6

On a night like this, the boy’s voice cut through the air—clear and jarringly loud.

Tong Xuelu opened her eyes, the strong scent of tea wafting around her. “This is my home. You’re the only family I have in this world. Of course I came back to reunite with you.”

A sneer came from the darkness. “Try that line on someone else. Did you forget how you cursed my parents back then? You said the Tong family was a nest of beggars, and you’d rather die than come back with them!”

Tong Xuelu froze. Only then did she remember the awful things the original host had done.

Tong Dajun and his wife had come looking for her three times. The first time, the original host fainted on the spot after learning she wasn’t their biological daughter. The second time, she pointed at their noses and yelled at them to get lost—then chased them out and threw all the gifts they’d brought onto the ground. The third time was less dramatic, but she refused to even meet them.

It was on their way back after that third visit that the accident happened.

Thinking of this gave Tong Xuelu a headache.

She’d originally planned to play the family card, but now it was clear that card was useless.

“In that case, let me be blunt,” she said. “I can’t stay where I was. I need a place to live.”

Another sneer came from the bed across the room. “What makes you think you can just come and stay?”

Tong Xuelu’s red lips curled into a faint smile. “Because you ate the food I cooked.”

If Tong Jiaming had truly wanted to kick her out, he would’ve done it the moment he saw her.

But he didn’t.

And the reason he was holding back wasn’t sentimentality for a long-lost sister. No—it was because…

She was useful to him.

Silence fell.

The night was dim, and Tong Xuelu couldn’t see his expression clearly.

But she didn’t need to. She could imagine it—gritted teeth and barely contained rage.

She remained calm and collected. “Let me guess—you dropped out of school to work at the factory so you could sell those two positions before anyone from Beihe comes looking, right?”

The words landed like a thunderclap in a quiet room.

Tong Jiaming shot upright in bed, eyes wide. “You—what exactly do you want?”

“What if I said I don’t want anything? You wouldn’t believe me anyway. And you know what? I don’t need you to. I know you didn’t inform the people from Beihe either. What do you think your boss would say if they found out?”

Her voice was lazy, almost casual—but every word sliced into him like a blade, stripping away his secrets without mercy.

Tong Jiaming clenched his fists by his side. “I don’t care what you’re after. But if you dare say a word of this to anyone… I won’t let you off.”

He’s panicking. He’s so panicking.

Tsk. So this future big shot still had a lot of growing up to do.

Tong Xuelu sat up as well, her earlier laziness gone. Her tone was calm and sharp.

“Let’s work together.”

Tong Jiaming: “….”

“You know very well—at your age and with your current status, the factory would never let you sell those two job positions. And there’s no way they’d hand over the compensation money to you either. In other words, no matter how hard you scheme, it’s all pointless. Half a month has already passed—how much longer do you think you can keep stalling the folks back in Beihe?”

Tong Xuelu paused, then pressed on: “Once the people from Beihe show up, not only will you lose the jobs and the compensation, but the three of you will also be taken back with them. Forget about staying in the city—there won’t even be enough to eat. You think you’ll still be going to school? Try collecting pig shit instead.”

Across the room, in the pitch black night, Tong Jiaming glared at her, his sharp eyes cold and biting. His lips were pressed so tightly together they’d gone white.

Tong Xuelu calmly cast the bait: “But if you work with me, I can make sure the people from Beihe get nothing. I’ll also guarantee that the three of you stay here in Jing City, keep going to school, and never have to set foot in that countryside hell.”

“…”

After a long silence, his voice came through, stiff and clipped: “What kind of cooperation do you want?”

“It’s simple,” Tong Xuelu replied crisply. “I call the shots in this house. Even if you don’t fully trust me, that’s fine. But at the very least, you don’t drag me down in front of others.”

Tong Jiaming raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

She nodded. “That’s it.”

He frowned, thinking it over for a while before finally giving a stiff nod. “Fine. But you have to promise—you can’t do anything that would hurt Jiaxin or Mianmian.”

“No problem. Here’s to a successful partnership,” Tong Xuelu said, turning to face the wall as she flopped onto the bed. “Get some sleep. We’ll deal with the rest tomorrow.”

Tong Jiaming stared at her back across the room, unmoving for a long time.

He still remembered that day when he secretly followed his parents to the Tong household. He had seen this woman throw out every single item his parents had brought, then point at them and yell at them to never come again.

He had watched his parents bow their heads, apologizing, humiliated and heartbroken.

