Song Tian was startled and instinctively grabbed the person’s wrist, intending to throw them over her shoulder.
“Xiao Tiancai!”
The voice by her ear made Song Tian snap back to her senses.
She realized then that the one pulling her was actually Xiaoyu’s mother.
At this moment, the bus was packed with people from the family compound.
As for Fang Shuqin, the one calling out to her, she hadn’t boarded the bus.
Fang Shuqin quickly hurried forward and pulled Song Tian into her arms.
Her beautiful eyes glared angrily. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t touch my little Sweetie!”
Xiaoyu’s mother raised her voice, “Which eye of mine saw me touching her? I just saw her return and was planning to take her along to the military to watch the competition. Don’t go twisting my words!”
“Competition?”
Song Tian was a little puzzled. “What competition?”
“It’s just their skills contest. Nothing special to watch. Sweetie, you’ve finally come back—shouldn’t you rest properly instead of going to watch a competition?”
Fang Shuqin didn’t say it too harshly in front of so many people.
In the past few days, Xiaoyu’s mother had been spreading the word everywhere, telling everyone to go to the military to watch the competition, because Jiang Xiaoyu was participating in mechanical assembly and was guaranteed to win first place.
Naturally, Xiaoyu’s mother wanted everyone to see her show off.
After hearing the reason, Song Tian said, “I won’t go. I’ve been staying up late and working overtime these past few days—I need to go home and catch up on sleep.”
Upon hearing this, Xiaoyu’s mother revealed a proud sense of superiority in her eyes.
“Fine, then go home and sleep. But Song Tian, you need a skill. Otherwise, you’ll only be stuck doing hard labor. Don’t think you can handle it now because you’re young. Once you’re older, it’ll be a different story—you’ll get fat and lose your looks.”
Fang Shuqin was furious.
Daring to bully Little Sweetie right in front of her—this was too much!
She wanted to retort, to say that Little Sweetie was going to participate in a major project at the mechanical factory.
But Little Sweetie had reminded her not to make it public.
After thinking for a moment, Fang Shuqin said, “That’s right, Little Sweetie, you have to be careful. Xiaoyu’s mom’s painful example is right in front of you—take it as a lesson.”
Then she directly took Song Tian home.
Xiaoyu’s mother’s face had turned a deep purplish-red with anger.
Fang Shuqin really seemed crazy—she couldn’t get a bicycle ticket, so she vented her anger on her?
Did she think the bride price was too high?
Ridiculous. Her precious daughter was worth every bit of it.
And she still thought it was too little.
The Lu family was so wealthy; they could’ve even gotten an imported refrigerator.
But it didn’t matter. Once Lu Beizhen won first place in the skills competition and proudly brought the bicycle ticket to her, she could watch Fang Shuqin fume!
“Master, let’s go, or we’ll miss the competition,” Xiaoyu’s mother said.
Meanwhile, Fang Shuqin had taken Song Tian home.
“Little Sweetie, don’t mind what she says. It’s just a skills contest, nothing to be proud about. When it’s held at the mechanical factory, you’ll go too. Mom will bring a whole busload of people to cheer for you.”
As she spoke, she turned her head and saw Song Tian had already curled up on the sofa, fast asleep.
Her cute face was exhausted, with two large dark circles under her eyes.
It was obvious she hadn’t rested well these past days at the factory.
Fang Shuqin felt a pang of worry and fetched a blanket to cover her, quietly returning to her room.
Hmph, she’d also go take a nap.
In her dreams, she imagined throwing left and right hooks at Xiaoyu’s mother, beating her to her knees, begging for mercy, and swearing never to show off in front of Little Sweetie again!
Song Tian slept straight until dusk.
When she opened her eyes, the setting sun streamed through the living room window, leaving her feeling refreshed.
Her mind cleared, and she remembered the parts she had deliberately brought home still hadn’t been assembled.
Song Tian went to the yard and started tinkering with the bicycle again.
The parts she made were perfect— even sturdier than the original.
Once finished, she rode the bike to test it.
She didn’t go far, just rode around the perimeter of the family compound.
