Chapter 11: Favoritism

The moment their eyes met, Meng Shen quickly covered his face with his hand, averting his gaze from Yu Xi.

Yu Xi was stunned for a moment, but he didn’t call him out. Pretending he hadn’t seen anything, he retreated to another sofa. He reached out, grabbed a handful of the chocolates Gu Chuanzhou had bought for him from the coffee table, and pressed them into Meng Shen’s hand.

“Eat these. They aren’t very bitter.”

Seeing this, Sheng Yunjuan immediately chimed in, “I want some too! I want some too!”

The chocolates were right there on the table within reach, but apparently, getting them from Yu Xi’s own hand made them different. Sheng Yunjuan took a handful, her eyes curving into happy crescents.

Yu Xi didn’t leave out Sheng Yunshu either.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Chuanzhou-ge bought them for me.” Yu Xi turned to the other side, thought for a moment, and picked up a single piece to offer to him.

Gu Chuanzhou, whose face had been cold ever since the three uninvited guests arrived, felt his gaze soften instantly. “Thank you, Xiao Xi.”

“Hmph, mine are more than yours,” Sheng Yunjuan said triumphantly.

Gu Chuanzhou ignored her childish comparison. He knew Yu Xi gave him only one because Yu Xi remembered he didn’t like sweets, yet still cared enough about his feelings not to leave him out. Doesn’t this prove that Yu Xi cares about me the most?

Thinking this, Gu Chuanzhou quietly slipped the small square of chocolate into his pocket.

Finding no joy in baiting the silent Gu Chuanzhou, Sheng Yunjuan pursed her lips and noticed that the pile in Meng Shen’s hands was much larger than her own. When it came to competing for Yu Xi’s attention, she couldn’t stand being at a disadvantage and always spoke her mind.

“Xiao Xi, I’m missing a few pieces. What you give me has to be as much as what you gave him.”

“Ah…” Yu Xi looked at Meng Shen’s hands, then at hers, and hurriedly grabbed another small handful for her.

Finally satisfied, Sheng Yunjuan smiled again.

Sheng Yunshu looked at her sister and sighed, stopping Yu Xi before he could top off her portion as well. “I have enough, Xiao Xi. You don’t need to indulge her.”

Sheng Yunjuan, who was busy counting her chocolates, looked up. “What’s wrong with that? I just feel like Xiao Xi has been biased toward Meng Shen since we were little—coaxing him and giving him snacks. Isn’t it normal for me to be a little jealous? I bet a certain someone cares too.” She shot a pointed look at Gu Chuanzhou.

Yu Xi didn’t know what to say.

In truth, Sheng Yunjuan was right. He really had treated Meng Shen differently when they were children. It all started with their first meeting.

That summer, when he first arrived, the children playing in the villa complex gardens spotted him immediately. They invited him to play ball, and they gradually became close. The group was almost inseparable; sometimes, at the crack of dawn, a child would knock on the Pei family’s door to find him, and they wouldn’t stop until their parents called them home.

Back then, Yu Xi was not yet six years old. His parents’ relationship was still harmonious and stable. Growing up in a warm home, his personality was vibrant and cheerful. He accepted new friends with open arms and got along with everyone; adults and children alike adored him.

As a child, he didn’t understand status gaps. He played carefree every day, wasn’t shy in other people’s homes, and didn’t feel intimidated by grand occasions. He even accompanied Pei Lexin to the eldest daughter of the Meng family’s birthday party.

It was there, in the Meng family’s backyard, that he found Meng Shen, who had been excluded and pushed aside by the other Meng children.

Little Yu Xi didn’t understand the Meng family’s complex dynamics; he only saw a little brother huddled in the corner looking pitiful. He approached and crouched beside Meng Shen, asking, “Why aren’t you eating cake?”

Meng Shen didn’t speak. He kept his head down, his dark eyes dull and lifeless as he stared at the ground.

Yu Xi crouched there with him for a long time, trying to see what was so interesting on the ground. Unable to figure it out, he eventually ran off.

Only after he ran away did Meng Shen lift his head to glance at him, remaining wooden and dazed before returning to his own world.

