Shen Qiaofei smiled brightly at him, opening her arms wide as the man approached, her tone cheerful:
"Surprise! I came back to the country early—surprised, unexpected? Come on, give me a warm hug!"
Jiang Tiansong stood still: "Public place. Mind your image."
Shen Qiaofei's smile drooped, and she shot him a reproachful look: "Old fossil."
Even as she said that, she still took the initiative to loop her arm through Jiang Tiansong's:
"I don't care—the first thing I did when I got back was come find you. Tonight, you have to treat me properly, take me out for a candlelit dinner!"
Father Shen was an economist, quite renowned in the financial circle.
Jiang's father had dabbled in stocks in his early years and was very close to Father Shen, with the two families visiting each other often.
Seeing that the two children were the same age, they arranged for them to attend the same school.
Shen Qiaofei and Jiang Tiansong had known each other since childhood, and she was the only one who dared to speak to him so bossily.
Jiang Tiansong didn't refuse Shen Qiaofei's request:
"What do you want to eat?"
Shen Qiaofei looped her arm through his, speaking coquettishly:
"I heard someone got promoted again recently—your salary must have gone up too, right? If I order top-tier Japanese cuisine, is that too much to ask?"
The two chatted as they walked out, one tall and elegant, the other bright and beautiful—they looked quite the perfect match.
Nianchu watched from a distance and really couldn't bear to interrupt.
But she had no choice but to steel herself and walk over:
"Second Brother."
If she didn't call out to Jiang Tiansong, she'd be sleeping on the streets tonight.
Jiang Tiansong's stride paused, and only then did he notice that Nianchu was actually outside his workplace.
A flicker of surprise crossed Shen Qiaofei's face as she curiously looked at Nianchu.
When she'd arrived earlier, she'd noticed a girl here but hadn't paid much attention.
Who was this person, and how did she know Jiang Tiansong?
Jiang Tiansong had already withdrawn his arm from her grasp and walked over to Nianchu:
"Why are you here?"
Nianchu lowered her head, knowing she'd caused him trouble again, feeling deeply ashamed:
"I came with Sixth Brother. He told me to wait for him to come out, but I never saw him."
At that, Jiang Tiansong understood what had happened.
Little Six, that kid—what nonsense!
His expression darkened.
Nianchu's fingertips tightened into her palm. She guessed that Shen Qiaofei was probably his girlfriend.
The two had been so close just now, probably about to go on a date.
She didn't want to ruin it: "Second Brother, could you find someone to take me back to the Jiang residence, or help me hail a cab and have the driver take me? But… I didn't bring my phone or wallet, so I can't pay the fare."
Her last sentence came out in a small, mumbling voice, her ears flushed red with embarrassment.
Just last night she'd sworn she wouldn't be a parasite and would stand on her own two feet.
Now here she was, holding out her hand and begging in front of him.
It was too humiliating.
Jiang Tiansong glanced at the sky. Jiang Tianqi had come in the morning, and now it was already dusk:
"You've been waiting here the whole time?"
Nianchu pressed her lips together: "Mm."
Jiang Tiansong: "Come on, I'll take you back."
The road to the Jiang residence had license plate recognition, and ordinary outside vehicles couldn't get in.
Jiang Tianqi had made this mess, and as the older brother, he had an obligation to clean it up.
"I have some matters to attend to—I need to go to the old residence. Let's catch up another day."
A flicker of surprise crossed Shen Qiaofei's eyes. Who was this unremarkable little girl that Jiang Tiansong would set her aside for her sake?
But quickly, the emotion was masked beneath an understanding smile.
"It just so happens I haven't seen Grandpa in a long time—I do miss him a bit. I'll go back with you."
Hearing their exchange, Nianchu felt even more ashamed, feeling like she was holding Jiang Tiansong back.
Xiao Lin had discreetly left as soon as he saw Shen Qiaofei, giving the two some private space.
So that evening, it was Jiang Tiansong himself who drove back to the Jiang residence.
Shen Qiaofei's sports car was parked nearby, but she glanced at Nianchu silently following behind Jiang Tiansong and didn't mention it. She got into the passenger seat of Jiang Tiansong's car along with them.
On the way, Shen Qiaofei asked casually: "Whose little girl is this? I haven't seen her before."
Jiang Tiansong: "The child of Grandpa's comrade-in-arms."
Shen Qiaofei: "Comrade-in-arms? Which uncle is that—do I know him?"
Jiang Tiansong: "Her hometown isn't in Tianbei. She came this time for her studies."
Hearing this, Shen Qiaofei understood.
So she was a poor relative who'd come seeking refuge from afar.
She lost interest in Nianchu and shifted to sharing her study-abroad experiences and amusing anecdotes.
Nianchu sat quietly in the back, listening, painting vivid pictures in her mind from Shen Qiaofei's descriptions.
She felt a pang of envy, knowing that was a world far out of reach for her current self.
So she silently resolved to work hard in the future, striving to one day live such a colorful life too.
The evening rush hour was terrible—the trip that had taken an hour on the way here had only covered half the distance after an hour now.
