He Mingchu spoke while observing Lin Xiyue’s expression.
Why wasn’t she showing the panic he had anticipated?
At the very least, she should be tearfully begging him not to abandon them by now.
“Lin Xiyue, you need to understand your position from now on. My father marrying your mother is a temporary arrangement to provide you with a place to live. But don’t challenge my position—I’m the true member of the He family. You’re just staying here temporarily.
“Tell your mother not to entertain any illusions about controlling the He family’s money. From now on, you live your lives, and we’ll live ours.”
Lin Xiyue had never planned to rely on He Jianguo in the first place.
Self-reliance was what mattered most. If not for the fact that lacking urban residency would get them expelled from the city, she wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble.
But He Mingchu’s warning only stirred her rebellious spirit.
Lin Xiyue curled her lips into a smile, her dimples faintly showing, appearing both adorable and charming.
“Brother Ming Chu, didn’t you suggest your father marry my mother because you wanted Uncle Jianguo to have companionship? Then why are you so resistant to us now?
“You should know this, right? My mother and your father were each other’s first love—they dated when they were young. Now they can be together again. You really don’t need to harbor such hostility toward me.
“I know you recommended that Uncle Jianguo let us stay. You’re a good person. Don’t worry—from now on, my mother will help manage the household properly, and I’ll do my best to handle whatever chores I can!”
He Mingchu felt like he’d punched cotton—his words had no effect. Instead, he found her increasingly intriguing.
The unexpected made things interesting, didn’t it?
He turned and walked ahead, only realizing after several steps that Lin Xiyue hadn’t followed.
“What are you standing there for? Hurry up!”
Lin Xiyue responded with an “Oh” and quickly caught up.
There weren’t many shops open on the street. He Mingchu led Lin Xiyue familiarly into a fabric store.
After purchasing fabric and red paper, He Mingchu asked Lin Xiyue:
“Do you prefer pork or beef?”
Lin Xiyue’s eyes widened. She could choose?
She’d endured over a month in the countryside, surviving on thin corn porridge and wild vegetables, with only a bowl of rice every few days.
Having gone more than a month without even seeing a trace of meat, Lin Xiyue swallowed hard.
He Mingchu glanced sideways at her desperately craving expression and figured she wouldn’t be able to choose properly anyway.
So he went directly to the butcher and bought one jin of pork.
Upon entering the courtyard, He Mingchu started in surprise, wondering if he’d walked into the wrong house.
Just as he was about to retreat, Bai Xiaomei emerged, face glistening with sweat.
“Ming Chu, Moon Maiden, you’re back? I’ll finish cleaning soon—come on in!”
The courtyard had transformed!
With two men living in the He household, they’d kept things superficially tidy at best, but the details had been lacking. After Bai Xiaomei’s thorough cleaning, the entire home looked bright and sparkling.
Standing in the courtyard, He Mingchu felt physically and mentally refreshed. This Bai Xiaomei—perhaps his father had made the right choice in marrying her after all.
He Jianguo emerged behind her, looking flustered. “Xiao Mei, you should rest! There’s no rush to do all this work at once!”
Bai Xiaomei felt deeply grateful that the He family had agreed to let her and her daughter stay. She believed she’d be letting them down if she didn’t contribute, so she hadn’t stopped working for a moment.
Seeing the red paper and red fabric in He Mingchu’s hands, she quickly took them from him.
“Ming Chu, you’ve worked hard! Moon Maiden, you’re the best at paper-cutting, you handle this!”
Lin Xiyue nodded: “Alright.”
The red cloth was bought to make clothes for Bai Xiaomei. No matter how poor their circumstances, the bride must have at least one new outfit.
Bai Xiaomei, holding vegetables, said somewhat awkwardly: “I’ll go cook!”
Lin Xiyue sat beside the Eight Immortals table cutting paper.
Double Happiness patterns were her specialty, and she could also cut various decorative designs.
He Mingchu took the patterns she cut and went to paste them on the windows.
“Quite skilled with your hands.”
He Mingchu unfolded the pattern – it was a beautiful Bodhi Flower Window Decoration.
This cheap sister wasn’t a bad acquisition after all.
She could keep him company and had some skills too.
The wedding was rushed, with only a handful of guests attending.
Bai Xiaomei seemed at a loss, her expression flustered.
He Jianguo comforted her: “It’s not because they look down on us, it’s just too rushed today. After we get our marriage certificate, we’ll properly host a banquet. By then your clothes will be ready too, and I’ll marry you in style.”
