Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 86 - 81: Little Uncle, Let Me Tie Up Your Hair
Seeing him obediently tearing at cotton, Lin Qiao showed her sister-in-law-like concern and warmly said, "Little Uncle, you’ve been studying all day. You must be tired; sit down and rest for a bit."
"Sister-in-law, I’m not tired."
Song Tingfan shook his head, afraid she might think he was unwell. He seriously explained, "Sister-in-law, I’m very strong, truly." He nodded emphatically as he finished speaking.
"Yes, yes, Little Uncle is strong, but Sister-in-law wants you to rest for a while."
His earnest expression made Lin Qiao laugh. Although his upper body was well-built, he was still a bit far from being "strong."
Upon hearing this, Song Tingfan hesitated for a moment, withdrew his hands, and obediently said in a small voice, "Then I’ll rest for a bit."
He looked like he was very obedient to his sister-in-law.
The little bunny was so obedient that Lin Qiaoxin’s heart softened, and she couldn’t help but pat his head.
Song Qin and Song Rong were smiling so much that their eyes formed crescents. Song Qin laughed and said, "Niu Niu must listen to Sister-in-law. She only wants what’s best for you."
After chatting about family matters for a while, Lin Qiao went to cook. There was quite a bit of leftover rice in the steamer, enough for four people to eat, and she just needed to cook two dishes.
While steaming the rice, she added some steamed pork and suddenly thought of something, saying, "Little Uncle."
Song Tingfan, who was stoking the fire, instinctively looked up. Their eyes met, and he quickly averted his gaze, feeling uneasy.
Lin Qiao didn’t notice and said while adding the pork, "Little Uncle, I’ll pack a bowl of pork, and you can take it to Mr. Cheng."
Thinking of thanking the teacher, perhaps he would take care of Song Tingfan more in the future while studying.
Deliver pork to the teacher...
Song Tingfan pursed his lips, added a piece of wood to the stove, and said dejectedly, "Sister-in-law, Mr. Cheng said no gifts."
He wasn’t lying; the teacher did say no gifts, but didn’t mention meals.
Lin Qiao assumed Cheng Sheng had superstitions about such things and gave up on the idea of sending pork. She then casually chatted to enhance the relationship with her little uncle.
"Little Uncle, the teacher praised you today, saying your handwriting is better than others."
She then looked at him with satisfaction and praised, "Little Uncle, you’re amazing."
Suddenly, she thought having a son like Song Tingfan wouldn’t be bad at all.
Indeed, it wouldn’t be bad—he’s worry-free, sensible, and clever.
Hearing the teacher’s praise, Song Tingfan had no particular reaction, but upon hearing the last sentence, he immediately smiled with a mix of joy and bashfulness.
Sister-in-law praised him.
Song Qin walked in and happened to hear Lin Qiao’s words. She looked at Song Tingfan with satisfaction, adopting a proud elder’s tone, and said to Lin Qiao, "Niu Niu has been smart since he was young. When other kids were not even speaking clearly at two, Niu Niu could already call everyone in the family by name, especially his father..." She stopped as she realized she said something amiss.
She didn’t want to feel sad, but couldn’t help her eyes turning red. He was the child she raised with much effort, and then he was gone just like that.
In front of the stove, the smile on Song Tingfan’s face gradually vanished. He tightened his grip on the fire tongs.
The atmosphere in the kitchen turned a bit quiet, and the bubbling sound from the pot became unusually clear.
The Song Family’s situation was indeed distressing. Lin Qiao quickly changed the subject, "Little Uncle, I bought you two hair ties. Go see if you like them."
"They’re on your bed."
Song Tingfan looked up at her, his previously desolate gaze turning into bewilderment.
Sister-in-law gave him hair ties...
In the village’s tradition, before a man gets married, his hair ties are traditionally purchased or made by his parents. After marriage, they’re made or bought by the wife.
Lin Qiao wasn’t aware of these customs, and even if she were, she wouldn’t let them affect her actions.
She was buying them for her "son," so there was nothing wrong.
Seeing him in a daze, she thought it was because he missed his parents, and she gently comforted him, "Little Uncle, go have a look. Sister-in-law spent quite a while choosing them."
Having lived for half her life, Song Qin naturally knew about these customs, but didn’t think much of it. An elder sister can act as a mother, so she could give such a gift, "Niu Niu, go have a look."
