Chapter 20: The Favor

Chapter 20: The Favor

Yuan Lingling leaned against the desk, fidgeting with her nails, and glanced out of the corner of her eye as Shen Caisheng pulled out a piece of paper and started writing something. She didn’t peek, but after a moment of thought, she decided not to hide it from him and shared a long-held wish she had always harbored.

“Yes, alone. I’ve been wanting to change my environment for a while.”

Shen Caisheng felt a slight pang. “Since you’re alone, how about…”

“Shen Caisheng!”

Suddenly, a man’s voice came from outside, unfamiliar to Yuan Lingling, who looked at Shen Caisheng in confusion.

Shen Caisheng clenched his jaw, leaving his sentence hanging.

The two of them went out together, and it was Lao You.

“Shen Caisheng, why’s the gate open?” As he entered the main room, he saw Yang Xiaoxi sitting at the table eating and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“She’s in the wrong place,” Shen Caisheng said. “What do you need me for?”

Lao You casually glanced at Yang Xiaoxi a couple of times, then looked at Yuan Lingling, who was walking behind Shen Caisheng, and his face lit up.

“So this is the sister-in-law. I’ve heard she’s stunning, like a goddess, and seeing her today, it’s true. You got any sisters? Introduce one to me.”

Lao You’s tone was slightly exaggerated, coming off as a bit unreliable, but his directness made Yuan Lingling not find him annoying.

Looking at him, Yuan Lingling recalled another pivotal character in the story.

“This is…”

Yuan Lingling looked at Shen Caisheng.

Sure enough, he said, “This is Lao You. He has something to discuss with me. Why don’t you rest for now, and we’ll talk later, okay?”

Lao You was a relatively important character mentioned in the book. Although he never had a full name, he accompanied Shen Caisheng on many missions but later sacrificed himself during one operation, which dealt a significant blow to Shen Caisheng.

With company around, Shen Caisheng’s request wasn’t unreasonable, and Yuan Lingling had no choice but to agree, so she nodded.

The two of them hurried off, though Lao You gave Yuan Lingling several lingering strange looks as they left.

“Keep staring, and I’ll pluck your eyes out!”

As they rushed out, Shen Caisheng warned Lao You.

With his long legs, Shen Caisheng moved quickly, and Lao You struggled to keep pace. But this time, Lao You didn’t mind being left behind and teasingly laughed heartily.

“Alright, she can’t see us anymore, so let’s slow down.”

After he said that, Shen Caisheng walked even faster.

Lao You, unfazed, rushed after him. “I’m telling you, stop. No one’s chasing you to get a divorce.”

He was nearly doubled over with laughter. This was Shen Caisheng, after all.

Who would’ve thought? The battlefield’s grim reaper would do something so shameless just to avoid divorce.

“What do you think your image would be like if I told the brothers about you coming to me to be your favor?”

Lao You had always known Shen Caisheng’s wife was beautiful, but seeing her now, she was even more stunning than he imagined, and her personality seemed quite pleasant too.

In his opinion, he should have either never given in to the threat or just settled down and lived a proper life.

He shot a sideways glance at Shen Caisheng, wondering if the man had some issue, keeping such a wife at home but never spending the night.

Now that he’s finally willing to go back, his wife is about to leave—talk about karma.

"I guess there’s no need to say it—she’s dead set on divorcing me."

Hearing this, Lao You’s expression turned serious. "No way? What did you do to upset her?"

"Once you’re married, you’re family. Who just throws around the word 'divorce'?"

"And sure, the girl’s beautiful, but if she leaves Shen Caisheng, she’ll be a divorcee. Could she really find someone better?"

"How should I know?" Shen Caisheng was a little annoyed, but since she wasn’t divorcing him over Xie Guangan, he wasn’t too worried.

"If it were up to me..."

"Don’t say it," Shen Caisheng cut him off. He always came up with terrible ideas. Shen needed to figure this out on his own. "Let’s talk about Hu Ziyang first."

Yang Xiaoxi staying at his place wasn’t entirely without its perks—at least their nighttime visit to the Yang family would go more smoothly.

