Chapter 5

Qin Yan finally managed to focus on reading his book.

His life was much like the book in his hands—the ending already written. The little nanny was like a pen capable of rewriting the fate of characters, and now, Qin Yan held that pen, having rewritten a small portion of his own fate for the first time.

Ke Xiu couldn’t come around anymore.

And as for the heroine, her story began with a remarriage family, a major plot point. The world’s order wouldn’t let him easily rewrite that, would it?

But he still had to try. It was 1979, the third year after the resumption of the college entrance exams. The average salary was only a few dozen yuan, and Qin Yan calculated how much he could do with the money he had.

His mother had just returned from the nanny’s home—at his request. He wanted her to see for herself the injustices the little nanny was enduring so that she would sympathize and pay her a month’s salary in advance. That way, her family wouldn’t let her older sister cause any more trouble.

Miao Shufang, Qin Yan’s mother, complained about Jiang Ruan’s family, saying her parents weren’t biased towards sons; they treated the eldest daughter quite well. Despite the family’s financial struggles, they still let the eldest daughter come home to ask for money several times a month.

Both daughters-in-law knew that the eldest daughter secretly withheld fifteen yuan from Jiang Ruan’s monthly salary, but they kept quiet because their mother-in-law favored her. In a family like that, the parents couldn’t be said to treat their daughters poorly.

They just treated Jiang Ruan poorly.

After analyzing the situation, Miao Shufang remarked, “Life was so hard back then—there wasn’t even enough food to eat. Ruan Ruan eats a lot and isn’t very smart. That’s probably why they don’t like her.”

Miao Shufang picked out a few clothes from her younger days and said, “Tomorrow, take these to Ruan Ruan for her to wear.”

Qin Yan suddenly questioned his earlier assumptions. Thinking back, how could parents who struggled to put food on the table and had just returned from the countryside after seven or eight years of hard labor afford to buy new clothes for her?

“Alright, but what if she doesn’t want them because they’re old?”

“She won’t. Last night, I overheard her asking her cousin for clothes and getting turned down. It was her sister-in-law who lent her a set, but they didn’t fit.”

…

Miao Shufang ran a small restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. One morning, she ran into Mu Xuehui, who had come to buy breakfast. Mu Xuehui’s father was Qin Yan’s attending doctor, so Miao Shufang didn’t charge her for the meal and even added an extra spoonful of fried sauce.

Mu Xuehui was touched by the kindness of her stepmother. In her past life, her stepmother was weak and constantly caught between her stepfamily and her ex-husband’s family, but she had always treated Mu Xuehui well.

Recently, Mu Xuehui had been overwhelmed with her studies and hadn’t gone to see Qin Yan. She imagined he must be as gaunt and lifeless as he was in her previous life.

She apologized, “Auntie Miao, I’ll go see Brother Qin Yan this weekend. I know he’s feeling down and depressed. Don’t worry, I’ll try to cheer him up.”

Her son had indeed been feeling depressed, and Miao Shufang had even entertained thoughts of finding him a wife.

She smiled and said, “You’re a good child, but don’t worry yourself too much. Qin Yan is doing well. The little nanny is taking very good care of him.”

“A little nanny?” In her previous life, the person who took care of Qin Yan was a man in his fifties, and Qin Yan barely tolerated him. How could there be a young nanny now?

Mu Xuehui felt a surge of panic but pretended to ask casually, “Isn’t she too young? Can she even manage to lift Brother Qin Yan?”

“That girl is surprisingly strong, though she does eat a lot—enough for four or five people!” Miao Shufang chuckled, but she didn’t mind as long as the girl was taking good care of her son.

Remembering this made her happy, so she went off to attend to other customers.

Mu Xuehui couldn’t focus on her classes all morning.

Where did this nanny come from? And why was she a woman? If she ate so much, she must be ugly and foolish—probably fat, too. That must be why Qin Yan accepted her.

Qin Yan had always been the “dead moonlight” in Mu Xuehui’s heart. After her rebirth, she had resolved to be good to him and couldn’t bear to see other women around him.

A shameless woman—taking advantage of even a disabled man! Mu Xuehui thought bitterly, growing more anxious. As soon as school let out at noon, she rushed to Qin Yan’s house.

…

Today was Jiang Ruan’s most relaxed day since she had arrived in this world. She had a job now.

Yesterday, Qin Yan’s mother had come to her house with fifty yuan. Though her mother didn’t say anything, her father made the decision, and he had agreed.

However, her father wouldn’t let her work as a live-in nanny. She had to return home to sleep at night. He also gave her ten yuan for her own use, while the remaining forty was given to her mother.

She saw her mother secretly give twenty yuan to her older sister, but Jiang Ruan didn’t want to comment on it. She had asked her two sisters-in-law, and before they got married, they had also handed over all the money they earned to the family.

It seemed this was just how things worked in this world. If that was the rule, Jiang Ruan would follow it.

But if she was considered so foolish, and no one would marry her, wouldn’t that mean all the money she earned would have to be handed over for the rest of her life?

Ah well, she’d worry about that later.

Qin Yan had told her the roast duck from the old restaurant at the corner was delicious. When she said she had never tried it, he gave her money and told her to buy a whole one. Half wouldn’t be enough for her, he said. He wanted her to eat until she was satisfied.

Qin Yan was so kind, Jiang Ruan thought to herself. Whoever was his sister was really lucky. But since he was an only child, she, the little nanny, was the one benefiting.

Jiang Ruan felt like today’s roast duck was a stolen moment of happiness.

When she returned with the duck, she saw a girl about her age fiddling with the wire lock she had wrapped around the door.

