Jiang Shi’s smile slowly faded. He held his phone and called out the other person’s name, “Huo Ji.”

“Surprise,” a light chuckle came from the other side. “Song Shi, didn’t expect me to find you so quickly, did you?”

“No, I didn’t expect it,” Jiang Shi said. “But it’s understandable. Dogs have better noses than humans.”

Huo Ji didn’t get angry at being called that. “If I’m a dog, what are you?”

Jiang Shi’s face was cold, and he didn’t speak.

“Your name is Jiang Shi now, right?” Huo Ji leaned back on the sofa, pushed away the girl who was leaning on him, and lit a cigarette for himself. He squinted at the chaotic group of people in front of him, then raised a finger to his lips, making a “shush” gesture. Instantly, the noisy sounds faded like a receding tide, and the private room became so quiet that only Huo Ji’s voice could be heard.

“Jiang Shi, you’re so heartless. You left just like that, leaving me alone in Jiangcheng, not even a word of goodbye.”

The girl sitting next to Huo Ji clearly heard a boy’s voice from his phone, “Who are you? Why should I tell you?”

After the boy finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the air. The girl’s face turned pale with fright. She carefully looked up at Huo Ji’s expression. He was still smiling, but his eyes were dark and deep. “Jiang Shi, you’re still the same as before. Even if you’ve gone from a noble young master to a country bumpkin covered in mud, you still have all your thorns.” He added, “Without the Song family’s protection, having too many thorns isn’t a good thing.”

Jiang Shi replied, “Don’t bother worrying about me. You’d be better off worrying about yourself.”

Huo Ji’s smile disappeared. “I heard you didn’t take a single penny when you left the Song family. My young master, are you used to your new place? Gumption won’t give you a good life. I’d be heartbroken if a rough blanket chafed your delicate skin.” He continued, “Perhaps you can beg me. You know, I’ve always been unable to refuse you.”

His response was the busy tone of a disconnected call.

Huo Ji bit his cigarette, his face darkening. He called again, and as expected, he had been blacklisted. He violently grabbed his phone and smashed it against the wall.

Bang!

The phone instantly shattered into pieces. Everyone present was startled, shrinking their necks and not daring to speak.

A guy with yellow hair squeezed out from the corner. He sat beside Huo Ji and poured him a drink. “Brother Huo, don’t be angry. Song Shi just has a cheap temper. Everyone knows he’s the joke of the entire Third Middle School now.”

“What’s he got to be arrogant about? In the end, wasn’t it him who usurped the nest? If I were him, I’d immediately kneel at Brother Huo’s feet. Only by relying on you can he live a good life, right?”

Huo Ji leaned back on the sofa without speaking. The lights were dim, and the yellow-haired guy couldn’t see his expression, but his lack of prohibition was the greatest encouragement. He continued, “If you ask me, he needs to suffer a bit. Only after suffering and enduring hardships will he know your kindness.”

“Is that so?” Huo Ji pulled at his lips and chuckled, blowing a puff of smoke at the yellow-haired guy’s face. “You say, how should I make him suffer?”

The yellow-haired guy smiled obsequiously, accepting the smoke. “In that kind of remote, poor place, just find two people…” He leaned into Huo Ji’s ear and mumbled a lot of words.

Huo Ji listened. “That’s a pretty good idea.” He raised his hand to extinguish the cigarette and, without warning, grabbed the wine bottle beside him and smashed it on the yellow-haired guy’s head.

With a bang, wine and glass shards scattered everywhere. By the time everyone in the private room reacted, the yellow-haired guy was already lying on the ground, clutching his head and groaning in pain.

Huo Ji stepped on his hand. “My business with Song Shi is none of an outsider’s concern.” He warned, “If you still want these hands, I advise you to stay away from him.”

---

On the other side, Jiang Shi hung up the phone and immediately dragged the number into his blacklist. When he turned around, Cheng Ye was standing behind him like a ghost. Jiang Shi was startled. He was already in a bad mood after receiving Huo Ji’s call, and Cheng Ye, like a lingering spirit, made him even more annoyed.

“No, Cheng Ye, are you sick? Why are you standing behind me for no reason?”

Although his flip phone was one of the more expensive models on the market, the call volume on phones at that time wasn’t small. Cheng Ye, standing next to Jiang Shi, could hear most of it.

“Jiang Shi,” he stared at Jiang Shi intently. “Who called you?”

“Why do you care who calls me? Is it any of your business?”

Cheng Ye didn’t speak, just kept looking at him. Although Jiang Shi was arrogant in front of Cheng Ye, facing his dark eyes, he instinctively felt a little intimidated.

“Just an arrogant idiot,” Jiang Shi said. Then he felt he was losing face by saying that, so he put on a fierce expression again. “Are you my dad, asking all these questions? Aren’t you annoying!”

Cheng Ye reached into his pocket and pulled out a milk candy. “I’m sorry, I just saw that you didn’t seem to like him very much.”

Jiang Shi didn’t know where he got the candy, but since he offered it, he reluctantly accepted this apology gift. The sweet milky taste spread in his mouth, and Cheng Ye spoke again, “You don’t like him?”

Jiang Shi bit the candy and frowned. “An idiot. Who would like him?”

“Mm,” Cheng Ye smiled. “I don’t like him either.”

Jiang Shi: “…” So, am I supposed to praise you now?

Not long after Huo Ji’s call, Zhang Chi urgently called Jiang Shi.

“Jiang Shi, did that damn turkey call you?”

