If they kept relying on her stepmother’s money, it might not be a problem in the first few years while things were still fresh. But over time, as her father grew older and his looks faded, wouldn’t her stepmother start to dislike him?
Her stepmother had beauty, money, and a house. Aside from his face, her father only had her—a burden.
So how did she come to think that her father wasn’t worthy?
Xiao Nanchu thought about it for a while and felt that her future days definitely wouldn’t be easy.
If she had known earlier, when her father was sent to the hospital, she shouldn’t have used the good-luck talisman on him. It cost her a drop of her vital essence. She had fevers several times afterward, almost had her body taken over by wandering spirits, and nearly got sold off by her grandmother to traffickers.
Although life in the countryside wasn’t great, she had already figured out the personalities of the Xiao family. She wasn’t afraid of being beaten or mistreated. With her abilities and her substitute talismans, no one could truly harm her.
A reassembled family was different. They would need to adapt to each other all over again, to understand one another from scratch. From her stepmother’s words, even her former in-laws weren’t easy to get along with. Troubles in the future would only keep coming.
In her previous life, she had only her master and grandmaster as family. Aside from her grandmaster, who liked making a fuss, she was more like her master—preferring peace and quiet.
With the large Xiao family, she often felt especially annoyed. If her father married Xu Huaying, then together they would be a household of six. So many people living under one roof—just thinking about it made Xiao Nanchu feel that life ahead would be anything but calm.
Back at the hospital, Xu Huaying hadn’t mentioned the children at all. If she had known earlier that there were already three kids, Xiao Nanchu felt she might have chosen to stay in the countryside.
Once the reform and opening-up began in ’79, she could casually give her father some guidance. Starting a small business would be enough to build wealth. There was absolutely no need to rush into living off someone else.
Perhaps noticing the unusual look in her eyes, Xu Huaying quickly let go of Xiao Huai Dong’s hand and instead took Xiao Nanchu’s.
“Little Bean Sprout, don’t grow distant from Auntie just because of Da Hu and the others. I promise you now, I’ll treat you like my own daughter from now on and never let you suffer any grievances.”
Faced with her stepmother’s goodwill, Xiao Nanchu accepted it readily, mainly because she didn’t want to make things difficult for her father.
She didn’t dislike Xu Huaying. On the contrary, she admired and respected her.
She was just worried that Xu Huaying might regret it one day. If that happened, wouldn’t she and her father become awkward in this household?
The three of them walked across the spacious yard and entered the small Western-style house. Right at the entrance was a large living room on the first floor, with colorful patterned tiles on the ground and European-style leather sofas. Xiao Nanchu immediately noticed the nineteen-inch black-and-white television on the cabinet, playing *Nezha Conquers the Dragon King*.
It was probably left on when the Gu siblings went out.
Xiao Nanchu glanced at the animation a few more times, finding it quite fascinating.
“Little Bean Sprout, do you want to watch TV in the living room first, or go upstairs to look at your room?”
Seeing her interest, Xu Huaying couldn’t help but smile.
She had already noticed back at the hospital that Xiao Nanchu was different from ordinary children. Although she was two years younger than her own youngest, she wasn’t like her third child, who often threw tantrums for no reason, talked back, acted impulsively, and was willful.
Now it seemed that no matter how sensible Xiao Nanchu was, she was still a child at heart.
“I’ll go upstairs to see the room.”
Having been used to wide color screens in her past life, looking at a square black-and-white TV now felt a bit awkward.
Xu Huaying was briefly surprised, then quickly said, “Alright, you can watch later if you want.”
There were five rooms on the second floor, connected by a hallway. The largest bedroom at the end belonged to Xu Huaying. Three rooms side by side were for Gu Dahu and his siblings—each had one. Gu Qingling’s room was next to Xu Huaying’s.
Xiao Nanchu was arranged to stay in the room near the staircase.
The moment she entered, everything was pink.
Pink checkered curtains, a pink striped blanket, and a pink floral tablecloth spread across the desk by the window.
Opening the wardrobe, she saw a row of clothes hanging inside. Half were the same white frilly dresses Gu Qingling wore, while the other half consisted of normal tops and pants.
“You and Lingling are about the same age. You’re both children, so your preferences should be similar, right? I decorated your room based on Lingling’s tastes. If you don’t like it, just tell Auntie and I’ll change it to what you like.”
Xu Huaying sounded a bit uncertain, with a hint of unease.
If she couldn’t win Xiao Nanchu over, and if Brother Dong developed a rift with her because of the child, she would regret it deeply.
Xiao Nanchu glanced at her father and saw that his eyes were practically glued to his wife. She couldn’t help but mutter inwardly—so this was what it meant to be obsessed with a first love. Her father might really be a hopeless romantic. Truly beyond saving.
Against her own feelings, Xiao Nanchu nodded. “Auntie, thank you! I really like it!”
Compared to the conditions at the Xiao family’s home, this place could be considered high-end.
There was no need for her to nitpick. Besides, if she asked Xu Huaying to decorate her room in her preferred black style, they might not send her to the hospital for a mental check, but they would definitely look at her strangely from then on.
Right now, she just wanted to stay low-key, grow up quickly, and find her grandmaster to obtain the Soul-Stabilizing Pearl. Otherwise, if one day her body was taken over by a powerful wandering spirit, her remaining soul would vanish from existence completely.
“Good that you like it. The clothes Auntie bought for you at the hospital—you didn’t want to wear them, so I brought them back and washed them. Tomorrow, you must wear the new clothes Auntie bought for you!”
Xiao Huai Dong said gently, “Huaying, you’re very thoughtful. The child is still young and grows quickly. There’s no need to buy so many new clothes.”
Xu Huaying disagreed as she ruffled Xiao Nanchu’s curly hair. “Little girls should have lots of pretty clothes and dress beautifully—it builds confidence. Besides, I’m not short on money. Whatever Lingling has, Little Bean Sprout will have too.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Just as Xiao Huai Dong was about to take Xu Huaying’s hand, he caught a glimpse of his daughter staring at him with wide, grape-like eyes. His face flushed, and he quickly curled his hand into a fist, bringing it to his lips and coughing awkwardly.
As the three of them came downstairs, they saw Gu Dahu and his siblings sitting on the leather sofa in the living room, glaring angrily at Xiao Huai Dong and Xiao Nanchu with hostility.
Xu Huaying frowned, about to scold them, but Xiao Huai Dong gently pulled her back to ease the situation. “Huaying, it’s getting late. I’ll go prepare dinner.”
“Brother Dong, it’s your first day here—how can I let you cook? Come on, I’ll take you all to eat at a state-run restaurant.”
The three Gu siblings rolled their eyes disdainfully at Xiao Nanchu and Xiao Huai Dong.
“Country bumpkins. Bet you’ve never even stepped into a state-run restaurant in your life.”
Xu Huaying glared at them angrily. “Where is this sense of superiority coming from? Apologize to Uncle Xiao and Little Bean Sprout right now!”
“Why should we apologize? We didn’t say anything wrong.”