The Young Girl's Chronicles of Demon-Slaying

Chapter 22: My Stepbrother

Lin Yuqin took the phone and, seeing the caller ID, muttered under her breath, “I almost forgot about this kid.” After saying that, she ruffled Fang Heng’s hair and said, “I’ll chat with this kid for a bit first, then I’ll let you video chat with him! Mom’s heading out now—have fun at home!” After saying that, she bid farewell to Fang Heng. Hearing a voice from the speaker say, “If you don’t say anything, I’m hanging up!” she quickly pressed the phone to her ear, said “Hello” a few times, and then walked out while talking. As usual, Fang Heng saw Lin Yuqin out. Only after she had left did he close the door and turn to leave. Outside the door, upon hearing the door close, Lin Yuqin turned to glance back, then immediately turned around and walked away, still on the phone. “You little rascal, you actually remembered to call home? I almost thought I didn’t have a son anymore!” Lin Yuqin sounded very displeased, apparently because he hadn’t called home in so long. “I’ve been busy, that’s why!” the voice on the other end of the line said. “By the way, Mom, who answered the phone just now? It sounded like a little girl to me. Is one of my cousins over at your place?” “No!” Lin Yuqin denied it outright. “Then who was it?” “Why do you need to know so much?” Lin Yuqin said irritably. “Just spit it out! Why are you calling? You’re not asking for living expenses again, are you?” “Of course not! I’m just checking in on you,” the voice on the phone hurriedly replied in a conciliatory tone. “Is that so?” Lin Yuqin’s tone clearly betrayed her skepticism. “Of course!” “All right! I’ll give you credit for having a shred of conscience!” Lin Yuqin said. “But you didn’t come here for any particular reason—I, on the other hand, do have something I need to discuss with you.” “What is it?” On the other end of the line, Song Chenqing was walking down a main path on campus, surrounded by students about his age coming and going. Beside him, a petite, cute girl had her arm linked through his. She listened as he spoke with his mother on the phone, glancing up at him from time to time as she listened, looking as if she were somewhat concerned. Lin Yuqin had actually been looking for an opportunity to talk to her son, Song Chenqing, about Fang Heng. Now that he’d called her on his own, it was the perfect chance to have that conversation with him. After saying she had something to discuss, Lin Yu paused to choose her words carefully before saying, “I have some really exciting news for you! You have a little sister!” The news came as quite a surprise, and Song Chenqing was genuinely delighted. “What’s going on here? Did you two finally come to your senses and decide to have a second child?” The fact that Lin Yuqin had once wanted another child was something all three members of the family knew about. Song Chenqing was actually quite open-minded about such matters—he not only approved but was very supportive. However, later on, both Song Wencheng and Lin Yuqin had come to realize that raising a child would be too much trouble, so the idea was shelved. He never expected that, all of a sudden, he’d be told he was getting a little sister. Could things really happen that fast? “Giving birth yourself is such a hassle!” Lin Yuqin beamed, already picturing her son’s astonished expression, and said, “Your dad and I talked it over, and we’ve adopted a daughter.” “An adopted daughter?!” Song Chenqing couldn’t help but raise his voice, causing everyone around them to turn and look. “That’s right! I’ll set up a video call for you two to meet her sometime!” Lin Yuqin said with a grin. “She’s so cute and pretty! And she’s a child prodigy, too!” “You’ve got to be kidding me?” Song Chenqing had assumed his parents were planning to have another child, but he never expected they’d actually adopted one. Didn’t that mean that as soon as he returned home for summer break, there’d be an extra rowdy little rascal in the house?! Just thinking about it made him feel like his peaceful life was about to end—going home from now on would probably be like returning to hell! “Who’s joking with you!” Lin Yuqin said. “Don’t act like you’re not happy about it! Your mom personally picked her out—she’s cute, pretty, and a child prodigy! When you come back, don’t go turning into a sis-con!” Mom, so you adopted a daughter—is it really necessary to go on and on about it? And right in front of your own son, no less! Where’s that supposed to leave me? Not to mention, “prodigy” and “sister-obsessed”—since when did you start watching anime? Song Chenqing grumbled to himself, but he didn’t dare say any of this out loud—otherwise he’d get scolded. He could only say helplessly, “How could I possibly not be happy about it? As long as you’re happy!” After saying that, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “How old is this adopted daughter of yours?” “What do you mean, ‘adopted daughter’? You should call her ‘sister’!” Lin Yuqin immediately corrected Song Chenqing’s choice of words, then said, “She’ll be fourteen in a few months. Why do you ask?” “No reason!” Fourteen, huh? Right in the middle of that wild and unruly phase! This is going to be a nightmare! “Well, that’s it then! I’m busy here. I’ll video chat with the family when I have time!” With that, Lin Yuqin hung up. Song Chenqing took the phone away from his ear, held the screen up to his eyes, and stared blankly at the contact’s name and profile picture. “Ah Hao, what’s wrong? It sounded like you have an adopted little sister now?” asked the girl with her arm linked through Song Chenqing’s. Snapping back to reality, Song Chenqing put his phone away, his heart filled with mixed