When she returned to the gate, she saw that familiar military jeep.
Lu Beizhen was back?
As she thought this, another bus arrived, stopping at the gate.
The doors opened, and Xiaoyu’s mother’s plump body alighted lightly, almost like a dragonfly landing.
She stormed over to Lu Beizhen, “Beizhen, what happened? Your last shot missed the target, falling far behind Zhou Yi. Now what? The TV ticket is gone! Do you know I already told others to come watch at our place?”
What now?
Those people were definitely going to laugh at her!
Getting angrier, Xiaoyu’s mother added, “I don’t care—figure it out. You must get the TV ticket. I won’t accept any other ticket.”
She wanted the television.
TV!
After saying this, she went home, fuming.
Lu Beizhen stood there, his handsome brows furrowed like ink strokes, emanating a chill.
Song Tian felt a bit sorry for Lu Beizhen.
Being criticized by a future mother-in-law like that must have been unpleasant.
And if he knew she had been watching too, it would’ve been even worse.
So Song Tian silently rode her bicycle around the compound again before returning to the Lu residence.
Just as she reached the hallway, Fang Shuqin rushed up, excited. “Little Sweetie, look at this!”
In her hand was a narrow, small green ticket.
Song Tian looked closely—it was a bicycle ticket.
“This is the prize Beizhen won in the competition, a Phoenix-brand bicycle. Little Sweetie, you have a new bike!”
The stone weighing on Fang Shuqin’s heart finally fell away.
Heaven knows how many people she’d contacted these past days, yet couldn’t get a bicycle ticket—she had been extremely worried.
Now, the brat had gotten the bicycle ticket!
Lu Beizhen sat on the sofa, holding a cup of tea, expressionless. “It’s useless for me to keep it, so I gave it to you.”
Fang Shuqin clicked her tongue.
Acting, still acting!
She knew very well how skilled Lu Beizhen was.
No need to mention anything else—his shooting was accurate. He could once hit ten shots with ten rings blindfolded. Yet this time, even with eyes open, his last shot missed the target.
What did that mean?
It meant Lu Beizhen deliberately controlled his score to get the second-place bicycle ticket.
He went out of his way to get the ticket and handed it to Little Sweetie, pretending to make her feel she was getting it for free.
Stubborn all over!
Looking at Fang Shuqin winking at her, Song Tian couldn’t bear to tell her the truth.
This was just because Lu Beizhen hadn’t been able to use it himself.
After all, Xiaoyu’s mother wanted the TV ticket, and this bicycle ticket wasn’t of interest.
Lu Beizhen must have been annoyed at the gate, even feeling unlucky looking at this bicycle ticket, which made it available to her.
But since it was a prize he had won, she felt embarrassed to take it.
“I actually already repaired my old bike, and it rides perfectly now. No need for a new one. You keep this ticket—it might come in handy later,” Song Tian said.
Even if Xiaoyu’s mother didn’t value it now, she might change her mind later.
Or Lu Beizhen could use the ticket with something else to exchange for a TV ticket.
Lu Beizhen’s face darkened. “I said it’s useless. If you don’t want it, tear it up.”
“Hey, don’t tear it!” Song Tian quickly stopped him.
Wasting the bicycle ticket because of her? That would be too bad.
“No problem, Little Sweetie. You ride your old bike; I can use this one to go to town without waiting for the bus. You can ride the new one Beizhen gave you,” Fang Shuqin said.
“That works,” Song Tian nodded. “I’ll lower the bike seat so it’s more comfortable to ride.”
She went out to get it done.
Lu Beizhen left after saying he had military matters, skipping dinner.
Fang Shuqin didn’t bother trying to keep him.
He was probably upset at almost being rejected for the gift—well deserved for being so stubborn!
Ah…
The brat probably went back to the military, secretly drowned his sorrows in alcohol, and then got drunk, hugging Zhou Yi, crying, and asking why she wouldn’t accept his carefully won gift.
Fang Shuqin imagined this with a smile growing wider and wider.
Ah, Little Sweetie (Xiao Tiancai)really was his nemesis, keeping him completely in check.