Chapter 3: You Look Like You Have a Hard Life

Shen Zechuan thought his earlier shout had been quite intimidating, but the little boy who had suddenly appeared did not seem afraid at all. He just stood there motionless.

Shen Zechuan was a little puzzled. He was just about to ask something else when he suddenly noticed that the boy’s gaze had been fixed on the steamed bun in his hand the whole time, without blinking.

“…Are you hungry?” Shen Zechuan asked.

The boy lightly pressed his lips together, swallowed, and gave a small nod.

By now he had already withdrawn that earlier yearning look. He lowered his head, both hands lightly clutching the hem of his clothes as if they had nowhere to rest. If one looked carefully, one could even spot a faint blush on his fair, tender cheeks.

Shen Zechuan could tell that he was nervous and uneasy, and perhaps there was some shame in there too.

In this life, Shen Zechuan had experienced hunger, so he naturally understood how unbearable that feeling was.

From the boy’s reaction, he could roughly guess that if he had not truly been so hungry that he could not hold on anymore, such a request for food would probably have been very hard to voice.

Shen Zechuan silently sighed in his heart, then took out a steamed bun and stepped forward two paces to hand it to him.

“Eat it. Being hungry is so uncomfortable.”

The boy slowly raised his head, but did not immediately take the steamed bun. Instead, he asked in an extremely soft voice, “What about you? Do you still have enough to eat?”

“I do. You don’t need to worry about that.” Shen Zechuan said, “It’s okay if you don’t eat your fill, but you have to let your stomach have some food in it. Who cares what you’re eating? You can’t let yourself starve to death, right?”

The boy blinked and nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Thank you.”

With that, he politely extended both hands to take the white, soft steamed bun in front of him and immediately took a big bite.

Perhaps he really had been hungry for too long, so much so that even one bite of a steamed bun made him feel extremely satisfied. The boy immediately took another bite, even narrowing his eyes.

Shen Zechuan was amused by his reaction. He raised an eyebrow and casually sat down on a broken box beside him, bending one long leg, and started eating his steamed bun too.

One stood and one sat, both eating quietly. Shen Zechuan also took the opportunity to quietly size him up with his eyes.

Shen Zechuan discovered that this boy was unexpectedly good-looking. He had delicate features, and his eyes were especially outstanding. His long, thick eyelashes added a touch of unique beauty to him.

Although the clothes on his body were a bit dirty and messy, that young little face and his hands were still fair. At this moment, the way he seriously gnawed on the steamed bun made him seem like a puppy abandoned by someone, yet he was also unbearably obedient.

Shen · level-ten face-connoisseur · Ze · lonely and solitary · Chuan immediately developed a strong interest in this good little boy.

“What’s your name?” Shen Zechuan asked softly. “How old are you this year?”

The boy paused, then answered, “Gu Jingyi. I’m 15.”

Shen Zechuan gave an “mm.” “That’s a very nice name.”

“My name is Shen Zechuan. I’m 16, older than you. You can call me ge.”

Gu Jingyi only nodded, then quietly swallowed the last bite of the steamed bun.

As Shen Zechuan had said earlier, with a little food in his stomach, his body finally felt a bit better, and he also regained some energy. He finally had the strength to say a few more words.

“Thank you for the steamed bun today.” Gu Jingyi looked at him and said seriously, “I don’t have anything I can give you in return right now, but rest assured, once I earn money, I will definitely come find you again.”

“Then how do you plan to repay me when that time comes?” Shen Zechuan raised an eyebrow. “Buy me another steamed bun?”

Gu Jingyi choked for a moment. “…Buying a few more is fine too.”

Shen Zechuan almost laughed out loud. In his heart he thought: This kid is pretty honest.

“Are you also a wandering child in Xiaoshi Village?” Shen Zechuan asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“…I’m not.”

At this point, Gu Jingyi lowered his head slightly again. “I only arrived here yesterday.”

“Ran away from home? Or got separated from your parents and couldn’t find your way back?” Shen Zechuan continued asking. “Where is your home? I’ll think of a way to send you back.”

