Ye Yunjin looked at his foolish younger brother.
“It was also from that day onward that rumors began circulating around campus that Bai Shurou was my first love. In reality, I merely invited her to a meal to thank her. That’s all there was to it.”
Ye Yunche looked skeptical. “Is that really all?”
“How complicated could it be? I was the vice president of the student council, and she was the head of its arts department. As for how she came to know you, I have no idea.” Ye Yunjin gave a slight shake of his head.
How had she met him?
Ye Yunche thought about it carefully, putting his clever brain to work.
Ever since he had gained the ability to share his brother’s senses, he had disliked women and kept well away from them at school.
He had nipped any embarrassing possibilities in the bud.
Who knew when Bai Shurou had met him, or why she had mistaken him for his older brother? Did it matter?
No!
What mattered was that Zhu Liuyue had said she wasn’t going to care about him anymore.
Ye Yunche didn’t continue rambling about it out loud. He was clever enough to hide his emotions, but there was something else concealed in the way he looked at Ye Yunjin.
His older brother definitely wanted their relationship to return to normal.
Preferably, Zhu Liuyue would never care about him again for the rest of her life.
But he didn’t want that.
…
“Sure. I’d be happy to.” Zhu Liuyue ended the call with a faint, radiant smile.
The call had been from Ye Yunche’s mother. The Ye family had always been involved in charitable projects, and this time they planned to cooperate with the Zhu family.
They intended to send a shipment of medical supplies to a remote mountain village school and establish a medical station there.
They also hoped that the hospital could rotate one doctor each month to work there.
Conditions in the mountains were extremely poor, so the Ye Charity Foundation would cover the doctors’ salaries. It would be a win-win-win situation.
The Ye family would gain a good reputation through their charity work.
The Zhu family’s hospitals would build an even better reputation, while the young doctors would gain valuable experience from working in underdeveloped areas.
As for the students at the impoverished village school, they would have free medicine for everyday headaches and colds, as well as access to basic medical care.
Zhu Liuyue told her parents about the plan, and they gave her their full support, granting her complete authority to carry it out.
As for the first doctor to be sent to the mountain school, Zhu Liuyue planned to lead by example.
Zhao Xin had been asking her to go shopping these past few days, but Zhu Liuyue had been so busy with the preparations that she could barely spare a moment. Curious, Zhao Xin came to the hospital to see her.
That was how she learned about the plan.
“Sister Liuyue, you’re going to the mountains for a month?” Zhao Xin asked, her mouth falling open in surprise.
Zhu Liuyue nodded. “That’s right.”
Zhao Xin looked at her with admiration. Her lips moved a few times before she added, “There are a lot of bugs in the southwestern mountains.”
Zhu Liuyue smiled and gently rubbed her head.
“I’m not afraid of bugs. I’ll bring plenty of medicine and insect repellent powder.”
As she spoke, her eyes shone with a gentle yet resolute light.
Zhao Xin’s heart burned with emotion. The next second, she nearly blurted out, “Mommy!”
Then she remembered that her cousin had sent her to investigate the situation—not for anything noble, but merely over some petty romantic nonsense. Meanwhile, Sister Liuyue was preparing to travel to the mountains to help impoverished schoolchildren.
The difference in their outlooks was enormous.
Zhao Xin instantly felt even guiltier.
“Then… do you still need money? I can’t go with you, but I could donate some.”
Zhao Xin thought it over. At worst, she could donate the money her cousin had transferred to her. That would at least count as doing some good.
Zhu Liuyue said, “Thank you for the thought, but the Ye Charity Foundation will be covering all the expenses this time.”
Zhao Xin thought about it, but still felt uneasy.
“How about I buy some clothes for the children?”
Zhu Liuyue thought that was a good idea and nodded.
“That should work. I’ll ask the principal to collect the children’s heights and weights.”
“Great! Great!”
Zhao Xin was suddenly full of motivation.
They were going shopping anyway. Buying herself the latest-season handbags and designer clothes was nowhere near as important as buying clothes for the children in the mountains.
And there was no reason to let her cousin’s money go to waste.
Zhao Xin immediately told Xiao Qitang about it.
“Cousin, keeping this money would make me feel guilty, so I’m going to use it for charity, okay?”
Xiao Qitang had just finished a concert in Jinghai City. His plane had barely landed when he received a message from his informant—no, from his cousin Zhao Xin.
He immediately transferred two hundred thousand yuan.
Zhao Xin: “…!!! What are you doing? I’m warning you, my willpower is rock-solid. I absolutely will not be corrupted by your money.”
Xiao Qitang: “What are you talking about? You said you wanted to buy clothes for the children in the mountains. That’s a good thing. I’m sponsoring the purchase.”
Zhao Xin: “Fine, then I’ll accept it on behalf of the children.”
Still, she felt that her cousin couldn’t possibly be acting for such a simple reason.
Sure enough, a new message popped up the next second.
Xiao Qitang: “Where are you going to buy the clothes? Don’t go to a shopping mall. I know a place where the clothes are cheap, the quality is good, and you can even bargain.”
Zhao Xin: “Bargain?!”
Her reaction was so extreme that she cried out in surprise while replying to the message.
At the time, Zhao Xin was sitting in the passenger seat.
Zhu Liuyue had both hands on the steering wheel, driving steadily. She was completely different from the way she had driven when speeding through Mount Daqi that day.
She turned her head slightly toward Zhao Xin.
Before she could say a word, Zhao Xin broke down and honestly confessed everything.
“It’s like this… and then… my cousin said he knows a place where clothes are really cheap, and you can bargain there.”
Zhu Liuyue smiled after hearing that. “Sure. Have him send us the address.”
Seeing that Sister Liuyue wasn’t angry, Zhao Xin let out a sigh of relief.
How had she gradually turned into a double agent?
At that moment, Xiao Qitang called Zhu Liuyue’s phone.
Although she had deleted him from WeChat, she hadn’t changed her phone number or blocked him.
The moment she answered, Xiao Qitang’s smug voice came through.
“Come pick me up at the airport. I’ll show you the way.”
Zhu Liuyue frowned and freed one hand, intending to hang up.
But Xiao Qitang seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and somehow knew what she was about to do.
He immediately surrendered.
“Wait, wait, please, my lady! You don’t have to pick me up. I’ll come over myself. I’ve sent the address to you by text. I’ll meet you there!”
From the passenger seat, Zhao Xin smacked her lips and complained, “How did I never realize before that my cousin could be such a jerk?”
…
Wangjiang Agricultural Market.
Zhu Liuyue’s Porsche looked completely out of place in the parking lot.
The moment Zhao Xin got out of the car, she covered her nose and mouth. The air was filled with a peculiar smell, as though the stench of fermented food had been mixed with sweat.
The hot weather only made it more noticeable.
Zhao Xin reasonably suspected that her cousin had developed psychological problems after being dumped and was deliberately messing with them.
If Xiao Qitang had been there, he would definitely have protested, “That’s not fair! I’m innocent, Your Honor!”
Cousin, it was fine if you didn’t help me, but please don’t sabotage me!
Ten minutes later.
Xiao Qitang jumped out of a taxi, looking completely travel-worn. His concert in Jinghai City had ended at half past eleven the previous night, and by the time he finished cleaning up and returned to the hotel, it was already after two in the morning.
Then he had caught a flight back at a little after five.
The dark circles beneath his eyes were pronounced, and his entire body radiated exhaustion.
Zhu Liuyue noticed and waved to him.
Xiao Qitang hurried over.
“You didn’t get any rest?” she asked.
