Because she'd stayed up too late chatting with the system, Ye Qingju was shaken awake the next morning by Auntie Zhang’s urgent voice.
“Madam, time to get up! Things are different now—even if Sir isn’t here, there’s still a young master in the house.”
Though Auntie Zhang usually got along with Ye Qingju, she occasionally let slip lines worthy of a drama villain.
Only after Ye Qingju sluggishly washed up and got dressed did she finally start to wake up.
Across from her on the sofa sat the little dumpling, legs so short they didn’t even touch the floor, yet he insisted on crossing them like an adult, striking a pose.
Ye Qingju cleared her throat and put on a perfectly polished smile.
“You must be Qi Xinian, right? I’m your auntie.”
Qi Xinian’s inner alarm blared. This woman had ignored him yesterday, so why the fake smile today?
“Affection that comes late is cheaper than weeds, woman,” he declared in his soft, milky voice, snorting coldly.
Ye Qingju’s eye twitched. She turned to Auntie Zhang.
“Did Sir leave any special instructions?”
Like, say… giving me full authority to whoop this kid’s butt?
Qi Xinian looked up too, his bright eyes full of eager anticipation.
Auntie Zhang replied,
“Sir only called to say the young master will be living here from now on. He also hired a tutor for him, then hung up.”
Qi Xinian's eyes dimmed with disappointment.
Ye Qingju caught the change. Still just a kid, she thought. Needs affection like everyone else.
As that thought crossed her mind, her phone rang again.
Auntie Zhang and Qi Xinian both looked over.
Ye Qingju took her time pulling it out.
Unknown number: Baby, I’ll be seeing you real soon.
Ye Qingju: Save it. You’re not my type.
Unknown: You don’t even know who I am—how can you say I’m not your type?
Ye Qingju: At best, you’re a scallion.
No reply after that.
“Madam, is that a friend you know?” Auntie Zhang asked cautiously.
Pigs couldn’t talk, after all. Whatever bond existed between them wouldn’t last.
“When’s the tutor arriving?” Ye Qingju ignored the question and stood up.
Qi Xinian immediately grew wary.
Auntie Zhang replied,
“Said he’d be here this afternoon.”
Ye Qingju nodded and walked out.
Qi Xinian frowned.
“Where’s she going now?” he muttered.
Ignoring me again?
Auntie Zhang chuckled knowingly.
“To feed the piglets.”
Qi Xinian jumped off the couch. He swayed a bit before regaining balance.
“She’s raising a pet in my uncle’s house? I need to see this.”
The sound of his quick little footsteps followed after her.
Auntie Zhang shook her head with a smile. Kids were always bursting with energy.
She hoped these two could learn to get along.
They were both lonely souls, after all… Sigh.
Qi Xinian jogged after Ye Qingju, following her into the back garden.
Going by TV logic, as the powerless stepson in this household, if he didn’t establish dominance now, she’d surely abuse him later.
He had to strike first—let her know he wasn’t someone to mess with.
Half an hour later—
He looked up at the towering, pitch-black pig in front of him.
Qi Xinian fell silent.
Ye Qingju was just about to close the pen gate when she spotted the tiny figure behind her.
“Why’d you follow me? Perfect—come help out.”
He looked down at his handcrafted Italian leather shoes, then at the snorting black sow and her piglets nearby. Qi Xinian took a step back.
“Over my dead body.”
Ye Qingju didn’t press him.
“Then stay put and don’t wander off.”
As Ye Qingju changed into her coveralls and began mixing feed like an old pro, Qi Xinian’s little dumpling face scrunched in disapproval.
No way, Qi Xinian. You’re destined to be a ruthless CEO someday—you can’t lose here!
He took a determined step forward.
Ye Qingju suddenly moved.
She grabbed a piglet, flipped it over, and pinned down its limbs.
Then she pulled out a box filled with various medical supplies and took a scalpel from it, gloved hand steady.
“What are you doing!?” Qi Xinian asked, frozen in his tracks.
Ye Qingju looked up and smiled, the scalpel catching the light.
“Castration.”
Qi Xinian instinctively clamped his legs together, a chill shooting straight up to his skull.
“Y-You... You evil woman!”
His tiny hands trembled as he pointed at her, stammering the words before bolting from the garden.
Even his retreating back screamed panic.
Ye Qingju didn’t spare him another glance and resumed her work.
(T/N: In professional livestock farming, piglets undergo procedures like tail docking, tooth clipping, nasal drops, and surgical castration within the first 30 days for health and quality reasons.)
The procedure Ye Qingju was doing was the final step.
Watching her move with practiced ease, the system spoke up:
【Weren’t you just an ordinary office worker before? How do you know all this?】
Ye Qingju smiled.
【I couldn’t afford tuition back in school. I used to work on a pig farm during every break. Picked up a thing or two.】
【My host is amazing~】 the system cooed.
By the time she finished, it was nearly noon.
Auntie Zhang had lunch ready and waiting.
Glancing at the empty seat across the table, Ye Qingju asked,
“Where’s Qi Xinian?”
Auntie Zhang looked troubled.
“Ever since he came back, he locked himself in his room hugging an Ultraman doll and won’t come out for lunch.”
Ye Qingju nodded knowingly.
“Send his food up later.”
Auntie Zhang nodded back.
So long as Sir wasn’t involved, Madam always seemed like a normal person.
Time slipped by.
While Ye Qingju lounged in her room, discussing with the system whether to set a trap for the mysterious texter, someone knocked on her door.
“Madam, the tutor Sir hired for the young master has arrived.”
Ye Qingju rose and headed to the door. Just before her fingers touched the knob, she paused.
【Xiao Jiji, is there any data on this tutor in the book’s original plot?】
The system picked up on her suspicion.
【Host, you think—he’s the transmigrator?】
Ye Qingju nodded.
【That message came this morning, and now the tutor’s here in the afternoon? That’s way too convenient.】
Xiao Jiji immediately compiled the man's background and read it aloud to her.
After listening, Ye Qingju returned to her room and changed out of her hoodie. She casually pulled a white dress—one of many nearly identical ones—from the closet and slipped it on.
Downstairs in the living room, Hei Meilu sat drinking tea, secretly estimating how much the Qi family mansion was worth.
Then his gaze froze.
He stared at the girl descending the spiral staircase.
Slender and delicate, skin paler than most, with a palm-sized face and soft, thick black hair cascading down her back—when she lifted her head, her cat-like eyes shimmered with such vulnerable beauty, it made one’s heart ache.
Hei Meilu swallowed hard, trying to suppress the excitement in his eyes.
I’m not that top-tier freeloader from my original world anymore. This is a new life.
Everything starts from scratch now.
And the first step—
Was seducing this rich, love-starved little heiress.
Then outlast her old husband and become the male lead’s next stepfather.
0 Comments