The afternoon sun wasn’t intense. It was mid-March, and the cherry blossoms in Cheng Ye’s yard were almost gone, with new green buds sprouting from the branches. Jiang Shi was leaning under the cherry tree, half-asleep. Hearing Zhang Chi, he chuckled, “Yes, he did. Then I blacklisted him. The turkey is probably fuming.”

“Damn it!” Zhang Chi said. “That shameless scoundrel! He couldn’t get your phone number from me, so he went and tricked Song Jian’an. That guy looks so naive; he probably even got your address out of him.”

Jiang Shi was startled for a moment. “He didn’t bully him, did he?”

“Is that the main point?”

“Isn’t it?”

Zhang Chi: “…” He hated that he couldn’t do anything about it. “You’re really something! Why would he bully Song Jian’an? Song Jian’an is dark-skinned. That scoundrel turkey wouldn’t even want to look at him twice.”

“Besides, Song Jian’an has no worldly desires in his eyes, only a yearning for studying. He looks thin and small, but his personality is more stubborn than a donkey. Apparently, to get information about you, the turkey even pretended to be a good student for two days.”

“Only Song Jian’an is naive enough not to see through that guy’s true colors.”

“Oh…” Jiang Shi said indifferently, “As long as he wasn’t bullied, it’s fine. Keep an eye on Song Jian’an for me. Pay more attention to those rotten people who like to act tough around me, so he doesn’t get bullied.”

Zhang Chi reluctantly agreed, “Why do I feel like a nanny? Jiang Shi, I’m your friend, not his friend. Why do I have to take care of him every day?”

Jiang Shi said, “You know what kind of situation I was in before, right? Like you said, he’s very simple. Don’t let those rotten people ruin his bright future.” He squinted his eyes from the sun, watching Cheng Ye bringing over a plate of pineapples from not far away. The pineapples had been soaked in salt water, cut into small pieces, and thoughtfully had toothpicks stuck in them.

Jiang Shi said, “Consider it me owing you a favor. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”

“Treat my ass!” Zhang Chi spat. “You take care of yourself first. I’m telling you, you really need to be careful. Huo Ji already knows your phone and address, and you don’t have a backer now. It would be easy for him to mess with you. Should I send two bodyguards over?”

Jiang Shi was speechless. “Why don’t you just pay to build me a big villa with 24-hour rotating guards?”

Zhang Chi actually considered it seriously. “It’s not impossible…”

Jiang Shi opened his mouth to speak, but Cheng Ye, standing beside him, suddenly spoke. “Pineapples I bought yesterday. Try them, see if they’re sweet.”

His voice wasn’t very loud, but it definitely wasn’t quiet either, and given the distance between them, it was enough for Zhang Chi on the other end of the phone to hear. Zhang Chi immediately perked up his ears. “Jiang Shi, who’s talking next to you?”

Jiang Shi didn’t know what was wrong with Cheng Ye, insisting on talking when he was on the phone. He said perfunctorily, “A friend I met here.”

“What? You already have friends!”

Jiang Shi was about to retort, but Cheng Ye suddenly bent down and leaned close to his phone. “Hello, I’m a friend Jiang Shi met here. My name is Cheng Ye.”

Jiang Shi: “…” You’re even introducing yourself now.

Zhang Chi felt like his own dog had found other dogs. But Jiang Shi had few dogs around him since childhood, though flies were countless. He asked vigilantly, “How did you meet Jiang Shi?”

Cheng Ye said, “I accidentally bumped into him when he first arrived, and we got to know each other. Later, he saw that I was pitiful, without parents, and helped me a lot. Oh, he even paid me to be his bodyguard.”

Jiang Shi: “…” Why are you telling him everything?

“Good, good!” Zhang Chi chuckled. “A bodyguard, huh? Remember one person: if you see him, beat him up with sticks.”

Cheng Ye’s tone conveyed confusion. “Who?”

“Huo Ji.”

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, noting the name. “What about him?”

“Let me tell you, he’s just a…”

Slap! Jiang Shi hung up the phone.

Cheng Ye withdrew his gaze and asked Jiang Shi, “Why did you suddenly hang up? So what about Huo Ji?”

Jiang Shi pushed him. “Nothing. Don’t inquire about social matters. Go clean your room.”

---

After two brief sunny days, continuous spring rain followed. The earth drank its fill, and the planting season began in Xiliu Village. Jiang Shi knew nothing of this until Cheng Ye mentioned he was going back to plant crops. To save time, Cheng Ye had arranged a van to go home after school on Friday. Jiang Shi thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go with you.”

Cheng Ye didn’t even have a schoolbag; he just took out that week’s homework from his desk and was about to leave. Hearing Jiang Shi, he stopped and looked down at him. “Young Master, do you want to come back and plant crops with me?”

Whenever he called him ‘Young Master,’ Jiang Shi always felt he was particularly unserious, but Cheng Ye’s face was mostly expressionless, with deep-set eyes that conveyed a cold and stern feeling. This coldness was different from Jiang Shi’s arrogant aloofness, which looked down on everyone; it was a deep-seated indifference, as if he cared about no one. But Jiang Shi was an exception. Only Jiang Shi thought he was an honest person, but even honest people had their dishonest moments. Jiang Shi gave him a nudge.

“What young master? Don’t just call me that. Who said I’m going to plant crops with you? I’m going back to help my mom.”

Cheng Ye paused for a second, then scanned Jiang Shi and said truthfully, “You won’t be able to help.”