Ning Heng immediately shut his mouth.
But Li Xiaoya had already been woken up. She rubbed her eyes and stumbled out unsteadily, calling out, "Sheng Yuxiao."
Ning Heng's eyes widened. Who was this person, daring to call out Sheng's full name so casually?
He lowered his gaze to look.
Oh, it was a tiny thing, not even reaching his waist. Her hair was a mess, but her face was delicate and adorable. Because she was thin, her eye sockets were slightly sunken, making her look even more like a porcelain doll.
Li Xiaoya was also looking at him.
The person before her was tall and slender, wearing clothes that hung on him like a sack, with long hair that gave off an artistic vibe.
Li Xiaoya couldn't tell anything about artists or non-artists.
She just blinked in confusion and bewilderment, then uttered two words: "...Big sister?"
"She..." Ning Heng had barely uttered a word when Sheng Yuxiao covered his mouth and dragged him aside.
Sheng Yuxiao stared disapprovingly at his long hair. "Cut it off quickly, you're messing up the kid's perception of gender. Don't you know this is a crucial stage in a child's development of their worldview?"
Ning Heng was dumbfounded. "...Last time when your uncle's six-year-old son was throwing a tantrum at your villa, you had me dress up as a female ghost to scare him. You said it'd be fine if we scared the little brat to death. Sheng, when did you start caring about children's psychological health?"
Sheng Yuxiao was silent for a moment before saying, "That was three years ago. People mature over time. You should grow up a bit too, Ning Heng."
Ning Heng reluctantly accepted this explanation and turned to unload his luggage from the trunk.
Despite his slender frame, he was quite strong.
Sheng Yuxiao immediately patted his shoulder and said, "You've arrived just in time. The important task of feeding the pigs is now yours. Xiaoya! Come on, let's go wash your face."
Ning Heng: ?
Among the circle of young rich second-generation in Jing City, there were two informal factions. One followed Qin Sui's lead, while the other put their faith in Sheng Yuxiao.
So even though Ning Heng was full of doubts, he obediently followed orders and went to feed the pigs.
Li Xiaoya heard the commotion and couldn't help but turn her head. "That big sister..."
Sheng Yuxiao grabbed her and sat her down on a small stool. "Wait a minute, I haven't finished combing your hair. And that's not a big sister, his name is Ning Heng. You can just call him by his name."
"Oh, but... has he ever fed pigs before?"
"He hasn't, but he'll learn by doing it, won't he?"
"I'm afraid he might fall into the manure pit."
"He can't be that stupid, can he?"
Just as Sheng Yuxiao finished speaking, a loud "splash" came from behind.
"Sheng!" Ning Heng's anguished cry rang out, "Sheng, help me! I've fallen into the pit! Ugh..."
Sheng Yuxiao: ...
Li Xiaoya quickly ran towards the pigsty, with Sheng Yuxiao right behind her, followed by a crowd of panicked staff members.
After a brief silence, the barrage of comments erupted into laughter.
[Haha, Sheng Yuxiao, is your mouth blessed or what?]
[Poor Ning Heng, he's just a pure tool]
A few minutes later, Ning Heng was rescued. He looked miserable and on the verge of tears as he said to Sheng Yuxiao, "Sheng, you've suffered so much... So this is the kind of life you've been living here."
Sheng Yuxiao's expression was strange, and he didn't say anything.
[Haha, your Sheng hasn't lived this kind of life at all. It's all been Li Xiaoya feeding the pigs.]
[+1, Li Xiaoya has been so good to your Sheng, even saving eggs for him when getting food from the canteen]
[Didn't watch the show before coming? You should go back and watch more.]
While Ning Heng was still pouring his heart out to Sheng Yuxiao, Li Xiaoya had already gone back to boil some hot water.
"You need to wash up and change clothes, or you'll get sick," Li Xiaoya said, handing Ning Heng a towel.
The towel was faded but clean.
Li Xiaoya said, "Wipe your face first."
