ve been with your father, but since he’s gone, I’ll discuss it with you."
Song Tingfan, holding the book, instinctively opened it, and upon seeing the two overlapping figures, his face flushed red. He closed the book quickly, trying to return it as if it were a hot potato, "Grandpa, I don’t want it."
Seeing him shy, Song Rong chuckled, "Being shy is natural. I was the same when I first saw it too. You read and keep this book safe, pass it to your children in the future. Your father didn’t want it back then, so it stayed with me."
"Niu Niu, you’re already thirteen, there are things Grandpa needs you to understand: before getting married, you must not touch a girl. If you do, you must marry her."
"But Grandpa won’t allow you to touch a girl before getting married; it’ll ruin her reputation if it gets out."
"Understand?"
Thinking about changing his sister-in-law’s clothes, Song Tingfan stammered, "Grandpa, what if I...touched?"
"Who did you touch?" Song Rong’s expression turned serious.
"Hypo...thetically." Song Tingfan knew he couldn’t say it was his sister-in-law.
Song Rong breathed a sigh of relief, firmly saying, "You mustn’t touch. If you like a girl, let us know, and we’ll formally propose."
Song Tingfan nodded.
They talked in the room for quite a while. It was late at night when Song Tingfan finally came out, Lin Qiao and Song Qin had been asleep for a bit.
Hearing the noise outside, Lin Qiao opened her eyes, then closed them again.
Entering the room, Song Tingfan lay awake, thoughts filled with what Grandpa told him and that glimpse of the two small figures in the drawing.
Eventually, he fell asleep.
A dilapidated temple
"Why are you selling me! Why!!! Lin Qiao, I hate you, I hate you."
The man’s disfigured face was hideous, violently tearing at the woman’s clothes beneath him.
The woman pleaded in terror, "Little uncle, I was wrong, I was wrong, please let me go."
"Song Tingfan, I’m begging you, don’t touch me...ah!"
