Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 356 - 351: Feelings Suddenly Faded

"Alright, you go, I’ll keep watch at the door. If Mr. Wei comes, I’ll cough." Li Guifen said earnestly.

"Okay." Lin Qiao left the room and went downstairs, where Gu Qingyou was in the waiting room, the third one.

The room was dimly lit with a yellowish glow. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

The person inside didn’t ask who it was before opening the door. Seeing the woman outside, they were momentarily stunned and quickly became nervous, "Mrs. Song."

"I have something to talk to you about. Is it convenient for me to come in?"

"Con...Convenient."

Lin Qiao entered and saw unfinished clothes on the table. She glanced at Gu Qingyou, who hurriedly wrapped them up and stuffed them by the bedside.

"Is it because I lost my job?" Lin Qiao asked straightforwardly, then added, "Just speak the truth."

Gu Qingyou didn’t expect her to ask this and was taken aback. After a long pause, she nodded slightly, "General Song wants me to leave Lunan City."

As expected, it was related to the antagonist. Lin Qiao maintained her composure and continued, "Then why sell you to Mr. Wei as a servant?"

Gu Qingyou quickly shook her head, "Not as a servant. Mr. Wei just temporarily needs help. After a month, I can leave."

Hearing this, Lin Qiao thought for a moment and said earnestly, "I’ll give you twenty taels of silver. Take it and find a livelihood elsewhere. I noticed your embroidery skills are quite good; embroidering square cloths can earn you a decent amount of money."

She decided to cut off this subplot involving the second male lead, lest something unpredictable happens if they stayed close together.

Even though she was sure nothing would happen with him, the plot seemed to go against logic sometimes.

Gu Qingyou was taken aback for a moment, then quickly shook her head, "I don’t want it, I can earn money."

The woman chuckled, "I know you can earn money, but you don’t have a stable place yet. Twenty taels of silver is only enough to buy a piece of land and build a house in a nearby village."

"Yes, you can pay me back after you’ve saved enough money in the future."

Gu Qingyou couldn’t believe her goodwill. His grandmother always said there’s no such thing as a free lunch. He asked nervously, "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. I’ll speak to Mr. Wei. You can leave by yourself tomorrow."

Lin Qiao paused and added, "Be smart, don’t trust people too easily."

Especially women.

She hoped he would have a good ending in this life.

She took out twenty taels of silver, put it on the table, and left before he could say anything.

Just as she was about to go upstairs, she ran into Wei Yun, who had just returned from outside. She said, "Mr. Wei, I’d like to ask for someone, Gu Qingyou. Please let him go tomorrow."

He was just a helper, so Wei Yun readily nodded, "Alright."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiao didn’t say anything else, and went upstairs to her room. Li Guifen quietly pulled her aside and asked, "How did it go? Did you buy her off?"

Lin Qiao couldn’t help but laugh and responded softly, "Yes, yes, I did. Mother, your granddaughter needs to sleep."

"She hasn’t even been born yet, don’t speak nonsense." Li Guifen actually liked baby girls, but she still preferred her daughter to have a boy.

Even though Tingfan was treating her daughter well now, one couldn’t be sure how things would change if she only bore a girl.

She wasn’t being overly anxious; such things were common in the village.

Lin Qiao stuck out her tongue, half-teasingly saying, "Mother, be careful or your granddaughter might not like you."

"Nonsense, my granddaughter wouldn’t like anyone else but me. Don’t cause trouble, girl."

Li Guifen glared at her, then sternly admonished, "You mustn’t speak like you did in the street today. It’s unbecoming for a woman to speak crudely; it’s not good for people to hear. Be gentler in front of Tingfan."

Lin Qiao: "..."

She was practically a timid mouse in front of the antagonist.

Unable to bear her mother’s chatter, she quietly muttered, "Granddaughter needs to sleep, granddaughter needs to sleep, granddaughter needs to sleep."

Li Guifen: "..."

...

Lin Qiao stayed at the Ruyi Shop for two more days. Considering the war, she was afraid of chaos on the road, so she didn’t rush to return. It was not that she wasn’t worried about Song Qin and the others, but she knew the antagonist was even more attentive than she was.

After five or six days, things had settled down. Lin Qiao and two others took a carriage back, hearing mostly talk of reclaiming the city and praises for Song Tingfan along the way.

When they arrived at their doorstep, light snow had begun to fall in Lunan City, leaving a thin layer on the streets. The red lantern hanging in front of their home stood out conspicuously; it wasn’t just their home, but every household had hung one.

Probably celebrating the victory.

Lin Qiao saw that the door was locked from the outside, suggesting no one was home. She asked the woman next door, who laughed and said, "Didn’t General Song tell you? They moved a while back, to the house in the city."

Lin Qiao wasn’t upset that Song Tingfan hadn’t anticipated her return; she simply said "Oh" and went to find him at the military camp. The gate guards knew her and promptly let her in, warmly informing her of Song Tingfan’s whereabouts, "General Song is resting in the camp. Just walk straight and look for the largest tent."

"Thank you."

Horses weren’t allowed inside the camp. Seeing Lin Han about to get off the carriage, Li Guifen tugged him back and said to Lin Qiao, "Daughter, we’ll just wait here." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"No rush, take your time."

The guards couldn’t help but laugh, clearly misunderstanding something.

Lin Qiao: "..."

She couldn’t help but smile and walked in herself. She hadn’t gone far when she ran into a flustered Zhou Fu’an.

Upon seeing her, Zhou Fu’an looked as if he had seen his savior, "Mrs. Song, you’re finally back. The General is in the tent, you should go in."

Lin Qiao wasn’t foolish. Seeing his reaction, she sensed the antagonist was probably in a bad mood. She probed, "What’s wrong? Is he angry?"

"I don’t know, his temper hasn’t been great lately. Excuse me, Mrs. Song, I have to attend to other matters." With that, Zhou Fu’an hastily left.

The antagonist wasn’t in a good mood, so Lin Qiao thought it best not to confront him now. She’d stay at the shop, and Song Tingfan would naturally come looking for her at night.

However, before she took more than a few steps, she saw Song Tingfan, who was supposed to be in his tent, "..."

After a moment of hesitation, she smiled sweetly and called out, "Tingfan."

Song Tingfan slightly turned his face as if trying to hide something, "Go wait for me in the tent first." He said and briskly walked away.

Lin Qiao’s smile froze, "..."

She had only been gone a month, had their feelings waned already?

This was a bit too quick...

She stood still, waiting for the antagonist to come to her.

Humph, if their feelings have weakened, she’d continue "nurturing" them.

Enticement through temporary withdrawal.

Pretending to be angry.

She had that down perfectly.

The light snow, although not heavy, was cold, and several soldiers were watching her. Finally, one dared to come over and offer her an umbrella, "Mrs. Song, please go into the tent, it’s cold out here."

"Thank you, no need," Lin Qiao said softly.

The soldiers hesitated and sent someone to call General Song. It wasn’t long before Song Tingfan came over. Seeing the woman standing in the cold, he walked over, picked her up, and strode into the main tent.

Lin Qiao didn’t make a sound nor look at him, pretending to be angry.

In truth, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Song Tingfan, who now had a piece of cloth on the left side of his face that wasn’t there before.

Was he hurt?

"Why didn’t you go inside?" Song Tingfan reached out to touch her hand to see if it was cold, but before he could, she pulled it away.

She pouted, "Don’t touch me. Didn’t you ignore me earlier?"