Upon arriving at the market, Xia Kening got off the electric scooter and followed Xia Jinshu through the market gate, still somewhat dazed.
Xia Kening took out her phone when it vibrated and saw that it was a message from Song Yunshen.
The document outlines things to keep in mind when grocery shopping with Xia Jinshu.
For example, don't interfere with Xia Jinshu's vegetable selection; just take out your phone to pay after she has finished choosing.
After paying, she would carry the groceries herself and then continue shopping with Xia Jinshu. If she saw her grandfather, she would greet him.
maternal grandfather?
Xia Kening paused for a moment when she saw this. Xia Jinshu had already walked to Zhao Lisong's stall, greeted him with a smile, and then began to pick out vegetables.
" Yunshen, what are you daydreaming about?" Zhao Lisong waved to him.
"Grandpa... Good afternoon." Xia Kening realized what was happening and quickly went forward to greet him. Then her gaze fell on Zhao Lisong's face, and she felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
Isn't this the kind vendor I often encounter when I come to the market with my mom and sister to buy groceries?
Vegetables are quite cheap from him. However, Xia Kening doesn't come to the market often, so she's not very familiar with Zhao Lisong.
At this moment, Zhao Lisong started chatting with her, asking about her and her uncle's family's recent situation, which Xia Kening barely managed to answer. After Xia Jinshu finished buying groceries, she planned to quickly scan the code to pay and leave, so as not to arouse any suspicion.
Just as she was about to scan the code, Zhao Lisong, who was next to her, glared at her and said, "Hey, hey, what are you doing? Why do you need to pay for groceries here? What are you thinking?"
Xia Kening blinked, then immediately realized what she had done. She quickly put away her phone, scratching her head somewhat awkwardly, "I was thinking about something else, it just happened."
Just then, Xia Kening felt her phone vibrate again and saw the new message from Song Yunshen.
[ Song Yunshen ]: I forgot to remind you, you don't need to pay if you buy vegetables from my grandfather's stall.
Why didn't you say that sooner!
Xia Kening complained inwardly, thinking that this guy was really unreliable and almost gave himself away.
Fortunately, neither Zhao Lisong nor Xia Jinshu thought much of it. After buying the groceries, Xia Kening left the market with Xia Jinshu, got back on the electric scooter, hugged her older sister, and drove all the way back to Tangning New Residence West District.
When the two returned to Song Yunshen's house, Xia Kening received another long list of instructions from Song Yunshen.
While Xia Jinshu went to the kitchen to prepare the food, Xia Kening followed Song Yunshen's instructions and sat on the sofa to start memorizing vocabulary.
The vocabulary words to be memorized today were sent to Xia Kening by Song Yunshen around 1 p. m. This amount of vocabulary wasn't difficult for Xia Kening; she could easily handle the random check in class later.
After Xia Jinshu finished preparing the dishes, she called Xia Kening into the study. After the vocabulary quiz, today's lessons officially began.
Xia Kening was also speechless. She never expected that after swapping souls with Song Yunshen, she would have to take his English classes.
While complaining, Xia Kening worked on the problems Xia Jinshu had assigned her. Xia Kening painstakingly completed each problem before suddenly realizing something was wrong.
Why are so many of the questions so strange? They all seem to be about male physiology.
Where did you find this question, sis?
Xia Kening thought it was just that today's questions were like that, and that was that. She did them, made a few complaints in her mind, and then moved on.
While Xia Jinshu was giving Xia Kening English lesson, Xia Yunuo, who had been doing her homework until after 4 p. m., came out of her bedroom and said to Song Yunshen, who was lying on the bed playing on his phone:
" Ningning, I'm going downstairs to buy some groceries. What would you like for dinner?"
"Going grocery shopping?" Song Yunshen was bored in the living room, but Xia Yunuo was doing her homework, so he didn't want to disturb her. Seeing her come out to buy groceries, he immediately jumped off the bed and said with a smile, "Then I'll go with you."
Xia Yunuo hesitated for a moment, but then, remembering that Song Yunshen was actually standing in front of her, she immediately nodded gently. "Okay, let's go then."
