Tao Xiaohong immediately tried to get out of bed.
“Brother Yanzhou, I didn’t mean to push Mianbao this morning. I was upset at the time… I was really scared…”
Her eyes were red, tears swirling in them, making her look pitiful and delicate.
Qin Yanzhou frowned slightly. His hand was in his pocket, gripping the thin household registration booklet.
Tao Xiaohong carried a steaming enamel mug over and crouched down.
“Mianbao, this is sugar water I just made. It’s very sweet—here, drink it.”
Mianbao tightly clutched Qin Yanzhou’s sleeve, hiding behind him in fear.
The atmosphere froze for a moment.
Tao Xiaohong tightened her grip on the mug, a trace of displeasure flashing through her eyes.
This little bastard doesn’t know what’s good for her. Once she marries into the Qin family, she’ll definitely throw her out.
“Uncle… I’m scared…” Mianbao said anxiously, grabbing Qin Yanzhou’s sleeve and avoiding Tao Xiaohong’s touch.
Qin Yanzhou glanced down, then shifted slightly, standing between Tao Xiaohong and Mianbao.
His tall figure formed a protective wall around Mianbao.
Tao Xiaohong’s expression changed. She lowered her head, sniffed, and spoke with a hint of grievance in her voice.
“Brother Yanzhou, I truly want to be Mianbao’s mother and treat her well, but she doesn’t like me. I can’t be the cause of discord in your family.”
“I guess I’m just not fated to enter the Qin family… You should go.”
Her face pale, she turned away in heartbreak.
Her thin back looked fragile, as if a gust of wind could shatter her.
“My brother… surely won’t blame you.”
At those words, Qin Yanzhou thought of that dream again.
He clenched his fists, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
Suddenly, Mianbao’s small hand gently held his, pulling him back to reality.
He looked at the little girl, took a deep breath, and said, “Xiaohong, I’m sorry…”
Before he could finish, Li Juhua rushed in from outside, tears streaming down her face.
“Xiaohong, your father fell. Come home with me quickly!”
Tao Xiaohong panicked. “What happened to my dad?”
“Your dad… your dad…” Li Juhua cast a quick glance at Qin Yanzhou, then secretly pinched her own thigh and wailed, “He’s already delirious… looks like he’s about to… about to…”
Hearing this, Tao Xiaohong felt as if struck by lightning. Her body swayed, and her legs went weak.
Qin Yanzhou’s expression changed. Without hesitation, he rushed forward to support her.
“Don’t panic. I’ll go back with you,” he said seriously.
Tao Xiaohong leaned against him as if finding a pillar of support, nodding weakly through tears.
Qin Yanzhou helped her out, with Li Juhua following behind.
No one paid attention to Mianbao.
Mianbao held her small hands together and followed behind them to the Tao family home.
Tao Xiaohong’s father, Tao Dazhuang, lay on a broken wooden bed, appearing on the verge of death. As soon as they entered, Li Juhua threw herself over him, crying loudly.
“Old man, you must hold on! Without you, how will the two of us live?”
After Tao Xiaojun’s accident, Tao Dazhuang had suffered a stroke from grief and had been paralyzed in bed for five years.
“Dad…” Tao Xiaohong cried.
Her sorrowful expression and voice were moving.
Qin Yanzhou stepped forward and checked Tao Dazhuang’s condition.
“Uncle,” he called twice.
“Cough, cough…” Tao Dazhuang’s eyelids fluttered as he coughed and woke up.
Seeing this, Qin Yanzhou relaxed slightly.
Tao Dazhuang grabbed Qin Yanzhou’s hand, emotional.
“Yanzhou, I’m useless. I couldn’t even protect my own daughter and let that bastard Li Minghui bully Xiaohong.”
Hearing this made Qin Yanzhou uncomfortable.
“Uncle…”
“Yanzhou, it’s fine if you don’t want to marry Xiaohong. We won’t blame you. This is fate…” Tao Dazhuang beat his own legs in grief.