emotions: “Yeah! That girl is already fourteen. When I get back, she’ll be able to call me ‘big brother’ right away.” “Why don’t you look very happy about it?” the girl asked. “I can’t bring myself to be happy!” Song Chenqing had only agreed to his parents having a second biological child—he never imagined they’d go so far as to adopt a child outright! And a teenager, no less. At that age, a person’s personality and values are already largely set. If she’d picked up bad habits at the Orphanage, it would be practically impossible to set her straight. He’d originally hoped that after his parents had a second child, he’d be able to carry out his “raising plan,” but now all those plans had fallen through. He shared his concerns with his girlfriend, Wang Xinqing, who immediately tried to reassure him: “I don’t think it’s as bad as you’re making it out to be. Maybe this girl isn’t so bad after all?” “I hope so!” Song Chenqing gave a wry smile. During their phone call just now, his mom had even praised his “step-sister” twice for being cute and pretty! She’d even gone so far as to call her a “genius girl”! Isn’t that the kind of pretentious nickname you only see in Japan? Still, since his mom had praised her so highly, she was clearly very pleased with his step-sister. Maybe, just as his girlfriend said, she really wasn’t such a handful after all? There was no way to verify this right now; he’d just have to wait until he went back home for summer vacation to find out. Or maybe he could give his dad a call tonight and see what he had to say? After all, as a doctor—and a surgeon, no less—his dad possessed professional-level rationality and composure, and analyzing situations was one of his strengths. His perspective was far more reliable than his mom’s. Even so, just thinking about it gave him a headache. Sighing heavily, Song Chenqing pressed his hand to his forehead and walked away, growing increasingly distant as his girlfriend’s soothing words faded behind him. Meanwhile, on the other end, Lin Yuqin—having just hung up on her son—wore an expression of pure joy and delight. She didn’t care whether her son was happy about it or not; although he sounded very dissatisfied on the phone right now, she was confident that once he actually met Fang Heng, the young man’s attitude would surely change. A daughter this beautiful, adorable, and smart—you couldn’t find one even if you searched high and low! Just thinking about it filled Lin Yuqin with enthusiasm—she’d better get the adoption paperwork sorted out right away! Having made up her mind, she rushed headlong toward the Civil Affairs Office. At that moment, Fang Heng, who was at home, naturally had no idea that his stepbrother was already getting a headache because of her. After seeing Lin Yuqin off for the second time, he went upstairs, retrieved the *Diamond Sutra*—which had played such a crucial role the night before—and made his way to the osmanthus tree. He opened it and began to recite. As he began reciting, the Buddhist prayer beads in his right hand began to emit a faint, sacred glow. The light enveloped him, revealing one monk after another, each standing motionless with eyes closed, faces radiating compassion, and heads bowed as they recited the sutra. Amid the sound of the chanting, the osmanthus tree showed no signs of anything unusual; on the contrary, its branches swayed gently, as if in harmony with the chanting. At that moment, Fang Heng was completely immersed in the Buddhist light and did not notice the osmanthus tree’s movements. It wasn’t until he reached the end of the sutra that he snapped out of his trance. He glanced at the osmanthus tree, shook his head, closed the sutra, and turned to leave. He wasn’t sure if this method would be effective, but reciting the sutra had indeed been very helpful to him, deepening his connection with the Buddhist prayer beads. In the future, whether to exorcise ghosts or for his own sake, he would likely have to continue reciting the sutra. Returning to his room on the second floor, he put away the *Diamond Sutra* and went up to the piano room on the third floor. Before long, a beautiful piano melody drifted out from the third-floor window. By the time Lin Yuqin returned, it was nearly noon. She hurried home, and as she approached her villa, she heard the sound of piano music drifting from the third floor. She listened carefully for a moment and couldn’t help but think, “How soon has it been? It seems she’s made quite a bit of progress again! At this rate, I’m afraid even I won’t be able to teach her for much longer—I really don’t know whether to be happy or sad about that.” Opening the gate and stepping inside, Lin Yuqin continued toward the living room. As her gaze inadvertently swept over the osmanthus tree in the corner, she couldn’t help but let out a soft “Hmm?” She stopped, tilted her head, and examined it closely, noticing that the leaves of this osmanthus tree seemed to have changed—they had become a bit more vibrant green. Was it an illusion? Or had it always been like this, and she just hadn’t noticed before? Lin Yuqin looked a bit puzzled, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it—it was almost lunchtime, and she hadn’t even started cooking yet. So she hurried into the house. Once in the kitchen, she discovered that the rice in the rice cooker was already done and set to “keep warm.” Clearly, Fang Heng had seen that it was getting late and cooked the rice ahead of time so that when she returned, all she’d have to do was stir-fry some vegetables. Seeing this, Lin Yuqin was delighted. Having a considerate and obedient child certainly made life much easier, so she hummed a tune as she began preparing lunch. (End of Chapter)