Chapter 21

There was a knock at the door. Song Mingshan thought it was Zhang Shaoxing.

She immediately went to open it, even tugging her collar lower on purpose to reveal a hint of her fair skin and cleavage.

Her face wore a bashful, flirtatious smile.

But when she opened the door, there was nothing—only pitch darkness, with a faint sliver of light filtering in from outside.

Just as Song Mingshan was about to turn back into her room, she suddenly heard the timid, childlike voice of little Zhang Zeming, the youngest of the three boys.

“Auntie, I need to pee. Can you come help me turn on the light?”

Song Mingshan froze for a moment. Given how those three kids had falsely accused her earlier, her first instinct was to refuse.

But the child continued tearfully, “Auntie, I really can’t hold it anymore. If I wet my pants, Daddy will beat me!”

What?

Zhang Shaoxing would hit his children?

Song Mingshan hesitated. The youngest boy was probably just following his older brothers’ lead earlier. After all, kids tended to follow the crowd—even adults did that sometimes.

“Okay, Auntie will help you.”

A soft smile appeared on her face. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to start building a good relationship with the youngest one. Since he was the youngest, he’d be the easiest to win over.

She walked forward cautiously, only able to make out the child’s vague silhouette in the dark.

“Xiao Ming, where’s the bathroom on the second floor? Auntie hasn’t been here before, so I don’t know. Can you—”

She spoke in what she thought was a gentle and kind voice.

But before she could finish her sentence, her body suddenly lost balance, and she fell straight down the stairs.

“Let’s go back to bed before Dad comes out and yells at us,”

The oldest, Zhang Zezhi, said as he pulled his two younger brothers back toward their room—without even glancing at Song Mingshan, who they had just pushed down the stairs.

“Big brother, you’re amazing! But… she fell from such a high staircase. Will she die?” asked Zhang Ze’an, the second child.

Zezhi snorted coldly, “Are you worried that woman might die?”

The younger boy quickly shook his head. “No, big brother. I’m just scared she’ll tell Dad…”

“Hmph, Dad won’t believe her.”

Zezhi snorted again, then led his brothers back into their room to sleep.

Early the next morning, Ye Chunjiang had already finished preparing breakfast. She even specially steamed a bowl of egg custard for Song Qingdai.

But just as she set the bowl on the table, the second daughter-in-law, Li Xiuzhi, walked in carrying a child.

“Wow, big sis-in-law, your meals just keep getting fancier, huh?” she said with a wide smile, sitting down directly at the table.

She made a point of walking past Ye Chunjiang with her grandson in her arms, showing him off. When she saw the bowl of egg custard, she immediately pulled it over to herself.

Laughing, she said, “Oh my, our little Yaozu just ran out of formula. His mother’s just useless—can’t even produce enough milk to feed her own baby. Good thing this egg custard is perfect for his stomach. Eat up, my sweet grandson! Grow big and strong so you can love your grandma the most. Your mama’s a bad woman, making my Yaozu go hungry…”

“Give that back!” Ye Chunjiang snapped, grabbing the custard from her hands with a deep frown. “If you want some, make it yourself at home. This was made for my future daughter-in-law!”

“And another thing—stop talking nonsense in front of the child. Fangfang is his mother. You think she’d let her baby go hungry if she could help it?”

Li Xiuzhi realized her stolen custard had slipped away and, not daring to confront Ye Chunjiang head-on, muttered nonchalantly, “I was just saying. Besides, Yaozu’s too little to understand anything.”

“Just because he doesn’t understand, that gives you the right to spew nonsense?” Gao Hongxing walked in at that moment, holding a large, fresh pork knuckle—clearly just bought from the butcher next door.

It was so fresh it still glistened.

“Oooh, look at that pork knuckle! You’re planning to braise it?” Li Xiuzhi immediately changed the subject, her eyes fixed on the meat.

“What are you doing here so early anyway? What, your family’s so poor now you can’t even cook a meal? Always thinking of mooching off us, huh?” Gao Hongxing had never liked his sister-in-law. It was one thing to be shameless and greedy—but that mouth of hers was vicious too.

She was one of the most selfish, self-centered people he’d ever met.

The Gao family had never raised someone like her.

“Big brother, why are you being so mean…”

“If you think I’m being mean, then leave. This is my house. My mouth, my words—I’ll say whatever I want!”

What a lousy way to start the morning.

“Enough, go home. You’re not getting anything to eat here. Even freeloaders don’t come this often,” Ye Chunjiang snapped impatiently.

She didn’t want Song Qingdai to see Li Xiuzhi here when she woke up. It would ruin her whole day.

If even she didn’t like Li Xiuzhi, then Song Qingdai would hate her even more.

“Hmph! Fine, I’ll leave! What’s the big deal?” Li Xiuzhi stormed out, grumbling, “Tch! It’s just a few bites of food. So stingy! Eat, eat, eat—hope you choke on it!”

She’d been humiliated twice now, and with her pride bruised and anger bubbling, she hurried off with the child.

Because she knew—if she stuck around any longer, Ye Chunjiang would really let her have it. And no one could win in a shouting match against Ye Chunjiang.

“Uncle, Auntie.”

“Oh my, it’s little Song! You’re up early. It’s still pretty early out. Did we wake you with our talking just now?” Ye Chunjiang instantly broke into a warm, doting smile upon hearing Song Qingdai’s voice.

She held Qingdai’s hand and gently asked in a hushed tone, “Xiao Song, um… did you sleep well last night?”

Song Qingdai’s face turned red. Whether or not she slept well, she wasn’t sure—but Gao Han definitely didn’t.

When she woke up, he’d already been awake for a long time, sporting two giant dark circles under his eyes.

She didn’t understand why… until she looked down and realized she’d wrapped herself around him like an octopus.

He had clearly spent the whole night lying there, wide-eyed and sleepless.

Her sleep posture was tragically bad—so bad it was abstract and borderline violent. The bed was 1.8 meters wide, and yet somehow she had nearly pushed Gao Han right off the edge.

Ye Chunjiang noticed her reddened cheeks and immediately beamed with delight.

It worked, it really worked!

A young girl being a little shy was perfectly normal. Looks like the wedding couldn’t be delayed now—better to move it up fast before people started gossiping.

Especially that big mouth Li Xiuzhi, who couldn’t keep anything to herself.

“You must be hungry. I made some steamed egg for you this morning, and also red bean rice wine soup with glutinous rice balls. Try them!”

Ye Chunjiang was all smiles, her enthusiasm so overwhelming it left Song Qingdai a little flustered.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Oh, no need to thank me—we’re practically family now! It’s just… my Gao Han’s a bit rough around the edges. This is his first time dealing with girls.”

“He can be a bit clumsy and blunt, so don’t be afraid to scold him or hit him if needed! Don’t go spoiling him!”

Song Qingdai: “???”