“There’s none left.” Gu Jingyi’s voice weakened, and even trembled a little. “It’s all gone…”

Shen Zechuan instantly understood something and immediately shut his mouth.

Fuck! Why did he have to let his curiosity run wild at a time like this?

Ask, ask, ask!

Now look what happened. If he really made the kid cry, what was he supposed to do? He did not have any extra steamed buns either.

Damn it!

He was just about to say something else to change the subject when he heard Gu Jingyi speak again, choking up: “My parents are both dead, and I completely have no home anymore…”

That dark, terrifying place was not his home, and those people who locked him up and humiliated him were no longer his family.

He, Gu Jingyi, was now… just an orphan with no father, no mother, and no home to return to.

Two bean-sized teardrops slid down his handsome face. Somehow, Shen Zechuan actually felt a pain in his heart at the sight, and his chest felt tight.

After a few seconds of silence, he raised his hand and gently wiped the tears from Gu Jingyi’s face, then asked softly, “Are you willing to come with me?”

“What?” Gu Jingyi was stunned. “Come with you?”

“Yes.” Shen Zechuan said, “Since you and I are both orphans with nowhere to go, we might as well live together. At least we can keep each other company.”

“Rest assured, I have a place to live. Although it’s a bit crude, at least it can shelter us from wind and rain. It counts as my home.”

“I’ll split this home in half for you. That way, won’t you have a home too? How about it? Think about it?”

Gu Jingyi understood that, given his current situation, this was undoubtedly a very good choice.

No matter what, it was better than wandering around blindly in a place he did not know.

But…

Seeing that he still seemed to be hesitating, Shen Zechuan could not help but grow anxious. “What’s wrong? Are you unwilling?”

“…No.” Gu Jingyi shook his head. “I’m thinking about whether you’re actually reliable.”

Shen Zechuan was blank for a moment. “Huh?”

“Because you look like you have a very hard life.” Gu Jingyi said seriously.

Shen Zechuan: “…………”

This brat.

His words really stabbed straight into the heart.

He raised his hand and gave Gu Jingyi a flick on the forehead, saying in an unfriendly tone, “Come with me. Even if my life is hard, I won’t let you suffer. At least you won’t starve to death or freeze to death.”

Gu Jingyi laughed quietly. “Mm, then from now on we’ll be together.”

If life really was incomparably difficult, then having an older brother by his side should make things much better, right?

Shen Zechuan also smiled and took his hand, saying, “Let’s go, Xiao Yi. We’re going home.”

Gu Jingyi followed beside him and asked curiously, “Aren’t you worried that after taking me in, you’ll have even less to eat?”

“No.” Shen Zechuan looked completely calm. “From now on, the two of us will collect scraps together. That will definitely be more than what I collect alone, and we’ll definitely sell it for more money too. Enough for both of us to eat steamed buns.”

In a place he could not see, Gu Jingyi’s face went blank for a moment.

Collecting scraps, huh…

Fine. Anyway, his former identity had long since disappeared. In the face of survival, nothing like nobility or face mattered anymore.

“By the way, Xiao Yi.” Shen Zechuan spoke again. “Let me ask you something.”

“Mm.” Gu Jingyi responded. “Go ahead.”

“Are you the child of some big family?” Shen Zechuan asked.

Gu Jingyi instantly widened his eyes.

What was going on?

When had he been exposed?

Could it be that he had eaten the steamed bun too elegantly?

“You…” Gu Jingyi swallowed. “Why do you say that?”

“I heard that a lot of the CEOs in novels have the surname Gu.” Shen Zechuan smiled. “But I was just asking casually. You probably can’t be one anyway. After all, noble family descendants who end up wandering outside with no one asking about them are still pretty rare.”

Hearing this, Gu Jingyi let out a breath of relief, then also spoke teasingly, “Then there are plenty of CEOs surnamed Shen in novels too. Could it be that you’re someone from some big family?”

“…How could that be.”

Shen Zechuan responded to him softly, then raised his head to look at the sky, a bitter smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m not worthy.”