"How could you have such a thought?" Jiang Yumei looked at Xu Jianguo as if she didn't recognize him, puzzled. "Do you think that Qingning will come back with you as soon as you ask?"
In her mind, Xu Qingning had already cut ties with their family and would never come back.
Strange, why doesn't Xu Jianguo think that way?
“With my son-in-law in this situation, isn’t it my duty as a father to step in and take my daughter back to her parents’ home?” Xu Jianguo was also somewhat bewildered. “Whether she comes back or not is her business. Shouldn’t we have a stance on this?”
Now, everyone in his family compound asks him a few questions whenever they see him.
If he doesn't take some action, people will think he's heartless and ungrateful.
“Okay, since you have this idea, then go find her and see if she’s willing to come back with you.” Jiang Yumei knew that if she, as the stepmother, objected, Xu Jianguo would definitely think she was mean, so why bother making a fool of herself.
Anyway, Tang Wenya has already moved back, and the original bunk bed has been replaced with a double bed. So, if Xu Qingning wants to come back, where will she stay?
The two sisters are squeezed into one bed?
“When Qingning comes back, let her stay in her old room, Wenya will stay in this room with you, and I'll sleep on the sofa.” Xu Jianguo had also thought of this issue. “Anyway, I have to work the night shift this month, so I'm not often home at night.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Wenya tomorrow and have her pack up.” Jiang Yumei looked at Xu Jianguo with great sympathy and reminded him, “If Qingning doesn’t want to come back, don’t force her. She’s quite far along in her pregnancy, so don’t get angry with her.”
"I understand." Xu Jianguo decided to go to the tenement to find Xu Qingning after get off work tomorrow, and then bring her back so that she would know that he, as her father, had always been concerned about her.
The next day, Jiang Yumei told Tang Wenya about Xu Jianguo's plan to pick up Xu Qingning.
Tang Wenya laughed upon hearing this: "My dad's thinking is so naive. Even now, he still thinks Xu Qingning will be the same as before?"
"Yes, that's what I said too, but he insisted on going to pick her up, and I couldn't very well stop him." Jiang Yumei sneered, "Don't even mention that Qingning has already fallen out with us and won't be coming back. Even if she did come back, I wouldn't want her to!"
She served her daughter willingly.
Why should I have to serve someone else's daughter?
Don't talk about treating your two daughters the same, let alone being fair to them; that's simply impossible.
Besides, no matter how good she is to Xu Qingning, Xu Qingning will never treat her as her own mother. She has been married into the family for so long, and Xu Qingning has never called her "Mom" once. Instead, she calls her "Auntie".
Sigh, being a stepmother is tough.
“Exactly, she’s not on our side, she just causes us trouble.” Tang Wenya got angry when she mentioned Xu Qingning. “If she comes back, I’ll move back immediately. I can’t live under the same roof as her.”
She's been busy with Xiao Tingshen's school start these days and hasn't had time to compete with Xu Qingning for luck.
Once she calms down, she'll discuss these matters with the system. In any case, she absolutely cannot let Xu Qingning steal her protagonist's luck.
"Don't worry, she won't come back." Jiang Yumei was very confident, a cold, sarcastic smile playing on her lips. "Only your father can't see through it, but my daughter and I can see it perfectly well."
"I think so too." Tang Wenya smiled without saying a word.
On a smaller scale, the conflict between her and Xu Qingning is that of stepsisters vying for their parents' attention and resources.
On a grander scale, her relationship with Xu Qingning is that of the female lead and the supporting female lead, vying for both luck and the ability to advance the plot.
Whoever seizes the destiny will have the power to control the world in the book, and there can only be one female lead.
Therefore, it's impossible for her and Xu Qingning to reconcile; they're bound to fight until the very end.
System: "That's right. If we fail in the finale, we will be frustrated in everything and unable to move forward. So we must compete for the female lead's luck."
If Tang Wenya fails, then as a system, it will also have no achievements.
