He observed her outfit without changing his expression, then furrowed his brow.
It was at that moment that Nianchu noticed him. Startled and flustered, she missed a step.
"Ah." She let out a short cry of surprise and stumbled down several steps on the staircase, barely managing to steady herself thanks to the Jiang family's non-slip carpet.
By then, Jiang Tiansong had already approached her. Seeing that she had regained her footing, he withdrew the hand he had been about to extend to help her, and looked her up and down. "Going out?"
Nianchu didn't dare meet his gaze. She mumbled a soft "Mm."
Jiang Tiansong: "Where?"
His presence was too imposing—even an ordinary conversation felt like an interrogation.
Nianchu's scalp tingled. "To… to a part-time job."
"A part-time job?" Jiang Tiansong's voice deepened. "A part-time job this late? What kind of work?"
Nianchu didn't dare hide anything. She took out her phone and showed him the job posting interface.
Jiang Tiansong took it and looked down, just in time to see the person send Nianchu another message:
Beautiful lady, I'll add another two hundred. On your way here, buy a pair of stockings—preferably black ones.
Jiang Tiansong's gaze turned icy. He immediately reported the user, blocked and deleted them, then handed the phone back to Nianchu.
"Go back to your room."
Nianchu didn't understand. When she got her phone back and saw the empty message thread, she panicked.
"How could you do that? I already agreed to him."
She started trying to figure out how to find the person again.
Jiang Tiansong watched her actions, the coldness in his eyes deepening.
"Liang Zhaodi."
He suddenly spoke.
Nianchu froze.
Jiang Tiansong looked down at her from above, his voice cold. "If you want people to respect you, if you want to change your life, changing your name isn't enough. If you cheapen yourself, no amount of help from others will make a difference."
Nianchu stood there in a daze, feeling wronged and helpless. All the bitterness that had been building up since the tea room suddenly rushed to her nose, and tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.
"I… what did I do…"
She wiped her face with her hand, not wanting to show weakness in front of him, but she simply couldn't hold it back.
She didn't know where she found the courage to speak to the man before her like this:
"Yes, I'm poor, I'm from a small place, I live under someone else's roof, I need favors from your family—these are all my original sins. But I want to support myself now. I don't want to keep being a parasite relying on others. I want to earn my own money and change my situation. What did I do wrong?"
Her choked words were like peeling the girl's sensitive, fragile heart out of her chest, exposing the side she most wanted to hide.
Nianchu covered her face with both hands, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Jiang Tiansong hadn't expected such a reaction from her. He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized there must be a misunderstanding.
A girl with such strong self-respect wouldn't do anything disreputable.
"You thought you were going to do what?"
Nianchu sniffled between sobs. "Clean… rooms…"
Jiang Tiansong fell silent.
The air was still for a moment, broken only by the girl's occasional soft sniffles.
"Come with me." Jiang Tiansong finally spoke, taking Nianchu's phone as he did.
Nianchu was confused. She watched his retreating figure with red eyes for a long moment, hesitated, then slowly followed after him.
Jiang Tiansong chose a sofa in the living room and gestured to the seat beside him. "Sit."
Nianchu glanced at him and sat as far away from him as possible.
Jiang Tiansong: "Come look at the phone. You want a part-time job—there are many scammers online. I'll tell you what you can do and what you can't."
Only then did Nianchu hesitate before moving closer, slowly edging her way to sit beside him.
Jiang Tiansong pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. Nianchu took it silently and wiped her eyes.
Jiang Tiansong scrolled through the phone interface. "First, you need to filter. Look at this mark—if it has this, it means it's a legitimate business with legal registration. That you can trust."
This was Nianchu's first time looking for a job online. She knew nothing about it. No one had ever taught her—she'd figured everything out on her own.
Now that Jiang Tiansong was willing to teach her, she listened attentively, committing everything to memory as she went.
Jiang Tiansong: "There's also this kind—well-known corporate groups that have corresponding requirements for applicants, asking for student IDs and health certificates. Those can be trusted too."
Nianchu sniffled.
Jiang Tiansong handed her another tissue.
"As for this kind…" His finger paused on a posting that advertised hourly work but didn't specify what the job actually entailed, instead listing a bunch of requirements about the applicant's height and appearance. He tapped it lightly and scrolled up. "No specific store, no clear job description, contact via a personal phone number, the location is a private residence, and most importantly—if they ask you to go out after dark, it's usually a scam. Don't trust it."
This job posting was very similar to the one Nianchu had just applied for. She hesitated and asked, "What… what do they scam people for?"
Jiang Tiansong's fingertip tapped lightly on the words "female student, under twenty years old," and he looked at her with a meaningful gaze. "What do you think?"
Nianchu wasn't truly naive—she simply hadn't considered that angle before. Now that it had been pointed out, she understood immediately.
Thinking back to how she'd nearly been tricked into doing… and how Jiang Tiansong had stopped her, only for her to lose her temper at him and cry herself silly over it—
Her face burned hot. She bit her lip hard, too embarrassed to even lift her head.
"…I'm sorry."
She said it quietly, quickly.
Not entirely sure what exactly she was apologizing for.
