Knowing that Nian Nian was still out feeding stray cats and hadn’t returned home yet, Xiao Cheng decided to leave his phone aside until Nian Nian responded again. When the response came, he initiated a video call.
“Brother Cheng.”
A delicate and pale face appeared on the screen, with intoxicating peach blossom eyes slightly curved and a hint of sparkle in them.
The person on the other end was walking, and the changing lights made it hard to see his expression clearly, but Xiao Cheng could tell that Nian Nian was definitely smiling.
Xiao Cheng glanced at the mirror on his desk and saw his own smiling face reflected. So this was how he always appeared on video calls with Nian Nian?
He felt slightly embarrassed by his infatuation and quickly set the mirror aside.
“At this time, will the Luo family’s driver come to pick you up?”
Xiao Cheng had never paid attention to this before, as Nian Nian had always called him after arriving home. This was their first video calling in the evening when Nian Nian was still out.
“Brother Cheng.”
The voice from the phone had a hint of amusement but also a touch of resignation.
“Even if I didn’t come home so late, the Luo family’s driver wouldn’t come to pick me up.”
Xiao Cheng furrowed his brows. “Then how do you usually get back?”
“I take a taxi to a spot near the villa and then walk back.”
Xiao Cheng saw the screen’s Nian Nian’s face momentarily hidden in darkness as he slightly lowered his head. There was a hint of disappointment visible despite the lack of clear detail.
“A taxi usually stops where?”
Nian Nian mentioned a location, and Xiao Cheng’s face darkened immediately. His lips curved into a small, gentle smile, and he said softly:
“It’s okay, Brother Cheng, I’m used to it.”
Used to it?
Xiao Cheng recalled the location Nian Nian had mentioned. It was about seven or eight hundred meters from the Luo family’s old residence.
Nian Nian was in his senior year, and after late self-study, it was nearly ten o’clock. He had to take a taxi and then walk that distance.
Had the Luo family never considered how unsafe this journey might be?
Xiao Cheng had always known that Nian Nian was not treated well at the Luo family’s house, but Nian Nian never mentioned these issues in front of him. Whenever Xiao Cheng asked, he would even avoid the topic.
Though Xiao Cheng was worried, he felt he had no right to intervene in someone else’s family matters.
But this was clearly too much.
Xiao Cheng thought the Luo family would at least maintain a facade of fairness, but they had evidently shown their bias.
“Brother Cheng.”
Nian Nian’s slightly hoarse voice came through the phone, trying to comfort him.
“Don’t be upset.”
Despite receiving unfair treatment, Nian Nian still comforted him.
Xiao Cheng’s fingers, resting on the desk, clenched into a fist.
“Nian Nian, I’ll arrange for a driver to pick you up.”
Nian Nian seemed about to say something but Xiao Cheng firmly interrupted:
“It’s late, and I’m worried about you being alone. Just listen to me this once, okay?”
The person on the other end seemed taken aback, and after a moment, he sighed gently, “But if you help me this time, can you help me every time?”
“Brother Cheng, I need to learn to move forward on my own.”
Xiao Cheng nearly blurted out that he didn’t need to if Nian Nian wanted him to stay by his side and solve all his problems.
However, he realized that solving this issue would likely require the power of the Xiao family.
Since coming into this book, Xiao Cheng has avoided such scenarios.
He knew he was not the original owner and had no right to use the original owner’s identity to command his family. He also didn’t know when the original owner might return.
But considering it all, Xiao Cheng sighed.
When he first met Jiang Ying, he had already used his identity as the Xiao family’s young master. Now, to distance himself seemed somewhat hypocritical.
Since he was already here, he might accept it. As long as he didn’t do anything detrimental to the Xiao family’s interests, it should be fine.
Xiao Cheng had a vague premonition that the original owner might never return, and he would not leave either.
It was odd; despite believing he wasn’t particularly good at acting, and certainly not at deceiving the original owner’s family under close observation, the people closest to the original owner hadn’t suspected him.
It was as if his style and speech were exactly like the original owner.
Could such a coincidence really occur?
Or it was because he resembled the original owner so closely that he ended up in this book?
Seeing the person on the screen lost in thought, Nian Nian’s eyes, a bit shallow in color, showed a hint of confusion and concern. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
He softly cleared his throat, successfully bringing Xiao Cheng’s attention back.
“Nian Nian.”
Xiao Cheng seemed to have made a decision, his expression softening instantly. “From now on, let the Xiao family’s driver pick you up.”
Before Nian Nian could refuse, he continued, “Nian Nian, I’ve told you before that none of this is your fault. The Luo family shouldn’t be shifting the blame onto you.”
“Having the Xiao family’s driver pick you up, the Luo family will at least be obliged to treat you better on the surface, if not genuinely.”
