Jiang Huaixiao strode over, his gaze passing over everyone and landing straight on Jiang Xun, who was leaning against the Old Locust Tree.
The expression on Jiang Xun's face visibly cooled.
He stayed against the trunk, hands in his pockets, his head tilted as he looked at him with that standard mocking curve to his lips.
"Why are you here again?"
"To take you home."
"I'm not going. That's not my home."
Jiang Huaixiao stopped, coming no closer. He stood two steps away from Jiang Xun, sunlight filtering through the leaves of the Old Locust Tree and falling across his shoulders in patches of light and shade.
"There's something you need to decide."
Jiang Huaixiao stepped aside, letting Shen Yuxing come forward.
Head lowered and hands twisting in the hem of his clothes, Shen Yuxing came to a stop before Jiang Xun and gave him a proper bow. "Hello, Brother Xiao Xun."
The bow made Jiang Xun uncomfortable all over, and he shifted half a step aside. "Don't. We barely know each other."
Shen Yuxing straightened and, in that timid voice that made it hard to refuse him, repeated what he had told Jiang Huaixiao in the study that day.
He didn't want to return to Shiban Village. He wanted to study in the city. His grades were excellent, and as long as someone paid for his schooling, he would definitely get into a good university.
"Brother Huaixiao said," Shen Yuxing pursed his lips, "we had to ask whether you agreed."
Jiang Xun froze for a moment, then curled his lips and laughed aloud.
"Ask me? Since when do I get a say in your Jiang family's business? If he wants to stay, let him stay. It's not my home anyway. Your Jiang family can support whoever you like."
Jiang