But one thing puzzled Shen Caisheng: how did Yuan Lingling know Yang Xiaoxi?

Her attitude toward Yang Xiaoxi didn’t suggest they knew each other, but that day she had asked about her, hesitating in a way that seemed odd.

Or was he just overthinking it?

Yang Xi, Yang Xiaoxi—was there a connection?

"That stubborn bastard—we’re still trying to figure out a way."

-

Yuan Lingling watched the little girl in front of her hurrying to wash the dishes and pots, and she couldn’t help but connect her to the heroine from the book.

Most of the descriptions about her in the book were positive, but Yuan Lingling couldn’t agree with some of her methods.

But now that Shen Caisheng had entrusted her to her care, she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

"Are you planning to make tofu today, or do you want to rest first?"

Yang Xiaoxi gave her a cautious look and asked, "Can I do it today?"

"Of course," Yuan Lingling said, helping her find the beans and showing her around the house, almost like a work handover. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"This is enough," Yang Xiaoxi said, her clasped fingers turning white. It wasn’t clear what she was so nervous about.

Yuan Lingling was already quite slim, but Yang Xiaoxi was even thinner. Yet her hands were slightly swollen, with clear signs of frostbite on her fingers.

Yuan Lingling didn’t say much, letting Yang Xiaoxi work in the kitchen. She went back to the room, found the hot water bottle, hesitated, then put it back in the bedside cabinet. Instead, she took out an old glass bottle, filled it with hot water, wrapped it in a bag, and returned to the kitchen.

By then, Yang Xiaoxi had soaked the soybeans and was sitting in front of the stove, lost in thought.

When she saw Yuan Lingling come in, Yang Xiaoxi quickly got up from the small stool.

"Take this," Yuan Lingling said, handing her the items.

Yang Xiaoxi hesitated for a moment, took the items, and before she could say anything, voices came from outside.

"Sister, where are you? Sister!"

Since someone was home, Shen Caisheng didn’t lock the door when he left, so someone just walked right in.

"Hey sis, making food?"

Yuan Lingling was still processing who the visitor was when they barged into the kitchen. Seeing the kitchen still warm, his eyes lit up.

The visitor was Yuan Lingling’s younger brother from the same parents, Yuan Zili.

Yuan Zili was raised by the Yuan family matriarch and took after her personality completely. He always looked down on his late mother and Yuan Lingling—basically, he was just an average guy with an inflated ego, looking down on everyone.

The only thing "self-reliant" about him was his name.

"Whoa, who’s this?" He recoiled dramatically at the sight of Yang Xiaoxi’s face, as if it were contagious.

Yang Xiaoxi quickly ducked her head, trying to cover the bruises on her face.

Yuan Lingling kicked Yuan Zili and snapped, "Mind your own business. Go talk outside."

In the past, she could only muster a little assertiveness when dealing with her brother alone, like now, but it was minimal.

The moment Yuan Zili tattled to their grandmother, she’d shrink back into her shell like a scared snail.

Yuan Zili still saw his sister as the same doormat, so the kick didn’t faze him—he just kept grinning.

He was coddled at home because of his gender and shamelessness—even she had always spoiled him, turning him into a total man-child.

"Hey sis, what’s for breakfast? I smell egg pancakes—I’m starving."

"Yeah, right. Like anyone would believe that."

Yuan Lingling didn’t want to waste her breath. She’d already made up her mind: after the divorce, she’d leave and cut ties with these relatives.

It seemed she’d even knitted him a sweater—talk about being a devoted sister.

"What do you want?"

Yuan Lingling led him to the main room, prepared some brown sugar water for him, and made a bowl for Yang Xiaoxi too.

Before she could refuse, Yuan Lingling said, "Take it to the kitchen. I need to talk to him."

He was stalling—clearly, he was up to something.

Yang Xiaoxi shot Yuan Zili a wary glance, still on edge.

She was so young but so guarded—it made you wonder what she’d been through.

"Go ahead," Yuan Lingling said, nudging her.

Once Yang Xiaoxi was out of sight, Yuan Lingling turned to Yuan Zili with a blank expression, waiting for him to speak.

