When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

Li Fugui waved his hand, not bothering to ask where they studied. He just had a feeling that neither of them seemed like students.

"This is my son, Guoguo. You haven’t met him before," Li Fugui said as he picked up the chubby little boy at his feet. "Say ’big sister.’"

Guoguo was barely three heads tall. He glanced at Tan You and obediently called out, "Big sister."

Having such a well-behaved kid call her ’big sister’ put Tan You in a good mood. She raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at Li Fugui. "I made some sweet red bean bread at home today. The ingredients are wholesome, and it’s not too sweet. It should be fine for a little kid to eat."

Tan Qin had already brought over the container of sweet red bean bread that Tan You had packed. The moment she lifted the lid, a sweet fragrance filled the room. Guoguo fidgeted but looked to Li Fugui first. "Daddy..."

Li Fugui waved his hand. "Don’t be so fussy. Say thank you to your big sister Tan You."

"Thank you, big sister," Guoguo said obediently, blinking his big eyes at Tan You. His gaze conveyed one simple message: he wanted to eat.

Tan You gave him half of it. "I have a younger sister at home, too. You two can split this."

Guoguo hugged the container. "Thank you, big sister."

Li Fugui clicked his tongue in amazement. "You know how to bake bread?"

Tan You was perfectly nonchalant. "I was bored during summer break, so I just tinkered with it."

Li Fugui glanced at his son, whose face was now covered in sesame seeds. "Take your time getting settled in. Be in the classroom at six this evening, don’t forget."

"Got it. Don’t you worry," Tan You said with a reassuring gesture. "I won’t keep you then, since I still have more to clean up here."

"Go on with your work. I just came by to check on you. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be heading back now." Li Fugui took his son’s little hand. "Is the bread really that good?"

Guoguo replied in a sweet, childish voice, "It’s yummy! Mommy will definitely like it."

Li Fugui grumbled, "Your dad’s right here, and you didn’t even think to offer me a bite?"

As their voices faded, Tan Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn’t expect your new teacher to be like that."

He was about the same height as Li Fugui, but Tan Tao had still felt intimidated in his presence. Now, after hearing Li Fugui’s conversation with Tan You and his son, Tan Tao realized that maybe not all teachers were terrifying.

Tan You wrung out a cleaning rag. "He seems nice. High school teachers are very different from the ones in middle school. In my experience, they aren’t as strict; they’re more approachable."

Tan Tao shook his head. "Don’t talk to me about school or teachers. It gives me a headache."

Tan You knew Tan Tao disliked studying and had an aversion to school, so she dropped the subject. After tidying up a bit more and seeing that the dorm room wasn’t missing anything essential, Tan You hung the rag on the clothesline outside. "Let’s go to my mom’s place. You two can come along and learn the way."

Tan Tao seemed a little hesitant. "Is that a good idea? We hardly ever see your parents. And doesn’t your mom hate it when you hang out with us?"

"It’s fine. Besides, she has to work now, so she’s almost never home." Tan You knew Cheng Wenhui’s personality and didn’t let it bother her. "We’re just going so you know the way. I’ll be staying here most of the time from now on. That’s just where my parents live."

Tan Tao understood. Then, thinking of their grandparents, Tan Deming and his wife, back in their hometown, he suddenly asked, "Are your grandpa and grandma going to live with you in the future?"

"How did you know?" Tan You arched an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected Tan Tao to have figured it out.

Tan Tao snorted. "Just a guess. It’s for the best. Your mom... how should I put this... she’s had a hard life, it’s true, but she’s... way too harsh with you."

"When we were little, we’d be out playing all day, never even going home. But you were always cooped up inside, forbidden from going anywhere. We used to come looking for you, but your mom would get furious."

"After a while, whenever you managed to come out and play, you’d get a beating for it when you got back. So, eventually, we just... stopped asking you."

"My dad was strict with us too, but he’s barely laid a hand on me my whole life. Your dad... I’ll never forget the time you got first place on a test, but because you carelessly wrote one number wrong, he still hit you. He didn’t even care that all of us were standing right there."

"And while you were getting hit, Tan Ying was standing on the side, laughing."

Tan You’s brow furrowed slightly. "Let’s not talk about this. There’s no point dredging up the past."

Tan Tao tactfully changed the subject. "Right, let’s drop it. It’s good that you’ll be with your grandpa and grandma. Seeing you like that back then... it made me feel awful, but I couldn’t do anything to help. All I could do was spend less time with you."

Tan You took a deep breath and picked up the food she had made that morning. "Let’s go. Time to learn the way."

She had thought she was over it, but Tan Tao’s few words made Tan You realize she could never truly let it go. Tan Lin’s violent approach to parenting in her youth had clearly left deep psychological scars.

Although she had grown much stronger now, looking back, Tan You realized the wounds from her youth could never completely heal. Even though they had formed thick scars, the memory of them still brought an undeniable ache.

Cheng Wenhui was at work, leaving only Tan Lin and Tan Yue at home. When Tan You arrived with Tan Tao and Tan Qin, Tan Lin was lounging on the living room sofa listening to the radio, a floor fan aimed at him and blowing with a steady WHIRR.

Tan Yue was sprawled over the living room coffee table, doodling idly in a notebook. The moment she saw Tan You, she threw down her pen and rushed over. "Big sister!"

Tan You had already gotten her emotions back in check on the way over. "Mhm. I made some meat patties and roast chicken this morning. I also steamed some cowpea buns, so I brought a basket of those over."

Tan Lin turned off the radio. "You were busy with all this at home today? Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve come back to help."

"Tan Tao and Tan Qin were there to help," Tan You said with a small smile. "Taotao and Tan Qin run their own small business in the city, and we’re good friends. They heard I was starting school, so they came by to see the place and make it easier to find me later."

Tan Tao frowned slightly. ’Why didn’t Tan You say a word about how she was the one who taught him how to run his business? Still, if she wasn’t going to mention it, he wouldn’t either. It looked like Tan You didn’t tell her own father everything. That meant Grandpa and Grandma Tan Deming were the ones who really understood her best. Tan You probably wouldn’t be visiting Tan Lin’s house very often in the future.’

Tan Lin chuckled. "Running your own business, huh? That’s great. Earning your own money gives you confidence."

Tan Tao smiled, adopting the polite tone he used with customers. "Yes, it’s just honest work. It’s a bit easier than doing masonry with my dad—not quite as exhausting."

"That’s good," Tan Lin said.

"Have some watermelon. I bought one this morning and put it in the fridge to chill. It should be perfect right about now."

Tan Tao quickly waved his hands. "Uncle, please don’t go to any trouble. My sister and I have to get going. We still have to set up our stall today, so we need to head back and prepare. Any later and we’ll be behind schedule."