Reba, who was nearby, saw this and immediately stuffed the steaming, fragrant snack into the old man's hands without a second word.
"Old gentleman, please have this! You must not have eaten yet, right?"
"No, no, no, young lady, I couldn't possibly! You should eat it yourself!" Zhao Anning hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
However, just then, a child suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The child's little face was flushed red from the cold, like a ripe apple, and the down jacket he was wearing looked a bit dirty.
He called out to Zhao Anning, "Grandpa Zhao."
His eyes were fixed on the food in Reba's hand, his gaze revealing a look of intense longing.
Seeing this, a wave of pity surged in Reba's heart, and she unhesitatingly handed all the various snacks she was holding to the child.
"Little brother, these are all for you!" Reba said gently.
"Thank you, Big Sister!" The little boy took the food with great joy, moved to tears of gratitude.
Then, as if seizing a rare opportunity, the little boy quickly pleaded with Jiang Cheng and Reba.
"Kind sister and brother, could you give me some pocket money? Our lives are very difficult, I beg of you..."
As soon as the little boy finished speaking, Reba instinctively picked up her bag and began to search through it urgently.
However, when she pulled out a pile of snacks and cosmetics, she said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry, little brother, I don't have any cash in my bag."
Hearing this, the corner of the little boy's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a hint of disdain.
But he quickly adjusted his expression.
"Oh, so it turns out people who drive might not have money either. But that makes sense; your car doesn't look like a famous brand anyway."
The little boy's words made Zhao Anning instantly feel a wave of embarrassment, and he could only manage a forced smile.
He said to the little boy, "Xiao Qing, it's not good to talk like that. People nowadays generally don't carry cash with them when they go out; everyone uses mobile payments. Grandpa told you this before, right? Don't just reach out for money whenever you see someone. Grandpa will give you pocket money."
Faced with Zhao Anning's teaching, the little boy seemed a bit impatient and muttered with a pout.
"Grandpa Zhao, did you sell your bottles today? I want to eat something. I've been growing lately and haven't been eating well."
Hearing this, a look of apology appeared on Zhao Anning's face, and he said gently to the little boy.
"Grandpa will go sell things later. By the way, where are the few hundred yuan I gave you yesterday?"
Hearing this, Xiao Qing's eyes darted around, and then he answered somewhat uneasily.
"The school needed to collect fees for study materials. I didn't want to pay at first, but I was worried my classmates would look down on me, so I paid. Grandpa Zhao, I'm really sorry."
Hearing this, the expression on Zhao Anning's face became even more kind.
He gently patted Xiao Qing's shoulder and comforted him.
"Don't say sorry to Grandpa. You poor child, studying really isn't easy nowadays. Only by studying hard can you have a bright future. Don't worry, Grandpa will find a way. Here, take this money for now."
After saying that, Zhao Anning reached into his pocket and fumbled around, pulling out a red plastic bag.
He carefully opened the bag, which was filled with one and two-yuan coins and small bills.
Zhao Anning counted carefully, then stuffed all the money into Xiao Qing's hands and urged him.
"Take this fifty-five yuan for emergencies first. In a couple of days, Grandpa will go to your house and bring you some more money for living expenses."
Xiao Qing put on an act of being moved to tears, tightly gripping Zhao Anning's hand and saying with a sob, "Thank you, Grandpa Zhao, you're so good to me! I will definitely study hard and not let you down."
After getting the money, a glint of shrewdness suddenly flashed in the little boy's previously cloudy eyes.
Standing to the side, Jiang Cheng took all of this in, and his brow furrowed tightly.
From the very beginning, he had sensed the dark side hidden within this young boy.
Not only that, Jiang Cheng also keenly realized that every word the boy said to Zhao Anning was a lie.
Jiang Cheng asked with a serious face, "Grandpa Zhao, is this child your grandson?"
Hearing this, Zhao Anning shook his head gently and said slowly, "No, this child's name is Xiao Qing. I met him at the entrance of an orphanage at the end of last year. Seeing how pitiful he was—his parents ignored him after their divorce and his grandparents had passed away—I felt compassion and decided to sponsor his schooling."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng showed a puzzled expression and turned to Xiao Qing.
"Isn't school free now except for meal fees? Kyoto's welfare is so good; there should be subsidies too, right?"
Hearing Jiang Cheng's words, the young boy's eyes darted away unnaturally, and then he said.
"It's true that there's no tuition, but there are still many places where money is needed. As for subsidies, I'm not too sure. Big Brother, you look very rich; could you give us some subsidies?"
Hearing the little boy's words, the corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth curled up slightly.
Although he did have a wallet in his pocket, he didn't take it out.
He continued to ask, "Which elementary school do you go to? How are your grades?"
Hearing this question, a hint of guilt couldn't help but surge in the little boy's heart.
However, Zhao Anquan, who was standing nearby, seemed somewhat proud.
"Xiao Qing attends the First Primary School! And his grades are excellent; sometimes he even gets perfect scores!"
Seeing that Jiang Cheng hadn't given him any money, the little boy said a few words to Zhao Anning and then turned around, took the money and items, and ran away without hesitation.
At the same time, Jiang Cheng quickly took out his phone and sent a text message to Wang Sheng.
Seeing that Zhao Anning was adamant about not getting in the car, Jiang Cheng didn't force him.
He unhurriedly led Reba as they walked behind him.
Looking at the thin and bony Zhao Anning ahead, for some reason, a different kind of emotion surged in Reba's heart toward Jiang Cheng.
Today's scene had indeed given her a different understanding of Jiang Cheng.
Reba said with a hint of shyness, "I've found that you really are different from others."
Jiang Cheng nodded slightly, signaling for Reba to continue.
"When you first slapped Feng Gan, to be honest, although I was grateful, I just thought you were really arrogant and overbearing. Even though you did have the capital for it and your intention was to help me, I wasn't truly grateful at the beginning."
"Because it concerned my future. But during our first meal together, I got to know you a bit more. Your handling of the Feng Gan situation made me feel that you don't despise girls like us who chase fame and fortune; on the contrary, you give us respect. Even with Fan Shuishui, you didn't take the opportunity to kick her while she was down or use the situation for unspoken rules."
"But to deal with Feng Gan, you directly destroyed the interests of others associated with him. So I think you're quite contradictory—both good and evil. And now, I've seen another side of you."
Seeing that Reba's favorability value toward him had suddenly reached 90 points.
Jiang Cheng's eyes couldn't help but look at her.
He hadn't expected that such a small act of stepping forward would make her favorability cross the 90-point threshold.
This event was an important turning point for Reba.
In fact, for Jiang Cheng, it was also a moment when his impression of Reba changed.
"It seems you like this side of me??"
Seeing Jiang Cheng looking at her, she actually took the initiative to hold his hand.
Then, her face turned red, and she softly squeezed out a single word: "Mm."
That "mm" made Jiang Cheng suddenly feel as if there would be one more person in his bed tonight.