Chapter 17: The Watch

The touch of lips was wondrous; for a moment, the air seemed to stand still.

In the overly quiet room, an ambiguous tension arose.

Lin Su belatedly realized where she had kissed.  Just as she was about to pull back, a hand encircled her slender waist.

The large hand tightened, the heat almost palpable through her clothes.

The atmosphere was thick with romance.  Normally, the main characters would be locked in a passionate kiss, but Lin Su valued her life.

Especially without any foundation of feelings, she chose the life she had so hard to obtain.

Remembering how she had arrived here, she decisively pushed Qin Sui away.

Darkness enveloped them, amplifying the other person’s slightly heavy breathing a sensual disorder.  But Lin Su had no time to notice; her mind was filled with worry that Qin Sui would lose control.

Just as she was about to leave, a hand reached out, refusing to let her go, and forced something into her palm.

Qin Sui left without a word, his footsteps hurried but not without a certain grace.

Lin Su felt the coolness in her hand.  It was a watch.  She was surprised and curious.

Why would Qin Sui suddenly give her a watch?

The appearance of the watch dispelled the previous ambiguous atmosphere.  Lin Su touched the watch, a happy smile on her face, momentarily forgetting the kiss.

In this era where time could only be judged by the sun, Lin Su was truly fed up.

Now, with a watch, she could tell time.

Qin Sui certainly didn’t give her the watch because he suddenly liked her.

After thinking for a while, Lin Su guessed it was to compensate her for her suffering.  If so, she wouldn’t be polite.

The room suddenly brightened. Lin Su quickly looked down at the watch in her hand. It was a women’s watch, but the style wasn’t very pretty.

But given the circumstances, she had no choice.

The watch must have cost a lot of money; Lin Su found it pleasing to the eye precisely because it was expensive.

When she met her grandmother, she put on the watch.

Grandma Lin didn’t notice at first, only curiously asking, “I saw Qin Sui just now. He was standing there stiffly, and the light scared me.”

“What was his expression?” Lin Su asked.

Grandma Lin: “I didn’t pay attention. What happened to you two? Did you fight?”

“No, there was just a little accident.”

Seeing that she didn’t want to say more, Grandma Lin didn’t press further.

Then she noticed the watch on Lin Su’s wrist and smiled kindly. “Did Qin Sui give it to you?”

“He gave it to me as compensation,” Lin Su directly shattered her fantasy.

Disappointment flashed across Grandma Lin’s face, but she didn’t say anything.

Lin Su continued to tidy Qin Yao’s blanket.

Unexpectedly, Qin Sui was already doing it, and the two of them became awkward again.

Having just had intimate contact, being alone together now was a bit awkward.  Finally, Qin Sui broke the silence.

“I’ll do this. Go rest.”

Lin Su didn’t know what to say.  Just as she was about to leave, she remembered what had happened and thought she should explain. “I tripped, I didn’t intentionally throw myself at you.”

Her words reminded Qin Sui of the fleeting kiss.  His expression was cold, but his breathing subtly quickened.

Qin Sui was distracted, and it took a long time before he replied to Lin Su, “It’s fine.”

He didn’t look fine at all; his face was completely flushed.

Lin Su quickly went to help.

Qin Sui was about to say no, but his hand accidentally touched hers. He subconsciously curled his fingers.

Lin Su, busy tidying the blanket, didn’t notice and said frankly, “By the way, I really like the watch you bought. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Qin Sui pursed his lips.

After finishing, Lin Su patted the blanket. “Okay, I’m going to sleep.”

“Mm.”

Even after she left, Qin Sui remained standing there.

Compared to his awkwardness, Lin Su was much more natural, lacking the shyness and timidity expected of a young woman.

If he didn’t know she had always lived in the village, Qin Sui would have thought she was a completely different person.

Such a character forged from hardship; Qin Sui was even a little envious.

“Dad, I’m sleepy,” Qin Yao came in, rubbing his eyes, but his father stood there stiffly, lost in thought.

“Dad, Dad?” Qin Yao shook him.

Qin Sui looked at him, “What?”

Qin Yao withdrew his hand, “I called you, and you didn’t answer.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing, I just called you.”

Qin Sui helplessly rubbed his head.

He had a dreamless night.

The next morning, Lin Su checked the time; it was only 6:30.

A bugle call came from afar.  When she got up, she found that Qin Sui had already gotten up and even brought their breakfast.

Qin Sui wasn’t there; he must have gone to work again.

Lin Su placed the steamed buns on the iron mesh above the stove to warm them and then poured water to wash her face and brush her teeth.

At this time, Grandma Lin came in from outside.

She slept little and was restless.  When she came in, she was holding several bunches of dandelions.

“Grandma, are you going to boil dandelion water to drink?” Lin Su asked.

Grandma Lin nodded. “Even at this early hour, there are children playing outside.”

Lin Su hadn’t been out since she came here.  Because of her reputation, she didn’t want to go out.  Hearing her grandmother’s reminder, she realized that the three children hadn’t gone out to play either.

Thinking of this, after the three children woke up, washed their faces, and brushed their teeth, she asked, “Do you want to go out to play?”

The three children were often bullied by their peers in the village, so they didn’t like to go out to play, and it was the same here.

Lin Su persuaded them, “Maybe it’ll be different here.”

The sound of children running and playing came from outside.  The youngest was the most playful and couldn’t sit still.

Lin Su fed him some breakfast.  Seeing that he didn’t want to eat anymore, she encouraged him, “Go play if you want to.”

