Transmigrated & Triumphant: Defying Destiny's Chosen One-Chapter 696 - 16: The Fish Took the Bait_2

The countryside has its own charm.

In a yard at the end of the village, a young girl is standing there, struggling to wash clothes in the basin with one hand.

In the freezing cold, her hands are red and swollen, with frostbite marks etched clearly.

Looking down, her pant legs hang empty, while inside the house, someone is loudly calling out "Mahjong", and fine snowflakes are falling from the sky.

She sniffled her nose, numb from the cold, and hurriedly quickened her pace to scrub the clothes in the basin once more.

Otherwise, if it snows later, it wouldn’t be easy to wash them.

"Xiao Lian, Xiao Lian..."

A girl calls her at the courtyard gate, running over without waiting for a response.

Seeing her hands soaking in the water in such a pitiful state, she quickly rolls up the sleeves of her down jacket: "Let me help you!"

"No, no need," Xiao Lian quickly leans her upper body over the basin to cover it: "My hands are already wet, why should you get your hands cold too?"

The young girl chuckled: "Alright, it must be cold!"

She glanced again at the closed room: "Your brother and sister-in-law are at ease playing Mahjong, while you’re doing all the housework, like an old maid. Meanwhile, they enjoy their leisure."

Xiao Lian shook her head: "Qingqing, you shouldn’t say that..."

She cast a somber glance at her own arms and legs:

"I’m just a freeloader at home now, living with a disability for a long time. We’re not from a wealthy family; how can they possibly sustain that? Now, doing what I can makes me feel better."

"What are you saying? If it weren’t for your brother and sister-in-law taking all your parents’ inheritance and forcing you to drop out to work, you wouldn’t have ended up in such an accident... Now, they enjoy their leisure while you slave away at home. How much could a washing machine cost, yet they insist you wash by hand..."

Xiao Lian’s eyes turned grim.

Qingqing, seeing this, felt a pang of sorrow.

She didn’t mean to touch a nerve but had even more important news today—

"Xiao Lian, don’t stop me. I’ll help you finish washing the clothes, then have my dad take us to town on his bike!"

"Why?"

Xiao Lian looked puzzled.

Qingqing grinned mischievously, leaning closer: "I’ve been playing on my phone and saw loads of short video ads saying with proof, you can get free prosthetics from the government!"

"And my dad saw it on TV too; it’s a government charity project. If your family meets the criteria, it won’t cost you a penny. They fit you with prosthetics for free!"

"And these prosthetics are nothing like the old ones; they’re as good as the real ones, super flexible! The only thing is they look a bit ugly, silver-gray, but I think it looks cool, like a Mecha..."

Qingqing clearly did her homework well.

And with her incessant chatter, she left Xiao Lian dumbfounded; her eyes welled up, lips trembling slightly.

"Qingqing, are you telling the truth?"

"Really, really!"

Qingqing, while rolling up her sleeves and plunging her hands into the water, shivered all over—

"Whoa, it’s so cold!"

"Trust me! Xiao Lian, would I ever deceive you?"

"Once we’re done here, I’ll show you the ad, and then we’ll head straight to the town government to register. Once you have hands and feet, you can work any job to support yourself. You won’t have to stay at home living under scrutiny anymore."

In the freezing cold, their hands turned red from the water. Yet the young girl laughed and talked; at this moment, the future seemed as bright as spring.

...

The tales of distant villages rarely reach the general public.

But for the young fans, the most important thing right now is to support their fairy sister!

"Do you think we’re ready?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Little Cousin stood at the film studio entrance, checking costumes, headgear, light boards, and gifts with her companions.

In the heart of winter, these girls in sky-blue jackets of their support colors stood in the chilly wind, their faces flushed but never dampening their enthusiasm.

Tiptoes lifted, they watched the road outside the venue, lest they miss a glimpse of their goddess.

"Do you think Ningning will like the gifts we made?"

"Of course she will, Ningning always values sentimental gifts. She even wore a fan-made bracelet during a live broadcast special!"

"Right, right, Ningning is so considerate."

"Oh my gosh, Ningning is such a fairy—she’s amazing at art, music, calligraphy, and chess!"

"Ningning’s been in so many shows recently; we don’t know if everyone came to support her. I wonder if she’ll be pleasantly surprised we’re waiting here for her today..."