The little ones all froze, and Shen Wanyin even forgot about the pain, her mouth slightly open, staring blankly at her.
Was this really still the same vicious stepsister from before?
Qiao Xihe didn’t notice their reaction at all, and patiently blew on the scraped patch of skin on Shen Wanyin’s knee, then looked up and asked, “Does it still hurt?”
The moment she looked up, she saw all four little ones looking at her with extremely complicated expressions.
Qiao Xihe: “…”
She understood.
After all, from last night until now, her character image had probably collapsed entirely.
“Still hurt?” Qiao Xihe asked again.
“No, no, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Shen Wanyin shook her head quickly, then said quietly, “Thank you, Sister.”
That single word nearly melted Qiao Xihe’s heart.
She rubbed Shen Wanyin’s head, then stood up and walked over to pick up the basket of wild vegetables.
The basket was already full, it looked like today had been a good haul.
Qiao Xihe said cheerfully, “That should be enough, let’s head home. I’ll make something delicious for you!”
With that, she led the way down the mountain, and the four little ones followed close behind her, matching her steps.
Shen Wanyin looked at her back, feeling a warm spot where her head had just been touched.
She even trotted ahead a little, closing the distance to Qiao Xihe, and asked boldly, “Sister, can those weeds in your basket really be eaten?”
“That’s not weeds, it’s wild vegetables,” Qiao Xihe said, amused. “Stir-fried, they’re really tasty.”
“Oh, oh.” Shen Wanyin nodded, only half understanding. “Then, can little Yin’er eat some too? Can brother and the sisters all eat it too?”
“Of course. We’re a family, when there’s something good to eat, we share it.”
Naturally, every word of this fell on Shen Wanzhou’s ears too.
“Big brother, little sister’s getting a bit too bold. Isn’t she afraid the bad girl might suddenly go crazy and hit her?” Shen Wanmu whispered by his ear.
Shen Wanzhou didn’t answer, only looked at the basket on Qiao Xihe’s back, then at her hands.
The shovel was gone again.
Where had Qiao Xihe put it?
The shovel had just been put away into her spatial storage by Qiao Xihe. She didn’t expect that Shen Wanzhou, even as a child, would be this observant.
Still, Shen Wanzhou had no plans to ask her about it for now.
He hadn’t yet figured out just what was behind this sudden change in Qiao Xihe.
But at the very least, it seemed for now that Qiao Xihe wouldn’t hurt Shen Wanyin, so he didn’t stop Shen Wanyin from walking beside her.
When they got home, they saw at a glance that Tang Yifang was standing at the gate, looking full of hostility.
Shen Wanyin and Shen Wanjin were scared enough to immediately hide behind Shen Wanzhou, and even Shen Wanmu’s little face went a bit pale.
“Well, well, you shameless little wretches, how dare you…”
Before Tang Yifang could really get going, Qiao Xihe let out a sharp shout, “Stop!”
Tang Yifang’s words got stuck in her throat, and for a moment her mind couldn’t quite process what had happened.
“Can you go one day without either hitting people or cursing at them?” Qiao Xihe said, exasperated. “I’m the one who took them out with me. If you have something to say, let’s talk it out between the two of us.”
Shen Wanyin peeked out from behind Shen Wanzhou, looking at her with admiration.
“Oh, so you’re a great saint now, is that it! You love doing good deeds, feeding four extra mouths, how touching!” Tang Yifang said, once she’d recovered, trembling with rage and dripping with sarcasm.
“I’m no great saint, and they’re not extra mouths,” Qiao Xihe said coldly. “Mother, I think you’ve forgotten, this is the Shen family’s home.”
All of Tang Yifang’s money had been given to her by the protagonist group’s father.
So, if it really came down to it… wasn’t Qiao Xihe herself the actual “extra mouth” here?
But Qiao Xihe didn’t like that kind of talk at all, in a blended family, there shouldn’t be any such thing as an “extra mouth” to begin with.
Besides, she was now the mature, dependable eldest sister!
Tang Yifang seemed to choke, unable to get any words out, and after a long moment glared at Qiao Xihe and said, “You, come inside with me!”
With that, she turned and went into the house.
Qiao Xihe wasn’t afraid either. She simply handed the basket to Shen Wanzhou. “Take this to the kitchen.”
Shen Wanzhou took it reflexively, then watched as Qiao Xihe strode into the house.
That retreating figure, to them, somehow carried a strange air of tragic resolve.
“Big brother, have the two of them fallen out?” Shen Wanmu said excitedly. “Excellent! Those two wicked women finally get what’s coming to them!”
“Will sister get beaten?” Shen Wanyin asked, a little worried. Just a little.
“No way,” Shen Wanjin said. “She’s not like us, she’s not the stepmother’s own child, wait, she is the stepmother’s own child, so the stepmother won’t bear to hit her.”
“But, she seemed like she was protecting us just now.” Shen Wanmu scratched his head. “What’s actually going on here? I don’t really get it.”
He wasn’t the only one, none of the four little ones understood it at all.
“Big brother, what do you think we should do now?” Shen Wanmu asked, seeking Shen Wanzhou’s opinion again.
Shen Wanzhou was still staring at the door. After a moment he lowered his eyes, looked at the basket in his hands, and said, “Let’s take this basket to the kitchen first.”
Inside the house, Tang Yifang slammed her hand on the table and shouted furiously, “Kneel down!”
Naturally, Qiao Xihe had no intention of kneeling. She simply sat down on the edge of the kang instead.
“Mother, what did I do wrong? Why should I have to kneel?” Qiao Xihe said unhurriedly.
“You! Well, I see you’ve grown yourself some wings, defying me now…”
Tang Yifang’s eyes went wide with fury. Before this, her own daughter had been a little afraid of her, at least never openly going against her like this!
But now? Ever since yesterday, Qiao Xihe had been acting like she’d been fed the wrong medicine!
“Mother, I’ll say it again, from now on, you are not allowed to abuse those four children!” Qiao Xihe said, each word deliberate and forceful. “Do you want to face retribution for this later? Do you know that if you keep this up, your end will be a miserable one!”
“Oh, so now you’re cursing your own mother?” Tang Yifang wailed. “All for a few little wretches…”
With a loud “pah,” Qiao Xihe suddenly slammed her palm down on the table.
“Mother, please don’t call them that anymore!”
“I see you really are determined to rebel. I’m going to beat you to death today…”
Tang Yifang rummaged around and finally pulled out a feather duster, raising her hand to strike at Qiao Xihe.
But Qiao Xihe was faster. She reached out and grabbed Tang Yifang’s wrist, then wrenched the feather duster right out of her hand.
“Don’t make me raise a hand against you,” Qiao Xihe said coldly.
Tang Yifang was actually startled into a shudder by the look in her eyes.
“Listen. Stop causing trouble, or don’t blame me for not caring about our mother-daughter bond anymore.”
Qiao Xihe tossed the feather duster onto Tang Yifang and turned to leave.
Tang Yifang stood frozen for a long moment before finally shouting, “Just you wait, I will beat you to death!”
But it was nothing more than empty bluster, by this point, Qiao Xihe was already back in the kitchen, getting ready to stir-fry the wild vegetables.