Chapter 14

At noon on Sunday, Qin Xiaoxiao took the initiative to deliver food to Feng Xiuling, who was running her street stall.

“Mom, please eat now,” Qin Xiaoxiao reminded Feng Xiuling for the second time.

Feng Xiuling wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, “No rush, I’ll eat later.”

“I’ll watch the stall; you can eat while the food is still hot.”

Feng Xiuling hesitated, concerned. “You don’t know how to…”

“Ah Ling, your daughter cares about you so much. Just listen to her!” The dark-skinned auntie at the stall to the right interjected.

Feng Xiuling gave an explanatory smile. “I’m just worried she doesn’t know how to sell things.”

“What’s so hard about it? You’ll learn as you go!”

“Mom,” Qin Xiaoxiao assured, “I can do it.”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s mother used an electronic scale, something Qin Xiaoxiao could easily operate without needing to learn.

“Well… you’d better go home and take a nap. Rest up and read your books. You’ll have to go to school this evening.”

The customer selecting fruit in front of the stall was a middle-aged woman in her forties. She asked curiously, “Boss lady^[1]老板娘 (lǎo bǎn niáng) = “Boss lady,” a respectful or colloquial term for a female shop owner., is this your daughter? Still in school?”

“Yes,” Feng Xiuling replied good-naturedly. “She’s at a critical stage in her studies.”

Qin Xiaoxiao felt slightly helpless. Her mother was genuinely kind to her and couldn’t bear for her to endure even a little hardship. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the original owner of this body had no concept of how difficult it was to earn money, nor any understanding of her mother’s hard work, and had been raised into a pampered child who only knew how to ask her parents for things.

“Six days a week are spent studying, and weekends are meant for me to relax a bit,” Qin Xiaoxiao paused before continuing, “I want to spend time with you.”

Feng Xiuling’s lips moved slightly, as though she wanted to say something.

Qin Xiaoxiao took a plastic stool from Feng Xiuling’s tricycle and said, “Your back isn’t good; don’t keep standing. Sit down and eat.”

Feng Xiuling turned her face away and lowered her head. After a moment, she replied, “Alright.”

Her voice carried a hint of nasal tone.

The goods Feng Xiuling stocked today included dragon fruit, mangoes, and peaches.

Qin Xiaoxiao asked about their prices, memorized them one by one, and then opened the lunchbox. Half persuading, half insisting, she made her still-worried mother sit down to eat. Afterward, she actively handed the weighed fruit to the customers, collected payment, and gave change.

Before leaving, the customer praised, “Boss lady, you’re so lucky. Your daughter is so filial!”

“Take care, Auntie,” Qin Xiaoxiao replied with a sweet smile.

“How much are these mangoes?” A new customer soon arrived.

“Seven yuan per jin^[2]斤 (jīn) = Jin, is a traditional Chinese unit of weight, 1 jin = 500 grams or half a kilogram.,” she answered.

“That’s a bit expensive.”

“The same variety of mangoes in the supermarket are even pricier,” Qin Xiaoxiao said crisply. “These mangoes have fewer fibers, smooth and tender flesh, and are super sweet.”

“Really? Then I’ll buy some to try.”

Qin Xiaoxiao promptly pulled out a plastic bag and handed it over.

After the customer finished selecting the fruit, Qin Xiaoxiao took the fruit, placed it on the electronic scale, set the unit price, and read out the total, “0.83 kilograms, 11.6 yuan,” rounding off the cents.

She handed the fruit to the customer and received a 100-yuan bill in return.

Feng Xiuling instinctively wanted to say something, but she noticed her daughter, without needing a reminder, perform the verification to check the authenticity of the bill.

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly confirmed that it was a genuine bill and promptly gave the change. “Here’s 88.4 yuan. Take care.”

“Got it.”

After the customer walked away, Feng Xiuling gently advised her daughter, “For prices like 11.6 yuan, we can round it to a less precise number. Offering a small discount, like charging 11.5 yuan, is fine.”

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded, humbly taking the advice to heart.

