The middle-aged woman’s ill intentions were not present from the beginning; they emerged only after Qiao’s adoptive father brought out some alcohol.
Was it because she realized Tina’s family was wealthy, and thus she began to have certain thoughts?
Xia Yu couldn’t be sure. Reality isn’t fiction, where only one influencing factor exists. Perhaps she felt that from the moment she entered until now, Tina hadn’t addressed her, which was impolite.
Putting this question aside for now, Xia Yu saw Qiao’s adoptive father excitedly approach the white-haired elderly woman and grab her hands to catch up.
It seemed that although they had lost contact recently, they had previously been very close.
Xia Yu observed this elderly woman, Qiao’s adoptive father’s aunt. She was probably in her seventies or eighties, slightly plump, with a kind face and fairly energetic—at the very least, more energetic than many young people today.
What surprised Xia Yu more was the woman’s appearance. Xia Yu had originally assumed that Qiao’s adoptive father’s relatives were white, but instead, this woman showed no Caucasian features whatsoever.
Perhaps she was mixed-race, with the East Asian genes dominating her appearance.
Upon first seeing Qiao’s adoptive father, the elderly woman seemed momentarily stunned. After he clarified his identity, a smile appeared on her face, and she began chatting with him.
At this moment, two more people came downstairs: a teenage boy around sixteen or seventeen, and a girl about thirteen or fourteen.
They were the children of the middle-aged woman.
The group sat down on the sofa. The middle-aged woman poured tea, everyone introduced themselves briefly, and then the group watched Qiao’s adoptive father and his aunt chat.
The boy named Qiao Yang and the girl named Qiao Ting soon showed signs of impatience.
The elderly woman quickly suggested that the two go play with Tina, so they wouldn’t have to sit there any longer.
“Mom, give me a hundred. I want to go out with my friends this weekend,” Qiao Yang said to the middle-aged woman.
“All you know is play, play, play! Here’s ten—no more!” The middle-aged woman handed him ten dollars.
Qiao Yang was visibly unhappy. He snatched the money and stormed upstairs. Xia Yu followed Qiao Ting upstairs and watched TV.
An hour later, downstairs, Qiao’s adoptive father and the elderly woman finished catching up. He came upstairs, took Xia Yu, and left.
In the car on the way back, Qiao’s adoptive father asked Xia Yu, “How did you get along with Qiao Qiao?”
“In this region, the surname comes first. You should have said Ting Ting.” Xia Yu first corrected Qiao’s adoptive father before answering, “So-so.”
Although Qiao Ting had been with him, Xia Yu hadn’t sensed any kindness from her. Likewise, there was no kindness from Qiao Yang either.
Xia Yu wasn’t surprised that Qiao Ting showed no kindness, but Qiao Yang’s lack of kindness puzzled him a little.
After all, he was currently using Tina’s body—a cute little blonde girl with blue eyes!
To show indifference to such a body, could Qiao Yang possibly be gay?
Bent that young?
“Then, how about I let you go there when I go to work and pick you up after work?” Qiao’s adoptive father revealed his intention.
“No.” Xia Yu refused.
He didn’t like people without kindness, let alone the middle-aged woman, who carried malice—though not strong, probably just enough to cause minor troubles.
Except for the elderly woman, who showed some kindness after recognizing Qiao’s adoptive father, none of the rest of that family were good people.
Tina was still young; if anything happened, she would easily be mistreated.
“How is that not good?” Qiao’s adoptive father thought Tina was just afraid of unfamiliar places. “That grandma raised me. You can rest assured; she will definitely take good care of you.”
So that’s why she was so important—because she had raised him.
By the way, since she was Qiao’s adoptive father’s relative, she should have lived decently in the Second District. Yet now, in the First District, they lived in a village within the city… Wait, though it’s a village, it’s located in Yaoguang, and the price is still high.
Once it gets demolished, money will pour in. But when that will happen, or whether it will even happen in their lifetime, remains unknown.
There seemed to be no male head of the household in that house.
After considering other possibilities, Xia Yu answered Qiao’s adoptive father, “I don’t like it there. Just let me stay in the apartment and read or watch TV.”
“I know you like being alone, Tina, but I’m worried about you. What if something happens? You’d be unsafe alone,” Qiao’s adoptive father continued persuading.
“I don’t want to go.” Xia Yu’s tone was firm. He was certain that if Tina went there, it would only bring trouble, not happiness.
“Don’t be stubborn. Don’t worry, you can bring Miao Miao with you,” Qiao’s adoptive father added.
“No.” Xia Yu used a single, short word to express his determination.
“You’re going whether you like it or not.” Qiao’s adoptive father firmly believed his choice was correct. He didn’t know that inside Tina’s body was Xia Yu, so he couldn’t accept the girl staying home alone all day.
