Becoming a Scum A in an Old-School Melodramatic Novel - Chapter 5

Shen Xian smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Tian Tian said that when she grows taller in the future, she wants to protect you. These are some fruits I bought for you two — make sure to eat them.” As she spoke, Shen Xian handed over the bag of fruit.

Lin Qinghan looked at the bag of fruit, wanting to say something but held back. Shen Xian wouldn’t accept the red envelopes she gave, and she kept coming by every day to buy treats for Tian Tian.

Shen Xian noticed Lin Qinghan’s hesitation and quickly explained, “I don’t mean anything else by it — really, it’s just for the kid. Please don’t misunderstand, can’t I be nice to the child?”

Lin Qinghan glanced at Shen Xian. Just then, her phone rang. She answered, “Okay, I’ll head back in a bit.”

Lin Qinghan looked at Shen Tian, troubled. She worked in a private hospital, responsible for imaging. Just now, the hospital director called to say that an acquaintance was coming for a scan. She had to go back, but a hospital wasn’t really a good place for a child. She had to send Tian Tian home first — but that also meant she wouldn’t have time to make her dinner.

Shen Xian saw that Lin Qinghan seemed to be in a hurry and offered, “How about I take the kid back first? Don’t worry, I’ll just look after her — I won’t touch anything else.”

Lin Qinghan looked at Shen Xian doubtfully. Her work was urging her to come quickly, but she still didn’t feel at ease leaving the key with Shen Xian. After all, what Shen Xian had done in the past was still fresh in her mind. “Then I’ll drop you both off first, then head over.”

Lin Qinghan’s small electric scooter had foot pedals. She placed Shen Tian on the front pedal board to stand, and gestured for Shen Xian to sit on the back.

It had been a long time since Shen Xian had ridden one of these little electric scooters. Sitting behind Lin Qinghan, she didn’t know where to place her hands — holding onto the seat was unsteady, but she figured Lin Qinghan probably didn’t want her to touch her either.

Lin Qinghan waited a while but didn’t feel any movement from behind. She turned and shot Shen Xian a sideways glance. “You’re not gonna hold on and just plan to fall off?”

“Oh, oh — I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Shen Xian explained, then obediently tugged on the fabric around Lin Qinghan’s waist without actually putting her hands directly on her. Lin Qinghan didn’t bother responding and just took off. Shen Xian was jolted and had no choice but to lightly hold onto Lin Qinghan’s waist.

In just over ten minutes, the three of them arrived at Lin Qinghan’s apartment. She was renting it — on the second floor of an old complex. Lin Qinghan opened the door for Shen Xian and Shen Tian. “It’ll be a while. If Tian Tian gets hungry, make her a little something.” After giving these instructions, Lin Qinghan hurried out.

For now, only Shen Xian and Shen Tian were left in the house. “Tian Tian, wash your hands and take a short break — Mommy’s going to make you dinner.”

Shen Tian obediently went off. After washing her hands, she took out her drawing book and began doodling.

Shen Xian opened the fridge and checked. There weren’t many vegetables, and not much meat either. She simply pulled out her phone and ordered some groceries, including chicken wings and shrimp. While waiting, she sliced up a plate of fruit for Shen Tian and brought it into the living room.

“Tian Tian, have some fruit first. Mommy will make dinner soon.” Shen Xian tousled the small tuft of hair on top of Shen Tian’s head and smiled.

Shen Tian hadn’t spent much time with Shen Xian before, so she was still a bit shy. She nodded and said softly, “Okay, then Tian Tian will be good and draw.” Once Shen Xian went back into the kitchen, Shen Tian grew bolder, picked up a spoon, and began eating the fruit. She hadn’t eaten this crescent-moon-shaped fruit before. It tasted sweet and sour — pretty delicious. But she was too shy to ask Mommy what it was.

Meanwhile, the delivery guy had arrived. Shen Xian opened the door and brought in a big bag full of vegetables and meat. After all, she was still a child. Shen Tian curiously ran over and sweetly asked, “Mommy, what are all these? Are they for Tian Tian to eat?”

Shen Xian smiled and said, “Of course. There’s chicken wings and shrimp — Mommy’s going to make them for Tian Tian. Be good, go play for a bit, Mommy’s going to get ready. Once I’m done, we’ll eat together.”

Shen Tian nodded and gave a shy smile. The dimples on her cheeks made her look even cuter. This Mommy was nothing like the one who used to come over just to ask for money. She was starting to really like this new Mommy. At just over three years old, she didn’t know how to hold grudges. The string of floating numbers above her head had long since changed to [-20].

Smiling, Shen Tian cautiously approached Shen Xian, stretched out her chubby little arms, and hugged Shen Xian’s thigh. Looking up with a grin, she asked, “Mommy, what’s that half-moon-shaped fruit? Tian Tian never had it before.”

Shen Xian’s heart nearly melted from the cuteness. She simply picked the little one up in her arms, walked over to the fridge, and took out a mangosteen with its rind still on. She explained, “This fruit is called mangosteen. When you peel off the skin, the inside is shaped like little crescent moons. Does Tian Tian like it?”

Shen Tian nodded hard with her little head and said shyly in her soft voice, “Tian Tian likes it. It’s my first time eating it.”

Shen Xian bounced her a little in her arms, smiling with curved eyes and brows. “Okay, Mommy will remember. I’ll buy more for Tian Tian next time, okay?”

