Chapter 22

“Qiao Baihe, are you stupid? If no one came to pick you up, why didn’t you go home yourself? Did a pig eat your brain? You walk out the door and suddenly forget the way back to the Qiao family?”

The moment Qiao Xinyi saw that Qiao Baihe was still wearing an apron—clearly having been cooking before coming downstairs—she got even angrier.

“My mom raised a fool like you?” Qiao Xinyi jabbed her finger at Qiao Baihe, launching into a barrage of scolding.

“People are saying you came here to leech off relatives! There’s a whole crowd whispering behind your back, saying you’re shameless, trying to freeload off the He family! Saying you came here just to take advantage! If you had even an ounce of pride, you wouldn’t have eaten a single bite from the He family! If I were you, I’d rather jump into a river than stay here and be humiliated!”

Qiao Baihe held on tightly to Qiao Xinyi’s hand, but her eyes were already red. While Qiao Xinyi was scolding her, she kept stealing glances at Zhou Yun and He Rou. Seeing both of them glaring at her, she lowered her head.

One of the aunties watching the drama tugged at Qiao Xinyi’s other hand. “What’s all this shouting for? You should talk things out calmly. You and Qiao Baihe—what’s your relationship with Zhou Yun, anyway?”

She sounded like she was trying to mediate, but in reality, she was just fishing for gossip.

He Rou, afraid that Qiao Xinyi would say too much, quickly spoke up, scolding, “This is our family’s business! It’s none of your concern! Get out! You’re not welcome here!”

Qiao Xinyi turned to Qiao Baihe and asked, “Do you want me to get involved? What they say doesn’t count. If you say you don’t want me to step in, I’ll leave right now.”

Just because Qiao Baihe had helped her wash clothes for a few days—almost even washing her underwear, if Qiao Xinyi hadn’t insisted otherwise—she felt Qiao Baihe deserved the right to choose.

Tears welled in Qiao Baihe’s eyes, but she still worried about Qiao Xinyi. “If you stand up for me, won’t Grandma scold you when you get back?”

“You think I’d let her scold me?” Qiao Xinyi finally understood why Qiao Baihe was so passive and submissive at the He house.

It was because she was afraid of Chen Ju.

When Qiao Baihe left, Chen Ju had said all sorts of cruel things. Qiao Baihe wasn’t the Qiao family’s biological daughter, and now that she was back at the He family, the He hadn’t shown even the slightest gesture of acknowledgment—hadn’t even come out to meet her. Sensitive as she was, she felt she owed the Qiao family, that Chen Ju was right, and that the Qiao family had wasted their effort raising her.

The He family was her birth family, and since she’d left the Qiao family, she had nowhere else to go. So when no one came for her yesterday, all she could do was keep waiting. Even when Zhou Yun claimed she was a distant relative come to seek shelter, she could only grit her teeth and go along with it.

She was afraid that if she didn’t behave, her birth parents would reject her and throw her out.

But Qiao Baihe wasn’t like Qiao Xinyi—she didn’t have 5,000 yuan in her pocket, nor did she have a regular system-issued salary as a safety net. Even her travel fare to the He house had been secretly given to her by Qiao Yunbai.

Taking all this into account, Qiao Xinyi reached out and gently ruffled Qiao Baihe’s hair. “If you have a soft temper, you’ll get bullied. I guessed you’d face some hardship coming back, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.”

Qiao Xinyi had assumed that at worst, Qiao Baihe would be treated less favorably than He Rou—after all, He Shengli and Zhou Yun had raised He Rou themselves. But no matter how biased they were, Qiao Baihe was still their biological daughter. She hadn’t expected the He family to pull off something this outrageous—pretending their own daughter was just a visiting relative.

“Go pack your things. You’re coming home with me later. I’m going back for dinner anyway,” Qiao Xinyi said.

Tears were already streaming down Qiao Baihe’s face. Hearing Qiao Xinyi’s words, she nodded hard, wiped her tears, and took off her apron.

“I don’t have anything. I came empty-handed. I don’t want anything from them. I’ll leave empty-handed. All I’ve had here is a few sips of water. Can I pay them ten cents for it?”

Out of everyone in the Qiao family, the one Qiao Baihe feared most wasn’t Chen Ju—it was actually Qiao Xinyi.

