Chapter 53: Dark Face

Xue Qingdai still had to admire Zhao Meiqin’s combativeness—after all, back in Pengyang Village, Zhao Meiqin had pulled all kinds of tricks to attract Xie Wei.

Xie Yan and Li Xinren walked briskly over, both upright and righteous-looking in their respective uniforms. Even the little girl buying steamed buns at the bun shop was stunned by them.

The girl, about four or five, wore a floral cotton jacket, had her hair in two horn-shaped braids, and her face was plump and fair. Xue Qingdai couldn’t help but pinch her cheek—it felt even better than a warm bun.

She handed the girl a milk candy. “Come watch the show with me, sweetheart.” She then pulled the little girl into her arms, cheek to cheek, taking in her sweet milky scent.

Zhao Meiqin, seeing the upright figure of Xie Yan, shyly touched her face. But Xie Yan walked right past her, as if she didn’t even exist. Her expression darkened, but before she could feel sad, she squatted down and adjusted her pants like a passerby, shooting a glare at Xue Qingdai before quickly leaving.

Guo Feng happened to pass by with a few pieces of tofu and, seeing Zhao Meiqin with her head down, called out to her, though no one knew how long she had been watching.

Xue Qingdai looked up—everyone in her “play” had left the stage. Zhao Meiqin really was useless. She thought she was a top-tier manipulator? What a letdown. Still, thinking about Zhao Meiqin’s miserable life made Xue Qingdai feel a little better.

“Jiejie, I have crispy candy in my pocket too. I’ll share some with you!”

“My mommy took me to your house last time! That goldfish’s belly was so fat—did it have baby fish yet?”

Xue Qingdai gently tugged one of her braids. “That fish is about to explode. Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

Yuan Yuan’s eyes sparkled as she clung to Xue Qingdai’s hand. “Jiejie, how come you’re even paler than me?”

“‘Cause I eat a lot of white flour…” —this little girl could write a book of a hundred thousand whys.

Xue Qingdai pushed her bike toward Xie Yan, who had just come to a stop.

“Then I’ll eat more white flour too! I want to be pretty like you, jiejie!”

Li Xinren couldn’t help but laugh. “Little sister-in-law, are you seriously lying to a kid?”

Yuan Yuan held up her candy wrapper. “She’s not lying! And I’m not a kid—I’m already four and a half. Mommy says I’m a big girl now!”

Xie Yan looked at the little girl and Qingdai together, and his calm eyes couldn’t hide the smile beneath. If he and Dadai had a child, it might be just as adorable.

He really wanted a family. His gaze toward Xue Qingdai grew even warmer. He picked up Yuan Yuan.

“Dadai, put your hands in your pockets—it’s cold. She’s Lin Granny’s granddaughter. I know the way.”

Li Xinren couldn’t laugh anymore. The three of them looked just like a family—it was emotionally devastating.

“Xie Yan, wow. Got a wife and forgot your brother, huh?”

“Uncle, are you and pretty sister a couple?” Yuan Yuan chimed in, wanting to join the adult banter.

Xie Yan held her in one arm, stroked the stubble on his chin, and looked at Xue Qingdai. “Call me gege. Just call this one uncle.”

Li Xinren was losing it. He had never seen Xie Yan act so shameless.

“Just take your wife home already.”

Xie Yan had really changed. He could even crack jokes now. A little bit of warmth and life suited him. What man didn’t dream of a cozy home with a loving wife and children?

Xue Qingdai was exhausted from the day. Although she didn’t want to be paired with Xie Yan, denying it in front of others would hurt his pride—and he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Xie Yan, are we really doing the right thing? Once my third brother arrives, I’ll be going home. I can’t leave my family.”

Xie Yan paused, gently stroking Yuan Yuan’s cheek. “This way, no one will gossip about you living here. Or do you want to stay in a guesthouse forever?”

He couldn’t leave her either. Women’s hearts were too hard to guess, but at least she wasn’t resisting him like before.

Xue Qingdai followed Xie Yan to Granny Lin’s house.

Granny Lin knew how to run a household. The floor tiles were lined with jars of pickled vegetables, the table had neatly cleaned glucose bottles, and there were sun-dried red chilies on a shelf made of stacked stones. The whole courtyard was tidy and well-maintained. Last time, Xue Qingdai had sincerely complimented her.

Yuan Yuan’s clothes were clean too, aside from a bit of mud on her cotton pants. Her face was spotless and sweet, the kind that made people smile.

“Granny Lin, we brought Yuan Yuan back. It’s getting dark—we wanted to make sure she got home safely.”

Yuan Yuan, half-asleep in Xie Yan’s arms, opened her eyes briefly at the sight of her grandma, then closed them again.

“Wait a moment. I have something to tell little Xue,” Granny Lin said as she tucked her granddaughter in and came back.

She quickly scooped out two pickled cabbages and some preserved radish.

“Don’t be shy. We can’t finish all this at home. My son and daughter-in-law don’t like pickles. Just cook something simple with it.”

She bolted the door. “Little Xue, when will your lip balm be ready? We were only given two sticks—one’s almost gone, and my daughter-in-law lost the other. Things haven’t been great around here lately.”

“My daughter-in-law’s been moody and left her kid with me.” She laughed bitterly, sharing her woes with an outsider. But little Xue was cheerful, thoughtful, and understood how hard things were for everyone.

The neighborhood might seem polite on the surface, but tension was probably simmering.

Xue Qingdai said, “Everyone makes mistakes. I planned to make more, but I’m picky about ingredients. The beeswax I got had some dark specks—I didn’t want to use it. I’ll buy a better batch tomorrow. I want to make sure it’s something I can stand behind.”

Granny Lin was both surprised and happy. “Then I’ll tell everyone right away?”

“Better wait. If the beeswax turns out good, people can use this all year. Lips need care every day—it smooths fine lines and removes dead skin.”

Granny Lin sent her off warmly, but Qingdai didn’t feel completely at ease.

A missing lip balm stick out of nowhere—it felt like someone was stirring up trouble, thinking she couldn’t produce the goods and was stalling.

Too bad they guessed wrong.

When she got back to the Xie house, she found out Xie Yan hadn’t eaten yet. She handed him several rice rolls.

“Some are from my senior brother, but the prettiest one—I made that one. If you want to eat my cooking, that’s the one to go for.”

Xie Yan picked up the one that was leaking a bit of rice and, meeting her bright gaze, went to warm it over the stove.

“Don’t stay up too late. I’m going to visit an old Chinese doctor tomorrow. I’ll take you to Jiren Hall early.”

Qingdai replied softly, “Mm.”

After Xie Yan left, she tucked a pillow under her blanket and entered her space.

She unboxed twenty lip balms, removed the packaging and labels, picked a batch of her handmade silk-and-coconut-oil soap as gifts, and prepared some cards for future promotions.

Xue Qingdai wasn’t satisfied with just one sale—she was thinking about how to retain these sharp-minded customers and turn them into advocates. She needed to build a brand.

If only her third brother Xue Yongkang were here—he could’ve handled all the paperwork for her.

The next morning, when Xie Yan woke her up for work, it was the first time she didn’t have a bad mood.

Her apricot eyes looked him up and down. “Xie Yan, which old Chinese doctor are you seeing? Did you really take what I said last time to heart?”

Xie Yan’s expression darkened instantly.

Xue Qingdai tightened her arms around his waist.

Sure enough, when it came to that, men were always the most stubborn.