Shen Tian wrapped her arms around Shen Xian’s shoulders and obediently replied, “Okay. Thank you, Mommy.”

Shen Xian rubbed the little hair tuft on Shen Tian’s head and carried her back to the living room, smiling as she reminded, “Tian Tian, don’t fill up on fruit. Leave some room — Mommy’s going to make shrimp with nuts and chicken wings.”

Shen Tian nodded obediently, “Okay, Tian Tian won’t get too full. I’ll save some fruit for Mommy.”

Shen Xian sighed. She’s only just over three years old — how can she be so well-behaved? Even knowing to leave the good stuff for me.

“Alright, then Mommy will go cook now.” Shen Xian settled Shen Tian in, took the needed ingredients from the bag, put the rest of the vegetables and meat in the fridge, and went into the kitchen.

Shen Xian spent nearly 200 yuan on all this. She had earned {600 yuan} from working at home most of the day, so now she only had {400 yuan} left.

Just then, the system’s mechanical voice suddenly sounded in her head,

“Host has adapted to the new environment in such a short time — truly worthy of having been a CEO in the last life. Since the host proactively took care of Shen Tian and cooked today, the system is rewarding you with {‘1,000 yuan’}. The money has been deposited into your FeiXin account.”

Shen Xian smiled in the kitchen. In her past life, tens of millions meant nothing to her. But now, without money, she couldn’t do a thing.

She first called Fang Jinglan. When Fang Jinglan saw it was Shen Xian’s call, her heart sank. Shen Xian never called with good news — and she’d been acting oddly well-behaved lately, which made her feel something big was probably coming. She steadied her breath before picking up.

“Mom, I’m not coming home this afternoon. You and Dad go ahead and eat something. Tian Tian’s mom got called in for overtime at work. I’m at Tian Tian’s place right now.”

Fang Jinglan was silent for a while, thinking it was absolutely impossible. Back then, Lin Qinghan couldn’t avoid Shen Xian fast enough — how could she possibly let Shen Xian stay in her house? She figured she had gotten her hopes up for nothing again; her daughter must be lying to her again. “Alright then, have Tian Tian pick up the phone.”

Shen Xian froze for a moment, then remembered the things the original body had done in the past, and immediately understood. She got up and went to the living room, crouched down to match the little one’s height, and said, “Grandma misses Tian Tian, she wants to talk to Tian Tian.”

Shen Tian’s little face lit up with joy. In the past, Mommy hadn’t been good to her — it was always Grandma who took her out to play from time to time. She immediately took Shen Xian’s phone and said, “Grandma, Tian Tian misses you too!”

Fang Jinglan’s heart almost melted. One of the main reasons she had given the child to Lin Qinghan in the first place was because Shen Xian was so unreliable. The child wouldn’t have any good days staying with her. Plus, Fang Jinglan herself had to take care of Shen Wenkang and really didn’t have the time to look after a child. “Aiya, Grandma misses you too. In a few days, Grandma will come see you. Stay well with your Mommy, okay?”

After Fang Jinglan and Shen Tian chatted for a bit, Shen Xian took the phone back. “Mom, I really am at Lin Qinghan’s place. I’ll stop here for now — I’m going to make dinner.”

After hanging up, Shen Xian returned to the kitchen. She got the rice ready to steam, then washed and chopped the vegetables. After thinking for a bit, she took out her phone and called Lin Qinghan.

The call connected, and for a moment, Shen Xian felt a little awkward. After all, that [-130] favorability rating was still hanging over her head. “Um… about when do you think you’ll be back? I want to know when I should start cooking.”

It wasn’t noisy on Lin Qinghan’s side. Her cold, clear voice came through the phone to Shen Xian’s ears, “I’ve finished up. I’ll probably be back in half an hour. You can cook for Tian Tian first — I’m fine.”

“No need, I already cut up some fruit for Tian Tian — she won’t be hungry. I’ll stir-fry in ten minutes then. Take it slow on the road. I’m hanging up now.” Shen Xian gave a few reminders before finally ending the call.

Lin Qinghan, however, stared at her phone, feelings swirling in her chest. There was a time when she also wanted this kind of peaceful life. But Shen Xian had shattered that hope again and again. She still remembered the arrogance of the debt collectors when they showed up at her door. Shen Xian had vanished who knows where, hiding from them, leaving only her and their six-month-old child behind. The baby had cried and screamed in fear, and those people took everything in the house they could carry. She could do nothing. If her mother-in-law hadn’t sold the house to pay off the debt, she had no idea how long those days would have lasted — or whether Shen Xian would’ve ended up selling the child too.

From one incident to the next, she slowly saw Shen Xian’s true nature and stopped believing her. Shen Xian had lied too many times — big things like the family savings and her jewelry, small things like just a | few hundred yuan | — there was never an amount too small for Shen Xian to lie about. Out of every ten things she said, eleven were lies. She had never told a single truth to her family. Lin Qinghan’s heart had long since frozen over.

Lin Qinghan even blamed herself a little — just now, she’d actually felt a little warmth in her heart because of one line from Shen Xian that sounded like concern. But she quickly cursed herself for being soft hearted. The memories of the past came flooding back, echoing through her mind. Soon, she returned to being the guarded, emotionless version of herself.