At that moment, he’d been so angry he thought his lungs would explode.

If he hadn’t been completely backed into a corner, Tong Jiaming would never have allowed this woman back into the Tong household.

Now, all he could do was take things one step at a time. But if she dared to do anything that might hurt his family, he wouldn’t let her off easily.

Tong Xuelu didn’t hear any further movement behind her, but she could guess that the future bigshot was still wrestling with himself.

She couldn’t be bothered to care. After a day full of acting, traveling, and cooking, she was utterly exhausted.

The little dumpling in her arms turned over and, half-asleep, hugged her arm tightly, snuggling in with a soft nuzzle.

Tong Xuelu pulled the little one into her arms and quickly drifted off to sleep.

On her first day inside the book, Tong Xuelu slept sweetly with a real-life human plushie in her arms. But someone else lay awake through the night, tossing and turning.

Tong Zhenzhen flipped back and forth on her bed like a pancake, her chest full of frustration ready to explode.

Sure, Tong Xuelu had finally left the Tong family—just as she wanted. But somehow, she didn’t feel the slightest bit happy.

In her plan, Tong Xuelu should have been kicked out in shame, like a drenched rat running for cover. Instead, she had left on her own terms, winning everyone’s guilt and sympathy along the way!

And then her sister-in-law—what was wrong with her lately? She kept making snide comments and jabs all day long, driving her crazy!

No. She couldn’t let Tong Xuelu off so easily.

She would make her suffer every single hardship she’d endured in her past life—tenfold!

The next morning…

Just as the sky began to lighten, Tong Xuelu was woken by the clatter of someone cooking outside the room.

She stretched lazily in bed and sat up, then spotted Tong Jiaming standing at the door, cooking porridge.

Just like yesterday—when she handed the dishes over for the boys to clean—she didn’t think anything of it.

She wasn’t here to be some live-in nanny. She was here to raise a future bigshot. If they expected her to micromanage every detail like a housewife, they were dreaming.

Besides, boys should be taught from a young age to do housework. That way they wouldn’t grow up to be useless men no one wanted.

Tong Jiaming noticed her getting up and quickly turned his head away, an awkward expression on his face.

Tong Xuelu didn’t take it to heart. After freshening up, she walked over and saw that he had made a pot of sweet potato porridge—but the only side dish was a tiny plate of pickled vegetables.

That would never do. She wasn’t about to mistreat her stomach like that.

She took out a small handful of sweet potato starch noodles Aunt Cai had given her last night and soaked them in water. Then she grabbed the leftover eggs from yesterday.

Time for some scallion omelets.

She chopped the scallions, cracked three eggs into a bowl, added a bit of salt, and whisked it all together. Once the pan was hot, she poured the egg mixture in.

Once the eggs had set, she lifted the pan with a practiced hand, flipped the omelet over, and when it was nearly done, added just a couple drops of soy sauce. The scallion omelet was finished—golden, fragrant, and delicious.

It was still early morning, and everyone in the courtyard was either washing up or gnawing on their dry cornbread buns. No one had a stove with an exhaust fan, so when the wind picked up, the smell of that sizzling omelet drifted right into their faces.

Oh no. It smelled heavenly.

Usually, eating two dry buns in the morning was considered lucky. But now, all of a sudden, they tasted like cardboard.

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

Tong Xuelu finely shredded the pickled vegetables and minced the scallions, garlic, and ginger—all in one smooth, efficient motion. Her hands moved with the grace and ease of flowing water.

Once the oil in the pan was hot, she tossed in the garlic and ginger to release their aroma, then added the pickled vegetables and stir-fried them over high heat. A dash of soy sauce, a pinch of salt—another quick stir—then she poured in a bowl of cold water. As soon as it came to a boil, she added the soaked sweet potato noodles.

She let it simmer on low for about ten minutes before lifting the lid.

A wave of fragrant steam burst out, quickly spreading throughout the courtyard.

Tong Xuelu plated the pickled noodles and sprinkled them with fresh scallions.

The noodles were glossy and translucent, the scallions vibrant green—it was a dish that made your mouth water just by looking at it. A bit of meat and chili would’ve made it perfect, but even like this, it was already tempting.

Across the courtyard, a middle-aged auntie caught a whiff of the irresistible aroma and couldn’t help swallowing hard.

“Hey, Tong girl, what are you making so early in the morning?”

Tong Xuelu replied cheerfully, “Nothing much—just some scallion-fried eggs and pickled noodle stir-fry.”

