Chapter 55: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap!

It was precisely because of her grandmother's indulgence and excessive protection that Qiuyihan, even now, remained as innocent and simple as a blank sheet of paper. Tang Chong's serious attitude stemmed from his realization that he would be the first man to paint on this blank sheet.

If he painted it black, the color on the paper would be black. If he painted it red, the color on the paper would be red. If he painted it 'yellow,' she would bear a child of Tang Chong.

As you sow, so shall you reap. Sow the seed, and you will get a child.

"What do you mean?" Qiuyihan wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She didn't turn her face away to dab her tears delicately with a handkerchief like a lady, nor did she cover her eyes with a tissue and wipe away her tears like a mature woman. When she cried, she was like a baby, and the way she wiped her tears was that of a child.

"Think about it. If you gave each girl in your dorm an LV bag, wouldn't they all know that your family is very wealthy?" Tang Chong asked.

"Um." Qiuyihan nodded. "They don't use LV."

Tang Chong almost choked. How many students could afford LV during their school years?

"If they know you have money, they might deliberately get close to you and flatter you. They would want you to buy them more gifts and get all sorts of benefits from you. They wouldn't treat you as a friend but as a walking piggy bank, or in other words, a 'sucker.' Do you want to be their walking piggy bank? Do you want to be their sucker?"

Qiuyihan shook her head. She didn't have the habit of thinking things through so complicatedly.

"Even if you give them gifts, they might still laugh at you behind your back, calling you a fool." Tang Chong tried to put it as gently as possible. Although this girl was a bit silly, her silly appearance was quite cute. Sitting there like a porcelain doll, you couldn't bear to speak harshly to her. "It's better to let go of such relationships."

"Then how can I gain their friendship?" Qiuyihan asked.

"Buy gifts. Not very expensive small gifts. Try to keep it under a hundred yuan, like some small jewelry, perfume, CDs, scarves, or a book. This way, you can buy them regularly. It doesn't cost much, but you need to choose them with care. Let them know that you always have them in your heart. Occasionally, you can also invite them out for a meal, bring them some snacks from KFC or McDonald's—they will be happy to accept them."

"Is that all it takes?" Qiuyihan's dark pupils began to sparkle.

"Um. You'll see when you try it." Tang Chong nodded. Looking at her sky-blue jeans and black fitted mid-sleeve T-shirt, he added, "Of course, there's one more thing you need to pay attention to. When you buy those small gifts for them, it's best to buy one for yourself as well. Show that you like them. Otherwise, if you buy a Mercedes for yourself and a cheap car for them, they won't accept your kindness and will think you're too stingy."

He pointed to the girl's clothes and said, "These clothes must be expensive, right?"

"Um. The T-shirt is from DIOR, and the pants are from Cucci," Qiuyihan said.

"In the future, you can buy some more affordable clothes to wear. Even if you don't want to change, you should tell them that these clothes were bought by your family, not by you."

"Why?" Qiuyihan was even more confused. Why couldn't she wear nice clothes after buying them gifts?

"There's no reason."

"..."

Tang Chong smiled, took a tissue from his pocket, grabbed the bamboo pavilion's railing, bent down, wet the tissue, and gently wiped the rain from the girl's face.

Qiuyihan's eyes were wide open, her pupils fixed on Tang Chong's face, which was close to hers. Her long eyelashes fluttered, revealing her inner turmoil.

Then, a blush slowly crept onto her face.

"You really remind me of my grandmother," Qiuyihan said.

"You don't look like my wife," Tang Chong said.

Qiuyihan was shocked and said, "You have a wife? Can students get married?"

"..." Tang Chong was truly defeated by her.

After wiping the dust from her face, he balled up the tissue in his hand.

"Alright." Tang Chong smiled. "If you feel wronged in the future, crying here is also a good choice."

Qiuyihan's face turned red, and she said, "I... I didn't think I would cry."

"It's not a bad thing for girls to cry," Tang Chong smiled. "Remember what I said. Go back early."

With that, Tang Chong stood up and prepared to leave.

When his gaze moved away from her, he frowned and squatted down beside her.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked nervously. Tang Chong was squatting in front of her legs, as if he was about to do something bad to her.

