by A Sick Frog
The two of them sat down at the nearby table. Wen Meixia scooped out some rice to fill up both Qin Xuan’s bowl and her own. After having two mouthfuls, Wen Meixia placed her bowl down.
Wen Meixia stood up and looked down at Qin Xuan, “I don’t have any appetite. After you finish eating, go back to your room. Stop loitering around here or your leg might get worse and you will turn into a cripple.” Finished talking, she softly muttered “No matter what, I will not forgive you doggy couple, just wait until I tear your mouths apart…” while leaving.
Qin Xuan quietly ate. The food was not delicious, but because she had survived on far more difficult meals, as long as it filled the belly, the taste didn’t matter.
Just like that, time passed by while she recuperated. Aside from going downstairs to eat, Qin Xuan never left her room.
Sometimes she would be able to eat the food that Wen Meixia cooked. But often when Meixia was too busy destroying household objects, going outside to hunt down her husband, or leaving the house several days in a row to catch a “fox”, Qin Xuan simply cooked her own food by copying Wen Meixia’s actions. At the beginning she was not very familiar with the process, and messed up several meals. After a few tries however, she got used to it.
She also began to notice that the people in this area had a strange quirk, and that is that they love to put names on everything. The flame spitter was called the “Gas Stove XX”, the food storage box was named the “Fridge XXX”, the place where the dishes were stored was called the “Dishwasher XX”, the hot water shooter was called “Hot Water XX” and “Showerhead XX”… This helped Qin Xuan tremendously while she was attempting to recognise the function of these devices.
Even if this place was like an entirely different world compared to where she came from, with some time, she would definitely be able to adapt.
One day, while Qin Xuan was making dinner in the kitchen, a man she hads seen around the house several times came in and spoke to her solemnly. “Qin Qin, come here for a bit, daddy has something to talk to you about.”
“Speak.”
Qin Shuhua looked at Qin Xuan. She did not even bother to turn around and only continued to churn the food on the pan. He sighed, and then repeated in a soft tone: “Come outside just for a little while, this is an important matter.”
Qin Xuan turned around and looked at Qin Shuhua and spoke calmly: “Can’t you see that I’m cooking? Talk in here.”
Qin Shuhua suddenly had a feeling that if he requested her to go outside one more time, the spatula in her hand would land directly on his face. This thought caused him to sweat bullets.
He signed one more time. Forget it, the current state of the house was obvious, the kid obviously knows what’s going on, he should just be frank.
“Mummy and daddy are about to have a divorce.”
“Sure.” What the heck is a divorce?
Qin Xuan’s extremely calm reply left Qin Shuhua dumbfounded, he continued,: “Does Qin Qin want to live with daddy or mommy?”
Qin Xuan turned off the stove and shifted the food to a plate. She wiped her hands with a cloth and asked,: “What happens if I follow you? And what would happen if I follow mother?”
This question made Qin Shuhua nearly fall over. He scratched his head awkwardly and said,: “This, how do I put this? The most important thing is who you like better I guess.”
I don’t like either of you, Qin Xuan retorted in her mind.
Her hand softly knocked on the table. This decision needed to be decided upon carefully, this so called mommy and daddy means father and mother, and divorce probably meant that this body’s parent’s want to part ways.
Finally Qin Xuan decided that no matter what the current house would be her priority, and the actual owner should be none of her concern.
Her thinking was simple, now that she has been forced into this position, she would definitely not choose the option of leaving this area for another strange place that required more adapting. Furthermore, in the past few days, she had always been on guard, but no enemy has appeared. This house could temporarily be considered the safest place for her to stay. Regarding the matter of leaving here, when it comes to that she would worry about it.
Qin Shuhua never dared to consider that his daughter would pick him. He was so happy he nearly tripped. He was sure that Qin Qin would blame him for having an affair and choose to follow her mother. He did not know that Qin Qin also did not care much for Wen Meixia. She was a failure of a mother. Ever since Qin Xuan had been here, the woman had never paid any attention to her own daughter. All day long she was going around looking for someone to create trouble. The entire house was in shambles, and she even ignored her own injured child. Qin Xuan was even told to go cook her own rice in the kitchen.
