Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 265 - 260: Tingfan, Xiao Fan, Fanfan—All Sound So Affectionate
"Not long now. Tomorrow, let’s go to the market together to buy some things and prepare, so we won’t be in a rush when the time comes."
Lin Qiao took on the concern of an old housekeeper. She remembered when the Wang Family prepared a lot of things for their grandson’s wedding.
The girl’s eyebrows arched with a smile, and Song Tingfan chuckled, "Okay."
The night descended, and the two carried an oil lamp upstairs. Lin Qiao looked at the bed and suddenly remembered that the bed had collapsed when she got up this morning. "I was busy and forgot to ask someone to fix the bed."
Song Tingfan, who had been leaving early to check the shop these days, hadn’t noticed. Hearing this, he looked at her bed and noticed it had clearly sagged on one side.
He walked over, picked up the quilt, and placed it on another bed. When he lifted the straw mat, he saw two boards broken in the middle, probably due to age.
Fixing it isn’t hard. Just fasten the wooden boards together to secure them.
"Can..." Fix
Before he could finish speaking the word "fix," he paused, "We can only call someone to fix it tomorrow."
Lin Qiao did not suspect anything and nodded, "I’ll sleep on the floor."
"No way, it’s too cold on the floor. You sleep in my bed." Song Tingfan tugged the straw mat to spread it on the floor.
His chest would hurt, and naturally, Lin Qiao wouldn’t let him sleep on the floor, "No, your health isn’t good. I’ll sleep on the floor." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"It’s okay."
"No."
They both insisted for a while, and then Song Tingfan pursed his lips, "Let’s both sleep on the bed."
Lin Qiao hesitated for a moment, then quickly waved her hand, "I’ll just sleep on the floor."
He might have been a boy a few years ago, but now at sixteen, he was full of youthful vigor.
Ahem, it’s not that she didn’t trust him, but some reactions from men are instinctive.
"Then I’ll sleep on the floor too."
Under Song Tingfan’s insistence, Lin Qiao eventually got on the bed to sleep.
This bed was small, but at least there was some space between them before. Now, lying together, their shoulders nearly touched.
Lin Qiao lay slightly on her side, covering herself with a thin quilt, ready to close her eyes and sleep, when suddenly the quilt on the other side was tugged. She immediately turned her head, but the room was pitch black, and she couldn’t see anything.
Even though Song Tingfan couldn’t see, he could tell from her large movements and smiled gently, "What’s wrong?"
Lin Qiao couldn’t very well say they were sharing a quilt, so she lightly cleared her throat, "Nothing, just checking if you’re covered well."
"All covered." Song Tingfan listened to the slight creaking of the bed and knew she had moved a bit further away.
Before, she would help him with the quilt; now, she avoided him.
Suddenly, a hand was around Lin Qiao’s waist, immediately pulling her slightly closer. Startled, she exclaimed, "What are you doing!"
Before she finished speaking, the hand on her waist loosened. The man’s deep voice held a hint of hurt, "You were sleeping on the edge."
He paused for a moment, lowering his voice, "Are you afraid of me?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiao realized she had misunderstood him and quickly explained, "No, I just got scared suddenly."
The man remained silent, feeling as if his good intentions were mistaken, which pained him a bit.
"Uncle, I was just startled, not afraid of you. I’ve slept next to you before." Lin Qiao felt inexplicably guilty. She watched him grow up, and this boy was simple and honest. There was no way he would do anything to her.
Since hearing Mrs. Xu Liu’s words, she’s been overly suspicious, not even knowing what she’s suspicious of anymore.
She was merely the classic evil sister-in-law character, even if now a good sister-in-law, she’s still just that, a sister-in-law...which was also fake.
But she couldn’t think of Song Tingfan the way Mrs. Xu Liu did. Others might not know him well, but didn’t she?
In the darkness, the man’s deep voice said, "I understand, sleep."
The room returned to quiet. Lin Qiao touched her nose knowingly, realizing his sensitive feelings might have been hurt.
She reached out and tugged at his clothing, "Uncle, are you mad at me?"
A faint fragrance was more apparent than before. Song Tingfan’s body tensed for a moment, "No."
"Really?"
"Really."
"That’s good, Uncle, you sleep well." To make up for her earlier ’mistake,’ Lin Qiao reached over and adjusted his quilt.
Listening to the measured breathing beside him, Song Tingfan gently exhaled a long breath, the warmth in his cheeks growing more apparent.
In his mind suddenly echoed the words from when he was leaving the border: One of his subordinates teased, "Vice General Song, you’re so brave on the battlefield, but I bet you don’t even dare to hold your wife’s hand at home."
Indeed, he dared not.
These thoughts were unknown to the sleeping girl, who was even sleeping very soundly.
With April’s unpredictable weather, rain began to fall in the middle of the night, a chill wind making the windows creak, Song Tingfan got up to close them. When he returned to bed, he noticed she had moved closer to the middle and smirked softly before lying down on his side to sleep.
The next morning Lin Qiao got up a little later again, as she had since Song Tingfan returned. It seemed like there was another person to share the workload at home.
The day felt a bit cooler, so she rubbed her arms. Just as she was about to get up to find thicker clothes, she saw a set of thick clothes placed by the bedhead.
She couldn’t help but click her tongue twice in appreciation—such a thoughtful "little cotton-padded jacket."
Today, Li Guifen came early, just as Song Tingfan had just opened the door, and now she was warming food for him and Lin Qiao. Hearing footsteps, she looked over, "Awake now? I was just about to call you. There’s hot water there, wash up and eat."
Lin Qiao glanced around the shop but didn’t see Song Tingfan, "Where’s Uncle?"
"He went out to fetch water; he was wiping tables and stoking the fire early in the morning."
Li Guifen chided with a glance and continued, "Don’t call him Uncle all the time; Tingfan is grown. You can call him by his name."
"’Uncle’ feels more affectionate." Lin Qiao wiped her face.
"If you want it affectionate, you can still use his name—Tingfan, Xiao Fan, Fanfan—they’re all affectionate." Li Guifen said while cooking.
The first two were normal, but the last one caught Lin Qiao off guard, "Cough, cough, cough, Mom, why don’t you say Ting Ting too!"
"You can call him that if you want," Li Guifen smiled broadly.
Lin Qiao: "..."
Seeing her speechless, Li Guifen suddenly lowered her voice, "Cough, why did you sleep on Tingfan’s bed?"
"The bed broke, don’t let your imagination run wild." Lin Qiao reminded herself not to be led astray by their antics now.
"What are you saying, girl! That’s not what I meant. I’m just asking why you were on Tingfan’s bed. Of course I trust him." Li Guifen stubbornly shifted the blame back.
Lin Qiao: "..."
Did she mean she was worried about her doing something to Tingfan?
"Mom, Uncle is your biological son, right?"
Hearing this, Li Guifen couldn’t close her mouth from smiling, looking like it was something she really wanted, "I wish, Tingfan is capable and takes care of the family. Your dad said he would be over the moon to have a son like Tingfan even in his dreams."
The Lin couple had nothing but praise for Song Tingfan. Lin Qiao blinked slyly, joking, "Well, it’s not impossible. You and dad could have another daughter, and when she grows up, she’s set for Uncle, making him half a son."
The girl, being this brazenly cheeky, made Li Guifen’s face blush slightly, "You cheeky girl, what are you talking about? Your dad and I are too old for that."
Then she paused, gave Lin Qiao a sidelong glance, and half-jokingly said, "I could marry you off to Tingfan."
"You and Dad would really let me be a second wife?" Lin Qiao asked with a teasing smile.