Tang Chong grabbed her loose shoelaces and said, "You must tie your shoelaces tightly, or you might trip yourself. Watch me first. Pull the laces to the same length, then cross them over, and pull the two ends gently. Doesn't it look like a butterfly?"

Qiuyihan smiled happily and said, "Yes, yes. It really looks like a butterfly. My grandmother's shoelaces aren't as pretty as yours."

"In the future, when your grandmother isn't around, you'll have to do these things yourself." Tang Chong untied and retied the shoelaces on her other foot, saying, "Your grandmother can't take care of you forever."

Then, he stood up and walked out of the bamboo pavilion.

"Wh-what's your name?" Qiuyihan called out.

"Tang Chong. Tang as in Tang Dynasty, and Chong as in weight." Tang Chong said.

"Can you give me your phone number? If I have any questions, can I call you?"

Tang Chong thought for a moment and then gave her his phone number.

After Tang Chong walked far away and his figure disappeared on the long wooden bridge, Qiuyihan finally looked away and saved Tang Chong's phone number in her phone.

Looking down at her shoes, the shoelaces retied by Tang Chong looked like two dragonflies about to take flight.

She carefully recalled how Tang Chong tied the shoelaces, then untied them and tried to tie them again.

"Not pretty." She shook her head.

She untied them again and tried once more.

Perhaps Tang Chong didn't know, but his little act of kindness when he was in a bad mood made a little girl grow up overnight.

The next day, the sky cleared up. The grueling military training that had made countless new students suffer would continue.

While participating in the military training, Tang Chong also had to be called over by Dean Jiao Yuheng from time to time to learn psychology. Just like the first time, Jiao Nanxin was there. The two still engaged in verbal sparring, and the tension between them was so intense that they almost came to blows several times, but Dean Jiao Yuheng had no intention of separating them for their classes.

Since Bai Su's call was abruptly hung up by Tang Chong, she didn't call again, perhaps out of fear of Tang Chong. Instead, she sent a text message every day asking how Tang Chong was doing at school. Sometimes he replied, sometimes he didn't.

Lin Huiyin had no activity, and after being fiercely countered by Tang Chong, Zhang Heben didn't play any more pranks. On the other hand, Ken often called to ask about his well-being, and every time he heard Ken's giggling and his "Oh my" on the phone, Tang Chong had the urge to rush over and beat him up.

Perhaps, for Tang Chong, this was even more unbearable than the military training.

Everything was calm.

On the surface, Tang Chong's joining the Butterfly Group had no impact on his life. Like countless other students, he was silent and diligently accumulating strength.

This life continued until the last day of the military training. Tomorrow, after the military training performance, the one-day freshman military training would be over.

Li Tieshu stood in front of the boys of Class One, his back straight.

His gaze swept over each boy's face, and then he smiled.

Since someone complimented him on his cute smile, he often tried to be "cute" for everyone.

Of course, smiling was better than frowning.

"Your performance these days..." Li Tieshu deliberately waited for their reaction. Seeing their grinning faces, he knew he couldn't scare them. So, he shouted loudly, "I am very satisfied."

"Oh!"

The boys screamed. It was too rare to hear praise from the Black Face God.

He raised his hand, and the noise disappeared.

"But if you don't get first place tomorrow, I will be very dissatisfied." Li Tieshu said. "Why? Because you have trained so hard, because you have put your heart into every move I taught you, because you have fought for this goal for thirty days. If you don't come in first, who will?"

"First! First! First! First!" The boys' passion was ignited by Li Tieshu's words, and they shouted loudly.

"Right. You must get first place. You are the first." Li Tieshu didn't hold back with his praise, just to boost their morale for tomorrow's performance.

"Whether you get first place or not, you are the first in my heart." Li Tieshu didn't say this.

He couldn't say it. It was too sentimental.

"You are all soldiers under my command. You are all good soldiers."

Li Tieshu brought his legs together, straightened his body, and raised his right hand to his brow.

A standard, handsome military salute.

PS: As you sow, so shall you reap. If you sow red tickets, you will receive many red tickets next autumn!