“The result is… a tie.”

After announcing the outcome, Grandfather Liang left with the butler. Li Wenshui had been eagerly anticipating the results. After all, he had put in so much effort. Competitive by nature, he wanted to win, even though he wasn’t the protagonist of this test, and the benefits wouldn’t go to him.

Li Wenshui asked Liang Jin, “What happens with a tie? Will there be another test?”

It was lunchtime, and the children in the classroom were lining up to receive their meals. Liang Jin straightened up and replied, “Nothing will happen. To Grandfather, the test results don’t really matter.”

Liang Yuting, standing beside Li Wenshui, looked at the children eating inside and said, “Don’t worry. Even with a tie, they’ll still receive donations.”

In the classroom, over twenty children were eating. The oldest was ten, the youngest five, and one child was disabled. His right hand was deformed and useless, while his left hand struggled to hold chopsticks. After a great effort to pick up a piece of meat, it slipped from his grasp and fell onto the desk.

Li Wenshui lowered his gaze. In truth, he had almost become one of those children in the orphanage himself.

When he was young, his mother often fled after being domestically abused by Li Qun. Sometimes, she ended up in the hospital; other times, she stayed at her parents’ house for a while. But she always returned—until one day, after being hospitalized again, she never came back.

Li Qun went into a frenzy looking for her, but eventually, he left as well. Five days after Li Qun disappeared, Li Wenshui and his younger sister finished all the food in the house. Another day passed, and they were too hungry to bear it. Remembering what his teacher had said about seeking help from the police in times of trouble, he called the police.

When Li Qun came to the police station, he angrily cursed and dragged them out. But instead of taking them home, he left them at the orphanage gate and told them to wait there before leaving again. This time, it was the orphanage staff who found them and called the police.

When the police located Li Qun again, his behavior was so egregious that an elderly officer felt compassion and threatened to jail Li Qun if he abandoned the children again. Scared, Li Qun reluctantly took them to Wu Dongya’s home.

Li Wenshui watched the children happily eating their meals and wondered, Do they know they were abandoned?

“They’re unfortunate,” he thought. “But perhaps meeting Chairman Liang, who is donating to them, is their silver lining in misfortune.”

At least now, they had enough to eat, clothes to wear, books to read, and a place to shelter from the wind and rain. These were things Li Wenshui’s childhood lacked. The life he had at Wu Dongya’s home wasn’t even as good as her ragdoll cat’s.

Liang Yuting sighed, “There are too many unfit parents in this world. These poor children…”

Suppressing the sorrow in his eyes, Li Wenshui responded, filled with indignation, “They’re not worthy of being called parents. Scum like that shouldn’t even exist in this world.”

Liang Jin glanced at Li Wenshui, hooked an arm around his shoulder, and guided him outside. “There are too many scumbags in this world. If you get angry over every single one, you’ll exhaust yourself. It’s not worth it to be upset over them.”

He took hold of Li Wenshui’s hand, spreading his palm open. His cool fingertips brushed over the calluses on Li Wenshui’s hand. “You’ve helped these children. You’re far more noble than their parents ever were.”

Under the blazing sun, Liang Jin’s eyes curved slightly at the corners as he stood backlit, a soft halo framing his handsome face. Whether his words were spoken coincidentally or deliberately to comfort him, Li Wenshui’s mood improved significantly.

Liang Yuting chuckled. “Honestly, I thought you two would win this time. At first, I assumed you’d only grown vegetables. It wasn’t until recently that I learned the cafeteria’s chicken, fish, eggs, and meat were all supplied by you. While purchasing items might bend the rules a little, it’s clear from the children’s reactions during meals over the past two weeks that they really enjoyed it. Plus, Wenshui, you even gave them little cakes and biscuits. These small things may seem insignificant to us, but they bring so much joy to the children.”

Li Wenshui replied, “It wasn’t much effort on our part. You’re the one who teaches them personally every day. You’re the one who’s given the most.”

“Oh, right, Wenshui,” Liang Yuting said as she pulled a card from her bag. “This is from the children for you both.”

“For us?” Li Wenshui took the card.

“Yes, for you and Liang Jin.”

The three of them stopped at the orphanage gate. Liang Yuting waved and got into her car, driving away.

Li Wenshui opened the card, and Liang Jin leaned in to look. The card depicted two adults holding hands, surrounded by children also holding hands. At the bottom, in crooked handwriting, were the words: Thank you, two gege.

Leaning against Liang Jin, Li Wenshui felt the warm breeze brush his cheeks. For the first time, he realized that winning or losing didn’t really matter in this situation.

Liang Jin asked, “Which stick figure do you think is you and which one is me?”

Li Wenshui put the card away. “I’m the one on the right.”

“Why?”

“The one on the right looks better.”

“Not coming back with me?” Liang Jin asked, seated in his car.

Standing outside, Li Wenshui replied, “Isn’t your family having a dinner party soon? What would I do there? I’m just going home.”

Liang Jin didn’t push. Resting his arms on the car window, he waved at Li Wenshui. “Come here for a second.”

“What for?”

Originally, Li Wenshui had thought if Liang Jin won, he could hint at wanting a reward for his help. But now that Liang Jin hadn’t won, there was no reason to bring it up.

He leaned over, and in the next moment, Liang Jin pressed a kiss to his lips.

Softly, Liang Jin said, “Baby, thank you for all your hard work these past few weeks.”

Li Wenshui froze, staring blankly as the car window slowly rolled up and the car drove off.