Given the Luo family’s enthusiastic attitude that day, Xiao Cheng could imagine that once Nian Nian was associated with the Xiao family, the Luo family, for the sake of maintaining appearances, would no longer make things difficult for him.
But it did seem unfair to Nian Nian.
Nian Nian looked at him intently, as if trying to etch his face into memory.
Xiao Cheng was puzzled by the intense gaze and felt a bit uneasy, as if he were being scrutinized by some dangerous creature.
He frowned but saw that Nian Nian’s expression remained gently untroubled, leading him to doubt if he had misinterpreted it earlier.
“Brother Cheng,” Nian Nian’s voice seemed even more hoarse, and he stopped walking, his peach blossom eyes fixed on Xiao Cheng. “Is it because I’m not a child of the Luo family that you’re treating me this way? Is it out of pity?”
Xiao Cheng found this question odd and furrowed his brows before realizing what Nian Nian meant.
“Nian Nian, you might be misunderstanding.”
Xiao Cheng’s expression became more serious, his lips pressed into a straight line. His tone was earnest and slightly sad. “The way I treat you has nothing to do with whether you’re a child of the Luo family. It’s simply because you are you.”
He leaned against the bed’s railing, his back resting on the iron bars, casually tapping his fingers on the desk. Despite his relaxed posture, his gaze was intensely focused on Nian Nian. “I’m not as kind as you think.”
“If I hadn’t met you by the pool that day, or if it hadn’t been you I met, who would care about a fake young master of the Luo family? What would it matter?”
He had never been a particularly kind person. Just like that day at the Luo family’s house, he had only criticized Jiang Ying briefly and had no intention of involving himself in the messy affairs of the scumbag gong and cheap shou.
Even if he felt some frustration toward the character of the ‘cheap shou,’ it wasn’t his concern.
His choice to help Nian Nian had never been about Nian Nian’s background.
Nian Nian’s voice was hoarse. “It’s just because I…”
“Yes, it can be said that I was shallow at first.” Xiao Cheng rarely spoke so candidly to Nian Nian. He wished to always appear as the gentle and kind older brother in Nian Nian’s eyes, provided Nian Nian understood his intentions.
“If you want to say I was shallow, that’s fine.” Xiao Cheng’s ears were turning red, but his smile grew more pronounced, his voice softening. “I didn’t mean to be cold-hearted. You were drenched and had tears in your eyes, looking pitifully at me.”
“It’s hard not to feel soft-hearted.”
Luo Jingshu wondered if he was really that pitiful.
He should have said something, but instead, he just gazed intently at Xiao Cheng. His usually smiling peach blossom eyes now held turbulent emotions, as if they were brimming with unspoken feelings.
“Brother Cheng, you don’t care about my background?”
What if he had been lying from the beginning?
Xiao Cheng’s lips curved into a smile, and he reached through the screen to gently tap Nian Nian’s cheek. “If you were here in person, I’d really want to pinch your face.”
“Did all my previous words mean nothing?”
Xiao Cheng countered, “Would you want to be friends with me because of my background?”
“Because I am the young master of the Xiao family and the future heir?”
Luo Jingshu’s face slowly showed a smile, regaining a bit of his usual gentle and sweet demeanor.
“Brother Cheng is right.”
His voice was still rough, but it had an unexpected allure as if he had transformed from a boy into a man.
Xiao Cheng snapped back to reality, smiling inwardly. Nian Nian was just a seventeen-year-old boy. Why did he feel such a strong sense of pressure from him?
Luo Jingshu gripped his phone, staring at the screen where Xiao Cheng’s smiling eyes and open collar were visible.
Xiao Cheng was never guarded around him. Sometimes during video calls, he wore nothing more than a loosely draped shirt, with his pale collarbone and slender shoulders exposed.
Occasionally, when the camera shook, Luo Jingshu even caught glimpses of a hint of pink.
Luo Jingshu’s eyes darkened.
No one had ever told him that their kindness toward him wasn’t because of his background.
This was something said by Xiao Cheng, a stranger yet familiar figure.
Luo Jingshu thought, maybe this Xiao Cheng was sent by heaven as compensation for him.
Heaven saw him as too lonely and sent him Xiao Cheng.
Luo Jingshu was always cautious and would test things thoroughly until he confirmed their authenticity.
He decided to give Xiao Cheng three chances.
He hoped Xiao Cheng wouldn’t deceive him.
Otherwise…
Nian Nian smiled at Xiao Cheng and said softly, “Brother Cheng, I know you’re good to me.”
“You’re the only one who is good to me.”
So, if you didn’t lie to me, I might give you a little sweetness.
Even a pet bird needs to be fed.
He could keep Xiao Cheng around like a golden canary.
As long as Xiao Cheng didn’t deceive him.