So the two of them went out together, took the elevator, and walked out of the apartment building toward the fresh food supermarket next to the community. The fresh food supermarket here had a relatively small variety of ingredients, so Song Yunshen and Xia Jinshu usually went to the farmers' market to buy groceries.
However, if you're just making some common home-style dishes, then buying groceries here is more convenient.
As Song Yunshen walked with Xia Yunuo on the road in the residential area, he turned his head to look at Xia Yunuo's delicate face and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye. Suddenly, he remembered what he had done to Xia Jinshu before. So, a clever idea struck him, and his eyes darted around. He immediately reached out and grabbed Xia Yunuo's arm.
But simply hugging like that felt too abrupt. So Song Yunshen mimicked Xia Kening's tone and said, "Second Sister, guess where Song Yunshen and I went to play today?"
Xia Yunuo was startled by his sudden action. When she realized that the person holding her arm was actually Song Yunshen, her cheeks flushed slightly. She hadn't expected him to hug her so suddenly.
That scoundrel...
Does he really treat him like his own sister?
[You actually brought this up with me on your own initiative? Aren't you afraid I'll get angry?]
Upon hearing Xia Yunuo's thoughts, Song Yunshen raised his eyebrows, becoming somewhat curious.
He had no idea what Xia Yunuo would be like when she got angry; he'd never actually seen her like that before.
"It's just going to Wanda Plaza for a meal," Xia Yunuo said casually, trying to act as if she knew nothing.
"It wasn't just dinner; he also took me to a trendy toy store," Song Yunshen added. "Oh," Xia Yunuo nodded indifferently, not wanting to appear petty in front of Song Yunshen. "That's great. I went with him last time; it was quite fun."
Song Yunshen was already getting into character, mimicking Xia Kening's tone and manner of speaking, chattering away with Xia Yunuo the whole way, while always holding onto Xia Yunuo's arm.
Xia Yunuo blushed and her heart raced as he hugged her. Although Xia Kening would usually hug his arm and shake it back and forth when she acted coquettishly towards him, it never gave her the same feeling of her heart racing as she did now.
Song Yunshen is really something, he actually got so into character, didn't he?
If Xia Yunuo hadn't known the truth about their soul swap beforehand, she really wouldn't have been able to see through Song Yunshen's deception at this moment.
That's a bit too convincing!
Song Yunshen had no idea that he had already been exposed. He thought he had acted very well and happily clung to Xia Yunuo's arm, feeling quite pleased with himself.
When sisters go out together, they should hold hands like this, right?
He didn't do it on purpose; he was just trying to maintain his public image!
The two went to a fresh food supermarket next to the residential area and simply selected some ingredients. After Xia Yunuo paid, she took Song Yunshen back home and went into the kitchen to start preparing the food.
Since Song Yunshen Shen had nothing better to do, he went in to help her.
Xia Yunuo smiled and teased, "Why are you so diligent today? You usually don't come in to help unless I call you." "What do you mean?" Song Yunshen perfectly mastered the essence of Ning Xue (a popular online personality), and snorted, "Second sister, that's pure slander! I've always been this diligent, okay!"
It's so similar! It's uncanny!
Xia Yunuo almost burst out laughing. The thought that Xia Kening, who was acting so convincingly, was actually the soul of Song Yunshen inside her body made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
She almost wanted to expose Song Yunshen on the spot; she really wanted to see his expression after being discovered.
However, Xia Yunuo held back. After preparing the ingredients, she sent Yan Zhenxia a WeChat to ask how long it would take for her to arrive home so she could prepare the meal in advance.
Meanwhile, it finally came to 5 p. m., and the English class officially ended.
Xia Jinshu got up and went to the kitchen to cook. Xia Kening immediately followed Song Yunshen into the kitchen to help Xia Jinshu, following his instructions.
In this regard, Xia Kening was quite experienced. After all, when Xia Jinshu cooked at home, Xia Kening would occasionally help her older sister out, so she wouldn't reveal any flaws.