It will lose the opportunity to choose books and instead bind to the remaining hosts chosen by other systems.
"What if Xu Qingning succeeds?" Tang Wenya asked the system curiously.
"If Xu Qingning successfully reaches the finale, she will return to her original world. However, what she doesn't know is that she will also gain the ability to choose." The system quickly searched and concluded, "In other words, she can choose to stay in the side story or she can choose to leave."
"Why wouldn't she know?" Tang Wenya asked, puzzled.
"This ability belongs to the hidden plot. The hidden plot is neither the main plot nor the side plot, so she definitely doesn't know about it." The system searched again. "Host, for Xu Qingning, once she fails, she will return to the original plot, but if she succeeds, she will face separation, because when the finale is reached, she will automatically leave the book, just like when she first came here."
Xu Qingning is an unknown character in this book; she is not a person in the book.
She cannot remain in the book.
"So, her marriage with Zhao Jingyu was nothing but a mirage, a flower in a mirror, and it wouldn't last long." Tang Wenya understood and said gloatingly, "She just left Zhao Jingyu with a child, and then Zhao Jingyu lived out his days in books with the child."
System: "Yes, if Zhao Jingyu can return safely this time, this will probably be the outcome."
It cannot retrieve hidden story content.
Xu Qingning would be even less likely to know the secret of the hidden plot. Even if she knew there was a hidden plot, she wouldn't know that once she reached the finale, she would have the ability to make choices.
Anyway, it and Tang Wenya would never tell her this secret.
Xu Qingning and Yang Yuelan had been together for several months and had developed a tacit understanding. When Zhao Futang arrived, not only Xu Qingning but also Yang Yuelan felt uncomfortable.
The reason the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were not used to it was because Zhao Futang was too diligent, even more so than Yang Yuelan.
He got up at around 5 a.m., went for a walk, and then came back to sweep the yard and prepare breakfast.
Then, he didn't rest all day. After finishing the mud stove, he started preparing to make the crib.
Xu Qingning hadn't finished drawing the design yet, so he borrowed an axe and saw from Wang Yaqiang and brought the timber back that afternoon, saying that Wang Yaqiang had taken him to the market to buy it.
Zhao Futang specially went to the market to select pine wood, saying that pine wood is sturdy and insect-resistant, making it very suitable for making a crib.
Xu Qingning was amazed by Zhao Futang's efficiency. He really did what he said he would do, and his action was outstanding. Fortunately, she was good at drawing, and she finished the drawing in an hour.
Zhao Futang looked at the blueprints and began chiseling wood with a clanging sound. Xu Qingning watched with great interest, helping him out and finding it all very novel.
Yang Yuelan would come over to check on him from time to time and would instruct him: "You have to sand down the edges and corners with sandpaper. The little baby's hands are delicate, and those little burrs can cut them."
"Don't worry about it. As the grandfather, I know better than you, the grandmother," Zhao Futang said without looking up. "I made the beds for both of my grandsons. When did it ever involve their hands? After all these years, don't you still trust me?"
Yang Yuelan glared at him and walked away.
Xu Qingning just smiled.
The elderly couple's daily bickering is quite amusing.
The pleasant atmosphere lasted until evening.
After dinner, Zhao Futang squatted on the ground in front of the kang (a heated brick bed) with sandpaper, carefully polishing the wooden strips.
Yang Yuelan sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) knitting a sweater.
Xu Qingning took a piece of cloth and stood by the kang (a heated brick bed) to cut it. It wasn't that she didn't trust her father-in-law's skills, but the baby was born in winter, and she planned to wrap the entire crib in cloth to keep it warm and look beautiful.
The three chatted casually, enjoying each other's company.
A series of footsteps sounded in the courtyard, and Xu Jianguo came in, carrying some fruit.
Zhao Futang and Yang Yuelan immediately put down what they were doing and warmly invited him to the living room for tea.
Xu Qingning was speechless.
Continue cutting with the scissors.
Xu Jianguo came here specifically to cause them trouble, didn't he?
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