Xia Yu sighed and looked at Qiao’s adoptive father helplessly: “In movies, people who do this usually get killed.”
“What?” Qiao’s adoptive father didn’t understand Xia Yu’s reference.
When someone doesn’t want to go somewhere, claiming a bad feeling, but the other person insists on dragging them along, it’s a classic horror movie plot. The person dragging the other usually ends up dead nine times out of ten.
“Nothing.” Xia Yu didn’t explain. He could only visit Tina more often in the days to come.
That wasn’t bad either. He could teach Tina Chinese, bond with her emotionally, and eventually persuade the girl to come over and work for him.
However, staying in a house with a malicious woman constantly wasn’t feasible, and Xia Yu couldn’t keep monitoring Tina all the time. He needed a way to get Tina somewhere else.
If Tina were a bit older, it would be easy, but she was still young.
Eight hours later, after returning to his own body, Xia Yu continued thinking about this issue.
Originally, he had considered using An Siyao’s connections to find an employee with a daughter of a similar age, gradually build a relationship with Qiao’s adoptive father, and then have Tina transferred there for care. But now was the school term, and every family’s daughter had school. This idea was completely unworkable.
Well, he would deal with it when the time came.
Putting this matter aside for now, Xia Yu glanced at the time—it was already 2 a.m.
After playing games until seven, showering and having breakfast, Xia Yu met An Siyao.
Just as he was excited about being alone with An Siyao, he saw Yu Ningmeng walk in behind her.
He would have preferred Hu Lianglu to come instead!
With Yu Ningmeng around, Xia Yu could only have a normal day with An Siyao—watching movies and playing the piano.
At lunchtime, he received a message from Zhong Yunxin.
『Liang Liang really came to class today!』
『But her hair is a bit strange—it’s not exploding anymore』
Xia Yu rubbed his head, unsure how to save Zhong Yunxin’s taste in aesthetics.
The above two messages were sent by Zhong Yunxin around nine o’clock. Just now, she had sent another.
『I plan to hang out with Liang Liang this Saturday. Do you know any fun places?』
Looking at Yu Ningmeng, Xia Yu replied: 『She has plans for the weekend』
Zhong Yunxin replied instantly: 『Ah? Both days?』
With Xia Yu’s firm confirmation, he wouldn’t give Yu Ningmeng another chance to tag along.
『Then I’ll come see you』 Zhong Yunxin replied again.
Xia Yu stroked his chin:
On the weekend, Qiao’s adoptive father would be at home, and Tina wouldn’t have to go to that malicious woman’s house. He himself wouldn’t need to go to Tina’s house either, so he would definitely be with An Siyao. And where An Siyao was, Hu Lianglu would surely be too.
In other words, if he agreed, Zhong Yunxin would meet both An Siyao and Hu Lianglu.
Xia Yu looked forward to Zhong Yunxin’s expression at that moment.
He agreed.
Spending the day with An Siyao, Xia Yu returned to Tina’s body again at night.
Today, he simply visited that malicious woman’s house again. Qiao’s adoptive father had brought new gifts, and the middle-aged woman’s outward demeanor was even warmer.
By the third day, it was finally time for Qiao’s adoptive father to send Tina there.
At nine in the morning, Xia Yu logged into Tina’s body. For the first time visiting, Qiao’s adoptive father didn’t allow Xia Yu to bring the white cat. Xia Yu could only place the cat food properly and leave the cat alone at home.
Qiao’s adoptive father had arranged for a driver from the hospital to send him to that villa.
They arrived at 9:15 a.m. Qiao Yang and Qiao Ting had already gone to school, leaving only the elderly woman and the middle-aged woman at home.
At ten o’clock, the middle-aged woman left for work—she was a part-time cleaner.
The elderly woman stayed home with Tina, trying to play something with her. But Xia Yu had no interest in games like cat’s cradle or hopscotch.
He took out an economics textbook from his backpack and started reading.
Thus, the morning passed quietly. At noon, the middle-aged woman returned with her daughter, and soon after, her son Qiao Yang also came back on his own.
The elderly woman had already prepared the dishes and was bringing them out.
As the dishes were all on the table, the elderly woman went to get the rice, when a scream came from the kitchen: “Kill it!”
What?
Curious, Xia Yu looked toward the kitchen and saw a large black insect the size of an adult’s thumb crawling out.
It was a cockroach.
Xia Yu couldn’t remember the last time he had seen a cockroach—it must have been in his previous life.
Looking at the large black cockroach crawling toward him, Xia Yu’s scalp prickled.