What puzzled Xia Kening was whether the dinner portions for two people were a bit too large.
It felt like the two of them couldn't possibly finish it.
But after the three dishes were finished, and Xia Jinshu served her two bowls of rice and invited her to go out and eat, Xia Kening stared blankly at the still-simmering fish soup, lost in thought. The fish soup wasn't even ready yet, and they were already asking her to eat?
There's no rush.
But since Xia Jinshu mentioned eating, Xia Kening didn't ask any further questions to avoid giving herself away.
So she followed Xia Jinshu to the dining room and sat down. Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks, she heard Xia Jinshu suddenly say gently, "Dinner's ready!"
Xia Kening: "???"
What the heck?
While eating at Song Yunshen's house, my eldest sister said, "Dinner's ready!"
Even if we were to say something, shouldn't it be Song Yunshen, the owner of the house, who should be saying it?
And wasn't the tone of voice a little too gentle?
Why do you speak so sternly when disciplining me at home?
A million question marks popped into Xia Kening's head, and she felt utterly exasperated. She suddenly realized that she had been subjected to so much unfair treatment! It was truly outrageous!
That bastard Song Yunshen, what kind of idyllic life does he live? His second sister cooks for him on weekends, his eldest sister gives him lessons every day and even cooks dinner for him in the evenings, and she even comes over to help him grind games in the night.
Anyone who didn't know better would think the three Xia sisters were maids hired by Song Yunshen!
He gets to enjoy all the good things in life.
"What's wrong? Let's eat." Xia Jinshu noticed he seemed lost in thought and couldn't help but remind him.
"Oh, oh." Xia Kening immediately snapped out of her daze and quickly buried her head in her food.
It has to be said that, without having to worry about money, even just cooking simple home-style dishes is far more lavish than what they eat at home.
Xia Kening sighed and thought to herself, "Why don't I just come to Song Yunshen's house for dinner every night from now on, so I don't have to eat my second sister's stingy dinners every evening?"
After all, according to Xia Yunuo's money-saving plan, dinner would probably consist of one meat dish and one vegetable dish, and the meat dish would mostly be a stir-fry that is half meat and half vegetable, and she would hardly make any pure meat dishes.
Unlike Song Yunshen's side, all three dishes were meat dishes, which were very satisfying to eat.
While Xia Kening was complaining, Song Yunshen had already started eating his dinner.
He looked at the two meat dishes and one vegetable dish on the table and thought that Xia Yunuo and the others were having a pretty good dinner these days, probably because their income had increased recently. This made him quite gratified.
But when Yan Zhenxia got home and saw the two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, she was quite surprised and couldn't help but exclaim, "This meal is quite sumptuous today. Did Xiao Nuo make it?" "Yes." Xia Yunuo smiled slightly, her eyes showing a hint of guilt.
If Song Yunshen hadn't been inside her sister's body, she wouldn't have been able to cook such delicious food.
This was, after all, the first time Song Yunshen had eaten at her home, and even though he wasn't there in person, Xia Yunuo didn't want her home to appear too shabby.
She was worried that Song Yunshen would notice something, so after dinner she kept secretly observing Song Yunshen's expression. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he didn't seem to think much of it.
After dinner.
Xia Jinshu got up and went back to the kitchen, where she cooked two more side dishes. Then, along with the fish soup, she packed them into several lunchboxes, categorizing them carefully.
After finishing all that, she put the lunchbox into a bag, handed it to Song Yunshen, and said with a smile, "Okay, my task is complete. Remember to ask Uncle Song what he'd like for dinner tomorrow."
"Oh..." After hearing what her older sister said, Xia Kening finally realized that the extra food was actually prepared for Uncle Song, who was hospitalized.
Xia Kening knew beforehand that her older sister had accompanied Song Yunshen to the hospital once, and had even specially cooked dinner for Uncle Song.
But to his utter surprise, his older sister had done it not just once, but every single day!
