Wei Dongjian drove the car into the courtyard and parked it. The twins eagerly ran out as soon as the car stopped.

Fang Yuan followed behind, urging them to slow down, “You guys keep shouting at home about missing grandma, why don’t you even call out when you see her?”

Madam Wei, smiling, walked down the steps and scooped up Wei Zimo, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Grandma’s good grandson, you’ve missed grandma so much, haven’t you? Have you missed me?” Madam Wei pulled out a few pieces of chocolate from her pocket, “If you did, give grandma a kiss, and grandma will give you candy.”

At the sight of the candy, Wei Zixin grabbed onto Madam Wei’s skirt, sweetly saying, “Grandma, I missed you.”

“You little girl, you only say that because you see the candy, right?” Although she said this, Madam Wei still gave her one.

Wei Dongjian got out of the car, “Mom, he’s already so big, don’t carry him anymore, it’s tiring. Let them play on their own.”

Wei Xiaochi stood by the car, looking at the old locust tree in the yard, not making much of a presence.

Everyone’s attention was on the twins. It took quite a while before someone called his name.

“Chi Chi, what are you standing there for? Come sit down.” Wei Dongjian’s older sister was there, having heard Wei Dongjian was coming back with his kids to visit their maternal home.

Wei Xiaochi called out “Aunt” and moved over to her.

Wei Lin asked with a smile, “How’s your study going recently? Isn’t it time for high school entrance exams this year?”

Wei Xiaochi said, “I’m in my second year of high school.”

Wei Lin was surprised, “Already in the second year? Time flies, you’re in your second year in the blink of an eye. Next year will be the college entrance exam, do you have confidence in getting into a top university?”

She remembered that her nephew’s grades were always pretty good, the studious type.

Wei Xiaochi was about to speak when Madam Wei interjected, “With his deadpan face, you’d need to beat him with a stick three times to get a word out of him. No way he’s getting into a good university.”

“Mom, what are you saying in front of the kid?” Wei Lin felt a bit awkward.

Madam Wei glared, “Even a four-year-old knows to greet people when they arrive, it’s been ages and I haven’t heard him say ‘grandma’ once, just like his mother, ungrateful.”

“Enough.” Wei Dongjian’s face darkened, looking annoyed, “How many years has it been since that old stuff happened? Why bring it up and upset everyone?”

Madam Wei then fell silent.

Fang Yuan didn’t say a word from start to finish, washing fruits by the tap in the yard, as if she heard nothing.

Wei Xiaochi was used to being scolded every time he came back, his heart already numb, not showing much embarrassment on his face.

Wei Lin, feeling uncomfortable, sent Wei Xiaochi away, giving him a hundred yuan to go buy a watermelon.

After his parents divorced, Wei Xiaochi had lived here for a long time and was very familiar with the shops along the street.

He didn’t understand why Wei Dongjian called him back every time they visited the old home, always under the banner of ‘your grandma took care of you when you were young, you should come back to see her.’

Each time, Madam Wei gave him a hard time, yet when he didn’t want to come, he’d be called an ungrateful wolf.

No matter what he did, it seemed he couldn’t satisfy them.

After buying the watermelon and returning with more than eighty yuan left, Wei Xiaochi gave the change to Wei Lin.

Wei Lin waved her hand, “It’s not much, keep it.”

“No, Aunt, I have money.”

Wei Lin chided, “You kid, if I give it to you, just take it.”

“Really, I do.” As Wei Lin was picking vegetables, Wei Xiaochi slipped the money into her pocket.

Wei Lin suddenly lowered her voice, leaning close to Wei Xiaochi, “Does she give you pocket money?”

This ‘she’ referred to Fang Yuan.

Wei Dongjian married Fang Yuan the year after divorcing Wei Xiaochi’s mother, and two and a half years later, Fang Yuan conceived the twins.

Wei Xiaochi nodded, “She does.”

Fang Yuan wasn’t the selfless stepmom from melodramas nor the evil one from novels; she was just an ordinary person.

She had her own small thoughts and calculations, but she never did anything harmful. Raising Wei Zixin and Wei Zimo was enough to exhaust her; she had no extra energy to provoke Wei Xiaochi.

“That’s good.” Wei Lin looked at Wei Xiaochi as if she wanted to say something more, but she just sighed in the end, saying nothing.

Wei Dongjian had to go for a vehicle inspection early on Sunday, so he didn’t stay overnight at the old home, which relieved Wei Xiaochi.

If it weren’t for Wei Dongjian coming back suddenly, Wei Xiaochi would have gone to work at a milk tea chain store today.

The next day, Wei Dongjian left early in the morning, and as soon as he was gone, Wei Xiaochi also left.

Fang Yuan was already tired from taking care of the two younger ones every day and rarely paid attention to Wei Xiaochi. When he said he wouldn’t be back for lunch, she casually asked a couple of questions and gave him twenty yuan for food.

When it came to money, Fang Yuan was always cautious; she rarely gave Wei Xiaochi pocket money but wasn’t stingy enough to give him none.

Prices in City A were high, twenty yuan wasn’t much, but it was enough for Wei Xiaochi to eat his fill at an affordable small eatery.

Wei Dongjian wouldn’t be back until the evening due to the vehicle inspection, and Fang Yuan, too lazy to cook lunch, took the two kids back to her parents’ house for a meal.

Wei Xiaochi went to his usual bun shop, buying a steamer of buns and a tea egg.

A steamer of buns cost eight yuan, a tea egg two yuan, and with what Fang Yuan gave him, he only spent half.

Pocketing the remaining ten yuan, Wei Xiaochi felt happy for a moment while riding his bike, but then he thought of the huge sum he’d lost and felt the pain.

