The Yandere Queen's Manual for Training Her Wife - Chapter 89

When Xia Mingtang got dressed and came to the living room, Qin Yan had just reheated the lunch dishes and set them together with the new ones she had prepared for dinner.

Whether it was the Qin Yan from before her memory loss, or the one now, she seemed to have one thing in common—afterward, she liked to coax people with food.

Only, the difference was—nowadays, the food was there, but her attitude didn’t feel much like coaxing.

“This sweet and sour rib—you should eat more of it. Your bones are too brittle, you need to strengthen them. Really now, how can someone’s brain not work, and their physical stamina also be so bad?” Qin Yan said as she pointed at the plate of ribs, her mouth chattering nonstop.

Xia Mingtang: ！

If the first sentence could still be considered caring, then the second one was nothing but purely infuriating.

Right now, her stomach was empty, and she didn’t have the strength to argue. She said nothing, just focused on picking dishes and shoveling rice into her mouth.

She tasted from every other dish on the table, except for the freshly made sweet and sour ribs, which remained untouched, sitting there pitifully on their own.

Seeing this, Qin Yan picked up a rib and dropped it into her bowl, threatening with her mouth, “No being picky. I spent a long time making this.”

“Hmph.” Xia Mingtang grunted angrily, picking up the rib and putting it back on the plate. She wasn’t being picky—she was just mad that someone had called her “brainless and weak.”

Good thing they’d already finished the pork brain dish at lunch, otherwise she would have refused that too.

Qin Yan’s thoughts at this moment were straightforward and linear; she couldn’t see all the twists and turns in her wife’s heart.

She picked up a rib, nimbly stripped the lean meat from the bone with her fingers, and while Xia Mingtang happened to open her mouth, she shoved it in without warning.

“Mm~”

The feeding came so suddenly that Xia Mingtang, with all the upbringing drilled into her since childhood, couldn’t spit the food back out.

She could only chew mechanically—crispy on the outside, tender inside, sour and sweet in perfect balance. It really did taste good.

After force-feeding her, Qin Yan stared at Xia Mingtang expectantly, waiting for praise.

Xia Mingtang noticed, but she had no intention of letting this brat feel smug.

She treated her too well—this little rascal not only wore her out whenever she pleased, now even at the dinner table she wouldn’t let her eat in peace.

So she kept her face cold, continuing to eat with no expression.

Only, this “no expression” was what she thought.

In reality, she’d always had very rich micro-expressions, the type who couldn’t hide anything on her face since childhood—even eighteen-year-old Qin Yan couldn’t be fooled.

Seeing her clearly enjoying the food yet pretending to be aloof, Qin Yan mercilessly exposed her: “You tsundere.”

Xia Mingtang: ……

Couldn’t this person just eat quietly for once?

“Don’t talk while eating, don’t speak while sleeping.” Xia Mingtang put on her stern face, using the same lecture Xia Huaying used to scold her with.

Who knew Qin Yan would reply shockingly:

“Don’t speak while sleeping? But during the day when we slept, you were calling out for quite a while.”

This “sleep” was not the same “sleep.”

“Cough! Cough cough cough cough cough!” Blindsided, Xia Mingtang nearly choked to death.

Startled, Qin Yan quickly stopped teasing, handed her a glass of water, patted her back with one hand while feeding her with the other, finally rescuing her from what looked like a respiratory crisis.

Xia Mingtang dabbed at her lips with a tissue, eyes watery, staying silent for a long time.

Seeing she was fine, Qin Yan spoke again: “Look at you—so weak, even eating makes you choke. So pitiful.”

This time, she was speaking with genuine concern. But the “pitiful person” she was pitying only wanted to smash her flat with a frying pan.

Don’t be angry. Life is but a play, we meet because of fate…

Xia Mingtang silently comforted herself. No matter what Qin Yan said, she would just pretend not to hear.

Thankfully, Qin Yan didn’t continue provoking her—aside from occasionally feeding her a rib, she was mostly quiet.

After dinner, they cleaned up and sat on opposite sides of the sofa, each with their phones.

Though not exactly “playing”—Xia Mingtang was discussing matters with Shang Huayin.

School was starting soon, meaning fewer kids would need lessons. As a piano teacher, Xia Mingtang would have more free time.

Shang Huayin told her she’d received an invitation to a music exhibition, a good chance to meet many people in the music world. She had two slots and asked if Xia Mingtang wanted to come.

Xia Mingtang wasn’t particularly passionate about music or socializing. The reason she’d agreed to Shang Huayin’s earlier invitations was simply because, upon first arriving in Sucheng, she had nothing else to do.

Now…

She glanced at the “big kid” beside her, scrolling her phone, and typed: I won’t go. Something’s come up at home.

The moment she sent it, Qin Yan leaned over with her phone: “Your grandma—is she called Xia Huaying?”

“Yes, what about her?”

Xia Mingtang leaned in to look, and when she saw the bold headline on the Dayan News screen, her phone slipped from her hand and fell onto the sofa.

On the plane, Qin Yan opened a bottle of water and handed it to Xia Mingtang.

“Don’t panic—the news said she’s already out of danger.”

Ever since she saw the Dayan notification: President of Xia Group suddenly taken ill, rushed to emergency overnight, Xia Mingtang had been out of sorts.