Is this even a private tutor? Xia Kening looked down at the rather heavy lunchbox in her hand and fell silent for a moment.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Xia Jinshu tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, let's go." Xia Kening shook her head, picked up her lunchbox, and went downstairs with Xia Jinshu. After watching her leave, she took out her phone.
[ Xia Kening ]: You don't really expect me to bring food to the hospital alone, do you?
[ Song Yunshen ]: Huh? You've already finished eating?
[ Xia Kening ]: What else? My sister has already gone back.
[ Song Yunshen ]: Then I'll go with you. Wait for me a moment.
Xia Kening took a deep breath, silently put her phone away, her mind still replaying the various details of her previous interactions with her older sister, and in the end, she could only continue to doubt herself.
Is this really her older sister?
Although Xia Jinshu usually takes good care of her two younger sisters and speaks softly, her tone is quite serious when disciplining them. She is never as gentle as she is today.
Even when explaining problems to her in class, he was very patient and never impatient. Even if she occasionally lost focus, he would gently remind her to concentrate.
The word "serious" seemed to have absolutely no connection to her. This left Xia Kening speechless.
Is this the power of money?
In order to earn this salary, her eldest sister endured humiliation and did everything she could to please Song Yunshen.
Otherwise, Xia Kening simply couldn't understand how her eldest sister had changed so much in just over a month.
She wouldn't possibly like someone younger than herself, would she?
Xia Kening shook her head violently at the thought of this possibility, feeling it was highly unlikely.
After all, in her memory, Xia Jinshu was always the good older sister who only devoted herself to her family and never included other unrelated things in her plans.
Why would she choose to invest in a relationship at such a crucial time as she's about to enter her senior year of high school?
Just as Xia Kening was Shenshen in thought, Song Yunshen had finished dinner, slipped out of the Xia family home, and rushed to the entrance of the residential area to meet up with Xia Kening.
"What are you thinking about?" Song Yunshen walked to his side and patted his shoulder with his right hand.
Xia Kening then came to her senses, glanced at her body, opened her mouth as if to ask something, but in the end didn't. "You should hurry up and call a taxi, don't keep your dad waiting."
"I already took a taxi here, we'll be there soon." As soon as Song Yunshen finished speaking, the taxi stopped in front of them. Song Yunshen led her to the back seat, gave her the last four digits of his phone number, and the driver immediately set off towards the First People's Hospital.
In the car, Xia Kening couldn't help but complain to him, "You really know how to boss my sister around, making her cook dinner for your dad every day."
"It was her own choice, okay?" Song Yunshen said, speechless. "Don't talk like I'm some kind of evil capitalist."
Xia Kening didn't believe the idea of it being voluntary. After all, Xia Jinshu was her younger sister who had grown up with her since childhood, and she couldn't completely change her stereotype of her older sister in a short time.
But Song Yunshen didn't intend to explain further, since he himself wasn't quite sure why Xia Jinshu was willing to do so much.
Was it because she wanted to repay Xia Jinshu for his birthday last time, that she decided to do all this?
Song Yunshen felt that this possibility was quite high. However, considering that Xia Jinshu didn't wear the glasses he had given her at home, he guessed that she hadn't figured out how to explain it to her family yet, so Song Yunshen didn't say anything more.
After the taxi arrived at the First People's Hospital, Song Yunshen led Xia Kening to the ward door.
But before going in, Song Yunshen stopped, gave her a few words of advice, and then turned to leave.
"Hey, what are you doing? Aren't you going in?" Xia Kening panicked when she saw him about to leave and quickly grabbed his arm to stop him from going.
"You're my dad's son now," Song Yunshen said helplessly. "I'm Xia Kening now, and we're just friends. How can we go in together?"
"What's wrong with friends? Can't friends visit your dad?" Xia Kening retorted, "My older sisters can come in, why can't I?" "They cooked, you didn't," Song Yunshen said, shrugging. "Anyway, just go in and deliver the food, put the lunchbox away after he finishes eating, and then come out quickly. Don't say anything, I'll wait for you in the lobby downstairs."
Xia Kening became a little nervous when she saw that he refused to go in with her.
