Chapter 7: Surviving on Looks Alone

Once the rooms were decided, Ye Xin Ran began to make the bed.

Although the household was poor, the bedding was at least clean.

However, Ye Xin Ran wasn’t accustomed to sleeping with bedding used by others.

She rummaged through her dowry chest, but aside from a few sets of old clothes, all that remained were two bolts of coarse cloth.

Looking at the fabric, Ye Xin Ran’s mind replayed the haughty expression of Madam Zou.

“Xiao Ran, it’s not that I don’t care about you,” Madam Zou had said.
“But life in the country side is different. Silk and satin would only attract unnecessary attention and aren’t practical for work. I went out of my way to buy these two bolts of coarse cloth for you. Once you’re there, you can sew some clothes and blend in.”

As soon as Madam Zou finished speaking, Ye Xin Yao couldn’t help but laugh.
“Big sister wearing my clothes was always ill-fitting, but these coarse fabrics seem just perfect for her.”

What bad luck!

Ye Xin Ran shook her head, forcing the nauseating image of the two women out of her mind.

There were no quilts in her dowry, but that wasn’t a problem.

Ye Xin Ran turned around and, when Chang An wasn’t looking, discreetly retrieved the silk quilt she used for naps in her lab and placed it into her chest before pulling it out again.

When Chang An saw the pale pink quilt, he exclaimed in delight, “How pretty! Did Auntie buy this?”

Ye Xin Ran took the opportunity to explain, “This is part of Auntie’s dowry. Do you like it? We can use this quilt tonight.”

“Okay!” Chang An nodded obediently but then quickly shook his head. “No, no!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Because Chang An is dirty. I can’t make the pretty quilt dirty!”

Hearing this, Ye Xin Ran’s heart melted.

This child is so thoughtful!

“Then we’ll take a bath, and we won’t be dirty anymore!”

Even if Chang An hadn’t mentioned it, Ye Xin Ran had already decided the child needed a bath.

Though Chang An was quite good-looking, his clothes were filthy and tattered, and his hair was tangled into knots.

Whatever cuteness he had was barely holding up thanks to his looks alone.

“I’ll ask your brother to heat some water, and both of you can take a bath, okay?”

Chang An immediately lit up at the mention of a bath.

But to Ye Xin Ran’s surprise, Chang Ping rejected the idea without hesitation.

“No, Chang An can’t take a bath.”

“Why not?” Ye Xin Ran was puzzled.

“The doctor said Chang An can’t get cold. If he does, his illness will worsen. Second Uncle said he can only bathe at noon. Now it’s night time, so of course he can’t bathe.”

“But I want to bathe! I can only sleep under the nice quilt after a bath!” Chang An pouted and looked at Ye Xin Ran with teary eyes.

“You can’t. Second Uncle said you can’t, so you can’t,” Chang Ping insisted.

“Second Brother, you’re mean!”

The two children began arguing, their faces turning red. Ye Xin Ran, however, had caught an important piece of information.

“Chang An is unwell?”

“Yes!” Chang Ping replied.

“Chang An had a severe illness when he was little,” Chang Ping explained. “Ever since then, Second Uncle told us we must never upset him, let him catch a chill, or give him a fright.”

Ye Xin Ran studied Chang An carefully. At first glance, she had thought the boy looked frail simply because of malnutrition.

But now…

She took his small hand and felt his pulse. Moments later, she came to a conclusion: Chang An had a congenital heart condition.

However, the pulse suggested the condition wasn’t severe.

She suddenly remembered a heart disease medication project she had worked on a few years ago. Only one batch of the medicine had been produced, and its results were exceptional. It had sold out immediately for an exorbitant price.

Unfortunately, the project had to be shelved because one key ingredient, Ro Suo seeds, had become almost impossible to find, even at high cost.

But in this era, if she could locate Ro Suo seeds…

The project could be revived!

Ye Xin Ran’s heart leaped with excitement. Turning to Chang Ping, she said:
“Don’t worry. There’s no cold wind tonight, and look at my quilt, isn’t it warm and soft? Once he’s bathed, I’ll wrap him up in it, and I promise he won’t catch a chill.”

“Right, I won’t catch a chill,” Chang An echoed eagerly, nodding his head.

Chang Ping hesitated but finally gave in to Chang An’s pleading. Reluctantly, he went to fetch water for the bath.

After the bath, Chang Ping looked at his brother, whose face now glowed rosy and clean, and felt a lump in his throat.

It had been so long since his little brother had looked this clean. As a baby, Chang An had been so beautiful.

Lost in emotion, he heard Ye Xin Ran call out, “There’s still water left in the pot. Why don’t you take a bath too?”

“Got it, Auntie!” Chang Ping replied, his voice cheerful.

Suddenly, a voice came from the doorway: “Chang Ping, who are you talking to?”

“Eldest Brother!” Chang Ping’s face lit up.

Inside, Chang An also heard the voice and called out joyfully, “Big Brother’s back!”

He tried to get out of bed, but Ye Xin Ran stopped him.
“Don’t move, or you’ll catch a chill. Wait for your brother to come in and talk to you.”

Soon, a teenage boy walked in.

He was taller than Chang Ping by a head but thinner. His deep-set eyes and serious expression gave him the air of a solemn young scholar.

However, his tattered clothes and shoes with exposed toes were a stark reminder of his humble, impoverished background.

“Big Brother, you’re back!” Chang An greeted him sweetly.

“You had a bath?” Chang Sheng asked.

He hadn’t seen his little brother so clean in ages, and for a moment, he was stunned.

“Auntie helped me!” Chang An said happily, almost trying to ingratiate himself. “Auntie is so nice, she gave me a bath and cooked noodles! The noodles smelled so good!”

“Mm.” The teenager gave a curt response and then turned his gaze toward Ye Xin Ran.

Earlier, Erdan had told him that Second Uncle’s new bride had slit her wrist in the bridal sedan to resist the marriage. And now, here she was, bathing his little brother and cooking for him. What was this woman’s intention?

Unaware of the storm of thoughts in the boy’s mind, Ye Xin Ran simply said, “There’s some noodles left for you in the kitchen. I didn’t cook them yet, go light a fire and make them yourself.”