When Wen Meixia heard her daughter chose to stay in this house, her face turned green. She jumped at Qin Xuan and shouted,: “Very good, I raised such a good child! Even you hate me? Both you and your father are ungrateful heathens! You should all go and die!” She then picked up a tattered piece of trash off the floor and threw it at them.
Qin Xuan gave Wen Meixia a glance and then turned around, planning to return to her room. Wen Meixia stopped her on her track. She pulled on Qin Xuan’s arms and yelled at her with an enraged expression,: “You! Stop right there! Tell me, are you coming with me or not?”
Qin Xuan arms slightly shifted. She shook free of Wen Meixia’s grasp, her hands shooting up and then down. Wen Meixia’s body softened, and she fell flat on the floor. Qin Xuan looked toward the flabbergasted Qin Shuhua who could not believe what he saw and said: “You, throw her outside.” These past few days, the limits to her patience for this woman had long been surpassed.
Finished speaking, she walked away indifferently.
Chapter 3 – New Family
Aside from eating, bathing, and a minimal amount of sleep, Qin Xuan was always cultivating her Inner Qi. Maybe it was due to her body’s weak constitution; no matter how much she tried, her Inner Qi reserve did not improve and her dantian remained empty. The day she fully recovered her strength seemed to still be beyond reach.
The greatest benefit from her diligent cultivation was that her body recovered at a much faster rate. Unfortunately, her leg was covered in a thick layer of plaster, making it impossible for her to determine the current state of the injury.
Because she was single-mindedly cultivating her Inner Qi, she did not notice that Wen Meixia had already signed the divorce contract and left. There was now even two new strangers frequenting the house. The only thing she knew was Qin Shuhua had replaced all the broken furniture with new ones.
Today, Qin Shuhua knocked on the door of Qin Xuan’s room, “Qin Qin? Are you free?”
Qin Xuan who was sitting crossed leg on the floor slowly retrieved the Qi circulating chaotically in her body and forced it back into her dantian. She then patiently waited for the Qi to settle before opening her eyes, “Come in.”
Qin Shuhua opened the door to Qin Xuan’s room. Seeing that she was calmly meditating on the ground, he gave her a strange look. He still remembered how she had previously knocked Wen Meixia unconscious with a single move. She even ordered him to throw Wen Meixia out, causing him to experience a big shock. He quietly thought about how ever since several years ago, when his relationship with his wife was in the midst of breaking down, he had stopped paying attention to his own daughter. Now that she had become such a cruel and cold-blooded person, he was the one mostly to blame.
Qin Xuan glanced towards Qin Shuhua once, and then closed her eyes, “Is something the matter?”
Qin Shuhua woke up from his regretful stupor and quickly spoke, “Un, Qin Qin, I just wanted to let you know ahead of time that Aunt… Auntie Jiang and your younger brother will be officially moving over today. Ah, regarding the wound on your leg, we should head to the hospital and get it examined. Let’s see if we can take the cast off yet.”
“Understood.”
Qin Shuhua smiled awkwardly. As
he was about to leave, he paused and said hesitantly, “When you meet Auntie Jiang and your little brother, can you, urm, promise daddy to not cause them any trouble?”
“Sure.”
Hearing her smooth reply, Qin Shuhua did not feel any relief. Instead as he thought about her previous decisive attack towards Wen Meixia, he felt a sense of unease. However, since he couldn’t think of anything else to say, he simply said, “Then you should prepare for a bit, daddy will take you to the hospital for a checkup.”
Qin Xuan did not need any preparation and left with Qin Shuhua immediately. She sat inside the large horseless metal carriage. Ever since her first day here, she had seen many of these strange metal boxes. She pat the seat and asked Qin Shuhua who was driving, “What is this?”
“It’s a BMW!”
Qin Xuan was secretly alarmed. The horses in this place looks like this? (TL note: It’s a pun. A common name for BMW in China is Precious Horse.)
Since his daughter rarely ever talked to him, Qin Shuhua excitedly elaborated, “I just recently bought this car. Do you like it? Later on, do you want me to drive you to school in it?”