But Song Yunshen had already turned and left. Xia Kening had no choice but to grit her teeth and knock on the door of the ward.
Hearing the commotion, the caregiver, Lao Li, immediately came to open the door and welcomed her inside, while he remained in the corridor.
Xia Kening, using Song Yunshen's body, entered the ward and approached Song Mingyuan's bedside, softly calling out, "Dad..."
"You're here?" Song Mingyuan looked up at his son, then set up the table on the bed and beckoned to him, "Put it here."
"Oh." Xia Kening quickly stepped forward, took out the lunchboxes one by one, and placed them on the table.
Song Mingyuan didn't say much, opened the lunchbox and began to eat heartily.
After all, this wasn't the first time Song Yunshen had brought them food. The father and son didn't have much to say; they had already said everything they needed to say, so they just focused on eating.
Xia Kening couldn't stand the quiet atmosphere and kept trying to find a topic to talk about. But when she remembered Song Yunshen's advice to speak less, she immediately held back.
Finally, having nothing else to do, she took an apple from the fruit basket next to her, peeled it for Song Mingyuan, and handed it to him.
Song Mingyuan, who had almost finished his meal, had just burped when his son handed him a peeled apple. He paused, startled. He narrowed his eyes, not taking the apple, but instead asking warily, "How much?" "Huh?" Xia Kening was taken aback, looking down at the apple in her hand, thinking, "This can't be charged for?"
Is Song Yunshen's relationship with his father really that cold? They even charge him for peeling an apple?
"You little brat... what are you trying to prove in front of me?" Song Mingyuan curled his lip. "Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. If you weren't short on pocket money, would you be peeling an apple for me? So, how much pocket money do you want?"
Xia Kening fell silent for a moment, never expecting that such a misunderstanding would arise by such an unexpected turn of events.
But she couldn't bring herself to say it was just a gesture of filial piety; she always felt it was a bit insincere.
So he tentatively extended one finger and gestured to Song Mingyuan.
Song Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, took the apple offered to him, took a bite, then took out his phone and transferred some money to Song Yunshen.
That brat... I shouldn't have transferred the money to him, since we had agreed beforehand that his allowance would be for rent.
But since he had kept the surgery a secret from him this time, Song Mingyuan still felt a little guilty, so he decided to make it up to him.
Meanwhile, Song Yunshen, who was waiting in the hospital lobby, was chatting with Xia Yunuo on his phone when his phone suddenly vibrated. He discovered it was a transfer notification from his father.
1000 yuan?!
What the hell is that? What on earth did Xia Kening do in the hospital room?
Why did my dad suddenly transfer money to him out of the blue?
Are you sick?
Song Yunshen was completely dumbfounded.
He quickly opened his chat with Xia Kening and urged her to finish up and log off, afraid that she might do something else outrageous.
Not long after, Xia Kening came downstairs carrying a lunchbox and met Song Yunshen at the hospital lobby entrance. Song Yunshen couldn't help but ask, "What were you doing in the ward just now? Why did my dad suddenly transfer money to me?"
"Uh..." Xia Kening scratched her head awkwardly and recounted what had just happened.
Upon hearing this, Song Yunshen was speechless. "I already told you not to talk so much."
"I didn't say much! You don't have to talk while peeling an apple!" Xia Kening said angrily. "Who knew Uncle would misunderstand?"
"Alright, it's not all bad." Song Yunshen breathed a sigh of relief, afraid that this guy would reveal some flaw and be discovered by his father.
Xia Kening was still a little indignant and couldn't help but complain, "Well, I also contributed to this allowance of yours, so it's not unreasonable for you to give me 50 yuan, is it?"
"Huh? When did your appetite become so small? You want 50?" "50 is a lot, it's half of what I need."
"What half? Didn't you ask for 1000 yuan?"
"How could I possibly want 1000 yuan!?"
"Then why did my dad transfer 1000 to me? What did you say to him at the time?"
"I... I... I was too embarrassed to say anything... I just held up one finger..." Xia Kening muttered awkwardly in a low voice.
Song Yunshen: "..."