A moment later, he snapped out of it and grumbled indignantly, “What’s with just a kiss? You could’ve given me some money! Did I work hard for nothing?”

It was just past noon, leaving Li Wenshui with plenty of time to prepare pastries when he got back.

As he pushed open the door to his home, Li Wenqing dashed toward him, hugging him tightly. “Gege! I got my acceptance letter!”

“Really?” Li Wenshui exclaimed, pulling her into a warm embrace and patting her back. “Where is it? Let me see.”

“On the table.”

Li Wenshui quickly walked to the table and picked up the acceptance letter to the most prestigious university students dream of attending. He couldn’t stop grinning. Though he was confident that his sister’s grades would guarantee her admission, holding the letter in his hands still filled him with excitement and pride.

“This is great! The university is here in the city, so you won’t be too far from home. I can visit you often!” he said excitedly as he took a picture of the acceptance letter to post on his social media.

Li Wenqing watched her brother with a smile. She had always known that he loved to show off, and she never stopped him. Instead, she worked harder so she could continue to make him proud.

That evening, when Li Wenshui returned from his food stall, Li Wenqing had already fallen asleep. He carried a bag of her favorite barbecue skewers. He had pedaled quickly, hoping to get home before she went to bed, arriving twenty minutes earlier than usual. But unexpectedly, she had gone to bed twenty minutes earlier than usual.

Placing the skewers in the refrigerator, he unlocked a drawer and carefully stored her acceptance letter and the card inside. That locked drawer held the most important items in their home.

On the third day, Li Wenshui went to the old house to tend to the flowers as usual. Passing by Liang Jin’s residence, he instinctively pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was empty, devoid of any trace of Liang Jin.

It had been only a day since he last came, yet the place already felt lifeless. Just two days ago, he had been sitting on that chair, kissing Liang Jin.

A maid walked in and, noticing Li Wenshui, said, “Young Master left the night before last.”

Li Wenshui nodded slightly, unsurprised.

The maid began cleaning the room. While organizing the refrigerator, she exclaimed, “Oh, there are two buns here.”

Li Wenshui paused, pulling back his step toward the door. He turned around and saw the maid holding the buns he had made for Liang Jin. The maid casually threw them into the trash can.

Quickly, Li Wenshui strode over and retrieved the buns from the trash.

“Little Li, what are you doing?” the maid asked, alarmed.

“I don’t think the buns have gone bad. I’ll just take them back.” He wiped the dust off the packaging.

The maid frowned. “Be careful not to upset your stomach.”

“It’s fine.”

Carrying the buns, Li Wenshui stepped out of the house. The buns were expensive, and he hadn’t even tasted one himself. How could they be thrown away so easily?

He pulled out his phone and typed a message:

[Did you not eat the buns?]

After sending it, he put his phone away, knowing Liang Jin wouldn’t reply anytime soon.

When he looked up, Wei Sibai was walking toward him. Seeing Li Wenshui, Wei Sibai seemed surprised. “Are you here to see Jin Ge? He left. Didn’t he tell you?”

In a foul mood, Li Wenshui ignored him and walked past.

“Jin Ge is going to become my brother-in-law. You’ve taken enough advantage of him, so it’s time for you to leave,” Wei Sibai called out, raising his voice.

“Bullshit.”

“Hey, who are you calling bullshit? That’s so rude!”

“I didn’t name names. Whoever feels called out, that’s on them.”

First, he hadn’t gained any advantage from Liang Jin. Second, there was no way someone like Liang Jin would ever get married.

Just then, his phone buzzed. Opening the chat, he saw a message from Liang Jin:

[Baby, I forgot. Next time, I’ll remember.]

Clenching the buns in his hand, Li Wenshui thought to himself that he would never make food for Liang Jin again.

The day Li Wenqing was sent off to university was a bright and sunny day.

Li Wenqing wore the designer dress Li Wenshui had bought for her, her long hair flowing in the gentle breeze. Li Wenshui, looking sharp himself, wanted to leave a good impression on his sister’s roommates, so he dressed up for the occasion.

Li Wenqing’s dormitory was on the fourth floor, and Li Wenshui carried her luggage upstairs by himself. When some male students offered to help, he turned them away, as he knew all too well what their intentions were.

In the dormitory, Li Wenshui quickly made up the bed for his sister, while the other two girls in the room looked at him curiously, wondering if he was her boyfriend or brother. He was so good-looking. Not only was he handsome, but he also knew how to make a bed, put on a duvet cover—he seemed like the perfect family-oriented man.

Once everything was ready, Li Wenshui thoughtfully bought drinks for his sister’s roommates, hoping they would look after her. Li Wenqing, with teary eyes, watched her brother bustle around.

“I’m leaving now. If you miss home, come back. If you run out of money, call me,” Li Wenshui said, holding his sister’s hand. Both of them had sweaty palms, as they both tended to sweat when nervous or upset. At that moment, their hands were both damp.

Li Wenshui was the first to let go, stepping out of the dorm.

“Gege…” Li Wenqing couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, but she didn’t chase after him. She knew that if she cried, he would cry too, and she didn’t want to see him upset.

Li Wenshui stood at the school gate for a long time before finally leaving. It wasn’t really a farewell—Li Wenqing had lived away from home when she went to high school, and since they were both in the capital, they could see each other anytime. Yet, Li Wenshui still felt a sense of discomfort. Perhaps it was because he realized that Li Wenqing was now an adult. From now on, she would have her own life, and eventually, she would leave him.

And so, summer came to an end.