Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I gradually began to understand the kind of joy Cheng Song had described.

When Xu Sixian first met me, although his clothes were washed clean, they were visibly aged, and his shoes looked like they had been worn for years.

I sent him new clothes, and he wore them.

I couldn’t stand him eating nothing but steamed buns and pickles every day, so I arranged for meals to be delivered to him daily. As I had hoped, his complexion improved significantly, and he finally stopped looking so frail.

Seeing how hard he worked to take care of his grandmother every day, I simply moved her into a private ward and hired specialized nursing staff for her.

Xu Sixian didn’t refuse, but he thanked me sincerely every time.

He kept a meticulous record of every expense. “I will pay you back, Miss He.”

“I don’t want money,” I replied in a casual tone. Then, struck by a sudden thought, I added imperiously, “Since I’m sponsoring you, I only sponsor the best. You’ll be able to rank first in the entire department this semester, right?”

It was phrased as a question, but it was an order.

Xu Sixian was slightly stunned for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

He then carefully weighed his words and asked me what I liked.

He was likely planning to prepare a return gift.

I felt it was unnecessary and was about to ask him what he could possibly afford to give me, but seeing him standing in the sunlight, looking so clean and refreshed, I felt a surge of good humor.

He was already a refined and elegant young man; as the saying goes, clothes make the man. Now, he looked even more like a dashing gentleman, bringing to mind the phrase: “A jade-like man upon the road.”

Is this what it’s like to plant a tree? No wonder Cheng Song liked it.

It really was delightful.

“I like plants,” I said, resting my chin on my hand. “No flowers, though. They die too easily.”

Xu Sixian: “…”

He agreed, and later, he actually gave me a succulent he had cultivated himself.

This was completely different from Cheng Song.

Whenever I gave Cheng Song a gift, it would vanish without a trace after he accepted it.

Cheng Song never thanked me either; his attitude was always one of entitlement.

Actually, I hadn’t cared before, but now I knew what it felt like to get a response.

It was like throwing a coin into water and actually hearing the splash.

It was quite a pleasant sound.

And so, the recipient of my gifts shifted from Cheng Song to Xu Sixian.

For this purpose, I even specifically bought a small conservatory and filled it with lush, green potted plants.

They were all gifts from Xu Sixian, and it soon became a sea of green.

It wasn’t until Cheng Song came to find me that I realized I hadn’t seen him in a long time.

I also hadn’t sent him any messages to check in on him for a while.

However, I kept the news of my sponsorship of Xu Sixian to myself. After all, Cheng Song had also hidden the fact that he was sponsoring Su Wantang.

I felt this was only fair.

The only difference was that he couldn’t keep his secret, while I could keep mine.

Cheng Song only knew that some unknown person was protecting Xu Sixian. Not only were the people around him unable to touch Xu Sixian anymore, but they also avoided him like the plague, remaining tight-lipped.

He was incredibly anxious to find out more, yet he had to be careful to avoid me. The frustration was so intense that he even started breaking out on his forehead.

The second I saw him, I froze.

Then I quietly looked away, thinking with a hint of disdain: *How did he get so ugly? He’s not nearly as good-looking as Little Tree.*

“Lingyue,” he said in a flat tone. “I’ve been busy with social engagements lately and haven’t had time to meet with you. Shall we have dinner tonight?”

Tonight, Little Tree said he was going to cook for me.

I didn’t want to eat with Cheng Song.

Just as I was about to refuse, Cheng Song naturally changed the subject. “By the way, Jinji didn’t contact me this month. I have an important gathering coming up and don’t have suitable clothes.”

Jinji used to custom-make three outfits for Cheng Song every month because I had ordered it.

But this month’s clothes were already being worn by Little Tree; there were none for him.

Uncle Chen, who had personally delivered them for me, hadn’t even batted an eye.

I gave him a strange look. “Then go find Jinji yourself.”

Why come to me? I’m not a tailor.

However, without me, Jinji wouldn’t give Cheng Song the time of day.

He wasn’t high enough in status.

Cheng Song was silent for a few seconds, a flicker of impatience surfacing between his brows. “Stop messing around.”

I looked at him with interest. “Jinji is busy lately. You can go wait in line.”

He finally seemed to realize that my reaction was a bit off.

Cheng Song looked at me, hesitating for a few seconds before his voice softened slightly. “Lingyue, are you upset because I haven’t come to see you lately?”

I studied him, thinking more and more that as men get older, they really need to pay attention to their skincare.

Cheng Song’s phone vibrated.

He was likely distracted and even forgot to hide it from me, looking down directly at the message on his phone.

I assumed it was from Su Wantang. I didn’t intend to snoop, but I accidentally caught a glimpse and saw it was a photo.

– “A friend is taking promotional photos for A University today, so I came to help carry water and stuff. >w<"

The boy in the photo looked very familiar-it was Xu Sixian.

Xu Sixian had mentioned the promotional shoot to me as well. Seeing him wearing the clothes I gave him made me feel even better.

Cheng Song only took one look, not even noticing the text Su Wantang had sent, and froze on the spot.

He zoomed in on the photo, and the irritable expression between his brows went blank.

Then, his fingers began to tremble, his grip so tight his knuckles turned white as he stared fixedly at the pattern on Xu Sixian's cuff-it was the unique hallmark of Jinji. Having worn their clothes for so many years, there was no way he could mistake it.