She’d packed her luggage immediately, booked the soonest flight, and after briefly notifying Yang Fan and Shang Huayin, she hurried back to Rongcheng.

How could she not panic? Xia Huaying was already in her seventies. Though she’d seemed fairly healthy, how could she withstand such a shock?

Before boarding, she had spoken with the Xia family’s old butler on the phone. When he learned she was alive, he wept bitterly, saying if only she had shown up earlier…

Apparently, before fainting, Xia Huaying had been in a heated argument with Xia Zhenwei.

There hadn’t been time to go into details over the phone, so Xia Mingtang had no choice but to rush back as fast as possible.

“Fresh fruit, seasonal fruit—miss, would you like some fruit?”

A flight attendant pushed the cart down the aisle, but Xia Mingtang only stared blankly, not reacting.

Awkwardly, the attendant stood for a couple seconds before glancing at Qin Yan.

Qin Yan scanned the code with her phone, picked up a box of strawberries, and gestured politely for the attendant to move on.

The whole process was done softly, like she was afraid of disturbing the person next to her.

Qin Yan didn’t have much of an impression of Xia Huaying herself, but she could feel how deeply Xia Mingtang cared.

Growing up in the scheming Ji family, even with her own parents, her feelings had always been shallow. So she couldn’t entirely empathize.

Still, she cared very much about Xia Mingtang’s emotions.

This was her wife, her doll. She should be happy—only allowed to be bullied by her, no one else.

“Eat something. We still have an hour left.” Qin Yan picked up a strawberry and held it to Xia Mingtang’s lips.

Xia Mingtang didn’t hear clearly, but instinctively opened her mouth.

At least she wasn’t completely gone.

Just as Qin Yan was relieved, her finger was sucked in.

“Hey! Don’t eat the green top too!”

She hurriedly pulled out the strawberry cap from her mouth, only to see Xia Mingtang’s wide eyes brimming with tears.

Qin Yan’s heart ached. She fumbled for tissues, gently wiping them away.

This time she didn’t run her mouth, just held her close: “Cry if you want to cry. But after we land, pull yourself together. Grandma wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

Her words worked. Xia Mingtang buried her face in her shoulder, silently soaking half her jacket.

When she finally arrived at the hospital, Xia Mingtang seemed like a different person.

Especially when she saw Xia Zhenwei and his son in the hallway—her eyes sharp enough to cut like knives.

The butler had told her it was during an argument with Xia Zhenwei that Xia Huaying collapsed.

The moment Xia Zhenwei saw Xia Mingtang, his expression flickered, but he quickly put on the air of a stern father.

“Hmph, so you do remember to come back. Out there running wild so long, you’ve angered your grandmother into fainting.”

Xia Mingtang didn’t even bother responding. They’d never gotten along, and now she had no mood for fake filial scenes. “Move aside.”

“What attitude is that? Is this how you speak to your father?” Xia Zhenwei’s voice shot up, pompous and domineering.

At home, with Xia Huaying in charge, he never dared raise his voice.

But now that she was down, he proclaimed himself head of the Xia family.

If it weren’t a hospital, Xia Mingtang would’ve slapped him.

She raised her head, meeting his glare defiantly—only for a tall, slender figure to suddenly step in front of her.

“Uncle, Tangtang is very worried about Grandma’s condition. Please let her through.”

The words were polite, but the tone carried an undercurrent of threat.

Only then did Xia Zhenwei notice Qin Yan. He knew her identity and didn’t dare posture as before.

Still, if he backed down in front of a junior, he’d lose face.

At that moment, Xia Chayi stepped in with a warm smile to smooth things over.

“Mingtang, it’s wonderful you came back. Grandma has been missing you dearly—she’s fallen ill with worry.

“Dad only spoke harshly because he’s anxious. Hurry in and see Grandma.”

Courteous words—but still shifting the blame onto her, as if Xia Huaying fainted because of Xia Mingtang.

Xia Mingtang saw right through his little schemes, but she couldn’t be bothered. Without even sparing them a glance, she took Qin Yan’s hand and walked to the ward.

Behind them, the father and son played their roles as affectionate kin.

“Dad, calm down. Mingtang’s still young—just a bit too blunt.”

“She’s twenty-four already! Young? The older she gets, the worse she behaves. If only she were half as sensible as you—”

Expressionless, Xia Mingtang shut the ward door, shutting out their noisy voices.

She’d long grown used to their disgusting act, so it didn’t even anger her anymore.

But when she saw her grandmother lying there with an oxygen tube, pale and fragile as paper, she couldn’t stop her tears from streaming down.

Her grandmother—always so proud, so strong—now lay still, utterly vulnerable.

Qin Yan had said Grandma would want to see her cheerful. But with Grandma’s eyes closed so tightly—how could she see anything?

The father and son weren’t completely wrong. If she hadn’t been so willful, staging her “death” to escape, perhaps Grandma wouldn’t have fainted.

She thought sending a safety message was enough. But she hadn’t considered how much pressure the disappearance of the Xia family’s sole heir would place on Xia Huaying.

This shouldn’t have been overlooked. But back then, she’d only wanted freedom, selfishly thinking of nothing else.

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