Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

"Great, I'm heading home to tell Mom right away!" said Luo Shufan as he dropped the thermos and was ready to put on his shoes and leave.

Luo Qianqian watched her brother and couldn't help but facepalm, then quickly stepped forward and grabbed her zombie-brained brother, "Brother, it's noon. Why would you think Mom is at home?"

"Oh right..." Luo Shufan rubbed his head, took off his shoes again, picked up the thermos he had dropped on the floor, and looked at his sister with an innocent face. He blamed his sister for always being silly, which had a big influence on him too.

Luo Qianqian mysteriously pulled He Wenyu along and gently pushed Mother He into the room, then turned and pushed her brother, who was following behind, out of the room and closed the door.

"Qianqian, what's up? Did your brother pick on you again? Tell your godmother, next time I won't make pig's trotters for him," Mother He said, patting her face, unable to understand what her goddaughter was up to. It wasn't usually like this.

"Nope," Luo Qianqian hurriedly shook her hand. She just didn't want her foolish brother to spill the secret to Mom and make Mom suspicious of her, "Actually, I just had an idea today, and I certainly didn't tell my brother. He would mock me anyway. Godmother, Xiao Yu, you must keep it a secret for me and absolutely not tell him."

He Wenyu, seeing that it was just her mother and Qianqian in the room, nonchalantly took off her tank top and capris and changed into a breezy dress made by her mother. She also pulled out one for Qianqian, "You should change too; it's too hot, and my clothes are all sweaty. I'll definitely keep it a secret. We're buddies, right?"

"Yeah, Qianqian, go ahead and change. Once you've changed, your godmother will wash them for you. We have plenty of clothes here anyway," Mother He said, noticing that Luo Qianqian's back was already soaked. She felt a bit of pity. Why was she still cooking pig's trotters in this heat? It would be much more sensible just to feed the girls and stop letting them sell it, considering how sweaty they were getting.

"Alright, oh, and godmother, what I wanted to discuss with you is related to these fabrics," said Luo Qianqian as she began to take off her capris. "You could really make something else, not just clothes; and with clothes, it's hard to get the sizing right for selling anyway. If it were keychain accessories to hang on backpacks, you wouldn't need to worry about sizing, right? Plus, the leftover fabric scraps here should be enough for such accessories. I thought of a design today that I think would look really nice. Why don't you try making one? If it looks good, you can give one to me and Xiao Yu. Even if it doesn't look good, it can still be used to hang my brother's keys, so it won't be a waste."

"Mom, give it a try, since Qianqian thinks it'll look good, it surely will. Make a couple for us to play with," He Wenyu pleaded, tugging at Mother He's arm and pouting, hell-bent on getting a positive response with a feeling that Mother He couldn't refuse, "Even if it fails, there's always Qianqian's brother to hang the keys." She then glanced at Luo Qianqian, blinking and sending distress signals.

"That... I..." I don't know if I can do it well. However, Luo Qianqian decisively interrupted.

"What are you talking about, Xiao Yu? How could godmother fail?" Luo Qianqian shot Xiao Yu a look and proudly raised her head, saying loudly, "My godmother is the best; she never fails. Her clothes are so pretty, how could anything else she makes not be?! Plus, we can take inspiration from Mickey Mouse, Elder Tang, Snoopy, Hello Kitty—the design I thought of doesn't even require mixing colors. The patched fabric alone will look great."

"Exactly, exactly, Qianqian is right. My mom is so talented she couldn't possibly fail. Mom, since Qianqian has spoken, give it a try. Don't you trust us when we say it'll look good?" He Wenyu chimed in excitedly as she listened to Luo Qianqian.

"Okay, okay, you two cheeky girls. If it doesn't turn out well, I'm not responsible," Mother He said indulgently as she nodded her head and patted their heads before slowly moving to the desk to sit down. "Qianqian, draw out that design you mentioned, but keep it simple."

"Godmother, don't put too much faith in my drawing skills; I'm only five years old after all…" And other than geometric figures drawn with a compass and straightedge, everything else I draw looks like neither people nor ghosts, neither flowers nor grass...

"Oh, it's not a painting for selling, Qianqian; just a rough sketch will do. Look how nice the pig's trotters you drew this morning were," He Wenyu disagreed, pulling Luo Qianqian to the table. She took out the herbal portfolio and pencil her mother usually used to brainstorm clothing designs.

Luo Qianqian spread out her book, but standing at the table, she was barely taller than it. With a forlorn look, she gazed at the table, dropped her herbarium onto the floor, and then lay down to start drawing conscientiously, thinking of the once-popular 'Brutal Bear' prototype.

He Wenyu and Mother He exchanged glances, both barely holding back their laughter. Qianqian's height had indeed become a problem.

It seemed that from now on, they would need to keep an eye on Qianqian in the mornings, otherwise, her constant laziness would prevent her from growing taller. This was the decision He Wenyu made at that moment.

It looked like they would need to prepare more pork ribs and trotters to nourish the child. Looking at her malnourished, scrawny and short figure, she must be too picky with her food. That was Mother He's thought at this very moment.

Luo Qianqian just felt a chill run down her spine, which quickened her drawing pace considerably.

"Done!" Luo Qianqian climbed up from the floor and handed the drawing to Mother He. Xiao Yu also curiously leaned over to look.

Watching Xiao Yu's face gradually redden and her shoulders shake uncontrollably, Luo Qianqian frantically explained as she jumped around, "Ah, it's just that my drawing isn't pretty, but anyway, it's a bear. These two ovals here are the arms, the circle beneath the arms is the bear's paw, and below are the legs and feet."

"And what about this circle here? Is it the belly button?" He Wenyu asked, struggling to hold back her laughter as she pointed at a small circle within a larger circle that looked like the body.

"Right, it even has a belly button. But this is actually the tail. I couldn't make it visible from the front, so I added some perspective. The nose also needs to stand out more. The ears are two little half-circles, and the outline around them and the smaller half-circles inside should be different colors. The smaller half-circles inside should ideally be of a patchwork fabric because I've named this bear 'Patchwork Bear'."

"'Patchwork Bear,' huh? Nice name, let me give it a try." Mother He, while amused by the drawing of circles within circles, picked up a pen and began modifying it according to Luo Qianqian's earlier explanation.

"Hey, kids' mom, the three kids haven't eaten yet. What national affairs are you two scheming behind closed doors?" He's father knocked and pushed open the door, only to see his daughter and goddaughter both putting their index fingers to their lips, making a 'shush' gesture, while his wife, deep in 'Entering Demonhood Mode,' was oblivious to everything around her.

"Hey, you two, come out and eat. Don't mind her, we just ate. Come on, have something to eat." He's father, resigned to his wife's serious expression, led the two girls to the kitchen to eat.

"Xiao Fan, after you finish eating, take your sister to study. Don't run around; you've all gotten quite tanned," He's father checked the time; it was almost time for work. With only his wife, who was intensely focused and not caring about anything else, and three children, none older than ten, at home, he was really worried. But he couldn't skip work.

"Don't worry, dad. Qianqian said this afternoon is for math because we played in the morning, so we'll study hard in the afternoon," He Wenyu mumbled while eating.

Luo Qianqian quickly chewed a few times and swallowed the rice in her mouth before speaking, "Godfather, don't worry. We won't run around anymore. But, but, am I really that tanned???"