Wan Tong is now covered in wounds, and she has never done anything out of line, so after she finished speaking, the faces of the three Brothers changed slightly, and they understood what was going on. Youngest Sister must be lying.
Yan Wan’ying looked at everyone’s accusing eyes, but reflexively shook her head and continued to deny, “I didn’t, Fourth Sister, how could you treat me like this?”
“…Youngest Sister, what are you saying?” Wan Tong looked confused, her face pale under the dim yellow light.
Eldest Brother Yan pulled Yan Wan’ying up and said, “Youngest Sister, come with me.”
Eldest Brother Yan, being big in size, took the stumbling Yan Wan’ying out directly.
Third Brother Yan glanced in the direction of the door, then comforted Wan Tong before following them out.
“Second Brother, what happened exactly? Did Youngest Sister come back alone? Did Xu Jie trouble her?”
“Don’t worry, she’s fine,” Second Brother said in a somewhat heavy tone.
“Second Brother, Xu Jie is the classmate I mentioned to you last time. Everyone said he intentionally deceived people to work in the city, but actually, he was doing dirty business.”
Upon hearing her words, Second Brother also recalled that she did mention such a classmate from the neighboring village to him before. But he hadn’t paid much attention before because he knew she wouldn’t be deceived into working.
So, Youngest Sister really lied to them.
Tongtong didn’t elope with Xu Jie. The truth was that Youngest Sister wanted to go work with him. Tongtong tried to stop her but accidentally got pushed down the hill. Instead of seeking help or informing them for rescue, she concealed the incident and even lied to them!
Youngest Sister went too far this time. Previously, she was just spoiled and threw tantrums, but this time it involved her sister’s life! And yet, she remained indifferent?!
“Sss…” As her body warmed up, the pain became more apparent. The wounds cleaned by Second Brother sent a fiercer sting. Wan Tong couldn’t help but gasp.
Second Brother came back to his senses and immediately lightened his touch. “You don’t need to worry about Youngest Sister’s matter anymore. It’s fortunate you didn’t get seriously hurt, otherwise…”
Wan Tong pursed her lips, lowered her head, and whispered softly, “As long as Youngest Sister is okay.”
Second Brother, hearing her voice, felt both helpless and angry. He was angry at Youngest Sister’s impulsiveness and cold-heartedness but didn’t want Wan Tong to know about it, lest she would be saddened.
As he cleaned the wound on Wan Tong’s forehead, he noticed a scar running from the corner of her eye to her cheek, which made his expression even more serious.
That scar was left three years ago when she was still studying in the town. She was a little late coming back from school one day, and it was already dark. She happened to encounter a group of people fighting with knives on the way home, and she was caught in it, coming home covered in blood, frightening the whole family.
Since then, Tongtong had become quiet and sensitive. Actually, if she had tried a little, Dad would definitely have let her go to high school. But she was too self-conscious at that time. After barely finishing junior high, she never mentioned anything about school again.
He really cared about this little sister.
Wan Tong faintly heard Yan Wan’ying’s crying outside the courtyard, but she was feeling dizzy at the moment and couldn’t hold on for long. She was supported back to the room by Second Brother.
Shortly after, Yan Wan’ying entered the room with red eyes, holding a basin of hot water, looking somewhat resentful.
But according to the instructions of her Brothers, she helped Wan Tong change clothes and then helped Wan Tong clean up a bit.
Otherwise, she might not be able to fit in this family.
Wan Tong was drowsy and was given another bowl of medicine to drink. The bitter taste filled her mouth. Her Second Brother always liked to mess around with herbal medicine. She had been drinking it since she was little, so she was used to it.
She slept until dawn and woke up to see Yan Wan’ying sleeping soundly on the opposite bed.
They shared a room. They used to sleep in the same bed, but after Yan Wan’ying entered junior high school, she insisted on having her own bed, so they slept separately.
