TNSFC – Chapter 52

Que Yining felt something was off, but before she could observe further, Hou Manni had returned to her usual demeanor, as if that fleeting moment had just been her imagination.

Hou Manni: “What’s wrong? Do you need to see your brother? You can tell me, and I’ll pass it on to him when I get home later.”

Que Yining shook her head: “Nothing, I just saw he wasn’t back and was curious.”

You Lanqing chuckled. “You’re so grown up, yet still so clingy to your brother. You woke up so late; did you go to bed late last night? Have you eaten?”

Que Yining: “I’ve eaten, and it was delicious.”

You Lanqing: “Then has Xiaoxiao come down to eat?”

Que Yining: “Xiaoxiao hasn’t. I didn’t see her; I thought you had taken her out.”

Hou Manni smiled wryly: “I’ll go check.”

Xiaoxiao was Hou Manni and Que Linyang’s daughter, her formal name Que Ying.

The original owner didn’t have a deep impression of this niece. Logically, since the original owner was so close to her older brother, her relationship with his daughter shouldn’t have been bad. However, the original owner had actually rarely seen her growing up.

Xiaoxiao was a very introverted girl, even showing some autistic tendencies, and was ten years old this year.

Yesterday, Que Yining hadn’t seen this little niece at all either; she had been hiding in her room and hadn’t come out.

After a short while, Xiaoxiao was led downstairs by Hou Manni.

She was wearing a red, velvety dress, which made her small face look fair and tender. She had inherited her mother’s looks, with an oval face and large eyes, clearly a budding beauty.

When she saw many people sitting downstairs, she lowered her head, somewhat frightened.

Que Yining observed her discreetly, watching her sit on the sofa like a little quail, being coaxed and played with by Papa Que and Mama Que.

She fidgeted with her little dress, looked at the toys in her grandparents’ hands, and smiled shyly.

Que Yining sat aside, quietly observing her. Sometimes, a child’s state can very clearly reflect the internal situation of that family. If the parents were loving and the family atmosphere was good, even if a child was naturally introverted, it shouldn’t be this severe.

Que Yining wanted to know if Que Linyang was behind this, so she had to understand him.

Whether it was his network of connections, his social status, or his family situation.

“Xiaoxiao, how about Auntie comes to play with you?”

Que Yining leaned towards Xiaoxiao, bringing her face level with Xiaoxiao’s.

Xiaoxiao immediately stopped smiling, her nervous eyes darting around, occasionally looking at Hou Manni.

Que Yining looked at Hou Manni, feigning distress, and said, “Is Xiaoxiao that scared of me? Am I too scary?”

“No, she’s been like this since she was little, especially afraid of people,” Hou Manni explained, signaling to Xiaoxiao with her eyes not to be afraid. “This is your aunt, no need to be scared.”

Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together tightly, lowered her head, and picked at her fingers.

Seeing the atmosphere turn cold, You Lanqing naturally wouldn’t let her daughter be so embarrassed and continued to coax her granddaughter to play.

“Xiaoxiao, Grandma will test you to see if you’ve been studying well in school, okay?”

Xiaoxiao nodded, her facial expression relaxing a bit.

You Lanqing tested her on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within ten. Xiaoxiao answered quickly, almost without thinking.

You Lanqing increased the difficulty, asking about addition and subtraction within one hundred, and Xiaoxiao also answered quickly.

Hou Manni: “Mom, you can also try addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within one hundred.”

The usually quiet Que Zixi clicked her tongue: “Isn’t that too difficult for an elementary school student?”

Multiplication and division within one hundred would even make middle or high school students pause for a moment to calculate.

Hou Manni said with a hint of pride in her expression, “Xiaoxiao is very smart.”

She lovingly stroked Xiaoxiao’s hair: “Perhaps this is God’s gift to her.”

You Lanqing tried asking multiplication and division problems within one hundred. Que Zixi used a calculator beside her, but the calculator was slower than Xiaoxiao’s verbal answers.

This level of skill surprised Que Yining as well. She tapped her fingers on the sofa, an idea forming in her mind.

Papa Que and Mama Que didn’t plan to return to the city so soon, so they started another game of mahjong. Que Zixi didn’t know how to play, so Que Chuling and Hou Manni joined in to make up the numbers.

This gave Que Yining an opportunity. She sat next to Xiaoxiao and played various games with her.

Xiaoxiao seemed to relax a bit. After Que Yining’s persistent efforts for two long hours, Xiaoxiao was already holding her hand.

Que Yining kissed her cheek, and Xiaoxiao blushed shyly.

“Shall I take you to draw?”

Xiaoxiao nodded, showing an interested expression.

Que Yining took her upstairs, found some drawing paper and pens for her, and drew with her.

“Look! An elephant!”

Que Yining drew a simple sketch of an elephant, held it to her face, and made “moo moo moo” sounds.

“Aunt, that’s how cows sound.”

Xiaoxiao’s face bloomed with a smile. She watched Que Yining draw other animals, and seeing those lively simple sketches, she softly asked Que Yining to teach her.

“Okay, watch, this is how you draw it.”

Que Yining held Xiaoxiao in her lap, guiding her small hand to teach her how to draw.

Sunlight streamed in, filling the room with golden light.

“We’ve been drawing for so long. Let’s draw one last picture, okay? Let’s draw our own homes, what they usually look like, the most common appearance. Let’s see who can draw faster.”

Que Yining held up the drawing paper and waved the colored pencils at Xiaoxiao.

The smile on Xiaoxiao’s face faded a little, and she nodded hesitantly.

Adults often think children don’t understand anything, but in fact, they understand much more than adults assume.