Qin Keke obediently responded, then tentatively looked outside the yard.  Seeing other children his age playing, he was eager to join them.

But he was shy and didn’t dare.  He could only look back at Lin Su, who smiled encouragingly.

Qin Keke plucked up his courage and went out, but he ran back with red eyes after a short while.

Grandma Lin was heartbroken and quickly hugged him, asking, “What’s wrong, my dear? Did someone bully you?”

Qin Keke choked back, “They’re bad.”

The older children must have said something mean.  Qin Keke was too young to speak in long sentences, so he could only give a simple summary.  He was simple and kind, and when he was bullied, he only said they were bad.

Lin Su frowned and went out to check.  Those children were still looking at their house.  When they saw her come out, they laughed and ran away, shouting as they ran.

“The wicked stepmother is here! Run away!”

“The wicked stepmother is here to eat children!”

“Ahhhhh, Mother, save me! The wicked stepmother is going to eat children, woo woo woo.”

Lin Su didn’t expect her bad reputation to scare children to tears.  For a moment, she felt a little complicated.

Taking the opportunity, she looked around.

This place was indeed a bit remote, mostly single-story houses with yards, spaced a little far apart.

There was cultivated land around, growing various vegetables and plants.  Perhaps the soil wasn’t very fertile; the vegetables and plants looked somewhat malnourished.

Before she could finish looking around, a family suddenly opened their door.

A woman with a headscarf was carrying a basin of water, probably to pour out dirty water.  Suddenly seeing Lin Su, she froze.

Perhaps having heard Lin Su’s reputation, she didn’t want to associate with her, but because of Qin Sui’s position, she didn’t dare to openly show her hostility.  The woman finally gave Lin Su an awkward smile and quickly closed the yard door.

Lin Su was prepared for this and wasn’t surprised.

She lost interest in looking around and closed her own yard door.

Seeing her grandmother take out the prepared vegetable seeds to plant, Lin Su went to help.

“No need, you take the three children to play,” Grandma Lin refused her help.

Lin Su didn’t listen.

Grandma Lin sighed helplessly and, observing her complexion, asked, “Is the medicine almost gone?”

To avoid revealing the truth, Lin Su had pretended to drink the medicine at home.

The traditional Chinese medicine the original owner took could be boiled or steeped in hot water. Lin Su didn’t like the bitter taste, so she had been faking it and hadn’t actually drunk it.

She really didn’t want to drink that stuff anymore, so Lin Su said, “I still feel the same, so the medicine probably isn’t doing much good.”

Grandma Lin frowned, “Then we’ll get another prescription another day.”

Lin Su gave a perfunctory response.

Thinking of something, Lin Su said, “Grandma, after we’re done with the seeds, shall we go buy some ingredients for making cookies?”

“Okay, but can you walk that far?”

“I should be able to.”

More walking would also help boost her immunity.

At the mention of cookies, Qin Ni immediately turned to Lin Su.  After hesitating for a moment, she came over and clung to Lin Su’s side.

Lin Su glanced at her and guessed, “You want to go too?”

Qin Ni nodded.

Lin Su hesitated.

Qin Keke didn’t know what they were saying, but he wanted to join in the fun.

Lin Su touched his head, “Are you not sad anymore?”

Qin Keke nodded.

Those children weren’t worth his sadness.  His red eyes were just to get Lin Su’s attention.

But it didn’t work.

Thinking of this, Qin Keke was unhappy again and proudly avoided Lin Su’s touch.

Lin Su didn’t think much of it, only considering the possibility of taking the three children with her.

It didn’t seem feasible.

Qin Keke couldn’t even walk steadily and needed to be carried.  She was weak, and her grandmother was old; they couldn’t keep carrying him.

Thinking of this, Lin Su said to her grandmother, “Or I’ll go by myself, Grandma, you can watch the three of them at home?”

Grandma Lin obviously thought of this too and hesitated, “I’ll go. How can you walk such a long distance?”

Actually, she could.  The last time she was dragged back to Qinjia Village by Qin Mu, that road was much longer than this one.

Grandma Lin was old, and she wasn’t comfortable with her going out alone. “I’ll go.”

After scattering the vegetable seeds, Lin Su patted her hands, took her money and tickets, and then picked up a basket before heading out.

The second and third children instinctively followed. Lin Su reassured them, “Be good, I’ll buy things to make cookies for you.”

Qin Ni obediently stopped, only Qin Keke stubbornly wanting to follow, but Grandma Lin stopped him in time.

Qin Keke tried to cry to get what he wanted, but it didn’t work; his mouth was covered by Qin Yao.

“Shut up, I’ll beat you if you cry again.”

Qin Yao’s authority as the eldest brother was still there, so Qin Keke could only shut up obediently.

Meanwhile, Lin Su walked out for the first time, following the memory of that night, slowly walking to what should have been a gathering point.

This was where they got off the bus that night.

A group of women were standing at the gathering point.  When they saw Lin Su, they started talking.

“This person is quite pretty. Whose relative is she?”

“I don’t know.”

People are visual creatures; they are more welcoming to those who are pretty.

“Girl, whose family are you from?” an aunt asked her.

Lin Su pursed her lips, “Qin Sui’s family.”

Hearing that she was from Deputy Commander Qin’s family, the aunt who had been welcoming instantly changed her expression.  She was no longer welcoming, and she looked Lin Su up and down with disdain in her eyes.