Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ye Qing smiled at the little one, clapped her hands, and said, “Yangyang, come here. I’ll play with you.”

The little one neither nodded nor shook her head. Her small face visibly crumpled, and soon she was sniffling and crying.

“Wahh, Yangyang is good. Sister Ye, don’t sell me. I’m very good~” The little one cried pitifully, as if Ye Qing was really about to sell her.

Ye Qing felt like crying too. She only wanted to bond with the little one while Jiang Jinhuang was out, but now her words had scared her to tears. If Jiang Jinhuang saw this, her already pitiful favorability would plummet to -200.

Ye Qing hurried over, speaking softly, “Yangyang, be good. I’m not selling you. Having a little one like you around is pretty fun. Don’t cry, okay?”

As she spoke, she reached to wipe the little one’s tears, but the child cried even harder.

“Wahh, Sister Ye is lying. Last time you said you’d play with me, but you tried to sell me,” the little one sobbed, her cries growing louder.

The last time, Ye Qing had sweetly coaxed her to play, then carried her out and nearly sold her to an old man. Ye Qing was about to take the money when her sister arrived just in time to save her. Otherwise, she’d have been sold.

The little one vividly remembered that moment, something she might never forget. So when Ye Qing said she’d play with her, she burst into tears.

Ye Qing quickly put a finger to her lips. “Shh, shh, can we keep it down?”

“No, no, Sister Ye, don’t sell me. I’m good,” the little one cried even more, her voice louder.

Ye Qing’s heart sank. She knew the original owner had done terrible things, nearly selling the child. Now, she was the one paying for it, taking the blame for something she didn’t do.

While washing dishes, Jiang Jinhuang kept the kitchen door open. Though it was cold, she didn’t trust Ye Qing alone with her sister, given Ye Qing’s history of trying to sell her. With the door open, she could hear any noise from the bedroom.

As she washed, she heard sounds from the bedroom. At first, they were faint, and she didn’t think much of it. But then she heard what sounded like Yangyang crying, and crying hard.

Jiang Jinhuang’s face paled instantly. Without wiping her hands or caring about propriety, she rushed to the bedroom.

She pushed the door open forcefully and saw Ye Qing squatting in front of her crying sister. Jiang Jinhuang’s eyes reddened. “Ye Qing, what are you doing?”

Her voice trembled. Yangyang ran to her, and Jiang Jinhuang pulled Ye Qing away, hugging the little one tightly. “Yangyang, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Ye Qing stumbled from the pull and fell to the floor. Since she was squatting, she wasn’t injured.

“What are you trying to do? I already agreed to give myself to you. Why are you targeting Yangyang? She’s just a child. If you have a problem, take it out on me,” Jiang Jinhuang said sharply, her eyes red as she glared at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing got up, sighing. “I didn’t do anything. I just said I’d play with Yangyang, and she started crying, harder and harder. Then you came. That’s all. I didn’t do anything from start to finish.”

“You tried to sell Yangyang before. You were about to take the money, and I fought to get her back,” Jiang Jinhuang said, her eyes red as she saw her sister’s distress.

“I really didn’t plan to sell her. If I did, I wouldn’t have spent six taels of silver to get a doctor to save her. I was wrong before, but it won’t happen again. Stay with her. I’ll clean up in the kitchen.” Ye Qing glanced at the teary little one, shook her head helplessly, and left.

The original owner was something else, traumatizing the poor kid to the point of thinking “play” meant being sold. Ye Qing felt exasperated.

In the kitchen, Jiang Jinhuang had already washed the dishes once. Ye Qing rinsed them again.

After finishing, she returned to the bedroom, knocking first to avoid startling Jiang Jinhuang and the little one before entering.

The little one was nestled in Jiang Jinhuang’s arms, seemingly calmed down, nuzzling her sister affectionately.

Ye Qing wasn’t upset about earlier. The little one was only three and had been scared before, so her reaction was normal.

She crouched down to look at the little one, who nuzzled her sister again before sneaking a glance at Ye Qing. “Sister Ye, I’m good~”

“Good, no more crying. Don’t worry, I won’t sell you. You’re turning into a little tabby cat,” Ye Qing said, chuckling at the little one’s tear-streaked face.

“I’ll heat some water so your sister can wipe your face. Let’s sleep early tonight. We’re leaving Linzhou City tomorrow,” Ye Qing said.

“Thank you, Sister Ye.” With her sister holding her, the little one wasn’t scared anymore and thanked her obediently.

Ye Qing looked at Jiang Jinhuang and nodded. “Watch her. I’ll heat the water.”

“Okay,” Jiang Jinhuang nodded.

She thought Ye Qing’s explanation made sense. If Ye Qing wanted to sell Yangyang, she wouldn’t have saved her, especially with the famine making it hard to find buyers now.

Had she overreacted? Would Ye Qing be angry?

Jiang Jinhuang pursed her lips. Though she disliked Ye Qing, she and her sister needed her protection to survive. She didn’t want to strain things with Ye Qing.

“Yangyang, play on the bed. I’m stepping out,” Jiang Jinhuang said.

The little one lowered her head. “Sister, did I make Sister Ye mad?”

She felt guilty, worrying her sister would be beaten by Ye Qing like before.

Jiang Jinhuang touched her sister’s face. “Don’t overthink. Didn’t Ye Qing come to comfort you? She’s not mad.”

“Really?” The little one still looked wilted.

Jiang Jinhuang’s heart ached. Her three-year-old sister, once a pampered young miss in the capital, was now reading people’s moods, her maturity heartbreaking.

She ruffled the little one’s head and left the room.

Seeing the kitchen’s oil lamp still on, she knew Ye Qing was likely heating water. Nervously, Jiang Jinhuang approached the kitchen door. She kept saying she’d repay Ye Qing with her body.

But the thought of being intimate with a Qianyuan made her tremble with discomfort. She despised how Qianyuan like Ye Qing had natural advantages over Kunze and loathed Ye Qing’s type even more. Yet, laughably, she now depended on Ye Qing to survive and couldn’t afford to offend her.