Five minutes later, Yu Xi came huffing and puffing back with a plate of cake, holding it out to Meng Shen. “Do you want some?”

Seeing that Meng Shen neither spoke nor took it, Yu Xi crouched down again, tilting his head to try and catch Meng Shen’s eyes.

When Meng Shen’s eyes met those moist, crystal-clear ones, it was like a stone falling into a stagnant pond—ripples formed. He shivered, clenched his fists, and turned his back to Yu Xi.

Undeterred, Yu Xi moved to follow him.

“The cake smells so good. I just had a piece. This one was given to me by Xingxing. It has lots and lots of cream. It’s very sweet. Do you really not want it?” Yu Xi brought the plate closer, wanting Meng Shen to smell it. “It’s really fragrant.”

It was indeed fragrant. But the scent drifting into Meng Shen’s nose didn’t come from the cake; it came from Yu Xi, who was leaning closer and closer.

Meng Shen curled into an even smaller ball. With nowhere left to hide, he finally couldn’t help but speak: “You… you stop coming closer.”

“Oh…” Seeing that the boy was trembling with fear, Yu Xi’s eyes drooped with disappointment.

He saw the cream on the cake was starting to melt. Not wanting it to go to waste, he began to eat it himself, one small bite at a time. He didn’t leave, staying crouched beside Meng Shen. He ate quietly, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s pouches, chewing slowly and neatly.

His friends loved watching him eat. They often gave him snacks and would stare at him unblinkingly during meals, as if it made their own food taste better.

Meng Shen couldn’t help but steal a tiny glance, and then he couldn’t look away. When Yu Xi turned his head, Meng Shen quickly buried his face in his knees like a hedgehog curled into a ball.

A dimple appeared on Yu Xi’s chubby cheek. “You do want to eat it, don’t you?”

He scooped up a piece of cake and held it to Meng Shen’s lips, coaxing him softly. “There’s only a little bit left. If you don’t eat it, I’m going to finish it all.”

After a long silence, just as Yu Xi thought he wouldn’t get a response, Meng Shen slowly lifted his head a fraction and leaned forward to bite the fork.

Yu Xi smiled. Bite by bite, he fed the entire plate of cake to Meng Shen.

“Is it delicious? I don’t tell lies.”

Meng Shen nodded, opening his mouth as if to say something.

Just then, the voices of other children came from nearby, calling for “Xiao Xi.”

Yu Xi stood up. “My friends are calling me.”

“…” Meng Shen’s head dropped again, and the light in his eyes died back into a stagnant pool.

To his surprise, Yu Xi suddenly grabbed his hand.

“Let’s go play with the other kids together!”

Play together. Deep down, Meng Shen didn’t want to. He didn’t want to know anyone else. Yu Xi’s strength was tiny; Meng Shen could have shaken him off instantly. But for some reason, his body wouldn’t obey. He couldn’t bear to let go of that warmth.

And so, Meng Shen was brought into their little circle by Yu Xi. He was still unsociable, often sitting alone and dazing away for entire days, but as long as Yu Xi appeared, he would follow in his footsteps. Whatever Yu Xi did, he did—like a puppy that had recognized its master.

Yu Xi couldn’t leave him behind. No matter what fun thing or tasty snack he had, he never left Meng Shen out. He never looked down on him for being quiet or lonely, nor did he force him to change, telling him he was perfect just as he was.

There was another reason: before meeting Meng Shen, Yu Xi was the youngest of the group, always the one being coaxed and protected, calling the others “brother” or “sister.” Now that he had Meng Shen, who was a few months younger, he felt a sense of responsibility to take care of him like an older brother.

Now, Meng Shen was no longer the malnourished, frail child he had been due to the Meng family’s neglect. He had grown larger than anyone Yu Xi had ever seen. Even a loose hoodie couldn’t hide his powerful physique. Yet his personality seemed unchanged: shy, introverted, and tongue-tied…

This made Yu Xi feel relieved, yet also a bit sad.