That bit of wire was her safeguard against Ke Xiu and her daughter. She was worried they might come to harass Brother Qin Yan while she was away.

“Who are you?” Jiang Ruan asked warily.

“Who are you?” The sudden appearance of a cute girl with two pigtails made Mu Xuehui equally cautious.

In her previous life, she had never met anyone prettier than herself. No, wait—there was one, the girl Qin Ao liked. Though Qin Ao had married her, he had never forgotten his “white moonlight,” even divorcing her to chase after her. That’s why Mu Xuehui was so on guard.

Jiang Ruan wondered if this girl was here for a matchmaking meeting but wasn’t sure, so she said, “I’m the nanny here. Who are you looking for?”

A nanny? Impossible. Qin Yan would never hire such a pretty little nanny.

He was the man who had masked his soft heart behind hard words, eventually burning through his broken body to keep her warm.

Mu Xuehui’s heart clenched with jealousy. She wanted to go inside and ask Qin Yan what was going on. “I’m looking for Qin Yan. I’m… his sister. Let me in.”

His sister? Jiang Ruan didn’t dare let her in, fearing Qin Yan would be angry if she let in someone he didn’t want to see. She might even lose her job.

Jiang Ruan bent the wire lock with her hands, went inside, and locked the door from within. “Wait here. I’ll ask Brother.”

Brother? A mere nanny dared to call him Brother Qin Yan? What a lowly, shameless girl.

Mu Xuehui’s soul was one that had lived through decades, even fighting off mistresses in her previous life. If it weren’t for the fact that it was a different time now and she hadn’t officially become Qin Yan’s stepsister yet, she would have taught this pretentious little nanny a lesson.

Jiang Ruan quickly came back out, her expression one of disdain. “Brother Qin Yan said he doesn’t have a sister, and he doesn’t want to see you. You should leave.”

In her previous life, in the early stages of their stepfamily arrangement, Qin Yan had ignored her. Now that they weren’t even related, it was no wonder he didn’t want to see her.

Mu Xuehui had no choice but to hold back for now, smiling as she said, “Qin Yan and I are classmates. My father is his attending doctor. Let me in to see him.”

“But Brother said if I let you in, I won’t get to eat roast duck today. Do you think I’m going to let you in?”

Mu Xuehui: …Why does this nanny seem a bit dim-witted?

Jiang Ruan, seeing that she wouldn’t leave, used a steel bar to lock the iron gate. Why not just use a regular lock? Because her brother’s aunt also had a key to the house, and changing the lock would only lead to passive-aggressive comments about family members guarding against each other. That twisted steel bar, bent by hand into a spiral, was Jiang Ruan’s way of giving her brother a sense of security.

…

Qin Yan, watching from the second-floor café, Xitu Lanya, saw and heard everything.

The nanny had actually managed to keep the female lead out. This surprised him.

Seeing the female lead—who, in his previous life, had effortlessly trampled over him and his mother, reaching the pinnacle of her life, yet still managed to be reborn—filled Qin Yan with satisfaction.

So, when the nanny offered to massage him, he hesitated for a moment. Would rejecting her create any bad consequences?

He couldn’t afford to take that risk right now.

Whatever the nanny’s intentions, it was better to just agree for the moment.

Qin Yan’s legs had long since lost all feeling, though both the doctor and the nanny insisted that regular massages could prevent muscle atrophy.

Whether his muscles atrophied or not didn’t concern him. What mattered was changing the course of events, so he let the nanny massage his legs however she liked.

Even though his legs were numb, he still felt uncomfortable with the physical contact. After a moment of awkwardness, drowsiness crept in, and the words on the page began to blur. Qin Yan knew he was dreaming. In the dream, he could feel his legs again. A warmth spread from his legs to his chest, making him even sleepier. It was like falling into a dream within a dream, until he could sense nothing at all.

…

After school, Mu Xuehui went to see Qin Yan’s mother again, saying she had borrowed some inspirational books from the library to cheer Qin Yan up.

Miao Shufang, who ran the shop, had enough staff, so her presence wasn’t needed for it to function. She had been intentionally staying out late, giving her son and the nanny more space to spend time together.

She left work early and brought Mu Xuehui home with her.

Mu Xuehui was in high spirits. Qin Yan’s mother really adored her, always fulfilling her requests. Soon, they’d be sitting down for a happy family dinner, just the three of them, while the nanny would merely watch.

This two-story house with a courtyard had been her home in her previous life. The house was hers, Qin Yan was hers, and no mere nanny could steal the warmth of her home from her.

But as soon as they reached the gate, Mu Xuehui’s mood shattered.

She saw something that broke her heart.

In the glow of the setting sun, Qin Yan lay asleep on a recliner beneath the eaves, holding a book. The golden light outlined his handsome profile, making him look peaceful and content. He looked so beautiful, so serene, that it tugged at her heartstrings. How could such a perfect man be paralyzed?

But the nanny ruined this perfect scene. She shamelessly lay there, resting her head on Qin Yan’s legs, sleeping.

How could Qin Yan allow this?

“Miao Aunty, this nanny is taking advantage of Qin Yan while he’s asleep! She’s way too bold. You should fire such a scheming nanny right away.”

Miao Shufang, however, was thrilled. She was pleased to see the nanny taking the initiative. Better to wait and see how her son reacted when he woke up.

She apologized, “Xuehui, you should head home for now. Take the books with you too. Don’t let Qin Yan know you were here and saw this, or he’ll be embarrassed.”

Mu Xuehui suddenly felt a sense of urgency. This wouldn’t do. She couldn’t wait for things to unfold naturally. If she wanted to reunite their families, she needed to act fast and make sure both her father and Qin Yan’s mother were single again soon.