“Is this really your daughter’s first time doing business, Ah Ling?” The dark-skinned auntie, munching on a melon, exclaimed in amazement. “She doesn’t seem awkward at all—she’s so skilled!”

Feng Xiuling gave a simple, honest smile. “It really is her first time,” she said, with a hint of motherly pride in her eyes.

“Little miss,” the dark-skinned auntie, unaware of Qin Xiaoxiao’s name, called out, “Auntie has melons here. Do you want one?”

Qin Xiaoxiao replied, “No need, thank you, Auntie.”

“Auntie is offering it to you; no need to be polite.” The dark-skinned auntie enthusiastically picked up a melon and placed it on the unfolded tail rack of Feng Xiuling’s cart.

She often sold fruit alongside Feng Xiuling, and the two had a pretty good relationship. Moreover, Feng Xiuling’s daughter was beautiful and endearing, which made her naturally fond of her.

Qin Xiaoxiao hesitated and glanced at Feng Xiuling for guidance.

Feng Xiuling smiled and said, “Auntie gave it to you, so just accept it. Take it home to eat later.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Qin Xiaoxiao said, giving the dark-skinned auntie another sweet and obedient smile.

“So well-behaved!”

“Auntie has apples here. Does Ah Ling’s daughter want some? Help Auntie watch the stall for an hour?”

“Strawberries, fresh strawberries! Little miss, grab some to eat!”

…

The nearby vendors joined in with good-natured teasing.

Qin Xiaoxiao responded with a confident and cheerful smile, “Uncles and aunties, if you keep saying this, I’ll be too embarrassed.”

Her words drew a burst of laughter from them.

“Qin Xiaoxiao?” A voice called out tentatively, carrying a hint of uncertainty.

Qin Xiaoxiao lifted her face and turned her gaze to the side. The one calling her was Tao Lei, the class study monitor, standing not far away.

This place was adjacent to the farmers’ market and an old neighborhood. The roads were narrow and uneven, crowded with vehicles passing through, often kicking up clouds of dust.

She didn’t quite fit into this environment—at least, that’s what Qin Xiaoxiao interpreted from the expression on Tao Lei’s face.

The original owner of this body had been very mindful of maintaining her persona, carefully crafting the image of a wealthy and privileged “white, rich, and beautiful” girl at school.

Now, that persona had effectively crumbled in front of her classmate Tao Lei.

Qin Xiaoxiao, however, felt nothing about it.

She smiled at Tao Lei as usual.

Tao Lei hesitated before walking over. “You’re here…”

“I’m helping my mom sell fruit,” Qin Xiaoxiao replied calmly.

Even Feng Xiuling was momentarily stunned. She knew her daughter’s temperament to some extent. Back during the high school entrance exam period, she had wanted to bring soup and meals to her daughter at school, but her daughter was vehemently against it, refusing to let her come to the school. Even during holidays, she never allowed Ah Feng (Qin Feng) to pick her up… Feng Xiuling understood that her job wasn’t particularly respectable, and her daughter didn’t want her classmates to find out.

But now…

“Hello, Auntie.”

Feng Xiuling felt a bit uneasy. “Hello,” she said, putting down her lunchbox and attempting to stand up.

“Mom, just sit and eat your meal,” Qin Xiaoxiao stopped her, then turned to answer a customer’s inquiry about prices.

Tao Lei was astonished by this side of Qin Xiaoxiao. Perhaps “astonished” was too strong a word, but he was definitely surprised.

“Xiaoxiao,” Feng Xiuling softly reminded, “Should we offer your classmate some fruit?”

While holding open a plastic bag for a customer, Qin Xiaoxiao asked Tao Lei, “Do you want some fruit?”

“No… no need,” Tao Lei replied.

Tao Lei realized he hadn’t greeted Qin Xiaoxiao’s mother and quickly corrected himself, “Hello, Auntie.”

“Oh, hello,” Feng Xiuling responded, still a bit shy.

Qin Xiaoxiao wasn’t particularly close to the class monitor, so after politely asking, she focused on selling fruit.

As for Tao Lei, his gaze involuntarily lingered on Qin Xiaoxiao for quite a while before he finally realized he was standing there like a fool, blocking the stall. Flushing with embarrassment, he left awkwardly.

