Qiao Xihe led the protagonist group onward toward the general store.
She couldn’t help glancing back at Shen Wanzhou. He still wore that same expressionless face, not even ten years old yet, and somehow he carried himself with the air of a mature adult.
After a moment’s thought, Qiao Xihe said, “Thank you for speaking up for me just now.”
Shen Wanzhou was startled for a moment, then said, “No need to thank me. I wasn’t helping you either. I just couldn’t stand that woman slandering my little sister.”
“Whatever the reason, you still helped me,” Qiao Xihe said, smiling. “I’ll make you all something good to eat tonight.”
Something good to eat!
The other three children’s eyes lit right up.
Only Shen Wanzhou remained perfectly composed.
Qiao Xihe muttered to herself inwardly, no wonder he was destined to become chancellor.
At the general store, Qiao Xihe bought two catties of rice and two catties of flour, using up almost all the money.
There were two coins left, and after glancing back at the four little ones behind her, Qiao Xihe gritted her teeth and bought four pieces of candy.
The store owner recognized her too, and seeing her buy four pieces of candy, curled his lip in disdain.
This wicked stepsister, taking the Shen family’s money to buy herself candy again.
Pity for those four poor children.
Just as he finished thinking this, he saw Qiao Xihe hand one piece to each of the four children.
The store owner: “…”
Was he blind?
Was there a sow up in the tree by the door right now?
With the candy boosting everyone’s spirits, on the way home Shen Wanzhou and Shen Wanmu took the initiative to carry the rice and flour, Shen Wanjin walked a little closer to Qiao Xihe, and Shen Wanyin skipped along cheerfully right beside her.
Qiao Xihe couldn’t help asking the system silently, “Old Gong, I feel like little Yin’er’s impression of me is pretty good now, still not counted as a successful pursuit?”
“Host, this level isn’t enough yet. You need to make the target trust and like you unconditionally, treat you as true family, and never doubt you no matter what happens, that’s what counts as a real, complete pursuit.”
“Oh I see.”
“That said, the pursuit of Shen Wanyin is currently about eighty percent complete. Keep it up, host, the grand prize is waiting just ahead, charge on!”
Already eighty percent?
Qiao Xihe’s heart leapt with joy.
Looked like little Yin’er really did like her quite a lot by now!
She was only four, after all, and didn’t hold grudges, whatever had happened before, once she said she’d put it behind her, she really did.
Qiao Xihe had no intention of letting little Yin’er’s affection go to waste.
That evening Qiao Xihe steamed some rice and stir-fried more wild vegetables, and for once, Tang Yifang actually sat through an entire peaceful meal at the table with them.
All four children ate happily, filling Qiao Xihe with a burst of satisfaction.
Fortunately she’d learned to cook from her grandmother as a child, and her skills were quite good.
After the meal, Qiao Xihe had Tang Yifang wash the dishes.
In the original owner’s memories, ever since the protagonist group’s father had left, Tang Yifang had never done a single chore.
She’d dumped all the work onto the four small children, while she herself lounged around all day, eating well and doing nothing.
That wasn’t going to fly anymore.
Although reluctant, Tang Yifang went and washed the dishes anyway.
Shen Wanyin immediately looked at Qiao Xihe with admiration.
Sister was really amazing! She’d actually gotten the stepmother to wash dishes!
Small children get sleepy early, and not long after dinner, they all went to bed.
The four siblings were all still young, and for now they slept in the same room.
Fortunately, the kang in the room was large, the two brothers slept on the left side, the two sisters on the right.
The younger ones had already fallen asleep, but Shen Wanzhou wasn’t sleepy at all.
He was still thinking about the strange changes in that vicious stepsister these past two days, and about how she’d conjured things out of thin air.
What exactly was wrong with her?
Was she really the same Qiao Xihe as before?
Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of the door being pushed open.
Shen Wanzhou’s heart tightened, and he immediately shut his eyes, pretending to sleep.
Who would come to their room this late at night?
The stepmother? Or Qiao Xihe?
What did they want?
Shen Wanzhou’s heart pounded, and the small hand tucked under the blanket suddenly clenched tight.
The person who’d come in was indeed Qiao Xihe.
The reason she’d come so late at night was that she’d suddenly remembered, she’d noticed earlier that day there was a small hole in Shen Wanyin’s pants.
Shen Wanyin was still a small child, growing fast, and her old clothes had already become too small to wear.
After their father had left, Tang Yifang naturally wasn’t about to buy them new clothes, so this one outfit was all Shen Wanyin had to wear now.
Qiao Xihe figured she should come and mend it for her, she couldn’t just let the child keep wearing torn clothes.
She’d brought needle and thread, and quietly lit a candle.
The candlelight wasn’t very bright, so it wouldn’t wake the children.
By the candlelight, she picked up Shen Wanyin’s pants and patiently began to mend them.
And this whole scene was secretly witnessed by Shen Wanzhou, who had opened his eyes just a crack.
His heart gave a sudden shudder, and for a moment, he had no idea how to react.
Their vicious stepsister, sneaking into their room at night, just to mend their little sister’s pants?
Once she finished mending them, Qiao Xihe folded the pants neatly and set them aside, then blew out the candle and quietly slipped out.
But Shen Wanzhou’s heart couldn’t settle down for a long while after.
…
The next morning, as soon as she woke up, Shen Wanyin was bursting with excitement, chattering away.
“Big brother, second brother, third sister, look, there’s such a cute thing on my pants!”
She pointed proudly at the little bear pattern on her pants.
“Really.” Shen Wanjin leaned in to look. “Where did that come from?”
“It must be that the immortals in the sky saw my pants were torn, so they added something onto them.”
“Really?” Shen Wanjin’s eyes went wide. “Then, then will the immortals bring me something good to eat too?”
“They will!” Shen Wanyin nodded, absolutely certain.
Watching his two silly sisters discuss this so earnestly, Shen Wanzhou’s mouth twitched, but in the end he decided to tell them the truth.
“Last night, I saw Stepsister come and mend your pants.”
The two sisters’ chattering instantly stopped, and Shen Wanmu asked, unable to believe it, “You mean Stepsister? Qiao Xihe?”
“Mm.”
“So it was Sister who mended it for me!”
Shen Wanyin immediately bounced off to find Qiao Xihe in the kitchen, threw her arms around her leg, and said in her sweet, babyish voice, “Thank you, Sister! My pants are so cute now!”
Qiao Xihe was cooking porridge, and hearing this, she looked a little surprised. “How did you know it was me who mended it?”
“Big brother told me.”
So Shen Wanzhou had seen her mending the pants last night after all.
That little rascal, even though on the surface he didn’t seem to think much of her, he’d still told the truth on her behalf.
“Sister, what did you sew, it’s so cute.”
“It’s a little bear,” Qiao Xihe answered, scooping the finished porridge out.
“A bear?” Shen Wanyin blinked. “What’s a bear?”
She’d lived in the village her whole life, and with no television or anything like that around, she naturally had no idea.
“It’s like…”
Qiao Xihe was just about to explain when she suddenly heard someone calling from outside: “Is Wanzhou home?”