Li Xiaoya was used to the smell of various livestock manure, so her expression didn't change at all with Ning Heng standing in front of her.
The other staff members couldn't stand it and quietly stepped back.
Ning Heng was wiping his face and retching at the same time.
"Sheng, you've suffered too much, too much. How could Aunt Xu bear it? Why don't we pack up and go back today?"
Sheng Yuxiao said, "It's not that bad."
Ning Heng paused, then took a big step forward, looking at Sheng Yuxiao with an expression of absolute worship. "Sheng, you can endure all this?"
Sheng Yuxiao covered his nose and took half a step back. "You... I can barely endure."
Ning Heng felt a bit hurt and looked at Li Xiaoya, saying, "Even the little girl doesn't mind me."
Sheng Yuxiao gritted his teeth, sounding a bit jealous, "Yeah, she even gave you her face towel to use."
Ning Heng was even more touched. He hastily wiped his face and went to the back of the house to rinse off.
After two hours of fuss, Ning Heng finally managed to clean himself up.
When he learned that the hot water for his shower was also boiled by Li Xiaoya, Ning Heng's gratitude knew no bounds. He said, "I wish I had a little sister like you."
Sheng Yuxiao thought to himself, I can't even have her, how could it be your turn?
Throughout all of Ning Heng's praise, Li Xiaoya didn't show any particular expression, just as she had been used to the abuse before.
"Here you go," she said, ladling some hot water into a bowl for Ning Heng. "Drink a little, it'll prevent you from catching a cold."
Ning Heng immediately praised her again, "So thoughtful, so thoughtful. I'd like to take you to my house to film the show, and then Sheng and I could stay in the village, far from the city's hustle and bustle, being pastoral poets... But Sheng won't agree. Ah, if you want to go, I can arrange for someone to take you there now. You have such a good personality, my mom would definitely like you."
Sheng Yuxiao's face had darkened, but Ning Heng hadn't noticed at all.
At this moment, Li Xiaoya used a tree branch to poke at the fire in front of her and said softly, "I won't go."
Sheng Yuxiao's expression changed back, and he raised an eyebrow at Ning Heng, saying, "Did you hear that? Li Xiaoya won't leave me, she's not going anywhere."
Ning Heng finally understood.
So it was Sheng who wouldn't let Li Xiaoya leave.
After just one encounter, Ning Heng found that he quite liked Li Xiaoya too.
He couldn't help but grab Sheng Yuxiao's shoulder and whisper in his ear, "Sheng, if you really care about Li Xiaoya, you should let her go to my place. Maybe her life will be different in the future."
Sheng Yuxiao coldly said, "You don't know shit."
At this moment, the chief director's voice suddenly rang out: "Young Master Sheng, it's a call from your mother. She specifically asked for you to take it now."
[Is she going to ask about Li Xiaoya?]
[Didn't they mention something about investment the other day? Mrs. Xu is probably worried that her son is being tricked by a country girl, so she's calling to interrogate him.]
The audience was instantly filled with curiosity about this phone call.
Outside the TV, Dou Dawei's heart was in his throat.
What he feared most was that Young Master Sheng would agree in person, but in the end his parents wouldn't allow it, thinking their son had been duped...
Li Xiaoya asked in a small voice, "Should we walk away?"
Sheng Yuxiao held her thin shoulder: "Sit down, why leave? Let's listen together."
Seeing the young girl's unease and fear, he had a change of heart and put his phone on speaker.
Ms. Xu Qiulai's voice was thus captured by the microphone.
"I hear you want to invest in some project? Investing 3 million?"
[Oh boy, it really is about this! Li Xiaoya is in danger!]
In the shot, Sheng Yuxiao still had one hand on Li Xiaoya's shoulder as he calmly said, "Yes, 3 million might not even be enough. Can I use some of my birthday fund?"
[Damn! What kind of investment needs more than 3 million! Saying this, Ms. Xu must be getting a rush of blood to the head.]
At this moment, Ning Heng leaned in: "What investment? Actually, I could buy in too. How much more do you need, Brother Sheng?"