He worked almost every Saturday and Sunday, but he didn’t ask Fang Yuan for meal money every time. If he did that every week, she might complain.

Every penny was saved from between his teeth, but that scoundrel Jiang Zhan had just swindled 176 yuan from him.

Even though Wei Xiaochi had money, it was earmarked for important things, for legitimate uses.

Pedaling his bike, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t help but curse Jiang Zhan’s ancestors several times over.

Timing was perfect; when Wei Xiaochi arrived at the milk tea shop, the manager had just opened the door.

He locked his bike, carrying a shoulder bag with a nearly worn-out strap into the milk tea shop, “Sister Zhou.”

Zhou Yun greeted him with a smile, “Morning.”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t waste words, rolling up his sleeves to start cleaning inside the shop.

The milk tea shop officially opened at eight, but employees had to be there by seven forty to clean up within twenty minutes.

Located near an amusement park, the shop saw double the customer flow on weekends. Wei Xiaochi’s job was to hand out flyers dressed in a mascot costume at the door.

It was almost seven forty when the other employees started arriving one by one.

Most knew Wei Xiaochi, except for a girl who had joined five days ago and hadn’t met him before.

The girl looked at Wei Xiaochi several times before coming out of the changing room in uniform to ask, “You look so young, how old are you this year?”

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t used to chatting with girls, replying quietly, “Eighteen.”

The girl was surprised, “Eighteen? You’re not even an adult yet, why aren’t you in school?”

In their country, compulsory education lasted fourteen years, and starting school later was common, so eighteen would typically be in the second or third year of high school, still within compulsory education.

Wei Xiaochi explained that he was still in high school and only came to help distribute flyers on weekends.

The girl’s look towards Wei Xiaochi softened, “Kids as sensible as you are rare now, your parents are so lucky.”

She thought Wei Xiaochi came from a poor family, working part-time to ease the burden on his parents.

Not just her, everyone in the shop thought this way, but out of respect for Wei Xiaochi’s dignity, no one ever asked about his family’s specific situation.

In reality, Wei Dongjian didn’t earn little; on the lower end, he made twenty thousand a month, and on the higher end, thirty to forty thousand.

Though there were many mouths to feed at home, with three kids, their living conditions were still quite decent.

Wei Xiaochi had been conscious of earning and saving money since middle school because a few years ago, he overheard his grandma suggesting to his dad to send him to a tuition-free teachers’ college.

Given Wei Xiaochi’s grades, he had the ability to get into a good university; his dream was to attend J University.

To realize this dream, besides his grades, he needed money. He wasn’t sure if his dad would pay for his tuition if he actually got accepted, considering the high cost of attending J University.

Wei Xiaochi donned the thick mascot costume, taking a stack of flyers to attract customers at the milk tea shop’s entrance.

For convenience, the costume’s gloves weren’t thick, but even so, it was hard to handle the flyers through the fabric.

After handing out flyers for the morning, his hands ached, and the non-breathable suit left him drenched in sweat.

Zhou Yun came to the door, calling Wei Xiaochi in, “It’s twelve, let’s eat first, Xiaochi.”

The milk tea shop didn’t provide meals, so during less busy times, employees took turns to eat. Wei Xiaochi took off his headpiece, put on his glasses, and took out the buns and tea egg from the morning.

This was the busiest time in the shop, with everyone else busy at the counter. Wei Xiaochi had more flexible timing.

He quickly finished his lunch and went to ask Zhou Yun if she needed help.

Zhou Yun handed him a slip, “If you’re free now, deliver this order to the basketball court next to the sports center.”

Wei Xiaochi was puzzled, “Isn’t online orders delivered by Mei Tuan delivery?”

Zhou Yun, overwhelmed, explained casually, “This order is special, can you deliver it?”

Wei Xiaochi nodded, “Yes, I can.”

Zhou Yun printed out the order, “Fan Fan, do this order first, hurry up, the little master is waiting.”

This order was particularly urgent. Wei Xiaochi took a shortcut on his bike, arriving after about ten minutes. He locked Zhou Yun’s electric bike, grabbed the drinks, and jogged through the green belt.

Passing the green belt, there was a nearly thousand-square-meter plaza. The basketball area was on the west side, enclosed by green fencing into three courts with acrylic pavement.

On weekends, this place was packed with middle and high school students playing basketball, and the adjacent badminton area was also crowded, like a sports festival.

Like most bookworms, Wei Xiaochi had poor balance and coordination, so he shied away from sports.

If it weren’t for saving up for university tuition, Wei Xiaochi would have preferred to waste his days at home on weekends.

Zhou Yun asked him to deliver the drinks to the basketball area, where there were at least thirty people, some playing, some watching.

Wei Xiaochi dialed the number Zhou Yun gave him on his phone.

It rang for a while before someone answered, “Hello.” The voice was full of youthful vigor.

Wei Xiaochi thought the voice sounded familiar but couldn’t place it. Politely, he said, “Hello, I’m from Tea-Color Tea Art, I’ve brought your order of eight drinks. I’m at the basketball court outside the sports center now.”

The voice on the other end asked, “What are you wearing? I’ll come over.”

Before leaving, Zhou Yun had put a hat on him and given him an apron.

The uniform for Tea-Color Tea Art was a baseball cap, black T-shirt, green apron, and white sneakers.

Wei Xiaochi was wearing a black top today; just as he was about to answer, he caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.

The person seemed to have just finished exercising, a thin layer of sweat on his face, wet bangs pushed back to reveal a smooth, full forehead.

His features were strikingly handsome, with phoenix eyes and thin lips, exuding the arrogance of a young master, making one dare not to profane.