Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 388 - 379: Isn’t He Afraid She’ll Stab Him to Death with One Knife?
Song Tingfan stayed in the village for two or three days before leaving, and Lin Qiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then hired someone to refurbish the yard.
Returning to Xingyu Village was out of the question. As a woman who had been away for five years, who knows what they’d say about her if she went back.
She didn’t mind much for herself, but it would bring trouble to Li Guifen and the others, though it already had.
She planned to settle down and live here from now on.
Being found by the antagonist wasn’t entirely a bad thing; at least she didn’t have to move again.
The refurbishment took one or two days to complete. That night, just as she was about to head to her room to sleep, Song Tingfan came. She didn’t pay him any mind and went to bed as usual.
There was noise coming from the kitchen. After a while, Song Tingfan came in with two buckets of water.
Lin Qiao originally had her eyes closed, but hearing the sound of water, she opened her eyes to see a provocative scene and quickly closed them again, "..."
Did the antagonist think he had a great body?
Okay, it was indeed passable.
But that’s no reason for him to strip down and wash in her room.
"Go wash outside."
Song Tingfan looked at her and stated, "You’ve already seen it."
Lin Qiao: "..."
Brazen!
She turned over to face away from him, unable to hold back a retort, "If your body isn’t good, don’t show it everywhere."
Though her words were always prickly, Song Tingfan knew this was the real her; the smiling and agreeable version was just an act.
His expression softened a bit, and without saying anything, he put on his pants after washing and went to bed.
He naturally pulled her into his arms and sincerely asked, "What do you want for the wedding?"
Lin Qiao suddenly remembered the imperial decree and calmly countered, "Do you think this is interesting?"
Two people living together, even with an imperial decree, if they’re not at peace with it, it ends up the same. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"You don’t need to provoke me; the wedding will happen, and then we’ll list the child under the Song Family." Song Tingfan knew Lin Ling was listed under Xu Dagui’s name, called Xu Ling.
Women can’t have the child listed under their own name.
There’s no precedent or example for that.
Lin Qiao didn’t bother to argue with him. It would be pointless anyway, as he wouldn’t care about her feelings.
She remained silent, and Song Tingfan felt a bit bitter in his throat, holding her even tighter.
Feeling suffocated, Lin Qiao elbowed him and grumbled, "Trying to strangle me?"
She was now sure he wouldn’t dare touch her. At least she wouldn’t humiliate herself like before.
Even if she were to die, her heart would be at ease.
Song Tingfan loosened his grip but still held her; they stopped speaking altogether.
After a while, Lin Qiao heard the steady, deep breathing beside her. She twitched her mouth; he was sleeping soundly without fear she might stab him in his sleep?
She didn’t have the guts for that; she couldn’t do it.
...
Between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m, the sun was high in the sky. Someone in the village was frying dry chili, and even inside her house, Lin Qiao was tearing up. The neighbor was cursing loudly, "Who’s frying so much? Are you having a memorial? It’s choking everyone! Fry, fry, fry! You’ll sooner or later fry those buried in your family plot out."
Lin Qiao twitched her mouth but couldn’t hold back her laughter, unintentionally catching Song Tingfan across from her glancing at her. She immediately restrained her smile.
Then, a knock on the door came from outside the courtyard, "General Song."
It was Gao Qiang’s voice.
Lately, he and Zhou Fu’an had been taking turns delivering letters.
Song Tingfan got up and went out, and Lin Qiao looked at the sky outside. Thinking about the child’s words, she picked up a basket. As soon as she reached the courtyard, she saw a woman at the gate with a sallow face.
She froze and felt inexplicably timid, finally calling out softly, "Mom."
Seeing her daughter standing there, Li Guifen couldn’t hold back her tears and rushed forward, giving her a slap with a "smack," "I have no daughter like you!"
Her cheek burned fiercely, and Lin Qiao didn’t know why. Feeling aggrieved, upset, and guilty, her tears started to fall uncontrollably.
"Gui Fen! Why are you hitting our daughter?" Lin Han rushed in, protecting Lin Qiao.
Seeing her daughter in tears, Li Guifen was heartbroken but didn’t relent, "She won’t know the severity of things without a wake-up call! Look at which daughter runs away for years!"
Song Tingfan stood protectively in front of Lin Qiao with a grim expression, while Song Qin, supported by Gao Qiang, entered and urged in worry, "Gui Fen, don’t hit her."
"Auntie, don’t interfere with this one; I need to wake her up today. She can’t just leave a good life..." Li Guifen saw her daughter lowering her head, wiping tears, unable to speak further, she turned her head away.
Lin Qiao had an emotional breakdown for a while but then composed herself, wiping her tears, "Grandma, Mom, Dad, come inside." Then she headed to the kitchen to boil water for them.
Li Guifen’s gaze followed her eagerly, and finally couldn’t hold back, chasing after her. Watching her draw water, she hugged her tightly, "Dear, are you alright?" Before she finished, she choked up.
Lin Qiao’s nose felt a surge of acidity, holding back tears, "I’m fine, doing well."
"You’re lying; you’re so thin, and you don’t even have a hairpin." Li Guifen’s heart felt like being pricked by needles thinking about her daughter’s hardships over the years.
Lin Qiao wasn’t thin; it was just Li Guifen’s subconscious made her seem that way.
She raised her hand to pat her back, "Mom, I’m not thin."
She paused, "I’ve worried you and Dad."
Li Guifen sobbed, holding her hand, "As long as you’re fine. Your Dad and I thought we’d never see you again."
If not for the antagonist finding her, she indeed didn’t plan to meet them again. Seeing her mother’s graying hair, Lin Qiao was filled with guilt.
Her throat was too hoarse to speak.
The mother and daughter spoke in the kitchen for a long time before coming out, Song Tingfan looking at Lin Qiao’s swollen side face, pursing his lips.
If this had been someone else, who knows where they’d be by now.
Song Qin’s gaze at Lin Qiao held no blame, but was full of sympathy, sympathizing with the hardships she endured over the years.
"Qiao’er, you’ve thinned."
"Grandma, I haven’t; you’ve thinned." Lin Qiao looked at her frail body, a sign of either poor nutrition or age.
"Not thin, still strong." Song Qin held her hand, gently patting it as if to reassure her not to be afraid.
Lin Qiao felt even more complicated, expecting at least Song Qin to blame her, "I’ll go bring Ling’er. He’ll be so happy knowing you’re here."
Song Qin’s cloudy eyes brightened; she thought the child might be lost...
Li Guifen and Lin Han were delighted, feeling slightly less guilty for being unable to face the Song Family all these years.
"I’ll go." Song Tingfan strode out, quickly returning with a four or five-year-old child in his arms.
Lin Ling immediately noticed the red mark on Lin Qiao’s face and ran over with rapid steps, "Mom, what happened to your face? Did he hit you?" pointing at Song Tingfan as he spoke.
