Picked Up the Female Lead When She Was Young (GL) - Chapter 9

On the way back, Zhou Qinglang carried the small table. Xia Wanshuang just held the bag with the empty cups, which felt light and almost weightless.

 

Xia Wanshuang had initially wanted Zhou Qinglang to take it easy, but Zhou Qinglang naturally took the table and walked ahead, so she had no choice but to let her.

 

She opened the door with the key and told Zhou Qinglang to put the table aside while she took the bottles into the kitchen to wash them.

 

After putting the table down, Zhou Qinglang leaned against the kitchen doorway, waiting for Xia Wanshuang.

 

“Langlang, go take a bath first. Do you know how to adjust the water temperature? The one on the left is for hot water, and the one on the right is for cold. You go first; I’ll get you some pajamas later.”

 

Xia Wanshuang said as she washed the bottles. The warm light made her back look especially soft.

 

Zhou Qinglang didn’t understand why she needed to bathe again after having one in the afternoon, but she didn’t ask and walked into the bathroom.

 

After Xia Wanshuang finished cleaning the bottles, she left them in a shady spot to dry. She wiped her hands and went to get pajamas for Zhou Qinglang.

 

The pajamas were a bit more casual. Xia Wanshuang grabbed a shirt for her, thinking she should buy the child a pair of shoes. The ones Zhou Qinglang was wearing were old and didn’t fit.

 

When Zhou Qinglang came out of the bath, Xia Wanshuang was putting away money.

 

Xia Wanshuang had left home with twenty-five yuan that morning, and she had thirty-five when she came back, meaning she had made a profit of ten yuan.

 

“Langlang, I have school tomorrow. I’ll leave two yuan for you so you can go out and eat breakfast. Then we’ll have lunch together when I get back.”

 

Xia Wanshuang placed two yuan on the dressing table, gesturing for Zhou Qinglang to take it the next morning.

 

Zhou Qinglang nodded and lay down on the bed.

 

“I’m going to take a bath now. You go to sleep.”

 

Zhou Qinglang lay in bed, watching Xia Wanshuang walk out.

 

After her bath, Xia Wanshuang went to the study, plugged in the power, and turned on the computer.

 

Back then, computers were still bulky desktop models that took a long time to boot up.

 

Xia Wanshuang wanted to surf the web, but she looked and saw there was no internet connection and no internet bill paid.

 

It made sense. Jiang Wan helped pay the water and electricity bills but wouldn’t have paid for the internet, as the little girl was too young and hadn’t thought about using the computer.

 

So, Xia Wanshuang opened up a game of Spider Solitaire, holding the mouse and dragging the cards.

 

Zhou Qinglang waited for a while but didn’t see Xia Wanshuang come back. Curious, she went out to see and found Xia Wanshuang tinkering with a large object she didn’t understand.

 

The object was big and bright, and things were moving around on the screen. It seemed quite interesting.

 

Zhou Qinglang unconsciously moved closer, watching Xia Wanshuang play and looking at the screen thoughtfully.

 

The system was also playing solitaire, but its advanced core had already figured out the program’s underlying rules and conditions. It quickly solved it and was startled to find Zhou Qinglang standing behind Xia Wanshuang.

 

[System]: Shuangshuang, the female lead is here. She’s right behind you.

 

Xia Wanshuang was shocked. She looked behind her and, sure enough, saw Zhou Qinglang standing silently.

 

“Langlang, why did you come out here?”

 

“I saw you were still bathing…”

 

“This is called Spider Solitaire. It’s a game. Can you understand it?”

 

Zhou Qinglang had a general idea of the rules, but she wasn’t completely sure, so she shook her head.

 

“These are cards. The order is from 1 to 10, then JQK. You have to group them together. I’m playing with four colors, and you can only move the same color cards together.”

 

Xia Wanshuang felt like she was explaining too much and that the child might not understand.

 

“I’m almost done. Then I’ll let you play the beginner level.”

 

Xia Wanshuang hadn’t played solitaire in a long time, but some memories remained. After collecting all the cards, she started a beginner-level game with a single suit.

 

Xia Wanshuang gave up her seat to Zhou Qinglang and taught her how to play the beginner level.

 

Once she saw Zhou Qinglang get the hang of it, she went to pour her a glass of water. There were no sodas or milk at home, so plain water was all she had.

 

“I’ll go wash your clothes now. You play by yourself for a bit.”

 

Xia Wanshuang went to wash the clothes. The child’s clothes had been soaking for a while, so it wasn’t too much effort to wash them. Xia Wanshuang’s clothes were light. After washing them all, she carried the basin to the balcony to hang them to dry.

 

“I’ll help you.”

 

Zhou Qinglang saw that Xia Wanshuang was struggling with the basin and quickly got up from her chair to help her carry it.

 

“You can go play. It’s okay; I can do it myself.”

 

“I don’t know how to play.”

 

Zhou Qinglang’s face showed a hint of shame, as if she were upset about not being smart enough. Her expression made Xia Wanshuang laugh.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you later.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Xia Wanshuang went to get hangers, and then she and Zhou Qinglang went to the balcony together to hang the clothes.

 

After they had hung the clothes, Xia Wanshuang held Zhou Qinglang’s hand and taught her how to pass the beginner level of Spider Solitaire.

 

If the system had paid attention to Zhou Qinglang while Xia Wanshuang was washing clothes instead of organizing its database, it would have noticed that Zhou Qinglang had already completed the beginner level of Spider Solitaire twice. Her second time was much faster than her first, and she was already on her third try when Xia Wanshuang came back.

 

Unfortunately, the system didn’t notice, so Xia Wanshuang was none the wiser and couldn’t praise Zhou Qinglang by patting her head when she finished.

 

“Let’s play again tomorrow. Let’s go to sleep now.”