Yuan Zili chuckled and pulled a few packets of medicine from the basket by the door.

He whispered, "Grandma sent this for you. Boil three bowls down to one, drink it three times a day. Three doses, and you and brother-in-law will have a chubby baby."

Yuan Lingling was stunned—she hadn’t expected this.

The faint smell of the medicine made her stomach even more uncomfortable. She leaned to the side and said, "Got it. Anything else? If not, go back first. I have guests here."

If anyone didn’t want her to leave Shen Caisheng for Xie Guanglian, it was definitely the Yuan family.

Her marriage to Shen Caisheng brought a lot of benefits to the whole Yuan family. Now, Grandma Yuan hardly comes around anymore, always sending Yuan Zili instead, all at the old lady's behest.

These folk remedies—forget about guaranteeing a big, healthy baby—she’d be lucky if they didn’t kill her.

Yuan Lingling figured her mother might have ruined her health by taking that stuff.

Looking at Yuan Zili, it was obvious he was never mistreated at home, but he stayed skinny and frail, clearly born weak. Luckily, he was spoiled at home. If he’d been like Yuan Lingling or Yang Xi, he might not have made it.

Yuan Zili finally noticed Yuan Lingling seemed a bit off and dialed back his smile. "Sis, what’s up? I wasn’t even done talking. Why’re you kicking me out?"

He hadn’t even eaten yet—how could he leave?

"Talk," Yuan Lingling said coldly.

Seeing her demeanor, Yuan Zili instinctively brought up Grandma Yuan. "Sis, don’t brush this off. Grandma went through a lot to get this. She said she’d definitely come to check."

"How’s she gonna check?"

"Well, naturally..." Yuan Zili trailed off. How would she check? He had no clue.

"Don’t sweat it. Grandma’s definitely coming. She’s been so good to you—you can’t be ungrateful, right?"

Yuan Lingling stared at him, unmoved. Finally, she said, "So you’re here to mooch, huh?"

"Sis, how can you say that?" Yuan Zili slammed the table, copying Yuan Qiang’s style to a T.

As soon as he finished, footsteps sounded. Yang Xi rushed to the doorway, fire poker in hand, ready to fight Yuan Zili to the death.

"What... what’re you doing?" Yuan Zili was clearly spooked and started stuttering.

Yang Xi almost hit him in the face with the poker. "Don’t you dare mess with anyone!"

Her voice, though sweet, didn’t sit well with Yuan Zili. He yelled, "Are you nuts? I’m her brother. How could I bully her?"

"Then why’re you shouting?"

Yuan Zili, always picking on the weak and scared of the strong, seeing Yang Xi meant business, ducked behind Yuan Lingling.

"Sis, look at her. Who’s she, acting all bossy in your house?"

Yuan Lingling glanced at him and said flatly, "This is Shen Caisheng’s guest. Didn’t you know he’s back? He’ll be here for lunch soon. You staying? If so, I’ll cook more."

"No, no," Yuan Zili gulped and said, "I’m not here to mooch. I just brought you something good. Make sure you take it."

With that, he grabbed his basket and left. Yuan Lingling wondered how Shen Caisheng’s rep could be so strong. He didn’t seem as scary as the books said, but it worked.

As Yuan Zili walked to the yard and saw his sister hadn’t reacted, he said reluctantly, "You should visit Grandma and Dad sometime. They miss you."

"I know. I’ll go back in a few days, after Shen Caisheng leaves," Yuan Lingling said offhand. Once he left, she could leave too.

She didn’t buy a word Yuan Zili said, but she still wanted to avoid trouble.

She had almost forgotten about this family. It was better to leave early. After all, the original owner was practically alone, and Shen Caisheng certainly wouldn’t suffer in front of that family.

She could even leave a runaway note for Shen Caisheng to take the lead and get back what he’d given away.

She was even considering Shen Caisheng’s interests now. Yuan Lingling smiled wryly. When she came to her senses, Yuan Zili had already left, and Yang Xi was looking at her curiously.

Yuan Lingling calmly put away her smile and was about to speak when Yang Xi pointed at the packets of medicine on the table and said excitedly, "You can’t eat these things."