Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 192 - 187: You’d Better Not Think About My Sister-in-law, or I’ll Beat You Up
It was very late when we reached the village, but we could still see the road. After Lin Qiao got off, the woman behind her followed closely and probably didn’t stand still, promptly falling forward.
Originally, Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan could have reached out to help, but neither of them did, though Lin Qiao still stretched out her hand as a gesture after the woman fell.
The woman fell and ate dirt, moaning "Oh dear" several times.
Lin Qiao was secretly delighted, she "worriedly" mocked and said anxiously, "Auntie, your teeth are bleeding from the bump. Try to speak less for the next few days, otherwise, it’ll hurt even more."
Song Tingfan thought his sister-in-law was showing concern. He pursed his lips and pulled her sleeve, "Sister-in-law, it’s getting dark, we should hurry back home."
"Okay, Auntie, we’ll leave now. Make sure to find a doctor to check on you, don’t leave any lasting issues."
Lin Qiao "apologetically" pointed in the direction of home, then walked away with Song Tingfan.
On the way, the young man with a mature demeanor "reminded" his sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, she’s not good, don’t care about her."
Look at that, her acting was really good.
Lin Qiao was a bit smug inside, she pretended not to get it and said, "Why is she not good?"
"Not good, she likes to talk badly." Song Tingfan said seriously.
"Then I won’t talk to her from now on."
Lin Qiao saw him nod and held back a laugh.
...
Nighttime
The room was lit with a small fire, Lin Qiao was packing clothes for Changzhou, when her sight suddenly dimmed. She turned to look at the doorway, the young figure appeared unusually tall in the darkness, "Why haven’t you slept yet?"
The young man pulled at his clothes with his hands hanging by his sides, "Sister-in-law, I want to sleep with you."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiao didn’t think much, smiled, "Okay, go grab the quilt."
Looking at his back, she actually felt a bit heartbroken; what he really wanted wasn’t much, just family members who treated him well.
They didn’t sleep in the same bed, Song Tingfan spread a straw mat beside the bed.
It wasn’t cold anymore, so Lin Qiao didn’t say anything, she took a pillow from the bed and gave it to him, "Sleep now." Then continued to pack the clothes.
Song Tingfan watched her folding clothes, feeling anxious and uneasy. He feared that his sister-in-law might not return once she left. "Sister-in-law, when you come back I’ll make shrimp cakes for you."
He wanted to go with his sister-in-law, but there were Grandpa and Grandma at home, and the fields needed tending.
"Can you make shrimp cakes?" Lin Qiao glanced at him.
Song Tingfan nodded, "I learned from Grandma."
"Okay, then I am saying this in advance: I want five shrimp cakes."
"I’ll make twenty for sister-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, go to sleep now, or if you wake up late tomorrow, you’ll be punished to stand by the teacher."
She suddenly remembered something else, then said, "The silver coins at home are in the box under the bed. If you need to buy something, take from there, don’t save them, especially for Grandpa and Grandma’s health. Remember to buy chicken regularly to stew."
"It’ll be hard for little uncle these days."
The nagging sister-in-law seemed like a mother, but there was something different. Song Tingfan shook his head, "I’m not troubled, sister-in-law, you should eat well outside, don’t get thin."
He added a sentence at the end, "Don’t take any alleyways."
"Okay."
Lin Qiao could see his worry, she then calmly reassured him, "Nothing will happen, Manager Li is going too, I’ll follow them and won’t walk alone."
She wasn’t worried about encountering anything like the brothel incident again; the Ruyi Shop still needed her help, they would certainly keep a close eye on her.
"Sister-in-law, can you write to me?" The boy’s expression was tense and expectant, seeming to fear she wouldn’t agree.
"Okay." Lin Qiao was a bit reluctant to leave him.
Sure enough, after spending time together, feelings have developed.
...
Early the next morning, Song Tingfan got up and boiled four or five eggs from home, then washed the last few smoked sausages and threw them in the pot to boil together.
When Lin Qiao got up, he had already packed the food— a hefty bag. She opened it and seeing the smoked sausages, couldn’t help but laugh. Would she have to gnaw on them when hungry on the way?
"Little uncle, don’t take the sausages, keep them at home for you to eat."
"Take them, they keep you full." Song Tingfan sealed the cloth bag again, not allowing her to take them out.
Song Qin agreed, "Qiao’er, take it for the road, it’s such a long way to Changzhou." She seemed noticeably uneasy saying this at the end.
Yesterday upon hearing she was going, both she and the old man didn’t want her to go, but Qiao’er said she had to go with the boss, or else there wouldn’t be any work later.
Seeing their reluctant expressions, Lin Qiao felt a bit upset too, "There’ll be food on the way, don’t worry. I’m a grown-up and can take care of myself."
"Grandpa and Grandma, whatever you want to eat or are short of, let little uncle buy it for you, I’ve told him where the silver coins are."
Song Qin shook her head, "We at home don’t spend many silver coins, take them all with you, it’ll be convenient to buy things, everything in Changzhou is expensive. When your grandpa went once when he was young, even a string of candied fruits cost ten cents."
"I’ve brought enough, it’ll be fine."
Lin Qiao chatted with them for a while then went to catch the mule cart. Song Tingfan insisted on seeing her to the village entrance.
As they were almost there, Lin Qiao wanted him to go back, she turned and saw his eyes were red, instantly making her heart soften.
She coaxed, "Sister-in-law promises you, I’ll write letters once I arrive in Changzhou."
Song Tingfan looked reluctant but still obediently nodded, "Okay."
Seeing she was about to get on the mule cart, he called out, "Sister-in-law..."
Come back safely.
Lin Qiao patted his head comfortingly, "Go study hard, study poorly and I’ll knock on your head."
...
She left for several days, the grass in the fields had been pulled once. Initially, people in the village didn’t notice, but after three or five days of not seeing her, they found it strange.
Later they discovered Lin Qiao was not at the Song Family, nor at Lin Family.
Suddenly, gossip spread in the village—that she had run away, gone mad, died—everything you could think of.
Zhou Tiedan held it in for days, at noon one day, unable to hold back, he pulled the leaving Song Tingfan who was about to cook at home, "Your sister-in-law ran away?"
"It’s your sister-in-law who ran away!" Song Tingfan unhappily glared at him.
Zhou Tiedan laughed foolishly, "My sister-in-law is at home cooking pancake."
"Where did your sister-in-law go?"
"None of your business."
Song Tingfan didn’t want to talk to him, he packed his bag and left the school, Zhou Tiedan chased after him, "Why isn’t it my business? I want your sister-in-law..." to make him pancakes.
Before he could finish speaking, he was met with an angry glare and a fierce warning, "Don’t think about my sister-in-law or I’ll beat you up."
"Cheapskate, I don’t mind if you think about my sister-in-law." Zhou Tiedan made a face at him, then ran away fearing a beating.
Song’s second family
Song Qin was sorting vegetables in the yard, she heard footsteps, looked up, and saw Song Tingfan. She smiled, "Niu Niu, your sister-in-law sent a letter back, your Grandpa Zhou just brought it." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Immediately Song Tingfan was delighted, "Where is it? I want to see it."
"Grandpa left it in your room."
As soon as Song Qin finished speaking, Song Tingfan eagerly ran into the room, opened the letter on the table quickly.
Little uncle, I’ve arrived in Changzhou, all is well, don’t worry, I saw the silver coins you left.
Simple, two or three dozen words, he looked at them repeatedly, finally couldn’t help but laugh foolishly.
