The Fourteenth Snowflake

Shen Qiancheng's body was always more honest than her mouth. Mother Liao showed no signs of aggression—in fact, her face bore the panic of a mother who had lost her daughter and the relief of finding her again—yet Shen Qiancheng instinctively remained on guard against her.

After all, this was a mother willing to marry off her daughter to an old, ugly, abusive man on his fourth marriage just for a bride price.

Mother Liao, like a beast of flood and famine, had eyes only for Liao Xue. She wanted to coax Liao Xue back, but Shen Qiancheng shielded her completely, leaving Mother Liao to see only half of her face.

Shen Qiancheng scowled, eyes wide and brows furrowed, like a Zhong Kui chasing ghosts—except Zhong Kui wasn't nearly as delicate as Shen Qiancheng.

Blocked, Mother Liao dabbed at her eyes as if wiping away tears, then switched to emotional appeal: "Xiao Xue, I searched for you all night. Where were you? You haven't eaten all night—aren't you hungry? Come home with Mom now, and I'll make you some noodles."

If not for what she had witnessed of Mother Liao's treatment of Liao Xue in recent days, Shen Qiancheng might have been fooled by this facade of maternal affection.

Like a puppy guarding its food bowl, Shen Qiancheng took a big step forward, forcing Mother Liao to retreat.

Shen Qiancheng looked down at her from her height and said, "Stay away from Liao Xue."

The punch Shen Qiancheng had thrown at her face earlier was still fresh in her memory. Mother Liao dared not provoke Shen Qiancheng again. She knew well that this Miss Shen had come with investment funds, and offending Shen Qiancheng would block the entire village's path to prosperity.

The Village Chief had told Mother Liao this, hoping she would avoid trouble with Shen Qiancheng, at least while she was in the village.

Mother Liao, thwarted, avoided Shen Qiancheng's eyes and turned to Liao Xue with heartfelt pleading: "Xiao Xue, I'm still your mother! What daughter holds a grudge against her own mother? And there's no mother who wouldn't do anything for her child."

It was enough to make Shen Qiancheng laugh. She'd enter Mother Liao in the World Championship for Thick Skin overnight—if she didn't take first place, Shen Qiancheng's name could be written upside down.

Liao Xue had not spoken a word since seeing Mother Liao, quiet as the first snowfall of early winter, but at these words, a stir of emotion rippled across her calm face.

Liao Xue's voice was soft, yet it carried clearly to everyone present.

"Did you ever treat me as your daughter?!"

The question form, yet with an unshakable certainty.

It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

Shen Qiancheng, who held Liao Xue's hand, felt the tremor first. The arm she gripped was icy cold, trembling in small, slight shakes.

Shen Qiancheng asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Liao Xue's eyes were fixed on Mother Liao. For eighteen years, this was the first time she looked at her birth mother with equal footing and a challenge in her gaze.

All her life, she had never understood: why was her younger brother allowed to wreak havoc and demand everything, while she—who only wanted to study, go to college, and after graduation repay her mother's kindness—was denied even that?

When she was falsely rumored to have had an abortion at school, she thought her mother would bring out her usual fierceness to defend her and fight the rumor-mongers.

But she hadn't. She had happily brought her expelled daughter home and started sizing up one old bachelor or old lecher after another.

Whoever paid the highest bride price won.

Liao Xue had seen what a mother should be like—it was never like her own mother.

Liao Xue's tears fell like a silent victory. Her face held a determination never to look back as she said, "I don't want you as my mother anymore."

Mother Liao was stunned after that retort. She couldn't understand how her normally obedient daughter had, in just one month, transformed into someone who talked back and spoke of severing their mother-daughter bond.

Shen Qiancheng stood like a mountain barrier in front of Liao Xue, absorbing all the wind and snow onto her shoulders.

Mother Liao, guilt-stricken and unable to meet Liao Xue's eyes, turned to what she saw as the root cause—everything was this Miss Shen's fault.

"Village Chief, that Miss Shen has led my good girl astray. You have to do right by me!"

The Village Chief held his long smoking pipe, his worried face creased with even more wrinkles.

He didn't want to deal with this.

Shen Jun's wife was clearly in the wrong—everyone had seen how she treated Liao Xue, and in ordinary times, everyone had pitched in to help Xiao Xue when they could.

But it was a family matter, and that was tricky.

Shen Qiancheng, however, never cared about such things. She had lived her whole life doing as she pleased, only for her own sake.

Before the Village Chief could speak, Shen Qiancheng gave a cold snort. "You know very well what you've done. Liao Xue isn't good with words, so she won't say it here, but I will. If you dare to do something, don't fear others talking about it."

"That fine match you found—if it were truly as good as you say, why not marry him yourself instead of passing him to Liao Xue? Why must Liao Xue marry him? Because he's an old, ugly, crippled wife-beater. The only reason you want Liao Xue to marry him is the bride price. If she marries him, does she even have a chance at survival?"

These words silenced the gathered crowd.

Shen Qiancheng continued, "Liao Xue is only eighteen. Her life is full of infinite possibilities, and she hasn't even reached the legal marriage age. You're committing a crime wrapped in the wolf's skin of family affection. If you bother Liao Xue again, I won't hesitate to have you thrown in jail for a few years!"