Quickly avoiding the cockroach’s path, Xia Yu saw the elderly woman rush out behind it and subdue the insect. Then he sighed in relief.
His reaction was noticed by the middle-aged woman, who sarcastically remarked to Xia Yu, “You’re scared of such a small bug? How cowardly.”
Hearing the provocation in her tone, Xia Yu frowned.
He replied, “Because at home, a pest control company comes every month, so I’ve never seen one.”
From the middle-aged woman’s emphasis on Qiao’s adoptive father’s gift, Xia Yu knew that she valued money greatly. Otherwise, why would she care so much about the wine Qiao’s adoptive father gave, when she didn’t even drink?
Sure enough, upon hearing Tina’s explanation, the middle-aged woman’s smile became slightly distorted.
She had never even heard of a pest control company. Monthly pest control—what kind of high-end service was that?
Successfully countering, Xia Yu sat at the dining table, thinking about the cockroach just now. He began to doubt whether the food on the table was even edible.
He didn’t dare to touch the soup, only eating dishes where he could clearly see if any cockroach might be hiding.
“Tina, eat this shrimp,” the elderly woman said, serving a shrimp to Xia Yu.
Seeing the shrimp’s tiny legs, Xia Yu thought again of the cockroach. He declined the elderly woman’s kindness.
The middle-aged woman mocked again, “Not even eating shrimp? How picky.”
Once is a stranger, twice is familiar. Xia Yu replied, “I’ve never seen such small shrimp. At home, we eat shrimp this big.”
He gestured with his hand. The middle-aged woman’s expression stiffened again.
She had never even seen shrimp that big.
After being defeated twice, the middle-aged woman fell silent. Xia Yu relaxed.
He glanced at the middle-aged woman again. She was probably the type who liked to mock others and couldn’t stand seeing others doing well.
After the meal, he sat on the sofa, picked up his book, and suddenly thought of the cockroach again. He stood up and checked the sofa.
He felt he couldn’t stay in this house for long—not mainly because of the cockroach, but because the cockroach reflected environmental issues.
But how could he make Qiao’s adoptive father abandon this idea?
Pretend to be sick?
Xia Yu could easily fake illness by adjusting some medicine, but that wouldn’t be a long-term solution.
As he was thinking, the middle-aged woman spoke again.
But this time, she wasn’t targeting Xia Yu, but her two children.
“Look at her—after eating, she reads. You two haven’t even started your homework!” The middle-aged woman began scolding the two kids, nagging endlessly, as if taking out her previous frustration on Xia Yu on them.
Qiao Yang’s expression was distant, clearly tuning her out, but Qiao Ting’s expression began to twist—she hadn’t yet reached Qiao Yang’s level.
Xia Yu sensed that hostility was slowly rising from Qiao Ting as well.
If he didn’t know that the middle-aged woman was just like this, Xia Yu would think she was doing it on purpose.
This might become a bit of a problem.
Fortunately, it was a school day. Qiao Ting was first forced to do homework and study, then went to school, leaving no time to bother Xia Yu.
At 4:30 p.m., Qiao’s adoptive father came to pick up Xia Yu.
The first day of being left there was over.
“How was it?” Qiao’s adoptive father asked.
“Terrible.” Xia Yu replied. “The food was bad, and there were cockroaches in the house.”
“Cockroaches? I even ate one when I was a kid,” Qiao’s adoptive father said dismissively.
“Cockroaches are so cute. Why did you eat it?”
“???”
Qiao’s adoptive father looked at Xia Yu in confusion.
Xia Yu sighed, knowing he couldn’t convince Qiao’s adoptive father to abandon the idea because of environmental issues.
He needed another approach.
“How about this—I’ll give you money so you can eat out with Ting Ting and Yang Yang every day?” Qiao’s adoptive father suggested.
“Okay.” Xia Yu agreed.
At least he wouldn’t have to worry about cockroaches in the food anymore.
“Can I bring Miao Miao tomorrow?” He asked next—this was for Tina’s sake.
“Sure. Today was just for you to get familiar with the place.” Qiao’s adoptive father agreed. “But you have to keep an eye on it.”
Xia Yu nodded. At five p.m., he returned to his own body.
The night passed, and Xia Yu came back to Tina again—back to the cockroach house.
Qiao’s adoptive father had already explained the situation. At noon, Xia Yu, Qiao Yang, and Qiao Ting went to a burger shop outside the village together.
Xia Yu took money from his small bag, bought burgers, and the three sat together eating.
While eating, he observed Qiao Ting. Her malice remained—though not as deep as the middle-aged woman’s, it would still cause trouble.
This was really a headache.
After finishing the burgers, they returned to that house. Xia Yu went to the sofa to get his economics book, only to find it missing.
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