Mother Lu’s sudden question startled Lu Ping’an, who had been deep in thought. The pancake in his hand nearly fell, and he fumbled it between his left and right hands before finally managing to keep it from hitting the ground.  

“Mom, what are you doing? You scared me!”  

Lu Ping’an dragged out his words to express his displeasure.  

Mother Lu watched silently as her son performed a mini acrobatic act in front of her.  

“What’s so delicious? Oh, this? It’s just okay, nothing special. No one gave it to me—I found it on the road.”  

Lu Ping’an seemed to remember something and shyly scooted closer to his mother, lowering his voice to ask, “By the way, Mom, Dad said you were the one who chased him back then. How did you do it?”  

Shen Xiaoyue was way too bold. He wanted to know if other people also just went straight for holding hands like that.  

Upon hearing this, Wu Qingyun—Mother Lu—ignored his nonsense about “finding it on the road” and immediately slammed the table. “What?! He told you that?! It was obviously him shamelessly begging my family to let me marry him!”  

“Just look at your mother’s credentials—back in the day, I was the village belle. All the young men in the village lined up to court me. If your father hadn’t been so thick-skinned, he wouldn’t have stood a chance!”  

She ranted angrily, deeply dissatisfied with Father Lu for twisting the facts and tarnishing her image.  

Not hearing what he wanted, Lu Ping’an secretly curled his lip but quickly soothed her. “Mom, you’re still the village belle now. I really ought to scold Dad for this—he doesn’t know how lucky he is.”  

“Go on, get out of here. What kind of son talks about his own father like that?”  

“Alright, go wash your hands properly and finish the food in the pot.”  

…  

After a day’s labor, it was time for free activities. In this era, electric lights weren’t yet widespread, and the room was dimly lit only by a few flickering oil lamps.  

“Shen Zhiqing, Xie Zhiqing is looking for you.”  

Hu Qingqing walked in and called out, only to see both Shen Xiaoyue and Shen Xing look up.  

She pursed her lips, feeling awkward. After a day together, everyone had noticed that the two sisters weren’t particularly close, but there was no outright conflict—mostly because Shen Xiaoyue simply ignored Shen Xing.  

shen Xiaoyue didn’t have strong feelings about Xie Ning or Shen Xing at the moment. The two of them combined weren’t as important as her current pursuit of Lu Ping’an.  

As for revenge? That could wait.  

In her past life, Lu Ping’an had dealt with both of them, which had somewhat quelled her anger. Their matters weren’t urgent.  

But that didn’t mean she’d let things slide. If they tried to harm her interests, she wouldn’t hold back either.  

Right now, Shen Xiaoyue just glanced up indifferently before lowering her head again to study the torn clothes in her hands.  

How do you sew clothes again…?  

Those days of toil felt so far away now…  

So far that she was completely at a loss with the garment in her hands.  

She nibbled her lower lip with her pearly teeth. She missed Lu Ping’an so much. She wondered what he was doing right now.  

Shen Xing, seeing her flipping the clothes over and over with a frustrated expression but taking no further action, felt a surge of joy and stood up. It seemed Xie Ning had come for her after all!  

Xie Ning waited outside for a long time but didn’t see Shen Xiaoyue. Yesterday, she’d been busy unpacking—but what about today?  

Before, Shen Xiaoyue would always volunteer to help him with chores to win his favor. Yet today, he waited and waited, and she never came to wash his clothes. He had no choice but to seek her out himself.  

They were destined to be married anyway. He wasn’t afraid of gossip.  

Just as Xie Ning raised his hand to knock, the door swung open, and a petite figure darted out.  

“Shen—”

Upon recognizing the figure, Xie Ning’s face darkened. “Why is it you? Where’s Shen Xiaoyue?”  

Shen Xing’s face, initially bright with joy, quickly paled, her resentment toward Shen Xiaoyue deepening.  

“Brother Xie Ning, we grew up together too. Can’t you just look at me?”  

Shen Xing’s eyes reddened at the corners as she spoke with unwilling frustration.  

While Xie Ning secretly enjoyed this kind of attention, compared to Shen Xing, Shen Xiaoyue pleased him more—and was more advantageous to him.  

Frowning, he replied impatiently, “I need to talk to her. Go call her out.”  

Shen Xing stomped her foot angrily but remained rooted in place. Eventually, she turned and walked back into the room, stopping expressionlessly in front of Shen Xiaoyue.  

“Brother Xie Ning wants you outside.”  

Shen Xiaoyue didn’t need to guess to know what nonsense Xie Ning was spouting. Back when she was foolish, she’d bend over backward to prove her devotion—when Xie’s parents weren’t home, she’d rush over to serve Xie Ning like a slave.  

After cooking for him, she’d even wash his clothes without being asked.  

Looking back now, she couldn’t believe how pathetically eager she’d been—playing free housemaid for no reason.  

And the more she gave, the more Xie Ning took it for granted.  

Shen Xiaoyue glanced at the fuming Shen Xing in front of her, then suddenly propped her chin on her hand and sighed dramatically.  

“Brother Xie Ning said he wants a virtuous wife who’s good at homemaking… but I don’t know how to sew.”  

Though they’d all grown up together, Shen Xing wasn’t familiar with the dynamics between Xie Ning and Shen Xiaoyue. Taking her words at face value, she immediately felt she’d stumbled upon the key to winning Xie Ning over.  

She didn’t doubt for a second that the clothes in Shen Xiaoyue’s hands belonged to Xie Ning.  

No wonder Shen Xiaoyue hadn’t dared to face Xie Ning earlier—she must have been ashamed of her inadequacy.  

Shen Xing snatched the garment away at once, forcing a smile. “Sister, I know how. Let me do it.”  

Of course, Shen Xing had no intention of doing someone else’s labor for free. She planned to return the clothes to Xie Ning personally later.  

Shen Xiaoyue was more than happy to be rid of the task. Besides, she hadn’t exactly lied to Shen Xing.  

Back then, she really had been stupid enough to volunteer herself as Xie Ning’s maid. They did end up married, too, so her words weren’t far from the truth.  

As for how far Shen Xing was willing to go for Xie Ning—well, that was her choice. Some people just loved being taken advantage of.  

Now free of her chore, Shen Xiaoyue leisurely stood up. Fine, she’d go meet this “benefactor” who’d just saved her from a hassle.  

“Xiaoyue.”  

Seeing Shen Xiaoyue emerge, Xie Ning suppressed his impatience and put on his usual gentle smile.  

“Xiaoyue, what’s going on? You haven’t come to see me these past two days.”  

“Nothing much. I just feel we’re both grown now and should mind the boundaries between men and women. We’re in unfamiliar territory—it wouldn’t look good if people saw us together.”  

Shen Xiaoyue brushed him off casually.  

Xie Ning was taken aback. Hadn’t she declared in front of everyone just days ago that she’d take care of him? Since when did “boundaries” matter?  

He sighed, feigning helplessness. “Xiaoyue, I know you’re upset about Shen Xing, but I couldn’t stop her from coming with us. You’re the only one in my heart.”  

After some thought, this seemed the only plausible explanation. The idea that she might have fallen for someone else never even crossed his mind.  

Shen Xiaoyue couldn’t help but laugh at his arrogant, shameless words.  

Turns out, people really do laugh when they’re utterly speechless.  

She kept nodding along with vague “mhms” and “okays” until she estimated Shen Xing had finished sewing. Then she lifted a hand to fake a yawn.  

“Brother Xie Ning, I’m a little tired. Let’s talk tomorrow if there’s anything else.”