Jiang Tiansong glanced at her, saw that both of the girl's ears had turned red, and knew she'd figured it out.
An eighteen-year-old girl could hardly be called a child anymore.
She'd gotten into Tianbei University—she couldn't be lacking in brains.
She just hadn't experienced enough of the world yet to know how treacherous people could be.
"No need to apologize to me. Since the Jiang family took you in, we won't abandon you. If you want to take on part-time work, you can tell us directly. Supporting yourself is a good habit—everyone will support that."
Hearing this, Nianchu felt even more ashamed of how narrow-minded her thoughts had been just moments ago.
Seeing that she kept her head down and said nothing, Jiang Tiansong handed her phone back:
"It's late. Go back to your room and rest."
Nianchu silently took her phone and walked back with her head lowered.
Jiang Tiansong picked up his glass and continued drinking water.
Nianchu walked a few steps, then suddenly turned back to look at him.
The living room lights had automatically shifted to a warm tone to match the hour.
The man sat on the sofa holding his glass, legs stretched out with elegant ease. His handsome features, bathed in the warm glow, seemed to take on a touch of gentleness.
Nianchu gathered her courage and looked at him. Jiang Tiansong raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Something else?
Nianchu suddenly bowed to him: "Thank you."
Jiang Tiansong watched her in silence.
Nianchu straightened up, her red, tear-swollen eyes like a little rabbit's, looking at him with a wet gaze:
"For bringing me to Tianbei, buying me clothes, taking me to see Grandpa Jiang, and just now—stopping me and teaching me to tell what a real job looks like. For all of it, thank you."
She bit her lip, her voice soft but firm:
"Second Brother, you're a good person. I was wrong—I shouldn't have been so impulsive and said those things to you."
Jiang Tiansong was silent for a moment, then set down his glass:
"I was in the wrong too. I misunderstood you earlier and spoke too harshly."
This time Nianchu was genuinely stunned. She never would have imagined that someone as lofty as Jiang Tiansong would ever admit fault to anyone.
And to someone like her—a nobody who meant nothing to him.
"Liang Nianchu, Tianbei is a good place. What it lacks least is opportunity to make something of yourself." Jiang Tiansong said. "Since you have the resolve to change your fate, seize this springboard. I look forward to the day you break out of your cocoon and transform completely—just like your name suggests."
Nianchu said nothing more. She simply bowed deeply to Jiang Tiansong once again.
Then she turned and walked back up the stairs, step by step.
Jiang Tiansong watched her retreating figure, then curved his lips slightly.
A good person?
On a strange night, from the mouth of an ordinary girl, he'd received the lowest evaluation of his life.
But unexpectedly, it didn't feel bad.
The girl's figure disappeared at the top of the stairs.
The man lowered his head and continued drinking his water.
Everything seemed no different from before she'd come downstairs.
The man remained cold; the girl remained timid.
Only the warm glow of the living room knew that something had already changed.
After that brief misunderstanding, some invisible ice seemed to have thawed.
The next morning, Nianchu woke up and put on the same clothes as yesterday.
Coming downstairs, she felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of seeing Jiang Tiansong. Last night she'd gotten carried away in the heat of the moment and said all those things to him.
Thinking about it now—with Jiang Tiansong's status and position, what flattery hadn't he heard before? What right did she have to comment on him?
Lost in her muddled thoughts, she came downstairs. A servant saw her and greeted her politely:
"Good morning, Miss Liang."
Nianchu blushed and replied, "Good morning."
The old master had risen early and had already been exercising in the courtyard for a while.
He was now seated at the dining table, having a servant hand him a towel to wipe his sweat.
Seeing Nianchu come downstairs, his gaze paused on her:
"Why are you still wearing yesterday's clothes? Didn't Tiansong prepare a change of clothes for you?"
Nianchu was taken aback: "He did."
She looked down at the dress she was wearing, unsure what was wrong.
Jiang Kaishan: "If you have other clothes, change into them after breakfast. Try not to wear the same outfit on consecutive days."
Then he added kindly:
"Zhaozhao, there are few girls these days as simple as you. You're at the prime of your youth—dress up a bit more. Don't waste your youth."
Though Nianchu was confused, she noticed that Grandpa Jiang's clothes were clearly different from yesterday's as well, and guessed that the Jiang family might have a custom of not wearing the same clothes on consecutive days.
She obediently agreed: "Okay, I understand."
Jiang Kaishan nodded with satisfaction: "Come, eat something."
Nianchu: "Shouldn't we wait for Second Brother and the others?"
Jiang Kaishan said, "Tiansong is busy with work and left early. That boy Tianqi loves to sleep in—he's probably still dreaming at this hour."
Upon hearing that Jiang Tianqi wouldn't be coming, Nianchu should have felt relieved.
Yet, for some reason, she found herself faintly disappointed.
Just then, a servant turned on the television, switching to a military channel per the old man's habit, and played the morning news.
Jiang Kaishan ate while listening, occasionally offering his own commentary.
Nianchu didn't understand these matters, so she could only remain silent.
She had only drunk half of her congee when Jiang Tianqi, still in his pajamas, came rushing down from upstairs in a flurry:
"Where's the spare key to Second Brother's room? Get it out quickly—he left something at home!"