Chapter 67

Chapter 67: A Pitiful Little Thing
Jiang Qi Bin’s gaze was too easy to read. Song Rui Ze understood it at a glance.

“She is she. I am me,” Song Rui Ze said coldly.

Whatever Qin Hui Yin had, it belonged to her. It had nothing to do with him.

Siblings. What a joke.

Next time she told anyone they were siblings, he would deny it immediately. He would never let people misunderstand again.

“Did you two fight?” Jiang Qi Bin asked, still foolishly brave. “Brother Ze, listen to your brother for once. A sister this good—even if she says there are nine suns in the sky, you still nod and say yes, yes, yes.”

Song Rui Ze looked at him like he was missing a piece.

Was it really his foot that got smashed today, or his brain?

Qin Hui Yin came back from the counter after settling the herb purchase. “Are you done here? If you are, wait for a bit. I’ll go find Third Grandpa to bring the ox cart over, and then I’ll send you back to the work shed.”

“No,” Song Rui Ze said at once.

“Yes, yes,” Jiang Qi Bin cut in, grabbing Song Rui Ze’s sleeve like a drowning man clinging to driftwood. “Is carrying me not tiring? You carried me and ran all the way here, and now you want to carry me back? We’re laborers now. Save your strength!”

Song Rui Ze’s eyes narrowed. “Are you that close to her?”

“I’m not close to her,” Jiang Qi Bin said, baffled by the sudden edge in his voice. “But you are. Aren’t you siblings? A sister sending her brother back shouldn’t be that much trouble, right?”

He didn’t understand why Song Rui Ze was so worked up.

Their relationship must be worse than he’d thought.

Maybe it wasn’t a fight. Maybe they were simply never close.

But then… if this family really had money—if a sister could pull out silver like that—why didn’t they pay to buy Song Rui Ze out of the Dam Worksite? Why send him into this bitter place instead?

Jiang Qi Bin’s imagination ran ahead of him, building tragedy after tragedy.

Qin Hui Yin carried the two empty bowls away to return them. She pointed at Jiang Qi Bin. “Keep hold of him and wait here. I’ll be back soon. I won’t keep you long.”

The moment she left, Jiang Qi Bin started prying again, desperate to fit the pieces together. Song Rui Ze, however, was a gourd with its mouth sawed shut. No matter what Jiang Qi Bin asked, he didn’t give him a single extra word.

Song Rui Ze wanted to ditch him and leave.

But last night, his quilt had been splashed with water by a cousin from his second uncle’s family, leaving it cold and useless. It had been this noisy brat who’d shared his own quilt with him so Song Rui Ze wouldn’t freeze.

Song Rui Ze didn’t like owing anyone.

That was why he hadn’t thrown Jiang Qi Bin aside today.

Hoofbeats sounded outside.

From where Song Rui Ze stood, he could see the doorway. An ox cart had stopped there. Third Master Tang held the reins—and beside him sat Li Tao Hua.

Disgust flashed through Song Rui Ze like heat.

Then, uninvited, Qin Hui Yin’s face rose in his mind. Somehow, the disgust thinned, the edge of it filed down.

Qin Hui Yin jumped off the cart and strode inside. “Get on. The cart is here.” She turned to the apprentice. “Young man, the herbs I bought earlier—could you help me carry them onto the cart? Thank you.”

Song Rui Ze didn’t move.

Jiang Qi Bin lowered his voice, as if imparting a secret. “Sister is kind. Take the kindness you’re given. Don’t chill her heart too much, or she might ignore you later.”

Song Rui Ze’s jaw worked once.

He crouched, lifted Jiang Qi Bin onto his back, and walked out toward the cart.

Third Master Tang spoke first, surprised. “Song Family Boy, why are you here?”

“Coincidence,” Song Rui Ze said, giving a stiff nod.

He was about to set Jiang Qi Bin down when Li Tao Hua climbed off the cart and walked over, her face unreadable.

“Put him in front,” she said flatly. “No need to carry him up and down.”

Jiang Qi Bin brightened instantly, all friendliness. “Hello, Auntie. I’m Brother Ze’s good brother. You can call me Bin Zi.”

Li Tao Hua’s lip curled. “He can have friends too?”

She climbed back onto the cart with quick, neat movements, as if she couldn’t be bothered to look at them longer than necessary.

Jiang Qi Bin’s smile faltered. He leaned close to Song Rui Ze, whispering, “Brother Ze, your family relationships are complicated. I can’t make sense of it. Won’t you introduce who they are? I’m scared I’ll say the wrong thing.”

“Don’t talk to them and you won’t be wrong,” Song Rui Ze said. Then, colder, “They aren’t my family.”

“If they aren’t, then sister is, right?” Jiang Qi Bin’s eyes slid toward the bookshop next door just in time to see Qin Hui Yin carrying out a huge stack of paper. He couldn’t help asking, “Sister, why did you buy so much paper?”

“My elder brother is almost out,” Qin Hui Yin said, handing the paper up to Li Tao Hua. “I bought more to keep at home so trivial things won’t distract him from reviewing.”

Li Tao Hua took the stack, her face tightening at the weight of it. “Paper is the most expensive kind of ‘trivial’ there is. You really are willing to spend.”

“Mom, I bought the cheapest kind,” Qin Hui Yin said quickly. “Elder brother said so himself. He’s been using a lot of brushes, ink, and paper lately, so he told me to buy the cheapest as long as it works. Besides, aren’t we all learning to read and write? We need paper for that. Practicing on a sand tray is fine, but writing on sand and writing on paper feel completely different. These are necessities. I’m not wasting anything.”

Li Tao Hua gave her a look. “Your mouth is getting slicker by the day. I can’t win against you. Anyway, now they have you backing them, so what I say doesn’t matter.”

Jiang Qi Bin listened, more confused than ever.

Song Rui Ze had said there was only one person in his family.

So why did this cute sister talk about an elder brother at home?

And she called that beautiful woman Mom—which meant they were family. If they were family, why had Song Rui Ze’s whole body gone cold the moment he saw her?

Jiang Qi Bin’s mind latched onto a new, bleak explanation and wouldn’t let go.

“We’re here,” Third Master Tang called, pulling the rope and stopping the cart.

Song Rui Ze jumped down neatly and walked off without looking back.

Qin Hui Yin leaned over the edge of the cart, watching his back. “Are relatives allowed to visit here?”

Song Rui Ze stopped without turning around, his voice stiff as a board. “Not allowed.”

Jiang Qi Bin wanted to say He’s lying, but he swallowed the words.

In that short ride, he’d already built several tragic versions of Song Rui Ze being abandoned by his family. He couldn’t add more trouble for Brother Ze now.

Song Rui Ze carried him away.

The rest of them climbed back onto the cart and started the long trip home.

Li Tao Hua’s irritation surfaced the moment Song Rui Ze was out of sight. “Mom really doesn’t understand. Why do you always run toward Song Rui Ze? Everyone in the village knows how ominous he is, but you just won’t believe it.”

“Those ‘ominous’ stories are gossip people made up with nothing to back them,” Qin Hui Yin said, the tiredness in her bones turning her voice softer instead of sharper. She eased her head onto Li Tao Hua’s lap. “Mom, you’re a victim of gossip too. Why make the mistake of believing rumors?”

“I’m talking to you and you’re already playing dumb.” Li Tao Hua pinched the bridge of her nose, not hard, just enough to sting. “Do you think I like nagging? What an un-worry-free girl.”

“I’m so tired,” Qin Hui Yin mumbled, eyes drifting shut. “This road takes hours. I’ll sleep. Wake me when we arrive.”