TLWR CH.8: A Beating

Mrs. Qin had given serious thought to her younger daughter's temperament.

As her mother, no one knew Shu Lan better than Mrs. Qin. The child wasn't actually lacking in wits, but she was worse than someone who did—because those who lacked wits were simply slow and couldn't read people, whereas Shu Lan simply never gave such things a thought. When that Xiao family girl, Lianhua, bullied her, snatching the floral hairpin from her head and running off, Shu Lan neither cried nor tattled. She went home, said nothing, and slept. When Lianhua pushed her, as long as it didn't hurt, Shu Lan wouldn't cry; sometimes she'd just lie right down on the ground and fall asleep. If Shu Zhan hadn't witnessed it once, Mrs. Qin would never have imagined that this was how her daughter interacted with other girls.

Mrs. Qin had once suspected her daughter might be simple-minded, but upon closer observation, Shu Lan knew how to act coy and charming to win her father over; she knew how to rub and blow on her brother's injuries to comfort him; when Mrs. Qin accidentally cut herself while chopping vegetables, Shu Lan's tears flowed so freely that they made her both gratified and heartbroken; and when her older sister got new clothes, Shu Lan knew to sweetly compliment how pretty she looked. What reassured Mrs. Qin the most was that Shu Lan would scheme against Xiao Lang. On several occasions, Shu Lan had come to her with "solid evidence" to accuse Xiao Lang of bullying her, hoping that her mother would stand up for her and ban Xiao Lang from ever setting foot in their home again.

Her daughter truly wasn't stupid—she was just incredibly, impossibly lazy. From morning till night, the total time she stayed awake didn't even add up to one hour.

Had Mrs. Qin never tried to correct this before? How could she not? She'd wanted nothing more than to tie Shu Lan to her side, force her to walk, force her to keep her eyes open and watch how things were done!

But every time she steeled her heart to discipline her, one of them—her husband, Shu Wan, or Shu Zhan—would inevitably be won over by Shu Lan's tears and turn the tables on her, causing her to lose the battle before it even began.

Hmph, this time, with all of them away from home, she was going to break that lazy bones of hers for good!

Setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Mrs. Qin roared at her daughter, who was dozing on the swing: "Get in here and eat!" Then she asked Xiao Lang, who was sitting under the eaves reading, in a soft voice: "Ah Lang, would you like a little more? I specially steamed your favorite egg custard."

Xiao Lang set down his medical book and looked up with a smile: "Sure."

Shu Lan pursed her lips. Whenever Xiao Lang was around, her mother stopped caring about her.

Since Xiao Lang had brought stewed chicken, Mrs. Qin didn't prepare any other dishes. She sat down by the rice pot herself, arranging for Shu Lan and Xiao Lang to sit side by side.

Scooping half a bowl of rice for Xiao Lang and adding a generous spoonful of egg custard on top, Mrs. Qin smiled warmly: "Eating plain eggs gets boring—have more."

Xiao Lang knew that Mrs. Qin enjoyed watching him eat heartily, just like Mrs. Lan had. So even though he'd already eaten at home, he took the bowl, let his gaze sweep over the dishes, and silently lowered his head.

Of the two chicken legs, Mrs. Qin saved one for Shu Maoting to reheat for dinner, and picked up the other to give to Xiao Lang. But Xiao Lang dodged away with his bowl: "Auntie, I really can't eat anymore. You have it yourself."

Shu Lan watched the fragrant chicken leg with jealous eyes, her rosy little lips pouting high. She was her mother's own child—how could her mother be so partial?

But when Mrs. Qin's chopsticks changed course in midair and dropped the chicken leg into her own bowl, Shu Lan immediately beamed with delight. She shot a provocative pout at Xiao Lang, then opened wide and took a big bite right where the meat was thickest. After just two chews, a fiery sensation shot across her tongue and surged down her throat. Shu Lan spat out the mouthful, her eyes instantly filling with tears: "Mother, it's spicy!"

Mrs. Qin was taken aback. She had indeed put chili peppers in the stew, but Shu Lan was eating a chicken leg—Mrs. Qin had checked it when she picked it up, and there wasn't even a single chili seed on it. How could her daughter possibly have been burned by spice? She looked down at the half-chewed mess Shu Lan had spat out and, sure enough, spotted a thin red chili pepper!

Looking at her daughter's tear-blurred eyes and the way she was gasping with her mouth wide open, Mrs. Qin quickly fetched a bowl of water: "Rinse your mouth out, quick!"

