The little girl pointed at her small belly with short, skinny fingers. Pinching her stomach wouldn’t hurt too much; she could tough it out, Tiannian told herself silently.
A tight knot formed in Lin Shirou’s throat. She knew the child was terrified—frightened that she might be pinched again, yet desperately trying to please her.
Without saying a word, Lin Shirou gently wiped the child dry with a soft cloth.
Although she had never raised a child of her own, she had participated in plenty of charity work and volunteered at orphanages in the past, so she knew how to care for young children.
She dressed Lu Tian in a soft, adorable little dress. The girl looked utterly charming now.
Lin Shirou braided her hair into two little pigtails, and once tidied up, Lu Tian looked so obedient and sweet that Lin Shirou couldn’t help leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek.
“My precious baby is so adorable, simply gorgeous!”
Lu Tian’s face flushed red, and her eyes curved into happy crescents, revealing a rare pair of dimples.
As far back as she could remember, she had never felt her mother treat her this gently. She truly hoped her mother could stay like this forever—she loved this version of her mom.
At the dinner table, the atmosphere among the family was profoundly strange. Xu Guihua set down the final plate of dishes and shot a sideways glare at Lin Shirou.
She was seething with rage inside. To think that woman had actually managed to slither out of trouble this time! But she wouldn’t let her feel smug for much longer.
Li Hong was in a similar mood. Lu Xiao had cried and made a massive fuss about having her dress taken away, only stopping her tears once Li Hong promised to buy her a brand-new one.
A bowl of steamed egg custard was placed right in front of Lu Dongdong, who immediately picked up a spoon to scoop some out.
Without missing a beat, Lin Shirou moved the bowl directly in front of Lu Tian. Xu Guihua’s sharp voice rang out instantly: “Lin Shirou! That’s egg custard for my son and Lu Xiao! What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”
Lin Shirou replied coolly, “My Tiannian is too skinny and needs to build herself up. Your son is as fat as a little pig—what does he need egg custard for?”
Xu Guihua turned to glare at Lu Zhuanghuang and Zhang Ximei, whose faces were dark as thunderclouds. “Dad! Mom! Look at her! Since when does a good-for-nothing money-loser deserve to eat egg custard?!”
Li Hong chimed in angrily, “Lin Shirou! Why are you snatching my Xiao Xiao’s egg custard?!”
There were only two chickens kept at home, and the eggs they laid almost exclusively ended up in the bellies of Lu Dongdong and Lu Xiao, leaving Lu Tian without a single bite.
Lin Shirou pushed the spoon directly into Lu Tian’s hand. “Eat up, sweetie.”
Then, scanning the room full of brooding, sour faces, she declared, “We made an agreement: from now on, Lu Tian is to be treated just like any other child in this house. Whatever Lu Dongdong and Lu Xiao get to eat, she gets to eat too!”
“If any of you have a problem with it, we can take this straight back to the village head to sort out!”
The expressions around the table turned utterly ghastly. Ignoring them entirely, Lin Shirou saw that Lu Tian was still too timid to touch the food, so she scooped up a few spoonfuls herself and held them out to the child.
Lu Tian cast a fearful glance at the grandparents sitting across from them.
“Mom, I don’t want the egg custard. You should give it to them instead.”
Xu Guihua’s eyes darted around slyly. “Look at that! Lu Tian herself says she doesn’t want it. My Lu Dongdong hasn’t had nearly enough! Hand it over!”
Her bowl was already thrust forward, ready to catch the unwanted custard.
Instead, Lin Shirou shoved the spoonful straight into Lu Tian’s mouth. The girl hadn’t wanted it out of lack of desire—she was simply so used to being cursed at and beaten that she didn’t dare accept it.
As the soft, savory, and sweet custard touched her tongue, Lu Tian’s eyes widened in astonishment.
She was too young to remember when she had last tasted anything this delicious. Maybe the last time her dad was home?
She couldn’t help chewing. It was so fragrant, so wonderfully good.
Lu Dongdong glared viciously at Lu Tian. If she hadn’t stolen his custard, he could have eaten so much more!
“Mom, you eat some too,” Lu Tian said, reaching out to push the bowl toward Lin Shirou.
A sharp ache pierced Lin Shirou’s heart. No matter how hard her own childhood had been, she had never suffered such deprivation in food or clothing.
Yet Lu Tian, at her age, had probably only tasted egg custard a handful of times in her entire life. And even then, she was still trying to share it with her.
Lin Shirou gently stroked the girl’s dry, brittle hair. “Mom doesn’t care for it, darling. You eat it.”
Li Hong let out a cynical snort. “Talk about sickeningly fake—calling some little good-for-nothing ‘precious baby’!”
