Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 22: Uncle, Sleep with Me

At this moment, Song Tingfan’s mind was filled with his sister-in-law relying on him, saying she wasn’t afraid with him around.

His restless heart seemed to find some peace.

"Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid."

Though the words were light, Lin Qiao paused for a moment. She knew her feelings for the antagonist were an act, but the antagonist’s feelings for his sister-in-law were genuine.

For a moment, she had the illusion of being moved.

Soon she shook her head. No, she wouldn’t let the antagonist lead her astray.

She would steer the antagonist onto the "right path."

"Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid."

...

At night, Song Tingfan stayed by Lin Qiao’s door. Lin Qiao worried the antagonist would catch a cold and told him, "Little uncle, go inside and sleep. I hid a knife under my pillow; they won’t dare to come."

In the dark, Song Tingfan held a kitchen knife, stubbornly shaking his head, "Sister-in-law, you go to sleep."

Lin Qiao tried persuading him several times, but he refused to leave. She thought for a moment and came up with a compromise, "Little uncle, come sleep in my room. We can share the bed."

The antagonist was only twelve years old; she wasn’t worried he’d do anything.

Ahem, a twelve-year-old wasn’t fully developed yet.

Besides, she found the antagonist quite innocent these days, blushing awkwardly at the slightest thing.

Moreover, given the antagonist’s looks, it should be him who’s afraid of her.

Ahem, she was being a bit lewd.

Song Tingfan was petrified, what did the sister-in-law just say?

She wanted him to come in?

Then, flustered, he stammered and shook his head, "S-sister-in-law, I’ll just stay here." As he spoke, he nervously took a step back, bumping into the door with a "thud."

"Be good, little uncle, listen to your sister-in-law and come inside." A cold breeze made Lin Qiao shiver; she didn’t say much more, pulling him into the room.

Song Tingfan dared not resist and was pulled inside. The door closed behind them, and Lin Qiao muttered, "It’s freezing, little uncle, you sleep further inside."

Song Tingfan blushed to his neck, awkwardly saying, "Sister-in-law, I won’t sleep, I’ll still go outside."

"Little uncle, either go back to your room to sleep or sleep here with me."

Lin Qiao fumbled in the dark for a coat, planning to use it as a temporary blanket. She added, "Little uncle, you take the blanket, I’ll use the coat."

Seeing no response, she teased, "Are you afraid I’ll eat you, little uncle?"

"Don’t worry, I’m not a monster, and I don’t eat human flesh."

Now, Song Tingfan’s face was burning hot. He struggled with the decision to sleep or not, eventually stammering, "Sister-in-law, I’ll sleep on the floor."

"Why sleep on the floor? There’s enough space on the bed." Lin Qiao pulled him onto the bed and covered him with a quilt once he was settled.

Song Tingfan lay there stiffly, too scared to move, especially when the bed beside him dipped slightly, followed by a woman’s voice, "Little uncle, go to sleep."

Soon the room was quiet, with only the sound of two gentle breaths. Lin Qiao’s biological clock had adjusted over the days; she fell asleep soon after.

It was tough on Song Tingfan beside her; he dared not move a muscle, nervously clutching the quilt. He didn’t know how long he lay there, only that the rooster was crowing when he finally fell asleep.

Just after the hour of the hare, Lin Qiao woke up, habitually glanced out the window, and suddenly came fully awake when she saw something else.

After a moment, she remembered it wasn’t a nightmare.

The antagonist’s face was flushed with sleep, showing no aggression, looking like a soft and cute little puppy.

He slept in an orderly manner, hands resting on his belly.

After admiring the antagonist’s looks for a while, Lin Qiao got up quietly. She needed to water the vegetable fields in the morning, so she grabbed some empty buckets and headed to the river.

As she was leaving her home, she saw the man she was supposed to meet the night before—Zhang Dong.

Zhang Dong’s tone was somewhat anxious when he saw her, "Qiao’er, are you angry with me? It was my mother who arranged the marriage proposal, you know I don’t want it..."

Knowing that many people fetched water in the morning, Lin Qiao interrupted him to avoid being seen, "Brother Zhang, what are you saying? Don’t speak nonsense; otherwise, there might be rumors."

Hearing this, Zhang Dong thought she was still angry. He approached her, "Qiao’er, don’t be mad. You can hit or scold me, just don’t ignore me. Tonight, I’ll be waiting for you. If you don’t come, I’ll wait for you forever."

He paused, lowered his head bashfully, "Qiao’er, I miss you. I want to hug you."

Lin Qiao: "..."

Did the original self ever hug him?

Surely they didn’t sleep together, right?

She felt worse now, worse than taking care of her young uncle antagonist.

A random lover from her past suddenly appeared.

Same old place.

Seeing him many times to call it an old place, an unmarried man and woman meeting in the dark of night, it wasn’t believable nothing happened.

No, she needed to find out if her past self had a certain relationship with this man.

Not knowing the old place, she simply mentioned a spot, "See you at the foot of the back mountain."

Zhang Dong nodded happily. As people began arriving, he quickly ran off, possibly fearing being seen.

Lin Qiao rolled her eyes with disdain. Such an irresponsible man; her past self must have been blind.

After watering the vegetable field, she returned home. Song Tingfan wasn’t up yet, but she didn’t wake him. Children needed more sleep to grow tall.

Song Tingfan woke up much later with the sun high in the sky. Startled by the bright day through the window, he was dumbfounded.

He overslept.

Rushing to put on his shoes, he ran outside where Lin Qiao was hanging laundry. Seeing him, she smiled warmly, "Little uncle, there’s food warming in the pot; go and eat."

Contrary to his expectations of being scolded, Song Tingfan was still anxious, afraid his sister-in-law might think he was lazy, "Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I won’t sleep this late again."

"What is there to be sorry for? Little uncle is still young. You should sleep more to grow." Lin Qiao saw his worried face and said, "Little uncle, I’m not mad, quite the opposite, I’m happy."

"I don’t want you to be too sensible. I just want you to be happy, go out and play with Tie Dan and the others every day."

"I’ll take care of this family."

Her tone was soft and steady, carrying a gentle warmth that convinced the antagonist, making him "dumbfoundedly" believe her.

Seeing him obediently head to the kitchen to eat, she couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of her acting skills.

...

After finishing the last of the square cloth, Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan went to the mountain in the afternoon to find wild herbs.

They returned home only after dark, and after dinner, Lin Qiao glanced at Song Tingfan, who hadn’t slept yet and was chopping wood in the courtyard. She thought for a moment and found an excuse to leave, "Little uncle, I’m going to my mother’s house to get something."

Song Tingfan obediently replied with an "Mm."

Not long after she left, Song Tingfan suddenly remembered that Lin Han and Li Guifen had gone to a banquet in the neighboring village that afternoon.

For tomorrow’s banquet.

He thought of how Mrs. Lin Wu and Mrs. Xu didn’t like his sister-in-law. He pressed his lips together, dropped the axe, and ran after her.

Lin Family

Upon hearing a knock, Lin Sheng shouted, "Who’s there?"

"It’s me, Tingfan," Song Tingfan responded.

Soon Lin Sheng opened the door, kindly inquiring, "Tingfan, what’s the matter?"

He looked around, not seeing Lin Qiao, and asked, "Didn’t your sister-in-law come?"

Once Song Tingfan heard this, he knew Lin Qiao hadn’t gone to the Lin family.

His sister-in-law had deceived him.

His face turned pale, but he still covered for Lin Qiao, "My sister-in-law is at home. I just wanted to borrow a dustpan to dry something."