A Sincere Heart

Zhou Yi looked completely natural, not the slightest bit guilty.

"This older sister is like a benefactor who supported me. I was only able to study because of her help. I've always considered her family."

Little Jia temporarily breathed a sigh of relief.

She nodded and said, "Then she really is quite kind. I'll buy a gift to meet her."

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't understand these social niceties."

Little Jia lifted her chin proudly. "I make exceptions for people. Since she's your family, I'm happy to be good to her too."

Zhou Yi leaned down close to her face and smiled. "So our Little Jia Gege is loving the crow for the sake of the nest?"

Zhou Yi's use of "Little Jia Gege" carried obvious teasing.

Little Jia wasn't angry either. She nodded. "Yes, loving the crow for the sake of the nest. I'm not an ungrateful person. I can still tell good from bad and right from wrong."

Zhou Yi deliberately pretended to look at her with some surprise. "How come I feel like you've changed a bit since I've been gone? You don't seem as willful and full of twisted logic as before."

Little Jia shot him an annoyed look. "I'll admit to being willful, but I won't admit to being full of twisted logic. It's just that our views are different, so you think my logic is twisted. That's not fair. What if you're the one who's wrong?"

Zhou Yi nodded with feigned seriousness. "Yes, what Jiajia says makes sense. What I say isn't necessarily right either."

Only then did Little Jia smile again. "That's more like it. I thought you didn't know how to coax girls. Before, you were as stubborn as anything; it was really infuriating."

"Yet you still chased after me all the way to Huaihai."

"I must be sick. Even though you infuriate me, I like you desperately. The thought of your cold expression is unbearable. I never thought I'd fall for such an unromantic block of wood."

"Should I always wear a cold face for you then?"

"That won't do. You should be gentler with me normally. The contrast makes it more interesting."

Zhou Yi chuckled and shook his head, looking utterly helpless with her.

The two arrived at the mall. After Little Jia picked out two outfits, they went to the counter to look for a gift for You Man.

Accompanying Little Jia shopping was effortless. She would quickly pay for whatever caught her eye without much picking and choosing. For some clothes she couldn't be bothered to try on, if a glance told her they looked good, she bought them directly.

"How old is that sister of yours?"

"Thirty."

"Then I'll buy her a gold bracelet. It's mainly because you didn't tell me in advance, otherwise I could have brought an heirloom from home to give her, which would be better."

"Buy a gold bracelet?"

"Yeah, these bracelets don't have any historical stories behind them, they're not passed down. An ordinary gold bracelet isn't worth much."

Zhou Yi glanced at the gold bracelet worth over a hundred thousand in Little Jia's hand and swallowed what he was about to say.

Little Jia had her eye on that one from the start, quickly paid for it, all in one go without a moment's hesitation.

"Pick a piece of jewelry you like too. I feel really bad that you came all this way."

"So you just want to buy me something out of guilt?"

Little Jia pouted, tugging at his sleeve, her large, watery eyes looking even more innocent.

"Mhm, since you bought a gift for Manjie, I'll return the favor on her behalf."

Zhou Yi deliberately teased her.

"Unromantic block of wood!"

Little Jia glared at him, shook off his hand, and turned to walk away.

Zhou Yi laughed. Little Jia's angry look was particularly amusing too.

He quickly caught up, grabbed Xiao Jia's hand, and said with a smile, "Didn't you say you liked me precisely because I'm unromantic?"

Only then did Little Jia realize. She stopped angrily, huffing. "You did it on purpose to annoy me."

Just teasing you, how is that meant to annoy you?

Little Jia gave Zhou Yi's arm an annoyed slap. "You really are..."

Only then did Zhou Yi coax her, pushing her back towards the counter. "Hurry up and pick one. I want to give you something, I want to make you happy."

Finally, Little Jia showed a smile, propping her chin on her hand as she looked over the counter.

Actually, she had plenty of jewelry, all kinds. But since Zhou Yi said he wanted to give her something, the meaning was completely different.

Little Jia finally chose a necklace with a diamond star pendant, which has a very high aesthetic appeal.

After Zhou Yi bought it, Little Jia immediately had him put it on for her.

In the mirror, the man fastened the chain with a serious expression, and Little Jia revealed a happy smile.

How wonderful it would be if she were really Zhou Yi's girlfriend.

Right now, they were like a young couple going to meet the family. She had an unreal feeling.

"Do you think your sister might not like me?" Holding the star, Little Jia asked softly.

With Little Jia's previous temper, she wouldn't have worried about such things. She never cared how others saw her; even with Qu Hongzhuo, she would lose her temper whenever she felt like it.

But today she felt anxious.

For some reason, just imagining it—if Zhou Yi's family didn't like her—she felt it would be somewhat upsetting.

"She won't. Manjie is a very good person."

"I'm always a bit worried, I don't know why. What if your sister tells you not to associate with me? Would you really ignore me then?"

Little Jia's question had a bit of a "if your mom and I fell in the water, who would you save?" flavor to it.

Zhou Yi laughed. "I'm not a momma's boy, or in this case, a sister's boy. Don't worry one bit. Manjie never interferes with who I befriend. You'll understand when you meet her."

Zhou Yi found an excuse to go to the restroom to call You Man, to give her a heads-up.

"Manjie, are you busy?"

Seeing Zhou Yi's call, You Man immediately put down what she was doing.

"Not busy at all, Xiao Yi. No classes this morning?"

"Yeah, no classes this morning. I was thinking of coming over for lunch and bringing someone for you to meet."

"Is it a new friend of Xiao Yi's?"

"It's Little Jia, the one I mentioned to you last time."

You Man thought for a moment, remembering the girl Zhou Yi had talked about.

She remembered Zhou Yi saying this girl was very clingy towards him. She never expected her to chase him all the way to Huaihai...

A flicker of doubt passed through You Man's eyes. If it was just a simple, familial cousin-like attachment to Zhou Yi, that would be one thing, but if it was something else...

She lowered her eyes and responded gently, "I see. Then I'll cook myself at noon."

"Just have the staff at the shop do it, don't trouble yourself."

"How could that do? However you look at it, she's considered your family. Cooking myself shows more sincerity. Let's not talk anymore, I'll go prepare and wait for you."

After hanging up, You Man hurried to the kitchen to get busy.

Old Hai, seeing You Man was going to cook personally, smiled and asked, "Is Xiao Yi coming?"

You Man smiled back. "Yes, he said he's bringing someone. It's the niece of his foster parents in City A, so she's like a cousin to him. For the first meeting, cooking myself is more sincere, to leave a good impression."

Old Hai paused his vegetable chopping. "He has foster parents in City A?"

You Man nodded. "Yes, Xiao Yi even said he wants to take me to City A, and we'll move the shop there too."

Only then did Old Hai breathe a sigh of relief. He had thought this kid Zhou Yi was going to abandon You Man and go to City A.

Old Hai practically regarded You Man as half a daughter, and he didn't want to see her sincere feelings go to waste either.

A relieved smile spread across his face. "It's good that he's willing to take you with him. That means your genuine devotion to him hasn't been in vain."