“Really? Aren’t you going to see Pei Chen anymore?”
Liang Zhiyi snorted, “He’s not coming anymore, so why should I go?”
Ji Fei’er was puzzled and asked for more details. After Liang Zhiyi explained what happened the previous afternoon, Ji Fei’er sighed, “I told you long ago, with his proud nature, he wouldn’t accept your help. I wasn’t wrong, was I?”
Liang Zhiyi felt a pang of frustration. “I know deceiving him was wrong, but I don’t understand why he reacted so strongly…”
To her, it was just a small favor.
Ji Fei’er tried to analyze the situation. “Maybe he feels like it’s a case of ‘food from begging,’ and taking the money feels like an insult to his dignity?”
“What does ‘food from begging’ mean? This is a reasonable reward, okay? Pei Chen did put in intellectual effort too.”
Liang Zhiyi asked Ji Fei’er to imagine her own feelings if she were the one being helped. Ji Fei’er grinned and said, “Don’t worry, I’d shamelessly accept any money you offer. The more, the better.”
“…” Such a shameless person.
Ji Fei’er defended Liang Zhiyi, saying that even if Pei Chen didn’t appreciate it, there was no need for Liang Zhiyi to force herself to be kind to him. It was commendable enough that she was willing to help others.
Liang Zhiyi felt a bit better after hearing this, but upon reflection, the unease still lingered.
If she really thought that way, she would indeed be placing herself in the position of a lofty benefactor, as Pei Chen said. However, such a feeling would not make her comfortable…
In the end, Ji Fei’er comforted her, “Stop overthinking it. Don’t waste the National Day holiday. Let’s go watch a movie this afternoon.”
Liang Zhiyi nodded, clearing her troubled thoughts, and agreed, “Okay.”
So, in the afternoon, Liang Zhiyi went out and had the driver drop her off at Ji Fei’er’s neighborhood. The two girls then went together to the shopping mall.
Upon arriving at the mall entrance, they got out of the car and walked toward the door, chatting happily about their shopping plans for the day.
Suddenly, Ji Fei’er spotted someone and pointed out, “Hey, that person looks like Pei Chen.”
Liang Zhiyi looked up and was momentarily stunned.
Straight ahead, the boy was dressed in white clothes and black pants, tall with long legs, dark hair, and refined features. He was wearing a mask, with his eyebrows and eyes hidden beneath the black strands. He was handing out flyers to passersby.
In the hot weather outside, sweat stains were visible on the back of Pei Chen’s short-sleeved shirt, yet he remained strikingly handsome.
Liang Zhiyi felt a pang of pain in her heart and wondered, “Why would he choose to do this exhausting job instead of accepting my help?”
Ji Fei’er patted her shoulder and said thoughtfully, “I think Pei Chen has a lot of pride. With his personality, he’d rather work hard on his own. He might feel that as classmates, he shouldn’t accept your money.”
Liang Zhiyi looked at the boy, and Ji Fei’er teased, “You’re staring at him with so much concern, as if you’re about to run to him.”
Liang Zhiyi lowered her gaze and said, “Let’s go.”
The two walked forward, passing by Pei Chen. He instinctively held out a flyer.
Pei Chen’s eyes lifted, and when he saw the girl’s face, his gaze deepened.
Liang Zhiyi hesitated slightly, then reached out and took the flyer from his long fingers.
She acted as if she hadn’t seen him, walking past him and continuing on.
Pei Chen withdrew his hand, his fingers curling slightly. He looked up at the girl, who was chatting and laughing with Ji Fei’er, her smile as bright as ever.
The look of grievance from yesterday resurfaced in his mind.
Finally, he lowered his long lashes, his eyes inscrutable. The flyer in his fingers was crumpled as he tightened his grip.
After seeing Pei Chen, Liang Zhiyi felt a bit distracted for the rest of the afternoon.
Fortunately, Ji Fei’er kept her company, and they bought many things while shopping. They also enjoyed a hearty Thai dinner. By the time she returned home, her mood had improved.
After taking a shower, she applied a simple hydrating face mask and read a book.
Around ten in the evening, the housekeeper came to her room with warm milk. Liang Zhiyi sat on the bed, drinking it, and asked, “Has my dad come back yet?”
“The sir hasn’t returned yet. I just heard from your mother that he’s still at the company. He might even spend the night there.”
Liang Zhiyi sighed, “He’s always so busy.”
Even though it’s the National Day holiday, she felt her father still had to spend a lot of time on company matters. However, it was precisely because of this that Junming Group had expanded its business domestically and internationally over the years, thriving more and more.
After finishing the milk, Liang Zhiyi brushed her teeth and then went to her parents’ room.
Inside, Zhong Xinrou had just finished her bath and was lying on the bed. She looked up in surprise when Liang Zhiyi entered the bedroom, “What brings you here?”
Liang Zhiyi jumped onto the bed and hugged Zhong Xinrou, playfully saying, “Mom, since Dad isn’t home tonight, I want to sleep with you.”
Zhong Xinrou smiled and gently tapped her nose, “You’re already so grown up. Why are you still like a child?”
