Looking at the things all over the sofa, Ms. Yun smiled and poured Gu Rongqi a glass of water, "Oh dear, Xiao Qi, you've come all this way, why did you bring so much stuff!"

"It's nothing, Auntie! It's just a small token of my appreciation."

Gu Rongqi smiled politely and respectfully accepted it with both hands. He looked like the kind of well-mannered, knowledgeable, and gentle academic star that everyone praised.

This stands in stark contrast to Cheng Qicai's carefree and half-hearted attitude.

Seeing Cheng Qicai start munching on a pear as soon as she got back, Ms. Yun grew increasingly annoyed with her. "All you do is eat by yourself. You don't even bother to ask Xiao Qi if she wants some."

When she turned to Gu Rongqi, her expression softened. "Xiaoqi, there's fruit here. Take whatever you like. It's freshly washed."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie!"

Seeing Ms. Yun's change of expression, Cheng Qicai curled her lips.

In her mind, all children have advantages and are better than herself.

"Mom, when is dinner? I'm starving," Cheng Qicai asked after finishing her apple.

"It'll be ready soon." Ms. Yun rolled her eyes at her and then went to the kitchen.

Cheng Qicai leaned closer to Gu Rongqi and said, "Hehe, since you've come back with me, I'll have to put up with Ms. Yun's bad temper for your sake."

"Ms. Yun?"

“That’s my mom,” Cheng Qicai explained.

Mr. Cheng, who was standing next to her, said with some emotion, "This is how Qicai used to call us when she was little. At that time, her mother and I were both quite busy, so her grandparents took care of her. When we went back, that's how she called us."

When asked about the origin of this nickname, Cheng Qicai felt a little embarrassed. She was in fourth grade at the time and was incredibly stubborn.

She often couldn't see them, and each time she would just get to know them, they would leave after a few days. At that time, she didn't understand, so she felt resentful and started to imitate the attitude towards strangers in TV dramas.

Upon seeing them return, she respectfully greeted them, "Hello, Ms. Yun and Mr. Cheng!"

Her grandparents corrected her several times, but she wouldn't listen. It wasn't until she was taken to live with them that she changed her ways.

As she grew older, she realized that it wasn't just because Mr. Cheng made some money that she was taken in, but also because of her innocent and unfiltered way of speaking.

"That's all in the past." She only says it jokingly now.

“That’s true.” Mr. Cheng smiled and stood up. “I’ll go check on your mother and see how the cooking is going.”

As Mr. Cheng went inside, Gu Rongqi looked at her and asked, "Did you have a very difficult childhood?"

“No,” Cheng Qicai shouted, seeing the heartache in Gu Rongqi’s eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. Although I’m not as rich as your family, I’m not suffering at all. Back then, I was just struggling on my own. Actually, I was doing just fine. I had my grandparents and a bunch of friends… I had a great time, always out and about.”

It was only then that I got too free and was taken to Ms. Yun's place, where I started being nagged every day!

Cheng Qicai tilted her head to look at him, "As for you, I feel that you must have been very lonely when you were young, studying all by yourself and not being able to relax and play freely."

Gu Rongqi was taken aback; this was the first time someone had ever asked him about loneliness.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not really a playful person."

She understood this; sometimes she felt that Gu Rongqi and Yun Su Ni were quite similar.