Back in the courtyard house, she was covered in sweat. As soon as she reached the attic area in the backyard, she saw Wang Xinian, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

“My stepmother asked me to come and make lunch for you. She said you just got out of the hospital and need to rest more,” he explained as soon as he saw Shen Mingzhi.

"I told you to focus on your studies," Shen Mingzhi said, carrying the children into the house, her tone devoid of emotion.

The last time he came over, he was beaten up for no reason. Shen Mingzhi warned him that no matter what happened to her, he should ignore it and just focus on his studies.

Wang Xinian instinctively noticed that she looked unhappy.

Jiang Shaozhen came over last night. He had heard about him from Wang Wu, who guessed that he was Shen Mingzhi's man.

Shen Mingzhi doesn't seem to have a good relationship with her husband either. Do the couple always quarrel?

The stepmother and stepfather, and the father and mother, would argue from time to time, but whenever the father got angry, both the stepmother and the mother would fall silent.

“I can get into the school you mentioned,” he said calmly in front of the coal stove. “Take a break, I’ll cook for you.”

Shen Mingzhi carried Niannian and Zhouzhou into the house, lifted them out of the bamboo basket and placed them on the bed, then turned on the electric fan.

"Exams aren't something you can guarantee you'll pass just because you're confident. The questions are always changing." Shen Mingzhi wiped her sweat with a towel and fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan in her other hand.

Her cheeks were flushed, with a few strands of hair clinging to them.

Wang Xinian hummed in agreement. After starting the fire, he tossed a few small pieces of wood into the stove and then added honeycomb briquettes. "Last night, Wang Wu said you came back with a young man. Is he your man?"

Shen Mingzhi was surprised that he would care about her private affairs. She sighed and said with a smile, "What manly talk? He's useless when it really matters."

Wang Xinian didn't say anything more.

He actually hated the role of father, whether it was his stepmother's husband or his own father. When things were good, he was relatively kind to them, but when things were bad, he would curse and grumble, always with a stern face, looking at everyone in the family as if they were debt collectors.

He guessed that Shen Mingzhi's man was also that kind of person.

After lunch, just as Shen Mingzhi was about to brew the medicine, Jiang Shaozhen arrived.

When he arrived, he came face to face with Wang Xinian.

Shen Mingzhi was tidying up the herbs in the basket. When she saw Jiang Shaozhen coming over, she didn't speak to him but continued with her own work.

Wang Xinian, who was about to leave, turned back and called out to Shen Mingzhi, "Sister, let me help you stay up. You should take a nap. You carried the two children to the hospital this morning and walked all the way back. Your legs must be tired."

Jiang Shaozhen could tell that the young man was speaking to him.

He felt guilty. At five o'clock in the morning, two guards entered his house and took him in for questioning... He was only just released now, so he rushed here to explain to Shen Mingzhi.

"It's alright, go read your book, go on, be good." Shen Mingzhi thanked Wang Xinian for speaking for her, so her tone softened.

Since they were both beaten last time, Wang Xinian is not as cold towards her as before.

He would never have come here if we hadn't called him before; he's very well-behaved.

Wang Xinian glanced at Jiang Shaochen, who was staring at him, scrutinized him with his dark eyes for a while, and then left in a ghostly manner.

Jiang Shaochen didn't like the aura that Wang Xinian exuded. He could tell at a glance that he had a lot on his mind. Such people are often deep in thought and have rather stubborn personalities.

After he left, Jiang Shaozhen walked up to Shen Mingzhi, whose expression was indifferent, and said, "I was taken away by the guards this morning and didn't have time to tell my parents or you."

Upon hearing the word "guard," Shen Mingzhi felt a pang of worry, but her expression remained calm. "Oh, you probably haven't eaten yet. Go back and eat first; I'm out of food here."

Jiang Shaozhen knew she was blaming him, so he took two steps forward and said apologetically, "I'll cook it for you, you go and rest."

"Do you think brewing medicine is simple? You don't know how, and if you ruin it, all my hard work will be for nothing," Shen Mingzhi said irritably.

Jiang Shaozhen felt guilty on one hand, and cared a lot about Wang Xinian on the other.

He didn't even know what his relationship with Shen Mingzhi was or when they met.

At least Shen Xiuzhu knew that Shen Mingzhi wanted to make money off him. But this young man, who seemed to have a lot on his mind, exuded a strange aura, and his heavy heart made Jiang Shao Chen very uneasy.

"Who was that young man just now?" He walked to the small stool and sat down, his body stiff and his hands on his knees unconsciously tightening.

Shen Mingzhi glanced at him. "He's a student I sponsor, but he's Wang's son, and I promised Wang that I would take good care of him. Why are you asking this? Let me tell you, he's preparing for the college entrance exam right now, so don't bother him."

Hearing her defend Wang Xinian like that, Jiang Shaochen felt uneasy.

“It’s not easy for you to earn money, so I’ll sponsor him.” He didn’t want a man with such a deep relationship with Shen Mingzhi to be living in her home.

In this day and age, a man who can't afford to go to school might be given financial assistance by a beautiful woman like her. Who knows what kind of bad intentions he might have?

“Given your current situation, you’re still sponsoring him? What if he happens to need you urgently someday, but you’re delayed by something else?” Shen Mingzhi said, then carried the herbs into the house.

Just then, Niannian woke up and started whimpering and crying in the room.

Jiang Shaozhen followed her into the house. Shen Mingzhi's words left him speechless. They had made an appointment today, but he hadn't even shown up. And to make matters worse, he couldn't tell Shen Mingzhi what he had been asked.

“I’ll comfort them,” Jiang Shaozhen said to Shen Mingzhi, who was holding Niannian, as he walked to the bedside.

Shen Mingzhi silently handed the child to him, and just as she was about to speak, she heard a soft "plop" sound.

Niannian pulled her pants.

"There's water in the thermos, wash them and change their diapers." Shen Mingzhi was angry that he had stood her up today, and was deliberately making things difficult for him.

"Okay." Jiang Shaozhen had no idea what was so difficult about changing diapers.

He put Niannian on the bed and went to get the bathtub.

Shen Mingzhi sat at the table, where several herbs she had brought in were laid out. She took some according to the prescribed ratio, rolled them up, and instructed Jiang Shaozhen, "There's wood ash in the dustpan next to the broom by the door. Take a bucket and put it there, then take Niannian outside and throw her used diaper into the bucket. There's toilet paper on the bedside table; take some with you and keep it on you so you can use it to wipe her bottom when you change her diaper."

Jiang Shaozhen kept it in mind and busied himself with tasks.

He carried Niannian to the winnowing basket, and as soon as he helped her take off her pants, he smelled a very pungent stench.

I couldn't help but cough twice.

Shen Mingzhi burst out laughing inside the room.