Seeing Niu Niu looking sad, she couldn’t help but blame herself.
...
Inside the room
On the grey bed sheet were two light blue hair ties, adorned with green bamboo and white clouds.
Song Tingfan wiped his hands on his clothes multiple times before carefully picking them up. They were very light.
His heart felt as if it was filled with something.
Sister-in-law bought them for him.
They were really beautiful.
He carefully wrapped them in cloth, placed them under his pillow, and then went to the kitchen. Facing his sister-in-law’s expectant gaze, he shyly pinched his clothes, "Sister-in-law, they’re beautiful."
"As long as you like them. Tomorrow, Sister-in-law will help you tie your hair, making sure Little Uncle looks even more handsome."
Lin Qiao lifted the lid; the rice was already hot again. She lifted the steamer and placed it on the chopping board before saying, "Little Uncle, take a bowl and serve rice to Grandpa and Grandma."
"Okay." Song Tingfan used chopsticks to pick the pork into a bowl, then served four bowls of rice.
Soon, the meal was ready on the table. Two little dogs wagged their tails and circled around the table. Lin Qiao laughed and playfully nudged their heads with her toe, luxuriously picking a piece of pork and splitting it in half to feed them.
The two little dogs immediately grabbed the pork pieces and ran to the yard’s corner to eat.
Lin Qiao chuckled out loud and suddenly met the teenager’s eyes. She was used to it, and picked another piece of pork for him, "Little Uncle, eat more."
Caught red-handed, Song Tingfan’s cheeks turned slightly red. He just thought Sister-in-law looked beautiful when she laughed, like a flower.
"Sister-in-law, you, you eat more too."
Song Qin helped Song Rong with some dishes, "Qiao’er, you’re feeding them too well. They’ll get picky."
There wasn’t any blame in her voice.
Lin Qiao acted as if she realized her mistake and nodded obediently, much like Song Tingfan would.
Song Qin and Song Rong exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but laugh; the uncle and sister-in-law were becoming more alike.
After eating, the four of them continued tearing cotton with the door closed. It was only when it got dark that they washed up and went to bed.
Lin Qiao went into the room but couldn’t find the quilt, then remembered it was in Song Tingfan’s room, "..."
Should she go get it? Or endure a cold night?
Going to get it seemed out of character for a good sister-in-law, but if she didn’t, she’d probably catch a cold.
After a moment’s thought, she went to Song Tingfan’s room, the door was still open.
She stood at the door and knocked, unsure why, but the words "I’ll get the quilt" wouldn’t come out, and she eventually said, "Little Uncle, Sister-in-law, um, will sleep with you for one more night. Once the cotton quilt is done tomorrow, you’ll sleep by yourself again."
She added after a pause, "Sister-in-law is afraid you’ll catch a cold."
Ahem, she was doing it for his own good.
In the pitch darkness, she couldn’t see his reaction.
"Ok... ok."
In the dark, the teenager’s face instantly turned red, and he set down the quilt he was holding.
Perhaps because he got up late today, Lin Qiao couldn’t fall asleep. Meanwhile, next to her, Song Tingfan fell asleep. He slept very properly, not moving for a long time.
Too proper.
If he were like this after marriage, let alone having children, the wife might just run away.
Ahem, what was she even thinking about?
... 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
The next day, early in the morning, it drizzled. The rainwater dripped from the rooftops, and the sky was grayer than usual.
The two silly dogs in the yard were still sleeping, their exposed tails getting wet.
They seemed to have no awareness of it.
Lin Qiao carried the meal into the main house and saw Song Tingfan holding a dog in each hand as he entered. Then her gaze moved up to his untied hair.
Usually, he would tie his hair in the morning, so she casually asked, "Little Uncle, why didn’t you tie..."
Mid-sentence, she suddenly remembered she had casually mentioned helping him tie his hair the day before.
She quickly changed the subject to salvage the situation, "Little Uncle, come here, let Sister-in-law help you tie your hair."
————
Due to space limitations in the title, not all thanks could be expressed, so thanks are given in this way.
Thanks to Naito Sakura, 201...89, Wo Xiang, Youth is Priceless, Gu Cheng, Xiao Jiang is a Frog, and Quan Cai for the rewards.
The day before yesterday, two little cuties were not thanked, making up for it today. Please don’t be mad, Little Uncle will cheer you up.