Bai Xiaomei: “What style… we’re both remarried people…”
Lin Xiyue interjected: “Mom, haven’t you always wanted to marry Uncle Jianguo? I saw it in your diary. Now that you have the chance, why hesitate? Shouldn’t we just live well together?”
He Jianguo’s face lit up with a smile: “Xiao Mei, let’s live well together from now on.”
Dinner was prepared by Bai Xiaomei. Lin Xiyue ate with her head down, completely focused on the food.
A pound of pork belly stewed soft with potatoes, stir-fried potato shreds with chili peppers, and stir-fried sweet potato leaves, with steamed buns as the staple.
Having been starved too much in the countryside, Lin Xiyue now had only craving for food in her eyes.
The He family – she was determined to stay here!
With food to eat and a place to live, she must remain here!
He Mingchu tasted a couple pieces of meat, a glint quickly flashing in his eyes.
He glanced discreetly at Bai Xiaomei – not bad cooking skills.
After dinner, He Jianguo took the mother and daughter to their rooms.
Bai Xiaomei pulled Lin Xiyue: “Moon Maiden and I can share a room.”
He Mingchu snorted: “Aunt Xiao Mei, since you’re going to marry my dad, there’s no need to be so formal, is there?”
He Jianguo patted He Mingchu’s shoulder, smiling: “It’s fine, it’s fine. We haven’t gotten the certificate yet, so we’re not officially married. We can change rooms after we get the certificate.”
He looked around: “Anyway, we have plenty of rooms… Ming Chu, pack your things and move to the north-facing room. The south-facing room will be for your sister. Xiao Mei, you stay in my room for now, I’ll move to the north-facing room too!”
He Mingchu grunted in acknowledgment and started packing his things.
Compared to having a future pet, he was willing to sleep in the north-facing room.
In this boring era, he had been pretending for long enough.
Worried that revealing his true personality might get him arrested, he had to maintain a gentle and kind facade.
When he first crossed over, he found himself younger, with a father about the same age as his previous self. He had to submit to reality and call He Jianguo father.
Otherwise, the neighbors might drag him away for an exorcism.
Now it was better – with a “sister,” he could already foresee how interesting his future days would be.
Thinking this, he glanced at Lin Xiyue again, deep emotions swirling in his eyes.
Bai Xiaomei held him back: “Brother Jian Guo, Xiao Mei and I already feel terribly sorry for intruding. How could we possibly take over your home? We just need a place to sleep—we don’t mind anything else!”
Under Bai Xiaomei’s insistence, Lin Xiyue and Bai Xiaomei moved into the two north-facing bedrooms.
The rooms had already been cleaned. Fortunately, it was summer, with bamboo mats on the beds and a sheet each—to cover themselves if it got cold at night.
Lying on the bed, Lin Xiyue finally ended a month of exhausting travels—
Since arriving in this era, Lin Xiyue hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.
In her dazed state, she had accepted her new identity: the daughter of an Educated Youth from the city and a rural man.
Her mother was educated but weak-willed and indecisive.
Her father loved drinking and domestic violence.
Her grandmother despised her mother for not bearing a son.
One night, after drinking, her father stumbled into a rice paddy and never got up again.
Her grandmother firmly declared Bai Xiaomei a Harbinger of Doom and drove them both out.
Coincidentally, Bai Xiaomei could return to the city, so she brought Lin Xiyue on the long journey back, only to find that her maternal family didn’t want them either.
As it turned out, all of this was part of the worldview of a period novel.
In the original book, every tragic event in the original host’s life served to highlight the female lead’s greatness in helping her.
According to the original plot, after Lin Xiyue and her mother failed to seek refuge with her grandfather’s family, they could only hide and drift from place to place, living on others’ charity.
It was at this moment that the female lead and male lead met, and it was the female lead’s act of helping Lin Xiyue that made the male lead think, “This girl is truly kind.”
Well then, Lin Xiyue rolled over.
By clinging to the male lead’s coattails and becoming the gentle male lead’s stepsister, wouldn’t her future life be smooth sailing?
In this great era, with someone like her who had foresight, wouldn’t she lead the He family to prosperity!
This would also repay the kindness of him and his father for rescuing her and her mother from dire straits today.
Living a second life, a wonderful life—here I come!
In the other room.
The “gentle” male lead, He Mingchu, was reminiscing about the day’s events under the oil lamp.
He suddenly smiled, the kerosene lamp’s flame casting a somewhat eerie glow on his face.
“Lin Xiyue… I’m looking forward to your performance—”