A young man in his twenties asked as he paid, “Can I use Alipay for the payment?”

“Sorry, that’s not available.”

“Can you accept WeChat Pay?”

“Sorry, we only accept cash.”

The young man took out his wallet and said, “I hardly use cash anymore… not even sure if I brought enough with me…”

This gave Qin Xiaoxiao an idea. When the stall quieted down, she suggested to Feng Xiuling, “Mom, you should set up an Alipay or WeChat QR code.”

The general backdrop of this world was not too different from the one Qin Xiaoxiao had lived in before. Nowadays, many people preferred the convenience of electronic payments when shopping.

“Well…” Feng Xiuling, unfamiliar with such technology, looked hesitant.

Qin Xiaoxiao explained these electronic payment methods to Feng Xiuling in simple and easy-to-understand terms.

“Is it really that convenient?” Feng Xiuling roughly understood and asked, “Is it safe to collect money this way?”

Qin Xiaoxiao then educated her about the security of electronic payments.

“I don’t know how to set these things up…” Feng Xiuling said hesitantly, worried that her daughter might find her troublesome.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you set up an Alipay account,” Qin Xiaoxiao said, taking out the phone from her pocket. “Look, if you have an account, you can directly apply for the platform to send you a QR code. And for WeChat—”

Qin Xiaoxiao opened her WeChat app, which she hadn’t logged into for quite some time. At the top of the message list was Ji Wenchen’s profile picture, with a red “1” in the upper-right corner.

Her fingers moved hurriedly to switch to the wallet page. Like most high school students in early relationships, Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t want her parents to know about her love life—even if her “boyfriend” was just a title without substance.

Qin Xiaoxiao tapped on the “Receive Payment” option and pointed to the “QR Code for Payment” feature, explaining to Feng Xiuling, “This QR code is the payment code. Customers can scan it to transfer money to you.”

Feng Xiuling took a moment to digest the explanation and then smiled at her daughter. “Technology is so advanced these days!”

“Before, several customers asked if they could pay with Alipay, but I didn’t know how to use it. This will be so much better now. When I have time, I’ll set up the QR code. Can you help me apply for that ‘Ali-something’ account right now?”

“Sure.”

Feng Xiuling’s phone was an old, basic touchscreen model and not a smartphone. Qin Xiaoxiao used her own phone to help her set up an account.

After setting it up, Qin Xiaoxiao had Feng Xiuling write down the account details and password.

“I’m done eating,” Feng Xiuling said as she got up from the chair and tidied up the lunchbox. “You should go home and rest.”

“I’m not tired. It’s you who should rest more because of your back,” Qin Xiaoxiao replied. Recently, Feng Xiuling had suffered from a lumbar issue and had even gone to the hospital for treatment. Qin Xiaoxiao hoped her mother would sit more and stand less to avoid overexertion.

“Mom has already been sitting for almost half an hour,” Feng Xiuling urged her. “Be good and go home to rest. You still need to go to school this evening.”

Qin Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly. “Alright, fine.”

Before she left, Feng Xiuling handed her a bag of carefully selected fruit.

It was heavy and weighty, yet it was filled with a mother’s love.

Stopping at the crosswalk, the red light ahead reminded Qin Xiaoxiao of the unread red notification on WeChat.

She unlocked her phone and opened WeChat.

At the top of her contacts list was “Ji Wenchen,” followed by a heart emoji—a note the original owner had added.

She wasn’t sure if Mother Qin had noticed it earlier… Qin Xiaoxiao quickly removed the heart emoji.

Then, she checked what the school bully had sent.

Ji Wenchen: 【What does this mean?】

The message was sent on May 9, four days ago.

That day, Qin Xiaoxiao remembered clearly—she had helped Wang Xin deliver a love letter to Ji Wenchen.

The school bully’s “What does this mean?” clearly referred to that, leaving no need for further explanation…

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Author’s Note:

Thank you, thank you to Tu Yi and Ai Li’er for throwing landmines.

Thanks to all the dear readers for your favorites and support. Today, I’m adding an extra chapter.