 

“Okay!”

 

Just as Xia Wanshuang was about to head to bed with Zhou Qinglang, Jiang Wan knocked on the door.

 

“What is it, Auntie? We’re about to go to sleep.”

 

Xia Wanshuang poked her head out the door and looked up at Jiang Wan.

 

“I went downstairs to throw out the trash and heard someone say they saw you and Langlang selling things across from the park. Is that true?”

 

“Yes, it was Langlang and me. My juicer was just sitting there. I read a story about a nine-year-old boy starting a business abroad, so I thought I could try to make some money. And it worked! We sold out, or I would have given you and Brother Tianhang a cup each.”

 

Jiang Wan looked at the happy expression on the little girl’s face and couldn’t help but feel happy, too. But along with the happiness, she felt a little heartache.

 

“Shuangshuang, next time, please don’t go out. You’re too small. What if someone bullies you?”

 

Jiang Wan squatted down to be at eye level with Xia Wanshuang and talked to her through the door.

 

“I’m worried about you. You and Langlang can just eat at my house. Please don’t go out to make money, okay? You can do that when you’re older.”

 

“But that would be a lot for you to handle, Auntie.”

 

“How much can three children eat? The three of you together don’t eat as much as one of me.”

 

Jiang Wan said with a smile, tapping Xia Wanshuang’s nose.

 

If Xia Wanshuang were truly an ignorant ten-year-old child, she might have believed Jiang Wan’s words. But because she wasn’t, she wanted to make her own money. Taking care of one child was fine, but taking on three was a huge financial burden.

 

“Auntie, I can do it. Please let me try. Langlang is my responsibility, not yours. You’ve helped me so much. In my heart, you’re already my second mom, so I can’t stand to see you so tired.”

 

Xia Wanshuang reached out and wiped the sweat from Jiang Wan’s face.

 

Xia Wanshuang wasn’t lying. In the original owner’s heart, Aunt Jiang, who had always been kind to her, had become her emotional support and her second mother after her mother went missing.

 

“Shuangshuang, what made you suddenly think this way?”

 

Jiang Wan looked at the child in front of her, a bit dazed. Yesterday, she was an introverted child, and her stubborn hope for her mother’s return was so touching. Today, she seemed so mature, saying such things. Her wisdom was heartbreaking.

 

“Yesterday, it rained so hard, and I had a very long dream. I dreamed of my mom and dad, and they told me to be strong and happy, to live well even if I’m by myself. I’ll be a good girl.”

 

Xia Wanshuang remembered the day her grandfather passed away. The usually vibrant old man lay in bed, surrounded by a feeling of decay. He held her hand tightly and said with a smile that even if he wasn’t here anymore, Shuangshuang had to live happily. Xia Wanshuang nodded with tears in her eyes and watched him close his eyes.

 

That feeling of pain and helplessness resonated in her chest. Xia Wanshuang looked at Jiang Wan with a calm expression, but her face showed a deep sense of loneliness.

 

“Good girl. That’s very good.”

 

Jiang Wan patted Xia Wanshuang’s head, and a lot of thoughts flashed through her mind.

 

“By the way, Shuangshuang, do you remember that bank card I had you put away?”

 

“I do.”

 

It still has a hundred thousand yuan in it!

 

“I asked someone, and it seems you can get it with some paperwork.”

 

Jiang Wan had forgotten about it before, thinking the child was still too young to need the money. She wasn’t greedy for their money, so she had put the matter on hold.

 

“Really?”

 

Xia Wanshuang was pleasantly surprised. How could she have forgotten about the possibility of getting the money with paperwork?

 

“I’ll take a day off tomorrow to go. Otherwise, the bank will be closed by the time I get off work. I think you have to go to the police station first to get some paperwork.”

 

“No, Auntie, you don’t have to. Sunday is fine since you’ll be free. It would be a waste of your time to take a day off.”

 

Xia Wanshuang wasn’t in a hurry. Knowing she could get the money was enough.

 

“Okay, but I’ll tell you this first, Shuangshuang. Even if you can get the money, you can’t spend it recklessly. And from now on, you should tell me what you’re doing.”

 

“I know, Auntie. Good night, Auntie.”

 

“Good night. Go close the door. I’ll wait until you’ve closed it to leave.”

 

Jiang Wan stood up and went home only after Xia Wanshuang had closed the door.

 

Xia Wanshuang went into the bedroom. After Zhou Qinglang lay down, she turned off the light.

 

As she lay there, thinking back on her day, she felt the bed shake. Zhou Qinglang was tossing and turning.

 

“Langlang, can’t you sleep?”

 

“No, it’s just that I’m not used to it. Did I wake you up?”

 

Last night she was sleeping in a trash bin, and tonight she was in a soft, clean bed. It all felt so unreal.

 

“If you can’t sleep, I’ll tell you a story.”

 

Teacher Xia began to tell a bedtime story and chose Cinderella.

 

“And from then on, the prince and princess lived happily ever after. Langlang, isn’t that a perfect story?”

 

“That prince is so silly.”

 

The little girl didn’t think it was perfect and commented on it.

 

“Huh?”

 

Xia Wanshuang was surprised by Zhou Qinglang’s reaction and was a little stunned.

 

“The person he danced with, he couldn’t even tell what her body was like. He only knew who she was when her shoe was bleeding.”

 

Xia Wanshuang was about to say that it was normal not to recognize Cinderella after she changed her appearance, but then she realized she was twisting the story. The prince not recognizing Cinderella and mistaking someone else for her were two different things.

 

Xia Wanshuang hadn’t thought of how to respond to Zhou Qinglang yet when she heard Zhou Qinglang say quietly,

 

“Either way, I would never mistake anyone else for Sister Shuangshuang.”