“School?” Qin Xuan asked with some reservation.
“That’s right. Since the accident you have stayed at home for some time in order to recuperate. Since it’s already your third year, and the high school test is coming up, you must be quite worried about the exams. Today we will visit the hospital to see if we can take off the cast yet, and if yes, let’s bring you to school tomorrow since it’s Monday. Do you wanna go to school?”
“No.” Normally rich families would be able to invite scholars to come and tutor their daughters to read letters, but only males could go to a school to study. Unexpectedly, girls can go to school here? Furthermore, this body is already at marrying age, and yet it is not currently engaged?
The result of Qin Xuan‘s checkup was extremely positive, and the doctor removed the cast. The moment she was freed from the irritating shackle, Qin Xuan felt much more relaxed. Even the terrible smell of the hospital stopped bothering her.
As they left the hospital, Qin Shuhua took out a piece of metal as big as his hand from inside his bag. All she could see was a bunch of symbols on the glowing device, including moving images like those on the TV. She watched as Qin Shuhua pressed several buttons before starting to speak at the piece of metal, “Hello? Is it Huilin?”
Even at such a low volume, Qin Xuan was still able to hear the reply clearly. The sound came from inside the metal piece, “Un, where are you right now? I and Pengcheng are nearly there.”
Qin Shuhua continued talking as he got inside the car. The now experienced Qin Xuan also quickly got in and buckled up. Qin Shuhua than said, “Huilin, we are also almost home. We’ll continue the talk when we are there, I’m hanging up.”
The entire way home, Qin Xuan quietly stared out the window, her eyes carefully observing the surroundings.
Qin Shuhua took the initiative to break the silence. He spoke while laughing, “Qin Qin, now that your injuries have been healed, is there anything you want? I’ll give you a gift.”
Qin Xuan stared at the traffic outside the transparent glass window, “I want a horse.”
“Horse?” Qin Shuhua suddenly felt that the conversation was heading towards a strange topic.
“Yes, like yours.”
“This, Qin Qin ah, I don’t have any horses. Please be a little clearer, why do you want a horse again? Do you want to learn how to ride them?” Qin Shuhua was shocked by the difference between him and his own daughter, and tried his best to understand her request.
Qin Xuan felt angered. If this metal box isn’t a horse, then why did he lie and tell her that it was a Precious Horse?
Qin Shuhua kept his hands on the wheels while his eyes darted towards Qin Xuan. He suddenly felt the temperature in the car drop by several degrees, causing chills to run up his spine. Without needing to ask, he knew he had angered her, and when he saw her dark glaring eyes, he couldn’t help but feel goosebumps. That’s right, goosebumps, this was a primal kind of fear.
Qin Shuhua gripped the steering wheel and mumbled nervously: “Hey, it’s not like daddy won’t let you learn how to ride horses. If you really want to, you can!”
Qin Xuan calmed down her chaotic emotions and retrieved her overflowing bloodlust. After settling down, she asked slowly: “What are the most common things on the road?”
“Huh? A riddle? The most common things are people I guess? Wait no, there are also plenty of cars, but there must be more people. That’s the answer right? Qin Qin?”
Successfully gathering some information while avoiding suspicions, Qin Xuan resumed watching the scenery outside the car and no longer paid any attention to the person beside her.
Being ignored so blatantly, Qin Shuhua could only keep driving dejectedly. Moments later, they arrived home.
From inside the car, Qin Xuan was able to see the mother and child waiting at the door. Noticing their car, the woman’s face broke into a smile and waved her hands enthusiastically at them.
Qin Shuhua smiled and said, “That’s Auntie Jiang Huilin and your younger brother Qin Pengcheng. Remember to say hello when you get out of the car.”
Qin Xuan quietly observed the two people. This woman seemed to be younger than Wen Meixia, and of course much more beautiful, her body was both graceful and slender. However, the little boy next to her, who seemed to be about seven or eight years old, was currently standing there pouting while facing another direction.
Qin Xuan quickly assessed that these two new members of the family did not pose any significant threat to her.
