Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 39

When Shen Xian arrived at the kindergarten, it was already a bit late. Tian Tian and a few other children were waiting under the teacher’s supervision. As soon as Tian Tian saw Shen Xian, she waddled over on her little legs, rubbing her face against Shen Xian’s body in a slightly aggrieved tone, acting cute,
“Mommy came late today. Tian Tian waited for a while~”

Seeing her little one acting spoiled and affectionate, Shen Xian’s heart practically melted. She picked Tian Tian up and coaxed her,
“Alright, Mommy was wrong. I’ll buy you something yummy later, okay?”
“Okay.” Shen Tian rubbed against her again for a while before finally getting down from her arms.

The two of them were also a bit later than usual when they went to pick up Lin Qinghan. Just as Shen Xian parked the car, she saw Lu Jianbai and Lin Qinghan talking not far away. Lin Qinghan had a slight frown, clearly not wanting to interact much with Lu Jianbai.

Seeing this, Shen Xian quickly parked the car and walked over in a hurry, speaking with concern,
“Qinghan, my third aunt had something happen at home today, so I went to help out and ended up being late. You’ve been waiting long?”
Lin Qinghan let out a breath of relief when she saw Shen Xian come over. She always felt much more comfortable talking to Shen Xian than to Lu Jianbai. Even her tone naturally softened,
“No, I just got here too. Thank you for coming to pick me up even after all that.”

Shen Xian smiled and skillfully took Lin Qinghan’s shoulder bag.
“It’s no trouble. It’s what I should do.”

While they were talking, Lu Jianbai couldn’t get a word in at all. Only when Shen Xian and Lin Qinghan were about to walk back to the car did Shen Xian remember he was still standing there. She glanced at him and said,
“Dr. Lu, if you don’t have anything else, you should head home early. We’ll be going now.”

Lu Jianbai clenched his jaw, suppressing whatever he wanted to say, and just watched the two walk away.

As they walked, Shen Xian asked,
“Was he bothering you again?”
Lin Qinghan shook her head.
“Not exactly. He just insisted on taking me home. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he kept insisting. Thank goodness you showed up.”

After a moment’s thought, she added,
“Dr. Lu wasn’t like this before. I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately.”

Shen Xian chuckled lightly and replied,
“That’s normal. People don’t stay the same forever. They can get better or worse. Just don’t get too close to him going forward.”
“Mm, I know.” Lin Qinghan nodded and glanced at Shen Xian.
To her, no one had changed more than Shen Xian.

On the way back, Shen Xian told Lin Qinghan about Zhao Jianye’s situation. Lin Qinghan thought for a moment and said,
“When should we go visit Third Aunt and Uncle?”
She had interacted with Fang Jingping and her family before and knew they were good people.

“Let’s go when the surgery is scheduled,” Shen Xian said after thinking.
“We can see if there’s anything we can help with.”
After all, Zhao Jianye was just on IV fluids now, but once the MRI scans were out, it would be time to prepare for surgery.

“Okay,” Lin Qinghan replied.

That evening, after settling Zhao Jianye, Fang Jingping called Fang Jinglan.
“Second Sis, thank Shen Xian for me. When the taxi drivers saw Jianye was limping, none of them wanted to take us. We’re lucky Shen Xian was there. She spent the whole day helping us — will it affect her work?”

Fang Jinglan chuckled.
“Don’t worry about it. Shen Xian knows what she’s doing now. Jingping, trust me, it won’t affect her work. If anything comes up, just call her. Seriously, we’re family — don’t be so polite. If something happens, just call. Shen Xian is capable now.”

“Sigh, Second Sis, I know. Even Xiaoyan said today that her sister has really changed for the better. I’m happy for you too. Now there’s finally some hope in life again.”
Fang Jingping’s voice was filled with joy — not just because Shen Xian had helped this time. Previously, due to issues with Shen Xian, Fang Jinglan had taken sleeping pills twice, one of which nearly cost her her life.

Fang Jingping clearly remembered that winter. Shen Xian had racked up | hundreds of thousands | in gambling debt, and Fang Jinglan had no choice but to sell her 120-square-meter new apartment to pay it off. Lin Qinghan and Shen Xian had divorced, and Shen Wenkang was so angry he had a stroke and became bedridden, needing a walker just to move around.

At that point, Fang Jinglan seemed to have lost all hope. Her husband was ill, and her daughter felt like a bottomless pit burning through money. One night, she swallowed most of a bottle of sleeping pills. If it hadn’t been for Shen Wenkang, who noticed she hadn’t gotten up as usual and dragged himself with the walker to check on her, she might not have been saved.

Even with a stroke, Shen Wenkang had been a doctor and noticed how pale her face was. Desperate, he used the walker to look for his phone. His hands were clumsy, and it took him ten minutes to dial Fang Jingping’s number. His voice was slurred, but Fang Jingping and Zhao Jianye rushed over after hearing his panic. They discovered something was wrong with Fang Jinglan and called 120. But the ambulance crew wouldn’t help move her. In a panic, Fang Jingping and her husband carried her downstairs themselves and finally got her to the hospital for stomach pumping — saving her life.

Now that Shen Xian had truly changed, Fang Jingping was sincerely happy. She used to be furious at Shen Xian’s past behavior — let alone her older sister.

