“Just because Uncle Fu also comes from a farming background,” Su Wanyin said softly, her youthful face wearing a gentle, unhurried smile, “it wouldn’t be very appropriate if Xiaoya hears words like ‘country bumpkin’ being used for him.”
Her tone was soft, almost polite.
But it landed like a gentle blade straight into Fu Ya’s heart.
Fu Ya’s expression changed instantly. She flailed angrily.
“Who said anything about my dad? I was talking about you!”
If her father heard this, she’d definitely have to write a self-criticism, stand at attention, and maybe even get punished. It would be a disaster.
“Didn’t you just call me a village girl and country bumpkin?” Su Wanyin tilted her head innocently. “Doesn’t that also mean Uncle Fu comes from the countryside?”
Then she added, as if realizing something:
“Oh… I must have misunderstood.”
“You—!”
Fu Ya’s face turned red and white in turns. She wanted to argue, but her father and grandfather’s families really did have rural origins. She was instantly left speechless.
Qin E’s expression also darkened slightly. She said coldly:
“Enough. If you want to go upstairs, then go. Don’t stand here saying nonsense.”
Fu Ya glared at Su Wanyin angrily, then instead of going upstairs, she sat back down beside her mother.
Only after the tension eased did Zhao Shen bring over tea.
Su Wanyin politely thanked her, took a small sip, and set it down.
Her movements were proper and composed, showing no trace of rural roughness.
Noticing Qin E’s gaze, Su Wanyin calmly took out a few pieces of cured meat from her backpack and placed them on the table.
“This is a specialty I brought from my hometown. Please try it, Aunt Qin, Uncle Fu.”
Qin E looked at the meat and was slightly surprised.
For the Fu family, this amount was nothing—but for a rural family, it represented several years of meat consumption.
“Tch.” Fu Ya sneered. “This black, ugly meat—can it even be eaten? Isn’t it probably spoiled?”
Su Wanyin knew very well that compared to the Fu family’s daily fresh meat, cured meat didn’t look appealing.
But at least she had brought something. It was better than showing up empty-handed.
“I knew fresh meat would spoil in this summer heat during the journey,” she explained calmly. “So I brought cured meat instead. You may not have tried it before, but it has a unique flavor.”
Her words were polite, measured, and perfectly appropriate.
Even Qin E, who came from a powerful family, rarely saw someone so articulate and composed.
“You’re thoughtful. It must’ve been hard to bring this all the way here,” Qin E said with a softened expression.
Then she turned sharply to Fu Ya:
“Fu Ya, I’ve taught you since childhood to be polite and proper. Where did your manners go?”
Fu Ya stiffened instantly, clenching her fists but not daring to retort.
Qin E then looked back at Su Wanyin with satisfaction.
After about half an hour, Qin E finally stood up and led her to a room.
The house had three floors.
The room she was taken to was on the first floor, at a corner.
It was slightly larger than her room at the Su household, but it had no window. It was dark and damp, with a strong musty smell—clearly a storage room.
The real guest rooms should have been upstairs.
Fu Ya followed behind and sneered:
“See? Isn’t this already much better than your village house? Never seen anything like this, right?”
“Indeed, I haven’t,” Su Wanyin replied lightly.
Then she added with a faint smile:
“I’ve never seen a guest room inside such a grand mansion be worse than a wealthy village merchant’s storage room.”
“You—!”
Fu Ya nearly exploded again, but swallowed her words under her mother’s warning gaze.
Qin E’s smile also became somewhat stiff. She suddenly slapped her forehead as if realizing something.
“Oh dear, I made a mistake. This room is already occupied.”
She then led Su Wanyin upstairs.
On the third floor, at the very end of the corridor, they stopped.
This floor felt noticeably quieter, almost untouched.
When the door opened, the room inside was luxuriously decorated—an European-style bed, wooden vanity, and a small balcony.
Su Wanyin glanced around, then looked at Fu Ya’s shocked expression and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
Then she deliberately asked:
“Aunt Qin, this room is so nice… it wouldn’t belong to someone else, would it?”
“Oh, it’s fine. Occasionally when Ya’er’s cousin comes, she stays here,” Qin E said lightly with a smile.
Su Wanyin observed her flawless expression, then glanced at Fu Ya’s strange reaction and understood something.
She hesitated and said:
“I feel a bit uneasy staying in her room. Could you please change me to another one?”
“There’s no problem,” Qin E replied firmly. “Just stay here. There are no other empty rooms anyway.”
Without giving her any chance to refuse, she turned and left.
After the door closed, Su Wanyin carefully checked the room before sitting down on the bed.
From what she had observed, Qin E did not like her—and likely did not intend for her to marry into the Fu family.
But it didn’t matter. She only needed to earn money first, then have Uncle Fu help arrange her schooling.
However…
A life-saving favor from her mother—she didn’t expect them to repay it generously, but at least they shouldn’t treat her like someone to be casually shoved into a storage room.
Su Wanyin’s fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing within.
……
“Mom, why are you being so nice to her?” Fu Ya asked as they went downstairs.
Qin E walked gracefully ahead, her tone meaningful:
“You think I’m being nice to her?”
“Isn’t it?” Fu Ya widened her eyes in confusion.
Qin E smiled faintly, patting her daughter’s head.
“Foolish child,” she said, without explaining further.