When she stepped out of the car, the woman immediately brought the little boy towards Qin Xuan and spoke while still smiling: “Qin Qin, I am your Auntie Jiang, and this is your little brother, Qin Pengcheng.” She then urged Pengcheng to speak: “Little Cheng, quickly call her big sis.”
Qin Pengcheng stubbornly refused to look at Qin Xuan, causing Jian Huilin to knock him on his head and yell: “Little Cheng! Why are you not listening to your mother? Do you remember what you have promised me before we got here?”
Qin Pengcheng winced, he wanted to retort but he did not dare to, so he could only swallow his words.
Qin Xuan was not interested in bonding with her stepmother and younger brother from a different parent, so she remained unfazed as she walked past them towards her room.
When she saw this, Jiang Huilin eyes reddened. She looked at the departing figure of Qin Xuan and hesitantly called out, “Qin Qin…”
In contrast, Qin Pengcheng was sticking his tongue out at Qin Xuan. What a nasty girl!
Qin Shuhua came out from the garage. Witnessing this scene, he could only sigh.
During lunch when they were at the kitchen table, aside from Qin Xuan who was nonchalant as always, everybody’s face was unsightly, especially those of Qin Pengcheng. He aggressively bit down on the chicken drumstick while glaring at Qin Xuan. This girl with an annoyingly calm face was making his food taste bad.
The two adults in the houses obviously did not have much of an appetite, and ate sparingly.
Qin Xuan’s taste buds could not care less about them as she casually continued to eat. This body was definitely too thin, with such a washboard of a chest that was no different from a man’s. If she wasn’t able to confirm it herself, she would have been suspicious that this was a boy. Already at this age and yet her body was still so small and tiny, there was some serious problems here.
As it is, it would be difficult for her to quickly regain her power. The most important thing right now was to feed this body well to help her during cultivation and martial art practice.
That’s why, more than half the food on the table ended up in Qin Xuan’s stomach.
Qin Shuhua eyes brightened. He laughed heartily and picked up a pork rib with his chopsticks and put it in Qin Xuan’s bowl. “Seems like the food Auntie makes fits your taste! From now on you can just let her know whatever you want to eat
.”
“Un.” To be honest, the food this auntie makes was tastier than what Wen Meixia made. How long had it been since she had such a delicious meal, she herself was not sure. Ever since she had become a cold blooded assassin whose blade tasted blood daily, surviving day to day was her only priority. As long as she didn’t starve, it was enough.
Jiang Huilin nodded, “Qin Qin, just let me know whatever you want to eat, I’ll definitely cook it for you!”
Being ignored by the two adults, Qin Pengcheng angrily threw the unfinished chicken drumstick and ran away. Jiang Huiling worriedly glanced at Qin Shuhua, “I’ll go to talk to him, you two please continue eating.” She put down her chopsticks and ran after Pengcheng.
Qin Xuan ate up all the remaining food inside her bowl and then stood up, “I’m full.” She then turned around and left.
Qin Shuhua looked around at the empty kitchen table and sighed deeply once more.
While meditating quietly, her ears detected the sound of somebody approaching her room. After a while, that person stopped right in front of her door, loitered about for some time before finally leaving.
Qin Xuan continued to meditate for another half a day.
At dinner time, she headed outside. The moment her door was opened, she caught a glimpse of a small figure quickly hiding next to the wall. She looked down on the ground and saw various needles and thumbtacks lying about. It seems like she had already overestimated the plotting capability of this little brat.
Chapter 4 – The First Day of School
Qin Xuan brought with her a large school bag as she stood among the sea of people in front of the school gate. Looking up, she saw large words shining in golden colors “B City Secondary School”.
Qin Shuhua reached out and patted Qin Xuan’s shoulders, then he lifted her schoolbag up, “I’ll bring you to the dorm first. I have already spoken to your home room teacher, you have permission to come to class late.”
The moment she walked through the dorm’s door after following Qin Shuhua, she immediately felt troubled. Just a single room, but there were eight beds. This meant that she will have to live with other people, and furthermore it was seven of them.
