Chapter 16: Don’t You Just Love Collecting Little Trinkets?

Overnight, Hua Qingyang had become the center of attention.

“Damn!!!” He burst into laughter, slapping the table. “You’re asking how I take care of my little sister?!”

Ji Huailuo’s expression was thunderous. He hurled an apple at him. “Say it or shut the hell up!!”

Hua Qingyang caught the apple effortlessly and took a big bite. “I always blamed my Mother for not letting me be an only child. Who would’ve thought I’d have a comeback one day!”

Ji Huailuo rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. “Are you gonna talk or not?”

“Give me a break,” Hua Qingyang took another bite of the apple. “Ah Cong made me talk all night yesterday. My throat’s killing me.”

“…” Ji Huailuo paused. “What did Ah Cong ask you about?”

Hua Qingyang gave him a sidelong glance, his smile full of hidden meaning. “Asked me how to take care of a kid.”

Ji Huailuo: “Who’s he trying to take care of?”

“My sister,” Hua Qingyang mumbled with his mouth full. “I looked after her all summer. Told him to help me for half a day…”

Ji Huailuo: “I’ll take care of her tomorrow.”

“…”

Hua Qingyang nearly choked from laughing.

“Wow, never seen you this generous before!”

Ji Huailuo, chewing and grabbing food at the same time, said, “Tell me everything you told him. I’ll need it for tomorrow.”

“…Spare me,” Hua Qingyang groaned. “My throat seriously hurts.”

Ji Huailuo eyed him. “Did you talk all night, or scream all night?”

“Screw you!” Hua Qingyang sprang up, tackling him. “Say that in front of Ah Cong if you’ve got the guts!”

—

Hua Qingyang’s little sister was named Hua Niuniu, only four years old.

Zhou Cong brought her back to the Zhou Family home first, which drew a crowd of elders over to watch.

“Zhou Hezheng,” someone teased, “Is Ah Cong hinting that you and Shoufang should give him a little sister?”

Zhou Hezheng was exasperated. “What’s with this nonsense now—bringing Niuniu here, really?”

Zhou Cong sat with his legs crossed, seriously staring at the short-legged little girl.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany.

It wasn’t just that he wanted someone young to take care of—

He wanted someone young and pretty.

Preferably one who looked like that infuriating girl who nearly made him lose his mind.

Old Master Zhou wasn’t reassured. “Send her back to the Hua Family right away. She’s their one and only little princess.”

“I just wanna play a little longer,” Zhou Cong said nonchalantly. “I’ll send her back this afternoon.”

Old Master Zhou glared at him, beard puffing with rage. “Don’t use the word ‘play’! Stop acting like it’s your usual nonsense.”

“…”

What usual nonsense?

Afraid of scaring the kid into tears, he was practically acting like a grandkid himself.

“This rascal’s too used to doing things his way,” Old Master Zhou told his son. “Never even interacted with girls before. Rough as hell—what if he makes Niuniu cry?”

Zhou Hezheng nodded respectfully. “Yes, Shoufang and I will guide him again.”

Zhou Cong: “…”

“Hey,” he said coolly, “Want some milk tea?”

Hua Niuniu’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”

“She’s too young for milk tea,” Old Master Zhou scolded. “Only milk for her.”

“…” Zhou Cong paused. “Then how about the claw machine?”

Hua Niuniu’s eyes sparkled even brighter. “Yes!”

The elders didn’t object to this one. “Go ahead then. Just bring her back the same way you take her out. Got it?”

Zhou Cong couldn’t be bothered to listen to all that advice. He bent down, grabbed Hua Niuniu by the collar with one hand, and started walking off.

Old Master Zhou roared, “Hold her hand!! What are you doing, carrying her like a dog?!”

Zhou Hezheng stepped in to calm him. “Don’t get angry. We’ll teach him slowly.”

Once the noise behind faded, Zhou Cong tossed Hua Niuniu into the back seat of the car and warned, “Don’t kick around, and don’t drool in my car.”

He fumbled with the child safety seat, but Hua Niuniu skillfully strapped herself in, mumbling all the while.

Zhou Cong hit the gas, the car slicing through the blinding summer sun, turning off the main roads into the quiet university district.

Finally, he stopped under that tree outside the gate of Shenzhen University.

Compared to the cool temperature inside the car, the air outside looked warped with heat.

Through the shiny window, Zhou Cong saw blurry silhouettes inside the milk tea shop. His gaze lingered.

It wasn’t busy at this hour. Xu Zhiqiao was sitting in the corner booth with another girl, heads leaned together, a pen in her hand as she wrote something on paper.

The breath stuck in his chest eased slightly. He got out of the car, opened the back door.

Just as he was about to lift Hua Niuniu out, his eyes caught two very clear dirty shoe prints on the back of the driver’s seat.

Zhou Cong closed his eyes, held it in.

—

Xu Zhiqiao put down the pen and pointed to a mistake on the worksheet. “Don’t pretend. I know you got it wrong on purpose.”

Li Qi swaggered over, swatted the girl on the head. “Do you want the money or not? I’m only keeping twenty percent, and I still gotta give you ten. If you don’t study properly, you’ll get jack.”

“…” Xu Zhiqiao was speechless. Who convinces someone to take tutoring lessons like this?

The bell above the door jingled—customers.

Xu Zhiqiao stood up. “Welcome to—”

Her eyes dropped down, first landing on the tiny girl barely a meter tall, then up to the tall man behind her. The warm greeting froze on her lips.

The smile in her eyes vanished.

Noticing her reaction, Zhou Cong sneered, “Order.”

Xu Zhiqiao didn’t respond, walking to the register. “What do you want?”

Zhou Cong: “Milk.”

“…We don’t have that.”

“A milk tea shop doesn’t have milk?”

“Nope. It’s all milk with tea.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Zhou Cong said, eyes lowered. “Then just give me the milk. No tea.”

“Not for sale.”

“…”

Sparks were flying at the ordering counter. Li Qi quickly stepped in. “What she means is, we don’t sell plain milk separately…”

Zhou Cong turned a dark gaze on him. “Does the store sell it or not?”

“…”

Xu Zhiqiao slapped the order pad down, standing firm. “You—”

The sharp retort on her tongue stopped when she saw Hua Niuniu hanging from his hand. “You can’t carry her like that! She can barely breathe!”

Panicked, she rushed from behind the counter and rescued Hua Niuniu into her arms.

The little girl coughed a few times, her chin marked with two faint button-shaped indentations.

Xu Zhiqiao exploded. “Do you even know how to take care of a kid?!”

“…” Zhou Cong stood stunned under her scolding. “She’s not that fragile, is she?”

Xu Zhiqiao carefully checked the little girl, gently rubbing her chin. “Sweetie, are you his child?”

Zhou Cong let out a breathy laugh. “You think I kidnapped her?”

“Close enough,” Xu Zhiqiao’s tone was icy. “Don’t you just love collecting little trinkets?”

“…”

So this was what it felt like to be beyond redemption.

“This is Hua Qingyang’s little sister,” Zhou Cong said evenly. “I’m doing a good deed here—is that a crime now?”

Xu Zhiqiao didn’t believe a word. “What good deed?”

Zhou Cong’s face didn’t flinch. “She wet her brother’s bed again. Hua Qingyang ditched her, and I felt bad. So I brought her out to buy some milk.”

“…”

Hua Niuniu chimed in with a soft, childish voice, “Sister, Big Brother is lying.”

A crack finally showed in Zhou Cong’s calm expression. His mouth opened, then closed. He managed only one sentence:

“…You can say a sentence that long?”