The room was small and poorly ventilated. The two beds were squeezed together, leaving only a small aisle in between. The corners were piled with various items, making it look like a storeroom.
After getting up, Wan Tong felt an itch in her throat, as if she wanted to cough. She got up and left the room, taking a small mirror the size of a palm with her.
She lifted the long fringe on the right side of her face and looked at it. She couldn’t help but cry at her own ugliness.
There was already a raised pink scar, and now there was another wound with a blood clot on her forehead, making her even uglier.
However, her skin was fair and she usually cared a lot about her face, so she had no pores or acne, and her skin texture was quite good.
The Yan family was known for their good looks, and her face was pretty, except for the scars which were quite frightening.
After letting down her right fringe, although it covered the scar, it made her look very depressed and gloomy.
[Tongtong, this world’s appearance is the ugliest for you…] Even Shishi couldn’t help but ridicule.
Wan Tong was speechless and choked up. Was she really so ugly? Did the boss really like her? Was his taste in beauty not flawed?
[Can I get better?] Wan Tong adjusted her fringe to cover the right side of her face, leaving only one eye visible. She felt a bit weird with her vision, but it made her look better.
[With the current medical technology, it’s a bit difficult, and the Yan family doesn’t have the money for your surgery.] Shishi paused for a moment, then added, [But you can rely on Shishi.]
Wan Tong suddenly remembered something, [What’s Yan Qinglu’s favorability value towards Yan Wan’ying?]
[20.]
[Oh, that’s quite high.]
Wan Tong looked through all of Shishi’s skill lists.
Surprisingly, there was a ‘beauty skill.’ She asked in amazement, [After Yan Qinglu’s affection for the Raider drops to a negative value, this skill can be used? Can it make my face better?]
Which girl doesn’t care about her face? The two scars were indeed too ugly.
[Yes, so does Tongtong want to cause trouble?] Shishi’s tone inexplicably became more excited.
[No, I’m not someone who stirs up trouble for no reason.] Wan Tong ran her fingers through her hair and threw the mirror back into the room.
It was still early, she only woke up because of her biological clock. According to her routine, she was going to feed the pigs, ducks, and cows at home, but she found out that her Third Brother had already done it and was urging her to eat first.
In the iron pot on the stove, Wan Tong found a bowl of warm porridge with egg drops1 floating on top.
She thought of her Third Brother’s winking and proud expression just now and chuckled lightly. Third brother was famously stingy, especially thrifty to the point of being harsh. He would even try to save on breakfast if possible. Yet, surprisingly, he had made her a porridge with egg this morning2.
There wasn’t much for Wan Tong to do normally, especially in the depths of winter. The villagers were mostly idle, either staying at home or finding odd jobs in town.
After finishing her meal, Wan Tong slipped out of the door, holding a dog called Da Huang3 in her hand and driving a group of ducks ahead of her…
These were the animals she had raised at home since she stopped going to school. She was responsible for their daily food, to avoid adding extra expenses to the household.
However, the ducks eventually laid eggs, occasionally adding duck eggs to the household’s meals. Yet, she never allowed her brothers to touch her ducks, even when Yan Wan’ying cried for meat. She never softened.
Datang Village was located in the southern region, where it hadn’t snowed for several years. Today, the weather was exceptionally good, with the warm sun shining down.
Yan Qinglu’s house was quite far from hers. The one-story house had been renovated, with a fence surrounding it.
When Wan Tong passed by, she kept looking at that door. She actually wanted to thank him, considering she hadn’t had the chance to say anything last night.
And she seemed to have angered him.
Da Huang felt Wan Tong’s pace slowing down and turned back to bark at her a few times, *Woof, woof, woof!*
With Da Huang’s bark, the nine ducks in front of it also quacked in response!
Wan Tong was about to look away when she suddenly saw the door in the courtyard open.
Yan Qinglu was tall, and the door was a bit low. He had to lower his head to walk out. His sharp black eyes stared straight at her.