Mother Liao was rendered speechless, eyes vacant. One thing was when everyone knew something privately; another was when it was laid bare publicly.

She truly hadn't expected Shen Qiancheng to pull such a move.

Mother Liao opened her mouth to speak, but then pinned her hopes on Liao Xue again. "Liao Xue, if you don't come home with me now, you can never come back to this family again."

Cruel words, but Shen Qiancheng stretched out a hand toward Liao Xue, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. "Liao Xue, she doesn't want you. Come with me."

The newborn sun spared no effort in painting its rays of hope across the world, dusting Shen Qiancheng's lashes with glittering gold.

Liao Xue felt as if bewitched by a siren's call, placing her hand in Shen Qiancheng's and nodding. "Okay."

Seeing her threat have no effect, Mother Liao stamped her feet in fury.

Humph, that meddlesome Miss Shen would leave someday, and once she was gone, who would stand behind Liao Xue? Then Liao Xue would be hers to mold as she pleased.

Nearly half the people from the Liao family village were present. Shen Qiancheng held Liao Xue's hand and was about to leave under everyone's gaze when a thought struck her. She stopped and said, "From now on, Liao Xue is under my care. Anyone who messes with her messes with me. And from today on, if anyone tries to scheme against her, we'll meet at the police station!"

With that, Shen Qiancheng took Liao Xue's hand and walked away, step by step.

Liao Xue resumed her duties as Shen Qiancheng's personal assistant, and her first task was to prepare a bowl of noodles with a poached egg for Shen Qiancheng.

Seeing the noodles delighted Shen Qiancheng more than seeing Liao Xue herself, and she nearly wept while eating.

If only she could take Liao Xue to Switzerland.

Liao Xue was washing the clothes that Shen Qiancheng never cleaned thoroughly, garments still bearing white residue from not being rinsed properly before drying.

Liao Xue dunked the clothes into the well water. The cool water touching her skin felt pleasantly refreshing.

The sun overhead, the breeze at her ears—everything felt reborn.

"Liao Xue, Liao Xue, Liao Xue…"

Each call longer than the last, Shen Qiancheng deliberately stretched the last syllable.

Liao Xue put down the clothes and hurried inside. Could it be that Shen Qiancheng had found an eggshell in her noodles?

When she entered, she saw Shen Qiancheng with narrowed eyes, lying on the bed, the bowl and chopsticks set on the table, awaiting Liao Xue's arrival.

"Liao Xue, I don't have any money to pay you a salary right now, you know."

Liao Xue softly hummed in acknowledgment.

Shen Qiancheng propped herself up on her elbows, eyes fixed on Liao Xue, searching her gaze for any hint of deception—but found none.

"Liao Xue, no money, and you're still willing to stay with me?"

Liao Xue gave two soft hmm-hmms.

Shen Qiancheng's mouth curved upward, soothed by the response. She cleared her throat to maintain composure, then lounged back with a pleased stretch.

"Don't say I didn't warn you—it's not like I forced you to be my personal assistant, right?"

She still harbored resentment from Liao Xue's earlier rejection. She held grudges, and now she was getting her due.

Liao Xue softly hummed three times.

Shen Qiancheng was thoroughly satisfied. She squinted, basking in the sunlight streaming through the window, where dust danced in the beams. She noticed Liao Xue's hands were still damp from the washing, with no time to wipe them.

She couldn't help but admire Xiao Sui for once—the clothes she'd brought were washable by hand. Good thing too; in this backwater, where would she find a dry cleaner?

Shen Qiancheng asked, "Washing clothes?"

"Yes, Miss Shen. Do you have any other clothes that need washing?" Liao Xue nodded.

Shen Qiancheng glanced around, then looked down at the dress she was wearing, frowning. "Besides the one on my back, there's nothing else. You don't mean to wash the one I'm wearing, do you?"

Liao Xue's face flushed crimson, like a small tomato, as she lowered her head.

Shen Qiancheng, unaware, kept talking. "That won't do—I still need to wear this."

"Go on with your work. I called you in because I want to take a nap. Don't come in and disturb me unless it's something important."

Shen Qiancheng yawned gracefully. After all that chaos through the night, she was exhausted. Before long, her head sank into the pillow, and she fell asleep.

She slept for three hours. When she slowly opened her eyes, a vast emptiness welled up in her chest. Sitting up, she saw the sun outside, looking like a salted duck egg yolk, and sure enough, it was already late.

The thin clothesline outside the window was strung with several of her dresses, all washed bright and clean by Liao Xue, fluttering in the wind and carrying the faint scent of lavender laundry powder.

Just waking, Shen Qiancheng lay in bed for a while. She was thirsty and wanted water.

She called out clearly, "Liao Xue, is there any water?"

There was no response, as if the courtyard were empty, with not even the sound of breathing.

Had she stumbled into Sleeping Beauty's castle?

Why was there no one?

Had she dreamt that she rescued Liao Xue from the clutches of that mother of hers?

What hopeless heroism.

Wait, that's not right—Shen Qiancheng looked at the clothes outside the window; they couldn't have washed themselves that clean!

She raised her voice. "Liao Xue, I want water! Liao Xue!"

Shen Qiancheng had slipped on her shoes but still heard no reply from Liao Xue.

Where had she run off to this time?

She hadn't asked for mountain spring water, mushrooms, or rabbits before falling asleep, had she?