Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 257 - 252: Could This Be the Sign of Turning Dark?

Chapter 257: Chapter 252: Could This Be the Sign of Turning Dark?

Having experienced the previous occasions, Lin Qiao didn’t struggle this time, she gently exerted some force to place her leg on the bed, leaving a small portion for her to lie on.

She seemed to be accustomed to taking naps at this hour; as soon as she closed her eyes, drowsiness engulfed her.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when the woman next to her began to breathe lightly and evenly.

After a while, Song Tingfan slightly opened his eyes and looked down, only to see the woman’s silky, jet-black hair, and his heart inexplicably softened.

His hand tightened slightly around her waist, and the woman probably found it uncomfortable to sleep on her stomach, moved her head and mumbled, "It’s so hard, change it tomorrow."

Song Tingfan’s eyebrows and eyes flashed with a smile, and he replied softly, "It can’t be changed."

The response was the chirping of birds outside.

...

Lin Qiao was awakened by a voice; she opened her eyes and, seeing the wall decorated with a bow and arrow, was momentarily stunned, realizing it’s Song Tingfan’s room.

After a moment’s pause, she remembered the events earlier. She then sat up and looked to the other side of the bed, but Song Tingfan was no longer in the room.

She went out to the main room, where Song Tingfan was talking to a young couple. The man was slightly chubby, with animated eyebrows while speaking; the woman was petite and pretty, standing quietly beside him.

It was Zhou Tiedan and his wife, who had their wedding in the village last October; his wife wasn’t from this village but was the sister of a schoolmate from the town. The father-in-law is a scholar, belonging to a family with literary heritage.

The match was excellent, Zhou Tiedan’s mother was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law and wouldn’t let her work in the fields.

It’s not that Zhou Tiedan’s wife is lazy, quite the contrary, she is very industrious, doing all the cooking at home.

Upon seeing her, Zhou Tiedan joyfully called out, "Sister-in-law."

Zhou Tiedan’s wife, Mrs. Zhou Zhang, also echoed, "Sister-in-law."

Lin Qiao responded with a bright smile, "Why did you come home today?"

Zhou Tiedan worked as a bookkeeper at the town’s dock, earning two taels of silver monthly.

The Zhou family paid for them to buy a house in town, with his brother and sister-in-law contributing half.

"My brother sent a message saying Tingfan came back. As soon as I heard, I brought my wife and rushed back."

Zhou Tiedan was worried his wife might get tired from standing, not fearing their laughter, he pulled a stool for her to sit, then explained, "My wife is pregnant, she shouldn’t stand for long." He mentioned it joyfully, his eyes gleaming.

This was news Lin Qiao hadn’t heard, and she was pleasantly surprised, "How many months along?"

"Just completed three months, I figured I shouldn’t say anything before the third month, so I didn’t."

Zhou Tiedan saw his wife hesitating to sit, chuckled twice and added, "Sit down, sister-in-law and Tingfan won’t say anything. I used to often eat at their house."

From being carefree before, he now shows concern for his wife; no wonder they say people become sensible after marriage, Lin Qiao agreed, "Feel at home, just like your own house."

Afterwards, she brought out some snacks.

Whenever she returned to the village, she would buy some snacks for the elderly, but the Song Qin family rarely ate them, so the snacks piled up at home.

Seeing that Zhou Tiedan and Song Tingfan hadn’t talked in a while, she invited Mrs. Zhou Zhang inside for a chat.

Once they left, Zhou Tiedan cheerfully patted Song Tingfan on the shoulder, "When will you talk about marriage? How about my sister?"

His mother wanted him to ask, as Zhou Baoying had reached marriageable age.

"I’ve already made my choice." Song Tingfan shook his head, refusing directly.

"Made your choice? Who?"

Zhou Tiedan glanced at him, lowered his voice and, with significant meaning, added, "Could it be sister-in-law?"

He didn’t understand before, but looking back now, it seemed wrong; every time he got close to his sister-in-law, Song Tingfan would get angry and warn him not to call her sister-in-law.

Just like he is now; whenever any man converses with his wife, he gets anxious.

Song Tingfan stayed silent, neither affirming nor denying, Zhou Tiedan understood and chuckled knowingly, lowering his voice, "I heard there’s a young master in the county town interested in sister-in-law, visiting your shop frequently, you better take action."

Then he assured him, "Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone."

"It’s nothing."

"Nothing? Aren’t you afraid the villagers will find out?"

"Not afraid." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Zhou Tiedan said "Oh," momentarily unable to comprehend his meaning.

Song Ting recalled something, took two taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to him, "I couldn’t attend your wedding, consider this a gift."

Zhou Tiedan accepted it without reservation, candidly saying, "I’ll save it for you and return it when you get married."

"Alright." Song Tingfan agreed.

The two chatted for quite a while; Lin Qiao initially intended to keep them for dinner, but Zhou Tiedan mentioned they had already been informed to return home for dinner, so she didn’t insist.

Before they left, she stuffed some snacks to Mrs. Zhou Zhang.

She turned to look at Song Tingfan, hesitated for a moment, cleared her throat, "Little Uncle, when do you plan to get married? I’m not rushing you, just thinking about preparing well if you marry someone, so we won’t shortchange them."

"She hasn’t agreed yet." Song Tingfan glanced at her.

Hearing this, Lin Qiao was slightly surprised and instinctively asked, "Is it because we’re poor? Reassure her, when you get married, I’ll buy a house for you in the county town, or in Lunan City if you prefer, we won’t shortchange her."

The shop had been doing well these years, saving hundreds of taels of silver.

Buying a house in the county town with hundreds of taels wouldn’t suffice, but she had dividends from the Ruyi Shop, getting twenty percent monthly, at worst also around a thousand taels monthly.

Now she had almost ten thousand taels in hand.

She could have got thirty percent, but under certain conditions, Wei Yun started a large four-door shop in the provincial capital and intended to invite her to manage the embroideresses, which she declined.

In town, although she couldn’t frequently return to the village, at least she could come back whenever she wished; if she went to the provincial capital it’d be different, and without Wei Yun’s consent, she couldn’t return.

"No, I haven’t asked her yet."

Song Tingfan pursed his lips, paused briefly and then asked, "What about you?" A hint of nervousness in his eyes.

"Don’t worry about me, I’ll handle it myself. Since you haven’t asked her, find a time to ask; tell her our family will provide everything she wants without compromise." Lin Qiao replied earnestly.

Song Tingfan pressed his lips, "What if she doesn’t agree?"

Lin Qiao assumed it was "marriage anxiety," which was normal, everyone experiences it, she comforted him, "Why wouldn’t she agree? My little uncle is handsome and capable."

"She’s even better, capable, beautiful, kind, treats me very well." Song Tingfan said, looking at her.

Lin Qiao sensed something odd but couldn’t quite pinpoint it, quickly dismissing it from her mind, "If she treats you well, there must be intention."

"Ask her first, if she truly doesn’t want to, I’ll help propose for you, don’t worry too much."

"Okay."

Song Tingfan nodded, paused for a moment, and with a serious expression added, "If she doesn’t agree, I’ll tie her up."

Lin Qiao, who was about to pick up a broom from the ground, abruptly heard this and, thinking she misheard, looked up at him, "What?"

"If she doesn’t agree, I’ll tie her up." Song Tingfan repeated, observing the woman’s expression, seeing her astonished, he couldn’t help but smile slightly, quickly returning to a serious demeanor.

Tie her up?

Lin Qiao stared at him blankly, he appeared serious, not as if... he was joking.

Why would he say something like this?

He, he, he......

Could this be a sign of turning evil?