He seemed to have just gotten up. As if not bothered by the cold at all, he was dressed lightly, squinting his eyes as he walked out.
His hair was all tousled, looking somewhat ridiculous, but his high facial features saved his appearance from being comical.
Wan Tong suddenly met his smiling yet not smiling face, her heart skipping a beat, especially with Da Huang pulling her forward.
“Da Huang, don’t run…” She hurriedly spoke, trying to stop it, but her petite frame, injured last night, lacked the strength to control it. She could only be pulled forward by it.
Wan Tong felt like crying but had no tears. She must look ridiculous now, especially being completely observed by Yan Qinglu.
She gritted her teeth and could only slip away for now.
When Yan Qinglu reached the roadside, he only saw the gray figure being pulled by Da Huang.
“Tsk…” He smirked, then turned and walked back.
Wan Tong sat by the small river in Datang Village for a while. She deliberately chose a place where no one would come, so it was quiet.
At noon, Wan Tong called out to Da Huang a few times, and Da Huang led back a group of ducks swaying their hips.
Her ducks didn’t listen to her, but they listened to Da Huang.
After Wan Tong brought Da Huang and the ducks back to the yard, Yan Wan’ying woke up. By this time, Eldest Brother and Second Brother Yan had returned from town.
Second Brother was afraid of leaving a scar on Wan Tong’s forehead, so he dared not easily apply medicine to her. He bought some medicine, claiming it could heal without leaving a scar.
Wan Tong naturally didn’t believe it, but she obediently applied the ointment.
Yan Wan’ying cried until her eyes were swollen, but her three brothers still hadn’t forgiven her. She could only cling to Wan Tong.
But she didn’t dare to mention what happened last night.
She kept silent, but Wan Tong brought it up, right in front of her brothers, telling her to be careful of Xu Jie and not to be deceived by him in the future.
At the dinner table, the three brothers all frowned and glared at Yan Wan’ying.
Yan Wan’ying gritted her teeth and nodded, feeling even more resentful towards Wan Tong in her heart.
—Wasn’t she supposed to be dead? How did she suddenly appear and make the brothers disappointed in me, causing me so much trouble!
After lunch, Yan Wan’ying left the house.
Wan Tong was forced to rest at home by Second Brother. After waking up from a nap, she was told by Shishi, [Yan Qinglu’s favorability towards Yan Wan’ying has increased by 5.]
[What did Yan Wan’ying do?] Wan Tong hurriedly got up, feeling frustrated. She had just taken a nap, so how come the boss easily increased the favorability…
Wan Tong rushed out wearing a padded coat. After hearing Shishi’s words, she became even more anxious. Yan Wan’ying had taken one of her ducks and given it to Yan Qinglu!
[Ah! My little duck!] Wan Tong felt heartbroken.
[…Tongtong, I thought you were in a hurry because of the boss.]
[My little duck is also my life.]
[…]
After staying in the yard for a while where the ducks were kept, Wan Tong indeed found that one of the ducklings hatched half a month ago was missing. So she angrily went out.
It seemed that Yan Wan’ying had a lot of contact with Yan Qinglu, purely because the Yan family were all suckers for looks, and Yan Wan’ying was quite open-minded. After entering high school, she became particularly infatuated with his face, often chasing after Yan Qinglu almost every day for a period of time, and even secretly giving him gifts. Of course, she didn’t dare to tell her family about it. Wan Tong had seen it a few times, but she didn’t comment on it.
In the morning, when Wan Tong passed by the boss’s house, she also thought about whether to give a duck as a token of gratitude, but she couldn’t bear to do it in the end…
And now, the Raider also used this tactic, directly giving Wan Tong’s duck away to please the big boss.
Naturally, Wan Tong was both heartbroken and anxious.
Author’s note :
Tongtong biting her fingers : …Give me back my duckling.
- like in the egg drops soup ↩︎
- in that era, eggs are quite a luxury for people in villages ↩︎
- literally means “Big Yellow” ↩︎