"Not yet."
Seeing Lin Qiao’s mysterious look, she chuckled and said, "What’s up, found a suitable girl?"
"Yes, it’s you!" Mrs. Xu Liu winked.
Suitable girl: "..."
"Don’t joke like that, my little uncle is grown now, if he hears, it won’t be good."
It was fine to joke about this a few years ago, but now that the kid is older, he has his own opinions and might get offended easily.
If he actually thought she was after sothing, that wouldn’t be good.
"I don’t believe you haven’t noticed, your little uncle probably likes you," Mrs. Xu Liu teased.
Lin Qiao had heard this at least ten tis, and she helplessly raised her hand and promised, "Really, no way, my little uncle has soone he likes, and he’ll bring her ho for us to et in a few days."
"Really or not?"
Mrs. Xu Liu thought it shouldn’t be, Song Tingfan’s reaction was as if he had feelings for her before, and now it was even more obvious.
"Really, t her at the border, her family runs a noodle stall."
As soon as Lin Qiao finished speaking, Mrs. Xu Liu gave her a playful glance, and said disdainfully, "You believe that nonsense? Where would there be a noodle stall at the border, unless you go into the city."
"Speaking of noodle stalls, aren’t you running one?"
Lin Qiao’s expression froze at Mrs. Xu Liu’s point, and her mind sobered up, realizing that indeed, there wouldn’t be noodle stalls at the border, except in the city, but naturally, one couldn’t go to the city every day.
Song Tingfan might be naïve, but he wouldn’t trust people easily, how could he develop feelings for a girl so easily?
She suddenly rembered last night when he said "as long as you like it," why he said "as long as you like it" to her...
She clutched her chest, shaking her head to dismiss those unbearable thoughts.
No, no, no, impossible, she was definitely overthinking.
She denied it, "You’re overthinking it, nothing like that."
"You don’t believe it? I bet you, your little uncle has feelings for you."
Mrs. Xu Liu sensed her resistance and asked in confusion, "Not willing?"
She couldn’t understand why she wasn’t willing; this should be a good match.
Lin Qiao quickly waved her hand, "It’s not about being willing or not, it’s just absolutely not possible."
She couldn’t handle it.
Anyone suddenly turning from a side character into the main character would be overwheld.
No, it wasn’t that she couldn’t handle it, she was almost terrified.
If she raised the antagonist to beco as Mrs. Xu Liu guessed...
She might as well find a tree and hang herself right there.
...
Coming out of the fabric shop, Song Tingfan noticed Lin Qiao was sowhat absent-minded, and when he saw her wiping her face with a table cleaning rag, he reached out to take it away and handed her a clean cloth.
"What’s wrong? Did sothing happen?"
Lin Qiao glanced at the cloth, took a mont to react, and ca back to her senses, "Nothing." While speaking, she observed him with her peripheral vision, his expression was natural, not suspicious.
Oh dear, don’t overthink it.
After repeating it three tis in her mind, she scooped water to wet the cloth and washed her face, "Little uncle, I’ll go book a room for you at the inn later."
What Mrs. Xu Liu said today made her realize that she and Song Tingfan weren’t related by blood, even if she actually treated him like a "child," there needed to be so distance.
Sleeping in the sa room was definitely out of the question now.
Song Tingfan paused his hand holding the cleaning rag, but quickly returned to normal, "Isn’t there a bed in the attic? If it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll just put a wooden partition."
Lin Qiao couldn’t say that outright, feeling a bit distant, she pretended to casually say, "It’s not that, the bed in the attic is too small, you’ll be uncomfortable sleeping there."
"No, it’s much better than the border."
"Now that you’re back, sleep comfortably, the family isn’t short of a little silver money."
"Then we’ll go together."
"Hmm?"
"Living alone is wasteful, we can go together."
Lin Qiao coughed twice, looked up at him, he seed serious, as if he genuinely thought it was wasteful.
"It’s not wasteful, you go, I’m used to sleeping in the attic."
Song Tingfan was no longer the teenager from three years ago, she pushed him to sleep at the inn so insistently, surely knowing she was avoiding him.
Probably Mrs. Xu Liu said sothing.
He wasn’t afraid, on the contrary, it was better for Lin Qiao to know...
He quietly clenched the sleeves hanging at his sides, turned his head away from her, "Go together or not at all," he said and went inside to change into the new clothes he bought.
Lin Qiao: "..."
She couldn’t even argue with the antagonist now.
The shop opened again at noon, but there were no cakes, only noodle dishes and the like for sale.
Business was pretty good; just at noon there was inco of half a tael of silver, but business in the evening was a bit slow with only four or five people eating.
Lin Qiao put away the uncooked noodles, stored them in a water jar to keep cool, then turned to look at the man rolling up his sleeves to wash dishes, "Little uncle, want to eat fish? I’ll go across the street to get so."
"I’ll go buy it." Song Tingfan washed the last dish and wiped his hands with a cloth.
"Let go, I’m more familiar, won’t be cheated."
After saying that, Lin Qiao walked out. At the fish stall across the street, only a six or seven-year-old boy was watching it, and upon seeing it was her, he glared and said fiercely, "Not selling, not selling!"
"Not selling? If you don’t sell, I’ll spank your bottom." Lin Qiao threatened him with a smile.
This kid was a troublemaker; last year, he followed a few other kids to cause trouble at her shop, and after warning them a couple of tis to no avail, she singled out this "monkey" and spanked him.
That’s the kid she spanked.
Upon hearing this, the little boy took a few steps back, "Bad person! I’ll tell my dad about you."
Lin Qiao wasn’t afraid of him telling on her, otherwise, she wouldn’t have spanked him; she had leverage over him.
She glanced around and didn’t see his dad, "Go ahead, tell him, and I’ll tell your dad you stole my cake when he returns."
Seeing he was silent, she pointed at the fish, "Give a four or five-jin fish."
The little boy, afraid of her telling on him, reluctantly picked out a fish for her and was about to cheat her by two taels when he heard her add, "If it’s off weight, I’ll tell your dad you stole my cake."
He glared at her, then adjusted the weight to be more accurate, "Four jin and one tael."
Seeing his puffed-up expression, Lin Qiao was amused, these mischievous kids really needed to be disciplined.
She counted out nine cents for him, unable to resist teasing, "Next ti rember to listen to your sister, or I’ll spank your bottom again."
"Go away, you’re so annoying." The little boy raised his hand as if to hit her.
"You hit and I’ll scream, and when your dad cos back, he’ll beat you."
Seeing the boy was almost in tears, she decided to stop teasing him, happily turning around with the fish, only to freeze when she noticed the man standing just a few steps away, "..."
She awkwardly said, "Little uncle."
Oh no, when did he show up?
It was the first ti Song Tingfan had seen her "threaten" a kid, he chuckled, "Just got here."
Clearly, he hadn’t just gotten there.
Lin Qiao: "..."
She touched the tip of her nose, explaining, "This kid is mischievous, often causing trouble at my shop, so I scared him a little."
Song Tingfan took the fish from her hand, "Hmm, he does need so discipline."
Noticing he showed no extra emotions, Lin Qiao breathed a sigh of relief, and the next mont, she heard him say, "In the future, you’ll be easy to rely on for raising kids."
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