Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 126 - 121: Fell Asleep While Earning Favor Points

Chapter 126: Chapter 121: Fell Asleep While Earning Favor Points

For the New Year’s meal, the family was to sit together, so Lin Han pushed two tables together to form one, and halved the flame from the stove, placing it under the table.

Of course, they invited Song Qin and Song Rong to sit up top, but Song Rong and Song Qin were embarrassed, as it seemed inappropriate to sit in the seat of honor in someone else’s home. Song Rong wanted to stand up, "Qiao’er’s father, you should sit instead."

Lin Han chuckled and waved his hand, "Uncle Song, you sit. I’m the junior; I’ll sit to the side. Don’t be shy; we’re all family."

Li Guifen chimed in, "Yes, Uncle Song and Aunt Song, you sit."

Then she invited the others to sit down as well.

Out of the corner of his eye, Song Tingfan kept glancing at his sister-in-law. Wherever she sat, he would obediently follow and sit there, which Lin Qiao was accustomed to and didn’t think much of.

However, Lin Sheng laughed and called him over, "Tingfan, come sit with us and have a drink or two."

Song Tingfan quickly shook his head and said obediently, "Brother, I won’t drink."

"Uncle can’t handle alcohol well; he gets drunk easily," Lin Qiao explained on his behalf.

With that, Lin Sheng and the others didn’t press further.

The women finished eating quite quickly, while the men took to chatting with a few drinks, appearing slightly tipsy.

As darkness enveloped the area and the main room became hard to see, Li Guifen lit an oil lamp. After a while, she couldn’t help but interject, "Qiao’er, you should take your grandpa and grandma home first. Your dad and brother seem like they might go on drinking all night."

Lin Qiao noticed that Song Rong and Song Qin looked a bit tired, so she nodded, and then the four of them returned home with a Lin family oil lamp in hand.

Tomorrow is the New Year festival, and according to customs, one should stay up all night tonight. Lin Qiao told Song Qin and Song Rong to go to sleep; she and Song Tingfan would keep watch.

Song Qin and Song Rong didn’t insist, and they went inside to sleep.

Thinking there was no door in the main room, Lin Qiao decided to keep watch in the room and looked at Song Tingfan, who was tending the stove. "Uncle, should we keep watch inside? It’s too cold here."

Song Tingfan nodded, "Sister-in-law, in your room?"

"Anywhere is fine." Lin Qiao took a small dustpan to gather up the work and then went to the kitchen to fetch a pot of water.

The room was lit by an oil lamp given by the Lin family. The young man had laid a layer of clothing on the stool to keep his bottom from freezing. Seeing her come in, he quickly took the small dustpan and placed it on the table, then pointed to the stool with the clothes on it, "Sister-in-law, you sit there."

"What about you?" Lin Qiao noticed the other stool didn’t have a layer of clothes.

Song Tingfan shook his head, "Sister-in-law, I’m not afraid of the cold."

"Even if you’re not afraid, you need a cushion, or else you’ll catch a cold..."

Lin Qiao stopped herself at "catch" to avoid saying anything unlucky before the New Year. She turned to a chest, pulled out an old jacket, and laid it on the stool, gesturing for him to sit.

Song Tingfan hesitated for a moment before patting his own bottom and sitting down.

"Uncle, what time is it now?" Lin Qiao popped a piece of candy into her mouth.

Song Tingfan replied, "Just past 7 p.m., one more hour until the New Year."

That meant they had about two hours left. Lin Qiao pondered what to do, thinking it would be boring for the two of them to just sit around doing nothing.

She couldn’t come up with anything interesting to do on such a late night.

Suddenly, something was offered to her. The young man’s low voice carried a hint of warmth in the night, "Sister-in-law, have some."

It was two pieces of flower cake, slightly crumbled.

Lin Qiao was surprised, "Uncle, didn’t you eat any?"

"I saved it for you," Song Tingfan said, scratching his head shyly.

The flickering candlelight highlighted the cake, and for a moment, Lin Qiao was moved. Song Tingfan’s kindness toward her, as his sister-in-law, was pure and without any hidden motives.

Song Qin and Song Rong were kind to her too, but that was based on her being good to Song Tingfan.

She softly asked, "Uncle, why did you save it for me?"

"Because sister-in-law likes it." He responded instinctively, without thinking.

"Just because I like it, you saved it for me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because sister-in-law is good."

Lin Qiao felt a bit guilty, knowing her kindness towards him was mostly due to her desire to survive. Her thoughts grew complicated for a moment, but she soon put it aside.

As long as she acted sincerely, her intentions seemed genuine.

If she didn’t say anything, who would know?

She snapped off a piece for him, "Uncle, let’s share it; you must eat yours, or I won’t eat mine either."

Song Tingfan hesitated, then took the piece with one hand while holding out the other hand to catch any crumbs. Watching his sister-in-law take a bite, he followed suit.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room felt warm and cozy.

The heat from the stove made the room a bit warm. As the warmth took over, drowsiness followed. Lin Qiao rested her head on her hands, gradually closing her eyes.

Song Tingfan instinctively softened his breathing. Thinking of something, he carefully stood up and draped a piece of clothing over her shoulders.

Lin Qiao was already leaning on the table, her profile bathed in the firelight, looking somewhat tender and naive.

Song Tingfan stared, motionless, his gaze pure and simply wanting to watch his sister-in-law.

His eyes slowly curved into a gentle smile. Until quarter past midnight, his gaze never wavered.

Every year, the Fan family and the village chief set off firecrackers at this time, and this year was no exception. A "crackle" sound echoed throughout the village.

Lin Qiao awoke with a start, her body shivering slightly. As her vision cleared, she realized she had fallen asleep and sheepishly looked at Song Tingfan, "Is it the New Year?"

She regretted dozing off while trying to score "affection points" with him.

Unbeknownst to her, she had indeed gained those points even in her sleep.

Song Tingfan quickly averted his eyes, "Yes."

"Uncle, Happy New Year!"

Lin Qiao hurried to make up for it, getting up to fetch the prepared New Year gifts and a red envelope. "I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I bought a pair of boots."

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Song Tingfan happily accepted the gift, then shyly took out a hairpin from his chest, "It’s a bit ugly."

It was obviously handmade by him.

The hairpin was made of wood, shaped like a lotus, similar to one she bought previously but with some added tassels.

It was quite pretty.

Lin Qiao accepted it with a smile, immediately pinning it into her hair, "Not ugly at all; it’s beautiful, even better than the last one I bought."

"Uncle, does it look good on me?"

Seeing his sister-in-law like the hairpin he made, Song Tingfan beamed, "It’s beautiful. I’ll make more for you in the future."

"Okay." Lin Qiao smiled, not taking it too seriously.

...

Before dawn, Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan headed to town with some small items. Thanks to Song Tingfan’s previous experience selling, they found a spot for their stall without issue.

To make the items look appealing, Lin Qiao specifically used a pure blue cloth from home to cover the stall. Of course, she laid an old cloth underneath first.

The two of them neatly arranged everything. It wasn’t long before children came to buy, likely having just received their New Year’s red envelopes.

The items were inexpensive, costing only five or six cents, so many adults, in the spirit of the holiday, generously bought them without bargaining.

Before noon, everything was sold out, totaling 500 cents. Lin Qiao and Song Tingfan were both delighted. Lin Qiao carefully put away the silver coins and couldn’t help but praise Song Tingfan, "Uncle, you’re really capable."

She thought once again, if the antagonist hadn’t abandoned her original self, the terrible events that followed might not have happened. Perhaps he would have married and had children, living a harmonious and beautiful life.