Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 212 - 207: Song Tingfan Will Think She’s Improper
"I don’t think he knows, he was too young back then to understand these things."
Li Guifen didn’t actually want to talk about this with her. Instead, she asked, "What do you think is wrong with Tingfan?"
Seeing that she hadn’t given up, Lin Qiao was caught between laughter and tears. How did they end up thinking of pairing her with Song Tingfan? "He’s fine, but he’s too young."
She didn’t notice the half head popping out from the stairwell’s loft.
"In what way is he too young? Tingfan is much taller and stronger than your father."
"Looks strong on the outside, but hasn’t developed well inside."
As soon as she said this, Li Guifen, having some experience, misinterpreted it. Her face flushed, "What are you saying, young lady!"
She quickly lowered her voice, "He’ll grow up in a few years."
Lin Qiao noticed her reaction and realized she’d taken "inside" to mean a man’s private parts. "..."
Perhaps the notion that the ancients were uptight is false!
She was about to explain when Li Guifen suddenly got startled. Following her gaze, a young man with a flushed face made Lin Qiao jump, "..."
Clearly, he had overheard the earlier conversation.
"Uncle, why are you back so early?"
Song Tingfan thought his sister-in-law was accusing him of eavesdropping. He stuttered in explanation, "The teacher... the teacher said he would take us somewhere else this afternoon, so he let us come back early for lunch."
"I was calling... calling downstairs, then went to help out below."
Originally hearing his sister-in-law say he was too young made him feel a bit down, but now he was filled with shame.
Lin Qiao: "..."
Is it too late to explain now?
She looked at the "culprit" responsible for this.
The "culprit’s" face was completely red as she gave her a reproachful look, "You young lady, don’t say such things recklessly in the future."
Lin Qiao: "..."
She clearly didn’t mean it that way; no matter how lecherous she might be, she wouldn’t focus on that part.
Oh no, Song Tingfan probably thinks she’s improper now.
Her sister-in-law persona has collapsed.
As noon approached, the shop got a bit busier with people eating, but it was still manageable. Song Tingfan mixed cold noodles while Lin Qiao prepared the meals. In no time, three or four dishes were on the table.
Knowing Song Tingfan had to go out in the afternoon, she called out, "Tingfan, hurry and eat so you can go to private school."
Song Tingfan nodded in acknowledgment, "Okay."
After a while, Lin Qiao and the others joined him for the meal. Seeing his sister-in-law seated, Song Tingfan moved a bit to the side, "Sister-in-law, sit here."
Recalling the earlier incident, even the thick-skinned Lin Qiao felt a bit embarrassed and gestured with her hand, "I won’t sit, I’ll eat more standing up." After saying that, she picked a piece of meat with her chopsticks and gave it to him.
Song Tingfan looked at her for a moment, then lowered his head to devour his meal.
...
Even after dusk, Song Tingfan hadn’t returned. Lin Qiao stood at the shop door and looked around, still no sign of him.
At this moment, Mrs. Wang Tan had finished tidying up the shop. She took off her apron, "Boss, I’m heading back now. My grandson is waiting for me to cook at home."
Lin Qiao nodded, "Alright, thank you for your hard work today, Aunt Wang."
After she left, Lin Qiao stood at the door for a while longer, still not seeing anyone return. She took out the keys, ready to lock up and head to the private school, when she heard a panting voice behind her, "Sister-in-law."
She turned her head and saw him sweating profusely. She asked, "Where did you go? Why are you sweating so much?"
"The teacher took us to Tang’an Village, but the cart broke down on the way. I was worried you’d be concerned, so I ran back." Song Tingfan wiped his forehead and looked at his sister-in-law with a silly grin.
Lin Qiao handed him a towel, "I was just wondering why you hadn’t returned yet, and was about to go check the private school."
"Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. You don’t have to look for me in the future; just lock the door and wait for me at home."
After washing his hands, Song Tingfan took out a package from his pocket and said, "I saw a meat pie stall on my way back and bought two since they hadn’t packed up yet."
He didn’t buy just one because he knew if he did, his sister-in-law would split it with him.
"I was just thinking of what to eat. You bought meat pies, so we’ll just mix it with the cold noodles." Lin Qiao mixed the remaining portion of cold noodles and quickly placed it on the table.
Song Tingfan grabbed chopsticks and a bowl, placed them on the table, and the two sat across from each other. Lin Qiao took a bite of the meat pie and a bite of the cold noodles, "What did you go to Tang’an Village for?"
"The teacher took us to identify crops, saying we shouldn’t be ignorant of them." Song Tingfan hesitated a moment before adding, "The teacher even got a dish wrong today."
At this, Lin Qiao burst into laughter. The more she thought about it, the funnier it became, and she couldn’t stop laughing, "Did the teacher know?"
"He knew. Tie Dan mentioned it and got scolded by the teacher." Seeing her laugh, Song Tingfan’s eyes crinkled in a smile.
Lin Qiao could imagine the bold reaction from Zhou Tiedan, which made her laugh even more, calming down after a while, "Uncle, if the teacher says something wrong, don’t correct him in front of others. You can tell him privately." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"I know." Song Tingfan nodded.
The two sat and chatted for quite a while before going upstairs to rest. Lin Qiao placed the lamp on the table and pointed to the new bed, "Uncle, you sleep here."
"No, I’ll sleep on that one." Song Tingfan pointed to the old bed.
"That bed’s too small for you to stretch your legs. Be good and sleep on this one." Lin Qiao walked over to the old bed and pulled the curtain closed.
This curtain had just been installed that afternoon.
From behind the curtain, she said, "We’ll have to squeeze in a bit longer. Once I’ve saved enough Silver Coins, we’ll buy a house in town."
The houses in town were about the same price as the shop. Although they could afford it, she thought Song Tingfan would eventually join the army, which would require a considerable amount of money for expenses, so she kept most of the Silver Coins.
The deep blue curtain cast the woman’s silhouette upon it, revealing her movements as she took off her outerwear and let down her hair, all clear to the young man.
He quickly turned his gaze away in panic, "It’s okay."
But soon he couldn’t resist looking back at the curtain, watching the silhouette climb into bed and lie down, followed by the woman’s voice, "Uncle, turn off the lamp."
"Okay." Song Tingfan hurriedly extinguished the lamp and quickly got into bed himself.
...
It was a dream.
The mist cleared, and the young man lay dying on a battlefield covered with dead bodies. After a long time, he staggered up, seeing nothing but corpses as far as he could see, not a living soul around. He hoarsely uttered his first words, "Uncle! Cousin!"
"Uncle!!"
"Cousin!!"
"Uncle..."
The young man kneeled on the ground, crying out in grief...
"Uncle? Uncle?"
The woman’s voice echoed within the room, and after a while, the young man dazedly opened his eyes, hoarsely calling, "Sister-in-law."
"Why are you crying? Had a nightmare?" Lin Qiao asked with concern.
Thinking back to the dream, Song Tingfan couldn’t help but show fear, "Yes, I dreamed..."
He didn’t finish speaking, realizing he shouldn’t utter inauspicious words.
Lin Qiao couldn’t understand why he was having nightmares so easily. She reached out and patted his back, "Don’t be afraid, I’m here."
After a while, she reassured him, "Go back to sleep, I’ll be right here watching over you. Once you fall asleep, I will too."
After such a nightmare, Song Tingfan didn’t want his sister-in-law to leave just yet. Nightmares were so terrifying, and even in them, his sister-in-law was cruel, and his uncle and cousin were dead.
He slid over a bit and asked cautiously, "Sister-in-law, can you sleep with me?"
