Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 329 - 324: Are You Sure You Won’t Get Killed?
"Uncle’s calling us to dinner." Song Tingfan bent down to retrieve a shoe that a dog had pushed under the bed, gesturing for her to put it on.
Hearing they were going to Song An’s house for dinner, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Song’s expression. She didn’t want to go, but the antagonist wanted to, so she had to bend down and put on the shoes.
As soon as she stepped out the door, two dogs wagged their tails and approached Lin Qiao. She patted their heads, "Good dogs, I’ll get you a big bone later."
Upon hearing "big bone," the two dogs howled happily. The man beside her frowned slightly, glanced at her belly, and instinctively pulled back her hand from petting the dogs, "Don’t touch."
Lin Qiao: "..."
He was still the same, so many restrictions.
Before she could react, the man released her hand.
As if she were carrying some kind of virus.
Lin Qiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, not expecting Song Tingfan to be looking at her at that moment. Their eyes met, and their reflections could be seen in each other’s pupils.
She: "..."
She reacted quickly, raised her hand to rub her eyes, and only put it down after a while, her eyes teary as if sand had gotten in them.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of her, startling her. Instinctively she stepped back, stumbling a bit.
The man probably didn’t expect it, and his outstretched hand couldn’t hold on. As they fell, he shielded her below him with a "thud," groaning softly.
"Are you okay?"
Lin Qiao lifted her head from his chest and met the man’s undisguised gaze, feeling inexplicably...something inside.
"I’m fine."
She got up and helped him up, glancing at the door frame again, "Did you hit your head?"
"It’s nothing."
Before Song Tingfan could finish speaking, a hand was already feeling the back of his head, and he was momentarily stunned.
A noticeable lump had formed on the back of his head. Lin Qiao quickly went to pour some white wine, poured it into her palm, and seeing him standing still, said, "Bend down a bit, it’ll heal faster."
Song Tingfan bent over a bit, feeling a slight pain at the back of his head. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the sincere expression on the woman’s face, feeling a bit dazed.
...
Song An’s House
Upon seeing the two, Mrs. Song’s face fell. She was quick to come for a meal, but usually never brought any silver.
Ungrateful.
"Oh my, how could you bear to come? I thought you looked down on poor relatives like us."
Song An scolded, "What are you sneering about? If you don’t want to eat, then leave."
"Tingfan, Qiao’er, come sit in the main room, it’ll be ready soon."
Song Hao glanced at his mother, feeling a bit unhappy, but quickly smiled at Song Tingfan, "Why didn’t you let us know you were coming back? I would have gone to town to buy groceries."
"It’s fine." Song Tingfan shook his head, his gaze lingering on him for a while.
Song Hao’s wife, He Jiao, happily pulled Lin Qiao aside, glancing at her belly, "Are you expecting?"
"Hmm." Lin Qiao nodded.
He Jiao genuinely felt happy for them, knowing how hard it had been for them, "If you’re expecting, don’t do any work, take care of yourself."
Speaking of work, Lin Qiao hadn’t really done anything. Even with the antagonist back, he did all the chores himself.
"I haven’t done any, it’s all been Tingfan." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
"That’s good, it should be his job." He Jiao, worried she might be uncomfortable on the stool, went to the room to fetch her a pregnancy cushion.
Upon seeing this, Mrs. Song sneered, "How pretentious. Other people’s wives work in the fields even when expecting."
He Jiao’s face turned a bit sour, as her mother-in-law was indirectly referring to her not working when she was expecting.
"Mom, when you were expecting us, Dad didn’t let you work either."
Song Hao couldn’t help but defend her. Originally, his wife was made to cry during her confinement by her, and now she was saying these things. Did she really want to tear the family apart?
Lin Qiao patted He Jiao’s hand, indicating she shouldn’t take it to heart. How could Mrs. Song appreciate even the best daughter-in-law?
She forced a smile, "I do agree it’s a bit pampered, but Tingfan just doesn’t let me work."
The implication being she married a good husband.
"Cousin-in-law, looks like we need to eat more, or we won’t compare to Aunt."
"Speaking of which, Aunt really is capable, she can dig two acres of land in a day."
Her words seemed sincere. If not for the last sentence, one would’ve thought she was genuinely complimenting her.
He Jiao barely held back her laughter, quickly stifling it, feeling relieved inside.
No matter how bad her mother-in-law was, she didn’t dare talk back, nor did she want to make things difficult for her husband.
Mrs. Song choked on her words, momentarily speechless, finally glaring at her.
The man’s gaze swept over the two women, eyes slightly lowered, making it hard to see what he was thinking.
Song An gave Mrs. Song a warning look, then sent her to the kitchen, "Go get the bowls."
Mrs. Song huffed, then turned and left.
At the table, He Jiao occasionally placed some dishes in Lin Qiao’s bowl. Lin Qiao, half laughing, half crying, quickly covered her bowl, "Cousin-in-law, enough, if I eat too much, I’ll puke."
"If you can’t finish, let Tingfan help you." He Jiao turned to place the dish in front of Song Hao.
Most of the chicken ended up in Lin Qiao’s bowl. Mrs. Song wasn’t happy about it and coldly glanced at He Jiao, then placed two pieces for Song An.
Lin Qiao ate one or two pieces before the nausea started to rise. She didn’t dare continue but there were still several pieces of chicken in her bowl, throwing them away was out of the question.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Song Tingfan. He noticed, glanced at her bowl, and the tight-lipped expression hinted at reluctance.
But in the end, he still pushed his bowl forward.
Lin Qiao quickly passed some pieces to him, her peripheral vision watching with surprise at how he reacted unexpectedly.
Song Tingfan didn’t notice her gaze, instead picking up the chicken and eating it without seeming too against it.
After spending a little more time at Song An’s house, on leaving, Lin Qiao slipped one tael of silver to He Jiao, telling her to buy clothes for the child.
Not long after they returned home, the Lin Family arrived. Lin Ping happily ran over, "Little Aunt, Uncle."
Upon hearing "Uncle," Lin Qiao’s mouth twitched. She reached out to ruffle his hair, smiling brightly, "You’re getting more handsome."
It wasn’t a lie; the Lin family had quite decent looks.
"What about me, Little Aunt?" Lin An, unwilling to be left out, eagerly pressed forward, wanting her to praise him.
Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, eyes curving, "You’re handsome too, handsome enough that Aunt likes it very much."
Beside her, Song Tingfan’s eyes narrowed slightly, glancing at the two half-grown boys, finally resting on the woman’s smiling face.
At this moment, Lin Shan patted Song Tingfan’s shoulder, laughing cheerfully, "Tingfan’s getting sturdier." After saying that, he patted him several more times.
Lin Qiao watched, her brow twitching. If he kept on like this, wouldn’t he end up beaten?
"Ahem, Second Brother, why don’t you all come inside?"
"Don’t mind us, we know our way. You’ve gotten thinner, Little Sister, your face looks gaunt, what’s happened? Haven’t been eating well?" Lin Sheng looked her over, eyes filled with concern.
His words seemed to imply Song Tingfan hadn’t been taking care of her. Li Guifen quickly slapped his arm, "It’s like that when you’re expecting, eating a bit and throwing up a bit. If you can’t say anything nice, just don’t speak."
Lin Shan belatedly realized, embarrassedly rubbing his nose, "Tingfan, I didn’t mean it that way. Don’t take offense."