He worried that Meng Shen had still been living poorly in the Meng family over the years—isolated by his half-siblings, perhaps missing meals, being bullied or mocked, yet never complaining because no one in that family, not even his biological mother, would stand up for him.

Yu Xi wanted to ask, but didn’t dare.

Suddenly, a warm hand rested on the back of his own.

Yu Xi turned to see Sheng Yunshu’s eyes—calm and clear, seemingly able to see through anyone’s heart. She whispered, “Don’t worry, Xiao Xi. I kept my promise to you. I have always been a good friend to A-Shen.”

Yu Xi was stunned, then his heart eased, and he broke into a bright smile. That’s right—he remembered that before he left with his mother, he had begged Sheng Yunshu (who was one of the few who could get a word out of Meng Shen) not to leave him alone.

“Eh?” Sheng Yunjuan’s voice snapped Yu Xi back to attention.

She had noticed the glaringly out-of-place items on the table. She picked one up and started laughing. “Where did this little wood carving come from? Gu Chuanzhou, since when do you like such ugly things? And all these weird tools—they don’t suit you at all, haha!”

She was used to taking shots at Gu Chuanzhou whenever she had the chance, even if she rarely won the exchange.

But this time, Gu Chuanzhou’s reaction was strange. He seemed to have actually taken her mindless mockery to heart, frowning solemnly. “Is that so? I think it looks very good. Not ugly at all.”

Sheng Yunjuan wanted to press her advantage, but then saw Gu Chuanzhou turn to Yu Xi to comfort him. “Don’t mind her, Xi Xi. Her taste is poor.”

Sheng Yunjuan: “??”

Two seconds later, it clicked. The carving wasn’t made by Gu Chuanzhou; it was made by Yu Xi. Her expression froze as she scrambled to fix it. “O-on closer inspection, it actually looks quite nice. I was wrong! My eyes just weren’t working right. How could such good craftsmanship be done by him?”

She was frantic, but Yu Xi didn’t mind at all. He smiled and said it was okay, soothing her with a few words.

Sheng Yunjuan added, “I remember you were clever with your hands even when you were tiny. I still have the grass grasshopper you made. I think of you every time I see it.”

Yu Xi was surprised. “You still have it?”

Sheng Yunjuan nodded. “Of course. My sister and I have kept ours perfectly. They haven’t broken at all.”

Meng Shen added in a small voice, “Me… me too.”

“Don’t worry about the things you gave us. Aside from that ‘bad seed’ from the Meng family, who wouldn’t treasure them? We all love them.” Sheng Yunjuan’s eyes darted around as she made a mocking sound. “Wait, it seems like one person doesn’t have one. I don’t know what he was pretending for back then—he didn’t even ask for one when given the chance.”

Gu Chuanzhou: “…”

Yu Xi thought back and realized who she was talking about. Back then, when the other kids saw Zhang Xingkuo get a gift, they all scrambled to sign up—except Gu Chuanzhou.

But back then, he wasn’t close to Gu Chuanzhou. He felt both respect and fear toward him because of his aura. He respected his excellence, but was also intimidated by it. Someone so capable who had seen so many fine things surely wouldn’t care for an ugly grasshopper. So, he hadn’t dared to ask if Gu Chuanzhou wanted one.

“I was clumsy back then, and didn’t weave them well. I’m a little better now. When I get the materials, I’ll make some for everyone, okay?”

Sheng Yunjuan said quickly, “That’s great! This time, you have to give mine to me first!”

Yu Xi promised he would.

The group chatted until evening, when it was time for Yu Xi to head back to the Pei house.

Before they left, the Sheng sisters didn’t forget to exchange contact information with Yu Xi. When Sheng Yunshu called his name, Meng Shen finally mustered the courage to step forward. He pulled out his phone and whispered, “I… I want it too…”

Yu Xi’s eyes curved into a smile. “A-Shen, you’re finally willing to look into my eyes.”

Meng Shen’s pupils shrank. His ears, hidden under his hood, turned bright red instantly, and his heart hammered wildly. He hurriedly pulled his cap down to hide his face, terrified that Yu Xi would see something hidden in his eyes.