Bai Ningning frowned slightly, thinking that just smiling without speaking would make her look like a fool.
"Aunt Zou, don't worry," she said gently, "I've learned a lot about conversation skills these days."
Her level was already quite high, and with some preparation, handling this situation would definitely be no problem.
"Really?" Aunt Zou was skeptical.
"Yes," Bai Ningning nodded, "Really."
She was very confident.
At this time, the sky had darkened, and footsteps finally echoed in the corridor. Qin Yue slowly walked into the living room, casually glanced at them, and then lazily lay down on the sofa.
It was clear she was awake, but not fully.
"Good morning, Sister Yue," Bai Ningning took the initiative to greet her, "Are you getting up to eat?"
Qin Yue lay on the sofa, lifted her eyelids slightly, but said nothing.
Bai Ningning continued, "But looking at you like this, it seems better to lie in bed and wait for someone to bring you food. I can bring it to you. After eating, you can continue sleeping until tomorrow when we leave together. Isn't that better?"
"However, it's true that eating while lying down isn't good for your health. Your body already needs to sleep all day, and if your eating habits are bad, the recovery time after one meal will take two or three days."
"Theoretically, after eating, you should move around a bit. You... I should get you a pair of crutches."
Bai Ningning had just said three sentences when Aunt Zou pulled her away. Once outside in the yard, Aunt Zou said seriously: "Miss Ningning, after you go to the Qin family, it's better not to speak."
Just smile if you can, but don't open your mouth.
Bai Ningning was taken aback: "Why?"
Wasn't I just trying to show you my learning results by speaking? Did I not perform well?
"Miss Ningning, your... style is such," Aunt Zou tried to phrase it delicately, "it's really not suitable for speaking in those situations."
Bai Ningning felt a bit unwilling: "Wasn't what I said to Sister Yue just now good?"
Aunt Zou's eyelids twitched: "It's not a matter of good or bad... If the young lady had any strength at all, she would have jumped up and held you down."
It wasn't even a matter of holding you down; if the young lady had any strength at all, Miss Ningning, you would already be whining.
Bai Ningning slightly parted her lips, extremely shocked.
How could that be?
Thinking back carefully, the first sentence was a normal greeting, and she even kindly added "Good morning" without considering the time.
The second sentence was a suggestion for her to lie down a bit longer and that it was okay to eat in bed, knowing how tired the big sister was.
The third sentence was a timely suggestion about exercise, remembering that eating while lying down is bad for the stomach.
The fourth sentence was a thoughtful offer of assistance, considering that the big sister might not be able to move around well.
Summarizing, it was gentle, considerate, and delicate—perfect with no issues.
Bai Ningning was puzzled, but since Aunt Zou had said it this way, she could only reluctantly agree: "I'll do my best."
After dinner, Qin Yue sat on the sofa watching TV for a while to digest, and then indeed went back to sleep. Bai Ningning looked at her and quietly slipped some goji berries into the water bottle she was going to bring tomorrow.
The big sister must get up tomorrow; if she can't get up...
How can Bai Ningning explain to the Qin family?
"Is sister still not up?"
Bai Ningning turned around to see that it was Qin Xin who had returned. She was dressed in simple casual wear, her hair slightly damp, as if she had just come back from exercising.
"She's up, but not fully awake," Bai Ningning replied, "She got up to have dinner and then went back to sleep."
Qin Xin pouted, "Oh."
Bai Ningning curiously asked, "Where did you go today?"
"Club activities," Qin Xin answered briefly, "I went to school to practice."
Today was a nice day, and she went to the school club, put on her taekwondo uniform in the activity room, wrapped her hands, and started hitting the wooden dummy and sandbags. The seniors in the club said not to worry about the precision of each move, just hit however you want, emphasizing freedom and the joy of it.
After practicing for an afternoon, Qin Xin was sweaty and exhausted, feeling like her body had become stronger.
Qin Xin put down her backpack, took out her changed taekwondo uniform, and casually tossed it onto a chair in the corner, then glanced lightly towards her sister's bedroom.
Friends in the club said it well: no matter what you do, you need to have a strong body. Qin Xin deeply agreed; even in a sweet life, without a good body, it would be like her sister, feeling good for a moment but lying down for a whole day.
How embarrassing.
After putting her things down, Qin Xin went to take a shower. Bai Ningning sat at the dining table, waiting for her to finish so they could have dinner together.
The fresh scent of the girl who had just showered, mixed with the fragrance of shampoo, made the meal even more delicious. Bai Ningning's chopsticks and little mouth were busy, quickly taking small bites of rice.
Qin Xin was also a bit distracted.
In her sister's home, in her sister's absence, enjoying dinner with Ningning for the first time.
Should they take this opportunity to chat about something?
"Junior Qin Xin," Bai Ningning spoke up first, "You're going back to your hometown tomorrow. Do you have any thoughts about it?"
Qin Xin's high spirits were instantly dampened, and she pouted, "No thoughts."
"Uh?"
"Nothing much to say, it's just like that," Qin Xin said impatiently, "Those relatives aren't worth seeing."
Bai Ningning blinked, "Why do you say that?"
Before her rebirth, she had no family, and this girl after her rebirth was the same. Two lifetimes as an iron orphan, completely lacking any concept of relatives or family.
Thus, she held some slight yearning.
"As long as a person is in a unit composed of multiple individuals, comparisons will be made," Qin Xin said coldly, "They always like to compare me with my sister, ignoring all reasons and only looking at the current situation and achievements. In the eyes of those relatives, I'm just a tool to highlight my sister's brilliance."
Bai Ningning opened her mouth slightly, unsure of what to say.
Qin Xin silently ate a few more bites of rice, then pulled out a tissue and stood up, saying, "I'm full. Ningning, you should rest early. We have to go out early tomorrow."
The girl left, and Bai Ningning looked at the few remaining bites of rice in her bowl, losing her appetite.
"Miss Ningning," Aunt Zou suddenly appeared at the door, "Do you have a moment?"
"I will in a moment."
Putting down her chopsticks and wiping her cute and charming cherry lips clean, Bai Ningning stood up and walked to the door, "What's the matter?"
Aunt Zou glanced into the room, "Can we step outside to talk?"
Bai Ningning followed her to the small courtyard in the garden, and only then did Aunt Zou say, "Miss Ningning, during this trip to the Qin family, could you... please take care of the second young lady a bit?"