Seeing Xiaoxiao’s drawing, Que Yining thought, “Just as I expected.”

Que Yining had indeed intentionally used the child, but not with malicious intent. At least, not all of her companionship had been purely for ulterior motives.

Xiaoxiao’s drawing wasn’t dark in color; it even used warm tones. However, there was a long black line running through the middle of the entire paper, separating the figures representing her father and mother on either side, while the small figure representing her stood in the middle.

Que Yining held her in her arms and began to comb the little girl’s slightly messy hair.

She was skilled with her hands and styled Xiaoxiao’s hair beautifully. Xiaoxiao looked at herself in the mirror, and the smile returned to her face.

Que Yining asked her, “Xiaoxiao, is Mommy good to you?”

Xiaoxiao nodded.

Que Yining: “Then is Daddy good to you?”

Xiaoxiao nodded.

Que Yining: “Then is Daddy good to Mommy?”

Xiaoxiao subconsciously nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again, her expression very conflicted.

Que Yining: “Let’s not dwell on that. Let’s change the subject. Do you think your daddy is good to me?”

Xiaoxiao looked at her, the child’s eyes clear and bright, her hesitation plainly visible.

Que Yining thought she didn’t know. She had asked this question on a whim, thinking the child might not understand their relationship, but Xiaoxiao surprised her.

Xiaoxiao: “Mommy said Daddy pretends to be very good to you.”

The little girl’s voice was timid. The occasional explosive arguments between her parents replayed constantly in her mind; she clearly remembered every word they said, every expression.

Children can remember many things, but they lack judgment. Xiaoxiao didn’t know if she should say it, nor what the consequences would be if she did. So she struggled internally, but the scales eventually tipped towards the aunt who had just been playing with her and whom she felt was very good.

But after saying it, she became scared again, struggled out of Que Yining’s embrace, covered her mouth, and wanted to run out.

Que Yining grabbed her hand and gently soothed her back.

Que Yining: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. You didn’t say anything. This is our secret. I won’t tell anyone, and you won’t either, right?”

Xiaoxiao nodded. Que Yining patted her little cheek and smiled at her.

Xiaoxiao calmed down, lowered her head, and said, “Aunt, what did you draw?”

She couldn’t understand. Didn’t they say to draw their own homes? Why were there so many flowers in her aunt’s drawing?

“Because my home has many flowers, so I drew so many flowers.”

Que Yining smiled faintly and tore the drawing paper in her hands.

Where her parents and younger siblings rested eternally, a large patch of wildflowers had grown.

Que Yining hadn’t had them cleared away. She lived in a tall building not far away and would glance at them day and night.

“Since it’s a secret, of course, no one can know.”

Que Yining threw the torn pieces of paper into the trash can. Xiaoxiao imitated her, tore up her own drawing, and also threw it into the trash can.

“Aunt, can I call you in the future?”

“Of course, you can. I’ll help you save my number in your watch. If you miss me in the future, you can call or message me anytime.”

Que Yining had always suspected Que Linyang’s motives weren’t pure. Although she had no proof, she trusted her intuition. Now, Xiaoxiao’s answer confirmed her suspicions, and also that Hou Manni definitely knew something.

Que Yining entered her number into Xiaoxiao’s smartwatch, squatting down to be at eye level with the little girl.

“Aren’t you worried that if Daddy finds out, he’ll be unhappy?”

Xiaoxiao shook her head: “I can make sure he doesn’t find out.”

Que Yining rewardingly stroked her hair: “Xiaoxiao is so smart.”

“Aunt doesn’t really like Daddy much either, right?”

Xiaoxiao looked at her and suddenly asked.

Que Yining’s heart skipped a beat. She remembered that when she was getting information from Xiaoxiao just now, she hadn’t feigned anger or sadness, subconsciously neglecting to act in front of the child.

“Because liking someone is something that can disappear. Your daddy lied to me, so I don’t like him that much anymore.”

She gently touched her forehead to the little girl’s and said with a light smile.

Que Yining had concerns. She knew Xiaoxiao was very smart. If she could get information out of Xiaoxiao today, it was inevitable that Que Linyang or Hou Manni could also get information out of her.

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly; she really was a detestable adult.

Xiaoxiao didn’t want to go downstairs, so Que Yining took her back to her room.

When she came out of the room, it was very quiet outside. The mahjong game had ended at some unknown time.

Que Yining held the handrail of the staircase and looked down; the main hall was empty.

The staircase in the old house had previously suffered from rotted wood due to age and disrepair, but it had been specially replaced with a new one this year. Que Yining, wearing cloth shoes, stepped on it silently.

The wind blew through the dried flowers in the corridor, making them sway back and forth.

Que Yining looked around, walked past the main house, and reached the backyard.

The walls were covered with withered branches and leaves, hanging limply.

The sound of hushed whispers drifted over with the wind.

Que Yining rounded the corner, her eyebrows raised slightly.

That night, on the return trip, everyone set off back to the city. Que Linyang had left first, so Hou Manni and Xiaoxiao rode in Que Yining’s car.

Que Yining, holding the steering wheel and looking in the rearview mirror, asked Hou Manni a question.

“Older Sister-in-law, are you familiar with Que Chuling?”

“What’s there to be familiar or not familiar about between sisters-in-law?” Hou Manni pursed her lips, then looked up to meet Que Yining’s gaze. “But Second Sister is indeed not an easy person to get along with.”

There was a hint of helplessness on her face, appearing utterly sincere.

“She has such a sharp tongue, who would like her?”

Que Yining said agreeably, continuing to look ahead and drive.

Que Yining suddenly felt a bit bored. Gu Shanxue was still more interesting.

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