It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 11

Jiang Shuangling held a comic book in her hand, adapted from a children’s film with a revolutionary theme. The story depicted a young boy who, after many trials, eventually grew into a competent Eighth Route Army soldier.

She hugged her younger brother tighter and opened the book in her hand. Afraid of disturbing those around her, she tried her best to lower her voice and narrated the story from the pictures with great care.

Having grown up in the Suzhou-Shanghai area, Jiang Shuangling was accustomed to the soft dialect of the region. Now, as she lowered her voice and spoke gently, her voice naturally carried a delicate sweetness ingrained in her very being.

Her voice had the gentle grace typical of Jiangnan women. Even if the words were not clear, the slightly elongated breathy sound was as melodious as a captivating song when it reached one’s ears.

Compared to ordinary people, Jiang Shuangling was relatively good at telling stories. Her grandmother played the pipa and was skilled in storytelling through singing. When she was young, her grandmother often played the pipa, sang little songs, and told stories to her.

Influenced by her grandmother, Jiang Shuangling could also narrate some stories in a rhythmic manner.

Jiang Che loved his sister’s voice, listening attentively. Entertainment was scarce in this era, so even Qi Yue, who was nearby, couldn’t help but lean in to listen to what she was saying.

Qi Heng, with his eyes lowered, had his eyelashes flutter for a moment.

“Young lady, why don’t you speak a bit louder? It’s no trouble! We’d like to listen too…”

The middle-aged couple sitting opposite them couldn’t contain themselves any longer. They looked tired, having been traveling for several days, and were initially drowsy. However, the intermittent sound of the story from across the aisle piqued their interest, making them fully awake. The voice faded in and out, especially lowering at crucial parts of the story, tantalizing their curiosity.

Jiang Shuangling hesitated for a moment, “This…”

“It’s okay, speak louder. Your voice is pleasant to hear,” someone from the diagonal seat suddenly chimed in.

The commotion on their side caught the attention of nearby passengers, and the noise in the carriage suddenly subsided. Many turned their eyes towards them, as if ready to appoint her as the storyteller for the journey.

Jiang Shuangling showed a hint of embarrassment. Thinking quickly, she shifted her gaze to Qi Heng, who was resting with his eyes closed, and used him as an excuse, “Someone here is trying to sleep and rest, so I can’t speak loudly.”

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the carriage returned to its previous low murmur of scattered conversations.

The woman from the middle-aged couple opposite took a sip of water to refresh herself. She glanced at Qi Heng, then at Jiang Shuangling, and with a warm smile, said, “You two must be a couple, right? Both of you are so good-looking, and your children are beautiful too.”

She pointed her chin at Jiang Che, “This one looks like you.”

Then she pointed at Qi Yue, “And this one looks like him.”

“You look like a family of four.”

“So young and already a mother.”

Jiang Shuangling was speechless, her mouth twitching slightly. For a moment, she was at a loss for words, thinking to herself, ‘I’ve just become a mother out of nowhere.’

“She’s not my mother!” Qi Yue, hearing these words, protested angrily and discontentedly.

“Big Sister…” Jiang Che burrowed into Jiang Shuangling’s arms.

The middle-aged woman across the aisle suddenly realized her mistake and then brightened up, “Oh, so you haven’t married yet, young lady. I thought so, such a pretty and lively girl like you wouldn’t be married so soon. By the way, I have a son who’s currently serving in the army…”

As she continued, she even began to pitch the idea of Jiang Shuangling becoming her daughter-in-law.

Jiang Shuangling gave an awkward smile, guessing the woman was probably joking.

“She’s already married!” The little bundle of energy on Qi Heng’s lap announced loudly in a childish voice, revealing the truth.

Jiang Shuangling added with a resigned smile, “Yes, I am already married.”

The awkward moments on the train seemed endless.

As the train approached a major city station, Qi Heng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up. He mentioned that he needed to step out to take care of something and asked Jiang Shuangling to look after the children.

Jiang Shuangling nodded, and Qi Heng immediately followed the crowd off the train.

This left Jiang Shuangling feeling a bit overwhelmed as she looked at the stern-faced little boy next to her.

This was tricky.

The train was scheduled for a long stop at this station, and it was unclear when Qi Heng would return.

Qi Yue rejected her, and with so many people around and the train doors wide open, she worried he might impulsively slip into the crowd or run off the train, which would be a major problem.

Jiang Shuangling counted to three silently in her mind, and then, summoning her courage, she gave Qi Yue a big bear hug, just like catching a little chick.

Jiang Che, standing nearby, watched his sister’s “chick-catching” move in stunned silence and quietly scooted closer to the window.

Qi Yue struggled a bit in her arms but couldn’t break free. Instead, he caught a whiff of the soothing fragrance from the woman holding him. He tilted his head to look up at Jiang Shuangling and grabbed one of the braids hanging in front of her chest.

Four-year-old Qi Yue had rarely been held by such a young woman. He had been mostly cared for by his grandmother, as he had known from a young age that he didn’t have a mother. His grandmother lived with his second uncle and aunt, who was a soldier, so he rarely saw her either.

Jiang Shuangling noticed that holding these two children felt completely different. Compared to little Jiang Che, Qi Yue was noticeably sturdier and his limbs were stronger.

“You smell nice.”

She placed the little “chick” on the inner seat, next to Jiang Che, and then sat in Qi Heng’s previous spot, guarding the exit.

Hearing the little boy’s comment, Jiang Shuangling was momentarily stunned but then smiled. She brought her sleeve to the little boy’s nose and asked, “Are you talking about this?”