Swallowing a mouthful of coarse grain rice, Lin Shirou looked at Lu Xiao and smiled brightly.
“Listen to that! Your own mother is complaining that you’re just a little girl! Once she gives birth to a baby brother later on, she won’t love you anymore!”
Lu Guang and Li Hong had been married for six years and had only ever produced this one daughter. They treated Lu Xiao reasonably well—certainly much better than the eldest branch’s two older girls—but naturally, both of them still deeply desired a son. Lu Xiao had been spoiled rotten since she was small.
Hearing those words, she was terrified out of her wits and burst into loud, heartbroken wails. “Waaaah! Mom, I don’t want a baby brother! Don’t have a baby brother!”
Li Hong’s face flushed bright red with fury. She couldn’t bring herself to beat or scold her precious daughter, yet the words stung her ears deeply.
Ignoring the household chaos, Lin Shirou looked at the meager spread of three dishes on the table—all vegetarian, save for a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots that actually tasted decent.
Terrified of missing out on a single bite, Xu Guihua was shoveling the bamboo shoots into her mouth by the mouthful. Lin Shirou had no appetite for the remaining two dishes, so she only picked at the bamboo shoots.
Unfortunately, within just a couple of chopsticks’ worth, Xu Guihua had swept the entire plate clean.
Left utterly speechless, Lin Shirou couldn’t help thinking that Xu Guihua must have been a starving ghost in a past life; she had never seen anyone guard their food so fiercely.
A few days later, right in the middle of the farming lull, Lin Shirou finally found some free time and decided to take Lu Tian into town for a stroll and some shopping.
Early that morning, Zhang Ximei was also packing a bamboo back-basket, preparing to head to town. Their household supplies of salt, oil, and vinegar were running low, and she needed to restock.
As soon as Xu Guihua saw her mother-in-law getting ready to leave for town, she immediately hurried over. “Mom, let me go with you. I haven’t been into the city in ages.”
Zhang Ximei glared at her. “What are you going for? There’s so much work to do at home—who’s going to handle it?”
Right at that moment, Lin Shirou emerged from her room holding Lu Tian by the hand. One look at their attire made it obvious they were heading into town as well.
Xu Guihua protested indignantly, “Then how come she gets to go? Why can’t I?”
Caring nothing for Xu Guihua’s sour remarks, Lin Shirou simply pulled Lu Tian toward the ox-cart waiting outside.
Despite the minor and major squabbles that had broken out almost daily over the past few days, Lin Shirou hadn’t lost a single round—in fact, she had quietly seized the upper hand.
Unwilling to provoke her further, Zhang Ximei let out a cold huff and set off without another word.
Xu Guihua ground her teeth in pure frustration. Ever since Lin Shirou had changed her tune and grown a backbone, even her mother-in-law gave way to her—and now she was actually being allowed to visit the city!
When Lin Shirou and Lu Tian reached the ox-cart, there were barely any spots left. The cart was already packed with villagers heading into town.
Xu Xiaoying happened to be sitting on the cart with her young son, and she greeted Lin Shirou with a bright smile.
“Lin Zhiqing, are you heading into town too? Tiannian, why don’t you come sit next to me? You can sit with your little brother.”
Lu Tian clutched tightly to Lin Shirou’s leg, greeting Xu Xiaoying timidly. “Aunty Xiaoying.”
She glanced briefly at Xu Xiaoying’s son, Lu Guoqiang, before shaking her head and refusing to go over.
Lu Guoqiang was three years old this year, a chubby, clever-looking boy with a streak of mischief.
Yet Lu Tian was terrified of him, because whenever he grabbed her hair, he pulled with all his might, hurting her terribly every single time.
Lin Shirou found a spot and sat down, holding Lu Tian securely in her lap. The little girl nestled obediently against her chest.
After a few days of gentle care, she had grown noticeably more dependent on Lin Shirou, and her eyes held a different expression than before.
Though still timid and shy, the frantic, panicked anxiety from before had largely faded.
Xu Xiaoying looked closely at Lu Tian. Today, the little girl was wearing a pretty pink dress, and her hair was neatly combed and styled.
Although her locks were still a yellowish-brown from malnutrition, the intricate little braids woven from the crown of her head made her look much more comfortable and clean.
Liu Chunli, sitting right beside Xu Xiaoying, caught sight of Lu Tian’s shy, guarded demeanor and curled her lip in disdain.
“Oh, Tiannian,” Liu Chunli chirped, “your Aunty Xiaoying is so good to you. The last time she went to the county seat, she even bought you a sugar cake. Why are you being so ungrateful, refusing to sit with your little brother?”