Zhou Siyu, guilty as a thief, couldn’t concentrate in class that afternoon. During the first lesson, she was called out by Li Qiumei.
Li Qiumei hated it when someone didn’t pay attention in her class, no matter who it was. Once discovered, they were in for a scolding.
In the past, Zhou Siyu would have found this particularly embarrassing, but this time her mind wasn’t on it at all. She was consumed with thoughts of the consequences after Xu Haiyang’s plan succeeded the next day.
She was somewhat afraid, but also felt a sense of excitement and anticipation.
When she returned home from school in the afternoon, she immediately checked the object inside her shoes. Relieved to see it still there, she exhaled deeply.
Shen Mianmian had been paying close attention to Zhou Siyu’s actions. She had deliberately approached Zhou Siyu’s old cotton shoes several times, causing Zhou Siyu to tense up nervously, only to pretend she was reaching for something else, perfectly brushing past the old shoes.
After a few trials , Zhou Siyu’s gaze towards her had turned unfriendly.
Having switched the substance, Shen Mianmian was not worried about Zhou Siyu’s scheming. After cleaning up, she went to bed and slept peacefully.
Usually on weekends, Zhou Siyu loved to sleep in, but this time, as soon as Shen Mianmian got up, Zhou Siyu immediately followed, dressing and getting out of bed.
"Siyu, why are you up so early? It’s cold—sleep in a little longer!" Zhou Lanfang hadn’t planned to cook breakfast, but seeing Zhou Siyu awake, she leisurely went to the kitchen.
Initially, she intended to steam some sweet potatoes, but Zhou Siyu mentioned she wanted porridge, prompting Zhou Lanfang to cook a batch of rice porridge.
Shen Mianmian wasn’t idle either, sitting in the kitchen helping with lighting the fire.
Zhou Lanfang, no more, no less, made three bowls of porridge. The bowls for her and Zhou Siyu were full to the brim, whereas Shen Mianmian’s bowl had barely more than half.
Zhou Siyu offered to help with the bowls, but Zhou Lanfang stopped her, "Let her carry them." Her Siyu’s hands were made for holding pens, not for carrying bowls or handling chopsticks.
"Auntie, carrying bowls isn’t tiring; it can even warm the hands." Zhou Siyu insisted on taking away the half-bowl of porridge.
When Shen Mianmian entered the main room with two full bowls of porridge, she saw Zhou Siyu hurriedly removing chopsticks from her own bowl. Pretending not to notice, Shen Mianmian sat down silently and began to eat her porridge.
There were a few bits of undissolved flour floating in the bowl. She deliberately asked, "Mom, did you spill some flour into the pot?"
Zhou Siyu’s hand trembled, nearly losing her grip on the bowl.
"Always finding fault," Zhou Lanfang snapped back at her. "I don’t have it in mine. If you don’t want to eat, then don’t."
Feigning fright, Shen Mianmian fell silent and finished her bowl of porridge, leaving it clean. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝕟𝕖𝕥
A little raw flour won’t kill a person. Having eaten it, she now waited to see what Zhou Siyu would do.
"Wash the dishes before going to work." After giving the orders, Zhou Lanfang rushed off to Zhang Changfa’s house to watch TV.
Shen Mianmian had been working for a while, and Zhou Lanfang, coming down from her initial excitement, even started to resent how little Shen Mianmian was paid.
After Shen Mianmian started going to school, she worked only seven or eight days a month, earning just three or four yuan. Compared to the money Shen Jianhua brought her each time he visited, this amount was nothing to her.
If it weren’t for finding Shen Mianmian an eyesore at home, Zhou Lanfang would rather have kept her there to do chores, or raise a few sheep to sell before the New Year, which would have made her more than this.
Shen Mianmian cleared the table of the bowls and chopsticks and took them to the kitchen. Just as she donned her apron and was ready to wash, Zhou Siyu walked in from outside, "Sister, let me do it!"