Because she had taken Qiao Xinyi’s identity, causing her to suffer so much growing up in the countryside.

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer at the Qiao household, Qiao Xinyi might not say anything but would hold a grudge in her heart. So when the Chen family sent someone to pass on a message asking her to return, she packed up and left.

She thought, if she went back, then Qiao Xinyi would have her bed at home again, and her mother could spend every day with her real daughter.

But now, Qiao Xinyi was the one coming to take her home—proof that Qiao Xinyi didn’t mind her staying in the Qiao household.

So Qiao Baihe no longer hesitated. She immediately took off her apron.

In her heart, she made a quiet vow: once she got into college, she would start saving money to buy good food for Qiao Xinyi. And when she started working, she’d save up to support Qiao Xinyi. She couldn’t become the “ungrateful wolf” that Chen Ju always accused her of being.

Now that Qiao Baihe was coming back with her to the Qiao house, Qiao Xinyi didn’t hold back anymore.

She told Qiao Baihe to watch and learn, and then—hands on her hips—turned to the crowd still lingering to watch the show.

“Aunties, tell me—how can there be such parents in this world?”

Qiao Xinyi was just about to continue when suddenly He Rou clutched her chest and cried out in pain. Then, right in front of everyone, she fainted.

Zhou Yun screamed in panic, calling He Rou’s name, and urgently asked people to help carry her to the hospital.

After all, this was a military family compound—there were no deep grudges here. Seeing He Rou pass out for no reason, a few aunties stepped in to help carry her.

But not everyone needed to go to the hospital. Only two followed Zhou Yun, while the remaining five or six aunties stayed behind.

“Girls, what exactly is the relationship between you two sisters and the He family?” someone asked, her curiosity obviously growing the more she watched.

“Could it be that He Rou has some serious illness? I heard she had a high fever yesterday afternoon—Zhou Yun rushed her to the hospital. She only just got back today, and now she fainted again?” another auntie said, sounding genuinely concerned.

“What illness? Faking a faint counts as a sickness now? Then that’s a pretty serious case,” Qiao Xinyi sneered.

She was about to speak again when Xiao Mao came over.

“Comrade Qiao, the Captain is back,” Xiao Mao reported.

Out of nowhere, one of the aunties suddenly shouted, “It’s almost noon! We better hurry home to cook. Time really flies—feels like we only chatted for a minute, and it’s already twelve!”

As soon as she said that, everyone hurried upstairs to prepare lunch.

Now that the aunties were gone, Qiao Xinyi couldn’t pull them back to continue the confrontation. So she simply took Qiao Baihe’s hand and followed Xiao Mao away.

When they entered the courtyard, Qiao Xinyi happened to see Fu Qingshan. He was bent over at the outdoor tap, using his hands to catch water and wash his face.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned his head slightly toward the gate.

Maybe it was the heat, but his voice was a little hoarse when he said, “You’re here?”

Before Qiao Xinyi could reply, he took a few gulps of water and then turned off the tap.

Qiao Xinyi clicked her tongue inwardly—this guy really lived rough.

But good-looking men washing their face were still handsome. Even drinking water looked cool and attractive.

Fu Qingshan didn’t use a towel to dry his face; instead, he casually wiped it with his palm and walked over toward her, staring at the sun hat on her head for a few moments.

He asked, “Did you go to the hospital to get the bandages changed? What did the doctor say about how the wound’s healing?”

“I did. The doctor praised me—said I’m young and heal fast. I can get the stitches removed in ten days.”

Qiao Xinyi grinned. “I came to pick up my stuff. Are you free today? I’d like to treat you to a meal to thank you.”

“I’m free.” Fu Qingshan nodded. It had been a few days since he’d seen her, and the girl had clearly put on a little weight—her face looked fuller, but her eyes were just as bright as ever. There wasn’t a trace of worry on her face, so it looked like she’d been doing just fine.

“You haven’t had lunch yet, right? Let’s go—I’ll take you to the canteen.”

Seeing that Qiao Baihe was also there, Fu Qingshan went inside and grabbed two more meal tickets. Then he called Xiao Mao, and the four of them headed off together to the army canteen.