Shen Qiaofei watched the countdown red light and remarked with feeling, "I finally understand now why you rush to buy a house near your workplace every time you change locations. You—"
"Shh…" Jiang Tiansong suddenly raised a finger, making a silencing gesture at her.
Shen Qiaofei paused and saw Jiang Tiansong reach out to adjust the car's air conditioning from cold to warm.
Following his gaze, she looked at the rearview mirror. In the mirror, Nianchu, who had been silent all along, was leaning sideways against the car door, her face turned toward the window, fast asleep.
She had endured temperatures of over thirty degrees outside, gone the entire day without food or water, and been exposed to the scorching sun during the hottest hours. She was exhausted and hungry, held together only by the alertness of her spirit, which was the sole thing keeping her from passing out.
Now that she was in Jiang Tiansong's car, knowing she wouldn't be sleeping on the streets, the taut string in her heart finally loosened, and she drifted off without realizing it.
Jiang Tiansong took out a spare casual jacket from the car, lowered the seat, and draped it over Nianchu.
Shen Qiaofei watched this series of actions, her cheerful expression stiffening on her face. The light in her eyes flickered, and her smile faded considerably.
The rest of the journey wasn't particularly smooth to begin with, but Jiang Tiansong no longer pursued speed and drove very steadily.
Having extra time alone with him should have made Shen Qiaofei happy, but her brows gradually knitted together.
"Do you care about her a lot?"
She suddenly asked out of nowhere.
Jiang Tiansong happened to be focused on the road and didn't catch it: "What?"
Shen Qiaofei glanced at Nianchu again through the rearview mirror: "Nothing. By the way, how old is this girl? She doesn't look like an adult."
Jiang Tiansong: "She just turned eighteen last month."
Shen Qiaofei: "Eighteen, huh…"
She felt she was overthinking things.
The thoughtfulness Jiang Tiansong had just shown was probably just his inherent upbringing.
It was just that there hadn't been any women around him before, so Nianchu's appearance seemed a bit conspicuous.
Nianchu woke up just as they were about to reach the Jiang residence. Blinking groggily, she saw a vast expanse of orange-red sunset outside the car window, merging with the dense forest nearby like a magnificent painting—spectacular and resplendent.
For a moment, she forgot where she was, leaning against the window and gazing at it in a daze.
Jiang Tiansong said, "Awake?"
Nianchu started, finally remembering where she was.
Then she noticed the clothes draped over her.
Seeing it was a men's jacket, her face flushed. She quickly took it off, folded it neatly, and set it aside:
"Mm, I… I'm sorry."
Her first reaction was to apologize.
Falling asleep in his car was too rude.
Jiang Tiansong: "You're not the one who should be apologizing."
He drove into the underground garage, and the scenery outside the window vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, gray darkness.
Nianchu's heart dimmed along with it.
Jiang Tianqi had teased her, but so what?
They were family, after all. She couldn't very well expect them to side with an outsider.
All the grievance and frustration she felt, she could only digest on her own.
Jiang Tiansong saw her with lowered eyes and silence, and guessed what was on her mind.
He thought for a moment, then spoke again:
"I'll give you two options. One: I step in and resolve this for you like I did last night, forcing him to apologize to you. But after today, you should understand that this approach only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."
"Two: I'll give you the opportunity and create conditions for you to interact with him. Handle your own affairs yourself. Liang Nianchu, if you don't want to keep being bullied, then show some capability and make him understand you're not someone to be pushed around."
When he offered these two options, Jiang Tiansong's true inclination leaned toward the second.
Matters between children were best resolved by the children themselves.
Sometimes, when adults interfered too much, it had the opposite effect.
The fact that she could say those words to him last night showed that her personality wasn't truly weak—she wasn't at the point where she could only let others decide for her.
Shen Qiaofei had been listening to the exchange the whole time. Hearing Jiang Tiansong, who rarely spoke beyond business matters, say so much, she was already deeply surprised.
And when she heard that he wasn't directly making the decision for her but instead giving her room to choose for herself, she was even more astonished.
She couldn't help but steal another glance at Nianchu through the rearview mirror. This girl—however she looked at her, she seemed completely ordinary. What was going on? Why did she always feel that Jiang Tiansong treated her somewhat specially?
While Shen Qiaofei was pondering, Nianchu was also thinking. What Jiang Tiansong said made sense—her inability to get along with Jiang Tianqi couldn't go on forever.
Since she had already relied on the Jiang family, she was already a burden. There was no reason to keep causing them trouble over such trivial matters.
After a moment of deliberation, Nianchu made her decision: "I choose neither."
This time, not only Shen Qiaofei, but even Jiang Tiansong's eyes flickered with surprise.
Nianchu finally lifted her head. Her dark, pitch-black eyes were exceptionally bright, courage surfacing within them as she said softly:
"Second Brother, you're right—I should handle my own affairs myself. Thank you so much for driving me back today, but from here on, I don't want to trouble you any further. I'd like to try solving this on my own."
Hearing this, Shen Qiaofei couldn't help but frown, thinking the girl didn't know what was good for her.
Jiang Tiansong, however, paused briefly before looking at Nianchu with a newfound hint of admiration in his eyes.
This girl—she had a strong sense of initiative.
"Alright, then solve it your own way." He paused for a moment. "I'll have your back."