Qin Yanzhou quickly stopped him.
“Uncle, don’t be like this. I never said I wouldn’t marry Xiaohong.”
Li Juhua and Tao Xiaohong’s eyes lit up. They exchanged a glance.
In the corner, Mianbao grew anxious.
She saw it… Tao Dazhuang’s paralysis was fake! He hadn’t fallen either. The Tao family was lying to Uncle!
But Uncle disliked her. He definitely wouldn’t believe her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mianbao noticed the coal stove in the kitchen. The aluminum kettle on top had already boiled. A thought flashed through her mind, and she walked toward the kitchen.
Li Juhua was overjoyed.
“Yanzhou, does this mean you agree to marry Xiaohong?”
Qin Yanzhou clenched his fists but didn’t answer immediately.
The room fell silent for a moment as all three stared at him eagerly, waiting for his response.
Just as Qin Yanzhou was about to speak, Mianbao’s crisp, soft voice rang out.
“Grandpa Tao, Mianbao poured you a cup of hot water. Mommy says drinking more hot water helps sickness go away.”
Mianbao carefully walked over, holding a full enamel mug of hot water.
Li Juhua still resented Mianbao for ruining their plans earlier. Seeing the steaming water, clearly just boiled, a vicious thought arose. She approached Mianbao without drawing attention.
“Oh my, Mianbao is so good. Don’t burn your hands—Grandma will take it.”
She appeared to reach for the mug, but from an angle Qin Yanzhou couldn’t see, she viciously pinched Mianbao and shoved her.
“Ah—!” Mianbao cried out as the hot water splashed toward Tao Dazhuang’s legs.
“Dad!”
“Dazhuang!”
Tao Xiaohong and Li Juhua shouted at the same time.
At the critical moment, Tao Dazhuang jumped up like a monkey.
At the same time, Qin Yanzhou reacted quickly and grabbed Mianbao, lifting her up.
Mianbao still held the mug tightly. Realizing something, she quickly let go.
Clang—the enamel mug fell to the ground.
“Dad!” Tao Xiaohong urgently reminded Tao Dazhuang.
But it was too late. Qin Yanzhou turned his head and saw Tao Dazhuang—who had been paralyzed in bed for years—frantically trying to lie back down.
He stared in shock. “Uncle… you…”
“Tao Dazhuang, you’re not paralyzed?”
Qin Shanhai’s deep, authoritative voice suddenly rang out. Everyone looked outside and saw that Qin Shanhai and Xie Yulan were already standing in the main hall.
The Tao family panicked.
“N-no, that’s not it…” Tao Dazhuang tried to explain but didn’t know what to say, so he looked at his daughter, Tao Xiaohong.
Tao Xiaohong’s face was pale as she bit her lip.
Li Juhua tugged at her sleeve.
Xie Yulan walked in with a cold expression, took Mianbao from Qin Yanzhou, and carefully checked her all over before letting out a sigh of relief.
She had been terrified.
She had only gone out briefly to exchange for some eggs, and when she returned, Mianbao was gone.
At that moment, she was so anxious she nearly fainted. She hurried to the factory to find Qin Shanhai.
The two of them asked around all the way here, arriving just in time to see what had happened.
“Uncle, Auntie, Brother Yanzhou…” Tao Xiaohong’s weak, tearful voice sounded. “My father really is paralyzed.”
“But for these five years, my mother and I never gave up on him. A year ago, my mother found a folk remedy from the countryside to treat him.”
“Maybe the remedy worked. Just now, in a moment of danger, my father stood up out of instinct for self-protection.”
Li Juhua quickly caught on and cooperated.
“That’s right. For these five years, I’ve been searching everywhere for remedies for Dazhuang. It finally worked! Dazhuang, you can stand!”
Tao Dazhuang added, “Yes, I can stand! It must be Xiaojun’s spirit in heaven protecting me.”
His eyes filled with tears as he cried with joy. “Xiaojun, don’t worry. Your father has recovered. I will definitely protect your sister.”