It was a calming and stress-relieving light fragrance.

Before leaving, Jiang Shuangling had considered the strong smells typical of trains in this era and worried she wouldn’t be able to tolerate them. So she had deliberately scented the collar and cuffs of her clothes with a bit of fragrance. If she found the train’s smell unpleasant, she could cover her nose with her sleeve and breathe in the soothing scent.

She couldn’t stand the smell even on air-conditioned buses before, relying on this method to alleviate motion sickness.

Because she loved this fragrance so much, she would also blend this scent herself.

Jiang Shuangling was the type of person who could go days and nights without bathing when busy and staying up late to meet deadlines, but in her leisure time, she was willing to indulge in elegance. She enjoyed rituals and occasionally pursued the romanticism of tea-making, flower arrangement, fragrance blending, appreciating snowfall, calligraphy, and painting.

Qi Yue sniffed her sleeve contentedly before playfully pushing her hand away, pretending to be disgusted.

“This stepmother smells nice.”

“It stinks, it’s terrible,” Qi Yue said, pretending to be disgusted.

Jiang Shuangling wasn’t upset, using a tone like coaxing a child, she reminded him, “Sit inside and wait for Daddy to come back, okay?”

Qi Yue ignored her, grunted, and moved away, distancing himself from Jiang Shuangling.

Meanwhile, Jiang Che, sitting furthest inside, timidly squeezed towards the window, pressing against the car wall. He looked like a frightened little lizard, trying his best to put some distance between himself and Qi Yue, even casting a pleading look at his sister.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

She wanted to laugh but knew she shouldn’t at this moment.

“Little Brother, hehe—sit properly.”

Qi Yue had a bit of a mischievous streak, so when he saw Jiang Che unwilling to be close to him, he deliberately squeezed over to him.

Jiang Che tried to push him away, but his arms and legs were not as strong as Qi Yue’s, so he couldn’t move him. The two children ended up in a tangle, pushing each other back and forth.

“Big… Sister.”

Jiang Shuangling felt a bit troubled by the situation. Should she separate these two unlucky kids or not?

At the same time, she felt relieved that neither Jiang Che nor Qi Yue were the crying type, or else the situation could have been much worse.

As Jiang Shuangling hesitated, the children pushing back and forth got bored of their own game. Qi Yue picked up the comic book and sat down, flipping through it with his head lowered, causing the pages to rustle.

Curious despite his initial reluctance, Jiang Che couldn’t help but lean over to see.

Seeing this, Jiang Shuangling handed her little brother another comic book.

Jiang Che obediently opened the new comic book.

Seeing the new one, Qi Yue snatched it dominantly from Jiang Che’s hand and handed him the old one.

Being easy-going, Jiang Che didn’t get upset and just read whatever was given to him.

The two children earnestly focused on their respective comic books.

Jiang Shuangling sighed with relief, thinking that things had finally calmed down.

She felt like an unreliable big sister with two little brothers to take care of.

She glanced towards the direction of the train door.

– When will Qi Heng come back?

Not long after, Qi Heng boarded the train carrying a bag. He handed the bag to Jiang Shuangling and then sat back down, holding Qi Yue in his arms.

Jiang Shuangling held her brother in her arms and curiously opened the bag. Inside, she found White Rabbit milk candies and powdered milk.

She looked at Qi Heng with surprise, feeling a strange emotion welling up inside her.

After all, it was a gesture of goodwill, so she smiled gently, opened the box of milk candies, fed one to Jiang Che, ate one herself, and then partially unwrapped another candy, holding it near Qi Yue’s mouth.

The resolute and unyielding Qi Yue, of course, refused the enemy’s sugar-coated bullet, turning his head away and refusing to eat.

Jiang Shuangling had anticipated that he wouldn’t eat it and just wanted to indulge this proud little guy’s habit of rejecting things.

The next moment, she held the candy out in front of Qi Heng.

The scene repeated itself.

Qi Heng clearly had no intention of taking it.

Jiang Shuangling caught a hint of hesitation in his eyes. It seemed he really didn’t like overly sweet things, perhaps because the little milk cake earlier had made him feel a bit sick.

Initially, she thought about retracting her hand, but then she remembered Qi Heng’s son bullying her brother earlier. Shouldn’t she reciprocate in kind, even just a little?

So Jiang Shuangling raised her hand a bit higher, holding the candy near his mouth, and chuckled, “Won’t you have some?”

Qi Heng glanced at her, silently took the candy into his mouth, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

Seeing that Qi Heng actually ate the candy, Jiang Shuangling felt a bit embarrassed. She wondered if she had gone too far.

But at that moment, the proud little guy on Qi Heng’s lap twisted his body and quickly took a candy from the box in Jiang Shuangling’s arms.

The next moment, he held the candy out in front of Jiang Shuangling.

It was his way of asking to be fed.

After a moment of confusion, Jiang Shuangling suddenly understood the little tyrant’s character. He was probably the type who would say, “I don’t necessarily want what you give me, but if everyone else has it, I must have it too.”

Jiang Shuangling chuckled and fed him a candy.

After Qi Yue finished his candy, he turned away without looking at her. Then, after a while, he turned back and sternly called out to Jiang Che, “Feed me!”

Jiang Che looked at him in confusion.

Qi Yue grabbed a handful of his own candies and gave them to Jiang Che before turning away stubbornly.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Shuangling suddenly felt that with these four people together, the days ahead were bound to be full of surprises.