Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 204 - 199: She Can No Longer See the Villain as a Child
"Alright." The shopkeeper of the bookshop recognized her and said with a smile, "Miss, would you like to buy some books? We recently got some new arrivals."
Lin Qiao turned to Song Tingfan, "Uncle, go have a look. If you find anything you like, I’ll pay for it."
"I don’t want any."
"Go on, you can’t keep reading the same thousand-character essay forever."
Hearing this, Song Tingfan hesitated for a moment before finally going to check the books. He ended up picking out a book on military strategies.
Lin Qiao was slightly surprised when she saw it, but quickly returned to normal.
After leaving the bookshop, she tentatively asked, "Uncle, do you want to switch from studying literature to martial arts?"
"I want to learn martial arts. I want to become a soldier." Song Tingfan showed no hesitation.
The storyline was always there.
Lin Qiao fell silent. After a while, she said, "Then just go. Do what you wish."
If it were before, she would never let him join the army, considering that in the dream’s storyline, he would end up rebelling.
But now she felt a slight sympathy. The antagonist hadn’t lived his own life in the past incarnation; to repeat it would be tragic.
Song Tingfan’s eyes briefly showed joy, but he quickly shook his head, "I won’t go."
Grandfather, grandmother, and Aunt are all here. He couldn’t leave them far behind.
Lin Qiao wanted to have a good talk with him, but now wasn’t the right time. She decided that if he wanted to go, she would let him.
She said nothing further and saw him off to the town entrance to catch the carriage.
Suddenly Song Tingfan thought of something, "Sister-in-law, where do you live?"
"There’s a bed in the shop’s attic; I sleep there." Lin Qiao signaled with her eyes not to worry, then paid for the mule cart.
...
Dusk was falling, and Lin Qiao closed the shop, lighting an oil lamp to roll out noodles inside. As the weather warmed, she could sell some cold noodles and fried potatoes.
The shop had enough space to put these things up for sale.
She didn’t even know what came over her, but she suddenly burst into laughter, muttering, "I never thought I’d become the most hated character: the ’old mother’ type."
Despite saying so, the initial reluctance she felt when she came here was gone.
Once the noodles were rolled out, she covered them to prevent mice from stealing food.
She was just fetching water to wash her hands when she heard a "knock, knock" at the door, which startled her. She didn’t respond immediately, took a glance around, and grabbed the rolling pin.
The knocking resumed. She quietly went up to the attic and looked down from the window; she could vaguely see a shadow.
She recognized it, "Uncle."
Song Tingfan was about to speak but looked up as soon as he heard her, grinning, "Sister-in-law."
Lin Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and went downstairs to open the door for him, "What brings you here?"
"I was worried about you being alone." Song Tingfan put down his basket and latched the door.
Lin Qiao felt a warmth inside, and her voice unconsciously softened, "Have you had dinner?"
Song Tingfan pulled a few flatbreads from his basket, "No, but Grandmother slipped me a few flatbreads."
"Flatbreads won’t fill you up. Sit down; I’ll make you some noodles."
Lin Qiao lit the stove, and soon the water boiled. She added the noodles, and they were ready in no time.
The bowl was hot, and after placing it in front of him, she touched her ear, "Eat up. If it’s not enough, I’ll cook more; there’s a lot of dough."
"Smells great." Song Tingfan sniffed, then picked up chopsticks and took a big bite. The freshly cooked noodles were still very hot, making him grimace, but he still swallowed them.
Lin Qiao quickly poured him some water, "Blow on it first."
While he ate the noodles, she heated water to wash and scooped some into the washbasin, planning to soak her feet.
Song Tingfan glanced over with a sideways look, his face instantly flushing red before burying himself in his meal.
A quarter of an hour later, they went up to the attic. Only then did Lin Qiao realize she couldn’t find anything for Song Tingfan to sleep on the floor. After thinking, she said, "Uncle, you should go to the inn."
Song Tingfan didn’t want to go to the inn. He glanced at the bed, which was smaller than the one at home, making it cramped for two people to sleep in it. "Sister-in-law, I’ll sleep downstairs."
"No, you’ll catch a cold." Lin Qiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let’s squeeze in tonight." She felt a bit awkward saying it.
Honestly, whether it was because of the tabloid stories or that day in the mountains, she couldn’t quite see Song Tingfan as a "child" anymore.
"It’s fine, sister-in-law; I’ll sleep downstairs." Song Tingfan also felt a bit awkward.
Despite the awkwardness, Lin Qiao wouldn’t let him sleep downstairs, "Be good, just sleep here. When there’s time tomorrow, I’ll get another bed set up beside it."
If Song Tingfan was going to study in town, he’d definitely need to stay at the shop. They could either put up a curtain or use a wooden board as a divider.
Song Tingfan obediently lay down, and Lin Qiao blew out the lamp and lay down as well. The bed was indeed a bit small, and lying down, she immediately felt his shoulder. She hurriedly moved out a bit. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
At the same time, Song Tingfan also moved a bit outward.
The atmosphere grew a bit quiet.
Usually, Lin Qiao hadn’t thought much of it, but today, everything felt strange. She lightly turned, facing away from him.
The night deepened, and the neighboring attic presumably had other tenants. Though voices were inaudible, the creaking sound of the wooden bed hitting the wall came intermittently.
As an adult, Lin Qiao: ...
Her ears turned red.
It seemed that Song Tingfan didn’t understand what was making the noise, and after a while, he glanced sideways, "Sister-in-law, can you sleep?"
Lin Qiao: "..."
If she could sleep through this, that would be surprising.
She felt the need to find some topic to distract them, "Ahem, no. Uncle, you said you want to join the army. If you want to go, just go; you don’t have to worry about us."
Song Tingfan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "I won’t go."
"We’re not far from the border, just a day or two away. We’ll visit you often."
Just as Lin Qiao finished speaking, the sounds next door grew louder, seemingly accelerating, and she: "..."
She continued, "As long as you won’t regret it, just go for it, Uncle. I’ll always support you. Besides, you won’t be in the army forever; after a few years, you’ll come back and settle down."
The young man remained silent for a long time. Just when Lin Qiao thought he wouldn’t speak, he suddenly asked, "Is that okay?" His tone was cautious.
Enlisting would mean he could protect his sister-in-law and the others, and he’d earn a salary each month.
And he really wanted to go.
His father had once said he wanted him and his brother to become soldiers, to be men who protect the people.
"Why not? If you want to go, then go." Lin Qiao sighed inwardly, feeling a pang for him. It was sad to always have to consider others when choosing how to live one’s own life.
She paused and added, "Last October, the government was recruiting soldiers. They probably will this year too. When the time comes, I’ll sign you up."
Last October, the village head had informed each household, but no one from the village had enlisted. Without a war, the government wouldn’t force men to become soldiers.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Song Tingfan couldn’t quite fathom his feelings; there was a mix of bitterness, joy, and reluctance.
"What’s there to thank? Go to sleep. You’ve got exams tomorrow. Don’t let thoughts of joining the army keep you from studying; getting an education is always beneficial." Lin Qiao looked at the moon through the window, feeling an inexplicable sense of attachment.
Ah, she was too into the role, already considering him family.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
After pondering for a while without any conclusion, she decided to stop. Whether it was bad or good, avoiding it was not an option.
Ahem, but avoiding confrontation was necessary.