“Oh my, sweetheart, no one eats like this every day! This won’t do!”

“Exactly! Your adoptive family may have had the means, but the Tongs aren’t the same. You can’t keep eating like this and wasting food!”

“Such extravagance! It’s just plain wasteful!”

A few of the older women nearby, unable to eat the grapes, decided to complain that they were sour. Their words were sharp with envy, their tone thick with bitterness.

Tong Xuelu responded with a sweet, obedient smile. “You’re all absolutely right, Aunties.” Yeah, right.

With that, she picked up both dishes and walked back inside.

They could talk all they wanted—she’d still eat well, drink well, and enjoy life. If she had her way, she’d feast on meat and fish every day.

That said, she really did need to figure out a way to move. There was absolutely no privacy in this place.

Tong Jiaming acted as though he hadn’t heard a word of the gossip. Silently, he washed the cutting board and utensils, then carried the sweet potato porridge inside.

In the courtyard, the rest of the residents were left chewing on their dry cornbread buns, the lingering scent of pickled noodles and eggs in the air making their breakfast even harder to swallow.

And so, the Tong family began their morning with another unexpectedly satisfying feast.

After finishing, Tong Xuelu put down her chopsticks and said, “Today I’ll go transfer my household registration over. I’ll be taking Mianmian with me.”

Upon hearing her name, Tong Mianmian immediately looked up with a big smile. “Yay! Mianmian loves being with Big Sister!”

Suck-up.

Tong Jiaxin rolled his eyes at his little sister.

A moment later, Tong Jiaming let out a low “Mm” and gave a short nod. “Alright.”

He was so shocked, his chopsticks nearly slipped out of his hand.

What the heck was going on with Second Brother?

Second Brother, if you’re being threatened—blink twice!

Tong Jiaming couldn’t be bothered to look at his younger brother’s dumb expression. He washed his bowl, then headed off to work without a word.

Tong Jiaxin suddenly felt like he was the only clear-headed one in a world gone mad.

Second Brother and Little Sister had already fallen under her spell? So weak!

That’s what he told himself—while shoveling a huge bite of the noodles into his mouth.

Oh wow. So good.

He needed to eat more. A lot more!

First, Tong Xuelu stopped by the supply co-op and bought two boxes of pastries. Then she took Tong Mianmian and hopped on a bus back to the city.

“Big Sis, this is Mianmian’s very first time on a bus!” Mianmian’s little face was flushed with excitement.

The tiny dumpling looked like a curious little animal, her big watery eyes darting around as she stared this way and that.

Tong Xuelu was nearly knocked out by the cuteness. Her heart gave a trembling thump as she kissed the girl’s soft cheek. “If you like it, Big Sis will take you out to play all the time, okay?”

“Okay!” Mianmian squeaked, her milky voice soft and sweet. She threw her chubby arms around her sister’s neck, dimples blooming on her cheeks as she grinned.

Her sister was pretty, smelled nice, cuddled her to sleep at night, and now she was taking her out to explore the world.

She really liked this big sister!

The bus jolted and rattled all the way into the city. Tong Xuelu turned pale from motion sickness once again.

Surprisingly, Tong Mianmian held up like a champ—not even a hint of nausea.

Instead of heading back to the Tong family compound at the military district, Tong Xuelu made her way straight to the Women’s Federation office.

But just as she turned a corner—

Someone shot toward her like a firecracker.

Startled, she barely managed to shove Tong Mianmian out of the way before she herself—

Bang!—got slammed into the wall.

What the hell?! Who the hell walks around without watching where they’re going?

In this day and age, someone actually dared to do a kabedon? Did this guy want her to report him to the police for harassment?

Before the man could even steady himself, Tong Xuelu shoved him off and frowned, lifting her gaze to glare at him.

Only to meet a pair of deep, dark eyes.

The man’s features were striking—sharp, defined, and ridiculously good-looking. His long phoenix eyes were slightly upturned, with a seductive curve that made your heart race.

And his face wasn’t the only thing that was flawless.

Broad shoulders. Slim waist. Long legs. His proportions were so perfect, even the models and celebrities she’d seen in her previous life couldn’t compare.

Well then.

With a face and body like that, who cared if he had eyes when he walked?

Forget kabedon—if he wanted to pin her to a bed, she wouldn’t even resist (^▽^).

=^_^=

Author has something to say: Tong Xuelu: How is anyone supposed to resist that?!