“I don’t care. I want to sleep with you.”
“Alright, get settled quickly…”
Zhong Xinrou tucked her in with a light blanket, and they lay down together. Liang Zhiyi hugged her mother’s arm, and Zhong Xinrou looked at her and smiled, “You’re about to turn eighteen, yet you still act like a child. When do you plan to grow up?”
She pouted, “What’s wrong with being like a child?”
She lived in a happy family, with no financial worries, and everyone loved her. She wished she could stay a child forever, carefree and without worries.
Zhong Xinrou chuckled helplessly and said, “Alright, you’ll always be Mommy and Daddy’s little girl.”
As they chatted, Zhong Xinrou asked, “I’ve noticed you’ve seemed a bit down these past few days. Has something unhappy happened?”
Liang Zhiyi was surprised, “Mom, how did you know…”
A mother knows her child best. Zhong Xinrou said she had noticed Liang Zhiyi’s mood was off during dinner the previous night. The girl’s feelings were always easy to read on her face. “And why have you been going to Aunt’s café every afternoon lately?”
Liang Zhiyi hesitated but eventually couldn’t resist and told her mother about Pei Chen. She bit her lip, “Mom, I just don’t understand why my desk mate was so angry…”
Zhong Xinrou listened to the whole story and couldn’t help but laugh, “Mom knows that my Zhiyi is very kind and wants to help her classmates. I support that. I also believe you considered it and chose a more indirect way rather than giving money directly.”
Liang Zhiyi nodded vigorously, “That’s exactly what I thought!”
Zhong Xinrou smiled and patted her head, then shifted her tone, “However, this method is essentially a form of deception. It might not be the best approach. We should choose a way of helping others that they can accept, right?”
Zhong Xinrou gently advised, “Everyone has aspects they don’t want others to pry into. The family issues might be a sensitive topic for that boy. By helping him this way, it puts him in a position of poverty and need, which could hurt his self-esteem.”
Liang Zhiyi was stunned.
It seemed that at first, she hadn’t considered so much.
She only viewed it from her own perspective, thinking he would accept it. But boys and girls think differently and have different perspectives. Perhaps for Pei Chen, he didn’t want to receive special treatment or sympathy just because he was poor.
Moreover, Pei Chen’s nature was always quiet and reserved; many of his concerns were kept to himself, including his part-time work. He seemed reluctant to let many classmates know about it.
Saying she wanted to help him right in front of him might have made him feel embarrassed.
Zhong Xinrou said, “And if your desk mate received such a large sum of money from you without a reason, he might feel inferior and indebted to you. This could make it difficult for you to maintain an equal student relationship, don’t you think?”
Liang Zhiyi felt disheartened.
Yes, he was so happy a few days ago because of Cookie, but when he learned the truth yesterday, he must have been as angry and upset as he had been happy…
Thinking about it this way, her approach was indeed wrong.
“Actually, if you want to help him, you don’t have to give money. You could find a way he can gladly accept. For instance, when your father and I went to the mountainous areas to support the left-behind children, we didn’t just donate money; we also played with them. They were very happy.”
Liang Zhiyi smiled, “Yes, Mom, I understand what you’re saying.”
“But why are you so attentive to your desk mate?” Zhong Xinrou teased.
Liang Zhiyi felt a bit uneasy and buried her head in the blanket, “I think he’s a good person, so I just did what I could…”
Zhong Xinrou smiled, “That’s good. It means my daughter is very kind.”
After their conversation, Liang Zhiyi looked up at the ceiling, her mind troubled.
She needed to find a time to apologize to Pei Chen properly.
But would he still be willing to talk to her?
Would he hate her from now on?
She sighed silently, turned over, and slowly fell asleep amidst her worries.
Since the tutoring fee Pei Chen received a few days ago was in cash, on the last morning of the National Day holiday, he went to the café with the remaining money.
Upon arrival, he found the server who had previously handled his payments and returned the money.
The server was surprised and was communicating with him when a boy walked out of the café and said, “Hey, you’re the academic genius who has been correcting my test papers, right?”
Pei Chen was slightly taken aback. The boy stepped forward and introduced himself excitedly, “I’m Liang Zhiyi’s cousin. My name is Cheng Zhang.”
He happened to be in the café this morning and was thrilled to finally see Pei Chen in person. Unaware of the plans Liang Zhiyi and Xuan Xia had made, he thought that Pei Chen was indeed the tutor his cousin had arranged for him. He proceeded to explain why he had been absent from the tutoring sessions.
“A few days ago, I heard from my cousin that you couldn’t come to correct my test papers, and I was quite upset. You explain the papers so well, and you’re so smart. If I could be as smart as you, my parents wouldn’t have to worry about my grades at all…” He expressed his admiration for Pei Chen with great enthusiasm.
Cheng Zhang continued, sighing, “The points you organized for me were really helpful. I don’t know if I’ll have another chance to ask you questions in the future…”
Pei Chen had momentarily suspected this might be another scheme from Liang Zhiyi, but seeing the genuine disappointment on Cheng Zhang’s face, he finally spoke softly:
“It’s fine. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask me.”