"This is for you."

Chuzheng takes the phone out of the bag and hands it to Xi Jing.

Xi Jing shakes his head nervously, "I can’t accept it, it’s too expensive..."

"Just take it." Chuzheng rudely stuffs it into his hand, saying impatiently, "If you don’t want it, you can throw it away."

Xi Jing’s eyes widen slightly.

Of course, Xi Jing wouldn’t throw it away. After glancing at Chuzheng several times, he finally puts the box away and efficiently begins to prepare dinner.

"Dinner’s... ready."

Chuzheng sits on the small stool; Xi Jing sets the bowls and chopsticks for her and sits on the other side.

Xi Jing had cooked millet porridge and stir-fried two green vegetables.

The millet porridge was thick and the fragrance rich.

Seeing that Chuzheng didn’t mind, Xi Jing relaxed and lowered his head to drink the porridge.

"Do you live here alone?"

Xi Jing nods, "Yeah."

"What about your family?"

Xi Jing paused for several seconds, shaking his head, and whispered, "I don’t have any family anymore."

Chuzheng reached out to rub his head, "Is this house rented or yours?"

Xi Jing slowly replied, "My... my grandfather left it to me."

Left to him, meaning he might no longer be alive.

The Good Person Card is indeed pitiful.

-

After dinner, Chuzheng received Xi Jing’s information from the King’s Account.

Xi Jing’s mother was deceived in high school and became pregnant with him.

After giving birth to Xi Jing, she left and never returned.

Xi Jing grew up with his grandfather.

Unfortunately, his grandfather’s health was poor, and he couldn’t earn much money, just enough to get by.

A while ago, his grandfather fell ill, and Xi Jing incurred significant debt to pay for his treatment. After his grandfather passed away, he didn’t go to school, working everywhere to repay the money.

Xi Jing wasn’t yet eighteen, so he could only do odd jobs.

Initially, Xi Jing managed to borrow the money thanks to an introduction from a drunkard.

But was the drunkard really kind?

Of course, he wasn’t, but Xi Jing was desperate at the time, and didn’t think deeply about the drunkard’s intentions.

Until the debt kept increasing, and he couldn’t repay it.

The creditor brought people to demand the money, and when Xi Jing couldn’t pay, the drunkard suggested that he go to a bar.

Xi Jing certainly didn’t want to, but in the end, it wasn’t about whether he wanted to or not, the other party forced him to go.

From then on, it was nothing more than coercion and Xi Jing’s struggle, leading to his eventual dark turn...

Now the timeline is quite early.

As long as Xi Jing isn’t bullied, he shouldn’t turn dark.

After washing the dishes, Xi Jing hesitantly walked over.

"Will you be staying here?" Xi Jing probably wanted to ask when Chuzheng would leave, but perhaps due to a lack of courage, he didn’t say it directly.

Chuzheng had no intention of leaving.

Since the Good Person Card is so weak, of course she needs to stay close to protect him!

"Can I not stay here?"

"Yes, yes. As long as you don’t mind..." Xi Jing’s face reddened, "Then you’ll sleep in the bed, and I’ll lay on the floor."

"Okay."

"I’ll go tidy up."

Xi Jing lowered his head and walked away.

Chuzheng sat for a while, going over the information given by the King’s Account.

After sorting through the data, she looked to the other side of the room, where the boy was tidying up the day’s purchases, folding them one by one and putting them into the wardrobe.

The wardrobe was cleared out as well, with Chuzheng’s clothes hanging inside.

Looks like they need to buy a new wardrobe.

This house is a bit small, but Chuzheng had no intention of changing it.

Xi Jing stood on a plastic stool, tiptoeing to place other items on the top of the wardrobe, his shirt pulling up, revealing a slender waistline.

His skin was very pale, and his waistline was nice, but it would look better if he weren’t so skinny.

Seems health care is necessary; otherwise, holding him would be like hugging a skeleton, quite unpleasant.

The plastic stool that Xi Jing stepped on had probably served its time, as one of its legs suddenly snapped, causing the whole stool to tilt to one side.

The person on the stool swayed and fell directly to the side.

With nothing nearby to grab onto, in a panic, Xi Jing instinctively closed his eyes.

But the anticipated pain didn’t come, instead, hands caught him at the waist, the cold and elegant scent lingered at the tip of his nose.

The boy’s lashes trembled slightly, like wings of a butterfly about to fly, he slightly opened his eyes, with traces of fear still lingering.

Reflected in his pupils was Chuzheng’s face, and he looked at her, forgetting to blink.

Chuzheng had caught him from below, the boy half-leaning into her embrace, his waist firmly supported by her hands.

Chuzheng could only be grateful that the room wasn’t large, or she’d have failed to reach him, leaving him to crash to the ground.

Seems not switching houses was the right choice!

Xi Jing quickly stood up, his first response to apologize, "S-S-Sorry."

Chuzheng didn’t let go of him, only ensured he was steady on his feet, arms still around him. Xi Jing wanted to retreat but had nowhere to go, standing stiffly, face shifting from pale to red.

"Why apologize?" Chuzheng asked with confusion.

Xi Jing lowered his gaze, whispering, "For troubling you..."

You truly are a troublemaker.

Chuzheng sighed internally, "You should say thank you instead of sorry."

Xi Jing lowered his head even further, "Thank you."

Chuzheng raised her hand to rub his head, then released him, "Be more careful next time."

"...Okay." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Xi Jing breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back a couple of steps, the warmth on his face gradually fading away with the breeze.

Chuzheng picked up the clothes he hadn’t managed to put away, finding another stool to step on, and properly put them away.

"Can you reach it?" After putting them away, Chuzheng remembered this question and asked Xi Jing.

Xi Jing nodded, "I can stand on the stool..."

Chuzheng cut him off, "What if you fall? I can’t always catch you."

The warmth that had just dissipated from Xi Jing’s face returned quickly, his ears aflame.

Chuzheng took the clothes down, "Hang them up properly."

Xi Jing glanced at the clothes hanging in the wardrobe, hesitant to move, thinking, "Your clothes..."

"Do you mind hanging them with mine?"

"..."

It’s not what Xi Jing meant; he was just worried about dirtying her clothes.

"Hurry up and hang them." Chuzheng said aggressively, "If you dare put them on top, I’ll throw you out."

"..." Xi Jing’s expression froze slightly, whispering, "But this is my house."

Chuzheng’s eyes narrowed, "What did you say?"

Xi Jing blinked, meeting Chuzheng’s fierce gaze, decisively shook his head, and swiftly hung the clothes in the wardrobe.

Chuzheng had only bought two sets of clothes, whereas Xi Jing had more. Once hung, the previously empty wardrobe quickly filled up.

Chuzheng pointed to the clothes at the bottom of the wardrobe, "Throw all those clothes out; don’t let them pile up taking space."

"I can still wear them..." These are winter clothes, and if he throws them out, what will he wear in the winter?

Chuzheng reached to tousle his head, "I’ll buy new ones for you later, be good."

Xi Jing: "..."

Xi Jing didn’t want to throw them away.

As soon as Chuzheng’s expression hardened, the boy shrank his head and pitifully took the clothes out, folding them one by one and taking them outside.