Shu Lan snatched the bowl and crouched out in the backyard to rinse her mouth, the gulping sounds punctuated by aggrieved sobs.

Xiao Lang set down his bowl awkwardly and lowered his head in apology: "Auntie, it's all my fault. When I was cooking, I saw that chili was so small and got lazy about chopping it up, I never thought it would roll into the crevice of the chicken leg and burn my little sister."

Mrs. Qin didn't give it a second thought. Who hadn't eaten chili before? Besides, the boy had lost his mother young and did all the cooking at home. She felt nothing but sympathy for Xiao Lang so it never occurred to her that the chili had actually been deliberately tucked into the chicken leg by Xiao Lang. And to ensure that the chicken leg ended up in Shu Lan's mouth, he'd even peeled the skin off that leg on purpose. That way, Mrs. Qin would naturally save the unpeeled one for Shu Maoting, since Shu Lan didn't like chicken skin...

When Shu Lan came back in, she saw her mother gazing tenderly at Xiao Lang, while that vicious wolf sat there with his head bowed, pretending to be full of remorse!

"I'm not eating!" She slammed her bowl down on the table and stormed off toward the west room she shared with her sister, fuming.

"Get back here!" Mrs. Qin's eyes widened as she reached out and hauled Shu Lan back, pointing at her rice bowl as she scolded: "Finish your food, then wash the bowl yourself. I've spoiled you into having no proper manners for a girl."

Shu Lan had never washed dishes before, her mother and sister had always done it—so she flatly turned her head and refused: "I'm not washing it!"

Thwack! Mrs. Qin didn't hold back as she landed a slap on her daughter's bottom: "Are you washing it or not?"

The dull thud startled not only Shu Lan but Xiao Lang as well. He looked up in confusion at Shu Lan. The lazy girl had only ever been hit when she refused to get out of bed—this time...

Shu Lan stared at her mother in disbelief, tears instantly spilling down her face. The ache in her heart hurt even more than the stinging pain on her bottom. "I'm not washing it, I'm not!" She struggled fiercely to break free from Mrs. Qin's grip.

Mrs. Qin was determined to cure her daughter's laziness once and for all today, so she naturally wouldn't let her win. She landed another slap on Shu Lan: "Not washing? Then I'll keep hitting you until you say you will!"

"Not washing!"

Thwack!

"Not washing!"

Thwack!

...

Seeing Shu Lan crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, yet still stubbornly refusing to yield, a strange feeling welled up in Xiao Lang's heart. Without overthinking it, he picked up Shu Lan's bowl and made to stand.

"Ah Lang, put that down!" Mrs. Qin barked loudly. At this point, it was either she softened and let her daughter off this once and then never be able to use physical discipline to control Shu Lan again—or Shu Lan, afraid of the pain, would finally give in and obediently do as she was told.

What Mrs. Qin wanted wasn't to make her daughter do chores every day. Shu Lan could choose not to do them but she had to know how, and she had to learn all the other skills a proper woman should possess. Otherwise, if her daughter couldn't find a husband in the future, Mrs. Qin as her mother would bear most of the blame.

"Auntie, my little sister is still young, you—"

Mrs. Qin cut off his plea with a wave of her hand: "Ah Lang, don't speak up for her. I've never seen anyone so lazy in all my life. If we indulge her now, will her mother-in-law and husband indulge her when she's married off in the future? Alright, you go on home now." She turned back to Shu Lan: "Are you washing it or not?"

Shu Lan's heart ached terribly. She felt that Mrs. Qin no longer liked her or cared for her—and it was all Xiao Lang's fault!

"I'm not washing! Just beat me to death—someone's wishing I were dead anyway!" Shu Lan shouted through her tears, her clear, tear-washed eyes glaring hatefully at Xiao Lang!

Xiao Lang was still mulling over Mrs. Qin's words. Would Shu Lan get married? Who would she marry? If she got married, wouldn't he lose his chance to torment her every day?

Then Shu Lan's words snapped him back. He looked up, startled, and saw Shu Lan staring at him with that look of hatred for the first time. Something struck him hard in the chest. Instinctively stepping back, then seeing Mrs. Qin about to strike again, he rushed forward, wrenched Shu Lan out of Mrs. Qin's grasp, and pulled her along as he ran outside: "Auntie, I'll take my little sister out to play—she'll behave when we come back!"