Yun Qinghuan had to admit that at this moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy for An An.
As she opened the door, Yun Qinghuan was met with a pair of deep eyes. She paused, seeing her brother-in-law Bai Naihan sitting in a wheelchair, and smiled at him.
Bai Naihan nodded at her. “Sister-in-law, how are you feeling now?”
His tone was caring, but there was some distance in his attitude.
After all, since the original host got married, Bai Naihan had been serving in the military. Except for coming back on the day of the wedding and once on An An’s first birthday, the time he spent at home each time didn’t exceed three days. The number of times he talked to the original host could be counted on one hand, so Bai Naihan and her were not familiar.
Yun Qinghuan nodded, her gaze pausing on the bandages on his legs, which were clearly newly changed. “I’m much better now. Naihan, how about your leg? Thanks a lot for protecting An An today. Otherwise, being so young, he would have suffered if that slap had landed.”
Bai Naihan glanced at An An, who was obediently following her. His gaze softened a bit. “It’s nothing. After all, he’s my family. I’m his uncle, and I have an obligation to take care of him on behalf of my brother. Sister-in-law, if there’s anything you need me to do in the future, just let me know. I’ll do my best to help.”
“Thank you.”
Yun Qinghuan sincerely thanked him. She knew he wasn’t just making empty promises. In the original story, he treated An An as his own son, and that was genuine.
Even though Yun Qinghuan didn’t want to admit it, now that she had taken over the original host’s body, she felt a sense of responsibility toward An An. Even if she had the chance to leave in the future, she would do her best to take care of Bai Jin’an.
At this moment, Liu Yuzhi came out of the kitchen holding a plate of vegetables and a steaming basket of steamed buns. “Stop chatting and start preparing for dinner.”
Yun Qinghuan agreed and took An An to the well in the yard. She threw the wooden bucket down, drew up a bucket of water, and poured it into the basin nearby for An An to wash his hands.
An An blinked at her words, looking at his dirty little hands. His dark face made it hard to see his original skin tone. He placed his hands in the water, and instantly, murky gray stains emerged in the clear water. However, he didn’t seem to like washing his hands much. With a few shakes in the water, he didn’t even scrub. He took his hands out of the water, then looked at Yun Qinghuan with a pleased smile. “Mom, I’m done washing.”
He even reached out to grab the towel in her hand to dry his hands.
Yun Qinghuan’s mouth twitched, watching his hands, which seemed dirtier after washing. “An An, wash them again. When you wash your hands, you need to scrub. If you don’t clean them properly today, you won’t be allowed to eat.”
She spoke somewhat sternly.
Yun Qinghuan disliked dirty kids the most. Despite the difficult conditions during her childhood, she had very few clothes, but she changed almost every day and meticulously cleaned the ones she took off.
So, seeing the dirty An An was unbearable for her.
Upon hearing her words, An An’s initially pleased expression instantly drooped, his mouth forming a pout, looking very aggrieved.
Yun Qinghuan wasn’t lenient. She stared straight at him, showing no signs of pity.
The two of them confronted each other like this, but An An couldn’t endure it first. He reluctantly put his hands back into the water and began to wash them seriously, occasionally sneaking glances at Yun Qinghuan.
She found it both annoying and amusing to watch, realizing that the child wasn’t incapable of washing his hands but was clever enough to gauge people’s reactions.
Even though children are young, they aren’t foolish; they can read people’s moods.
After a short while, the water in the basin became thoroughly muddy. Yun Qinghuan asked him to pour it out and wash again, this time including his face. The weather was just right, not too cold, and the well water was comfortably cool in summer.
However, he was still quite young, and washing his hands was okay, but washing his face was a bit challenging. In no time, the front of his clothes became soaked.
Yun Qinghuan didn’t dare to let him continue washing. Instead, she took the towel, wrung it out, and wiped his face herself.
She also wiped all the exposed skin on his neck and behind his ears several times. In the end, apart from the clothes, the whole child looked much cleaner.
Seeing the child’s soft and cute appearance, Yun Qinghuan was startled. She hadn’t seen such a good-looking child in a long time.
An An had fair skin, especially large eyes, delicate features, and he was so beautiful that he hardly looked like a boy.
Seeing him like this, Yun Qinghuan didn’t feel as averse to suddenly becoming a mother.
In her past life, she had been focused on building her career, witnessing the chaotic relationships in the entertainment industry. She had little interest in romantic relationships, and coupled with the hardships she faced in her childhood, being abandoned at the doorstep of an orphanage, she wasn’t interested in children either.
In this life, she never thought she would marry and have children. She just wanted to live a stable and decent life alone. Now, suddenly being in this world as the biological mother of the major antagonist, who was only three years old at the moment, she found it uncomfortable, even awkward and repulsive.
However, seeing the adorable appearance of this little guy made her feel a bit less repulsed.
Unable to resist, she pinched his smooth little cheek. “You look so nice and clean like this. In the future, you should pay attention to hygiene. Otherwise, if you look messy, Mom will be embarrassed to say you’re my son.”
The little guy, being suddenly pinched by his mother, raised the corners of his lips. “I’m Mom’s son.”
“So you should be clean in the future.”
“Okay!” He clenched his fist, nodding vigorously. If Mom didn’t like him being dirty, he would wash his hands several times a day from now on!
Yun Qinghuan’s hands weren’t too dirty. After pouring out the water in the basin, she refilled it with clean water, washed her hands, and that was it.
In the meantime, Bai Naihan and Liu Yuzhi had already brought the food over, and Yun Qinghuan didn’t need to help.
In the main hall, when Liu Yuzhi saw how clean An An looked, she was surprised. “I haven’t had time to take care of this child these days; he was so dirty that he couldn’t be looked at. It’s much better to see him all clean like this.”
An An looked particularly proud and deliberately glanced at his uncle, even coughing on purpose.
Bai Naihan seemed to ignore it, holding his tea and taking a sip.
He was hungry too, but since Yun Qinghuan hadn’t arrived yet, he hadn’t touched his chopsticks.
Yun Qinghuan naturally understood and said to Liu Yuzhi, “Mom, let’s start eating.”
Beside them, Bai Jin’an saw that his uncle was picking up food and ignoring his presence, feeling a bit disheartened, he lowered his head.
Yun Qinghuan exchanged a glance with her mother-in-law, Liu Yuzhi, both of them having a hint of amusement in their eyes.
∞
Translator Note
Next release
– Dec. 25 (1am GMT + 1)
(There’ll be extra chapters for Christmas, stay tuned!)
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- “Generous persons will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” — Proverbs 11:25