Fang Jinglan sighed and smiled.
“Yes. I’ve never felt this hopeful about life before. I don’t expect Shen Xian to achieve great things — just to live steadily and be a decent person.”

“Second Sis, the hard days are behind you. Better days are still to come.”
“I hope so.”

When Fang Jinglan put down the phone, her eyes were still red.
In the past, whenever her sisters mentioned Shen Xian, it was always about her asking for money again.
So hearing someone praise her daughter now felt like something new.
Maybe for others, having their children praised was normal — but for Fang Jinglan, it was a luxury.

Over on Shen Xian’s side, just as promised, she bought lots of fruit for their little one. Lately, besides mangosteen, the child had taken a liking to longan as well. So there Shen Xian was, peeling longan next to her, carefully removing the seeds too, while the little one happily used a tiny spoon to scoop out and eat the flesh.

Lin Qinghan watched the two of them — one big and one small — with a growing smile in her eyes, and gently reminded, “She can’t eat too many longans or she’ll get heaty. Shen Xian, just peel a few more for Tian Tian, then no more, or she might end up with a nosebleed.”

Shen Xian replied cheerfully, “Got it. So Tian Tian can eat a few more, and the rest we’ll save for tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay~” Shen Tian replied sweetly, scrunching her little nose and giving Shen Xian a grin.

To distract the child, they put on a cartoon, and as expected, Shen Tian started watching the TV seriously.

Shen Xian, however, didn’t stop — she kept peeling longan into another small bowl. In no time, she had a small bowl full. She stood up from the stool and sat beside Lin Qinghan, handing the bowl over. “Qinghan, you should have some too. I’ve already peeled them for you.”

Lin Qinghan looked up at Shen Xian, surprised she’d peeled some for her too. Her ears turned slightly red as she pretended to stay composed. “Thanks.”

“No need, I just did it while I was at it,” Shen Xian said with a smile.

While eating the longan flesh from the bowl, Lin Qinghan glanced at her phone, which was still stuck loading. Shen Xian noticed too. As if remembering something, she wiped her hands with a wet wipe and got up to retrieve a phone she had bought earlier. She had planned to gift it to Lin Qinghan but hadn’t gotten around to it.

Shen Xian returned from the bedroom, sat down next to Lin Qinghan again, and said, “Qinghan, I think it’s time you got a new phone. Look how badly this one lags. Use this one instead, okay?” As she spoke, she took out the new phone from its box.

Seeing Lin Qinghan didn’t reply, Shen Xian continued, “Qinghan, we’re all family here. No need to be so polite. Besides, I’m living here and you never even asked for rent. If you don’t accept the phone, I’ll start paying rent every month.”

Lin Qinghan glanced at Shen Xian, then reached over and took the new phone from her hand.

“Now that’s more like it. Otherwise, if something urgent happened, your old phone wouldn’t even turn on.”

Lin Qinghan removed the SIM card from her old phone and placed it into the new one. After trying it out, it was indeed much smoother than her previous phone.

Then Shen Xian handed her a phone case she had bought earlier. Shen Xian’s own phone case had a cute pink dog on it, and the one she gave Lin Qinghan had a matching pink cat design. She proudly showed her own case and said, “Qinghan, look — our phone cases match!”

Shen Xian figured it was completely normal for close friends or sisters to use matching phone cases, right?

When Lin Qinghan saw the identical designs and colors, her ears turned even redder. She shot Shen Xian a glare. “So childish. Who wants to use a case like this?”

“What’s childish about it? Cats and dogs are so cute! Tian Tian, don’t you think they’re cute?” Shen Xian called the little one over for support.

The child looked at the two phone cases, nodded seriously, and said in her soft baby voice, “They’re cute! Tian Tian likes them.”

Shen Xian laughed and stared at Lin Qinghan, who blushed and gave her a little shove. Lin Qinghan got up, phone and case in one hand, Tian Tian in the other, and said as she walked away, “Tian Tian, let’s go to bed now. Let’s not pay attention to your mommy, okay?”

Tian Tian didn’t really understand why her mommy was being ignored, but she found it amusing and giggled in Lin Qinghan’s arms. “Okay~ Tian Tian will listen to Mom.”

Shen Xian, still smiling on the sofa, called out, “Alright then, little traitor! Already forgot who peeled the longans for you just now?”

Tian Tian, as if suddenly recalling the taste, smacked her lips and quickly corrected herself, “Nooo, Tian Tian will listen to Mommy too~”

Lin Qinghan bounced her little girl in her arms, amused at how she changed sides the moment food was involved. “You little glutton.”

“Heehee…” Tian Tian nestled in her arms, giggling happily.

The next morning during breakfast, Shen Xian quickly noticed Lin Qinghan had changed into the pink cat phone case from yesterday. She immediately smiled and asked, “Qinghan, didn’t you say it was childish yesterday? So why are you using it now?”

Lin Qinghan glanced at Shen Xian a little awkwardly and replied, “I didn’t want the phone to get scratched. Besides, this is the only case I have right now. What else am I supposed to use? Don’t overthink it.”

Shen Xian had no idea what there was to “overthink,” and just smiled. “As long as you like it.”

“I don’t like it. I just don’t have a choice,” Lin Qinghan corrected firmly.

“Alright, whatever you say,” Shen Xian replied with a grin.

Tian Tian didn’t understand what the two adults were talking about, but seeing Shen Xian smiling made her happy too, and she laughed along joyfully.