Chapter 40 The Four Seasons

𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁. 𝗕𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘇𝘁.

Smack.

A sleepy hand grabbed the vibrating phone and fumbled with checking to see who it was.

The caller ID displayed Grumpy Cousin a.k.a. Li Meilin.

Checking the time, he let out a soft groan before finally answering.

"What? It's still only 7 am..." Li Tian grumbled at the caller.

"Where are you right now?"

"What?"

"I came to your place but there's no one here. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?" Meilin emphasized the last bit.

As if struck by lightning, Li Tian jolted up immediately and observed his surroundings. It was still very dark but his eyes slowly adjusted enough to see the shapes of things.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴... 𝘙𝘢𝘪'𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮!?

He looked down beside him to see the boy sleeping soundly, his eyes swollen from all the crying done the night before.

All the memories came flooding back to him; Rai bawling his eyes out, him lending his shirt as a face towel, and keeping the boy company throughout the night.

𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

"Meilin, I can't talk right now. I'll meet you back at the house in thirty minutes," he told her in a softer voice, afraid he might wake the kid.

With that, he ended the call, disinclining to wait for a response.

The Li heir then quickly stood up from the bed and looked down at his clothes. Because the sleepover wasn't planned, he ended up sleeping in his other persona's attire, crinkling the entire thing. The dampness from tears and snot had dried off but there was still a visible snot stain on it. However, it wasn't that big of a deal due to the identity he was portraying.

He would be disgusted if it had originated from anyone else.

"I have to hurry back and get ready..." Li Tian scratched his head. The gel was somehow still barely keeping his bedhead in place.

There were another two hours till he had to come back and pick the kid up.

He gathered his stuff together, ready to leave, but before he did, he stared at the clueless child and caressed his head tenderly.

"I'll see you soon, Rai..."

After saying his goodbye, he turned around and left.

.....

Click.

The teen singer opened the door to the smell of breakfast.

"You're finally back. I need a solid explana-," Meilin popped her head out from the kitchen to greet her mischievous little cousin when the view shocked her. "You look horrible!"

Li Tian had yet to properly look in the mirror so he did not know the extent of the damage. Not even mentioning the snot stains on his clothes, the hair gel had finally given out on the way back and his hair, with the mixture of old gel and bedhead, looked like a dirty rat's nest exploded.

He ignored her and headed upstairs to take a shower, leaving his stuff on the floor.

"Yeesh, this kid..." although Meilin was used to it by now, it still annoyed her from time to time. "And I was nice enough to come check on him. I even made some breakfast."

She finished cooking and prepared them on the marble kitchen island. In truth, she actually wanted to hear more about the situation yesterday. Everything had happened so fast that there wasn't enough time to understand how her baby cousin was doing, or what he had planned to do in the future.

However, Li Tian had to go and ruin it by coming home so late.

"Tsk. No time to talk much about it now," she clicked her tongue and waited for the teen to get ready.

Around 20 minutes later, a freshened-up Li Tian walked in, finally looking like a celebrity. His mane was messy but looked stylish and not like something gave birth in it this time. He sat down at the table and began scarfing the food in front of him.

Seeing him like this, Meilin shook her head, "Well good morning to you too. I'm taking you to work today."

"What?" the hungry singer asked with a mouth full of food. "I'm planning on picking up Leixue."

"I know," she replied. "Although I'm your cousin, I'm still your manager AND nine years older than you. As your designated guardian, whatever goes on in your life will be monitored by me."

"Hmph."

"Besides, now with the boy in the picture, it will be harder on you to switch between identities. Originally you weren't supposed to leave this penthouse as 𝘓𝘪 𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘯, remember?" she eyed him accusingly.

"I know. I know. Still, I've gotten better at keeping myself undercover, okay?" he did feel a little guilty but the accusation made him feel exasperated even more. He was much better at keeping a low profile now.

"Hmmm... We have a little more time. So where were you last night?"

The singer swallowed the food in his mouth and sighed lightly. "I went to visit Leixue as Xiaolang."

"Until morning?"

"Things were complicated..."

"I see..." Meilin checked her watch and stated. "We'll continue this conversation in the car. Hurry and finish your food and cover yourself up. We have to head out earlier to pick up this cute attendant of yours."

"My little brother. But 'apprentice' while I'm Tian."

"Of course. Of course. My new baby cousin," Meilin smirked and went out to get the car ready.

Her words made his lips curl up.

.....

They arrived at the Zhou Clan manor at exactly nine on the dot in a black diamond car polished to perfection.

The air was chilly that morning, with the gardeners already out and about, peeking at the newly arrived car from time to time. Rai was also outside, waiting at the entrance in a sky blue button-up shirt, a brown scarf, slacks, and a small backpack on his back.

Beside him was the head butler.

After the car cruised in, Li Tian rolled down the window and called out, "Leixue, get in."

He was sitting in the back seat this time so he could interact with the boy much easier while Meilin sat in the driver's seat.

He watched Rai walk up to the car with his head down lower than normal and furrowed his eyebrows. The boy was hiding his eyes again. With it being so obvious, it wasn't hard to guess that the boy was hiding them purposely, but as for the reason why...

He could think of two: one was to hide the eyes themselves, and the other was to hide his expression.

If it were the former, would it be because of how unique they were?

Uniqueness shouldn't be hidden away like that.

He had to acknowledge that even his hated rival Yingxue had stunning eyes. The unique eyes she was blessed with just added to her charisma and she knew exactly how to utilize them well to her advantage.

However, Li Tian also understood that the more likely reason the boy could be lowering his head so deeply now was because of what happened last night. Whatever happened at the Zhou Manor before his arrival yesterday definitely affected him deeply.

Rai opened the door and slid into the car. "Good morning."

His voice sounded bland but surprisingly steady.

"Good morning, Leixue!" the person in the driver's seat answered him first. She turned around to shake the boy's hand. "We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Li Meilin, Li Tian's manager and family member. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to inform me."

"Nice to meet you," Rai shook her hand a little hesitantly and said nothing else.

The boy's attitude this morning somehow felt a little weird, but Li Tian couldn't put a finger on it. Meilin had already shifted the gear and started to drive away when he finally noticed the butler from earlier still standing in place, barely moving from his original spot.

He didn't think the butler could see them through the tinted windows but the way the man's eyes never left the car was very indicative.

𝘏𝘮𝘮𝘮...

The singer turned his gaze to the quiet Rai and pursed his lips slightly.

"Hey Leixue, you're awfully quiet today. Is following me to work not exciting enough for you?" he tried teasing him a little. Regardless of what he experienced with Rai as Xiaolang yesterday, he broke off with him as Li Tian in good spirit. He had to do what he could.

"Huh?" the question distracted the boy's thoughts. He looked at the singer and shook his head nervously. "What? No! I'm just... thinking about some stuff."

"Thinking about what? Wait no, don't answer. Let me guess..." Li Tian put his hand against his chin and made a face as if deep in thought. He then looked at the small figure top to bottom before smirking, "I know! Instead of working, you can't stop thinking about when you're gonna get your change in wardrobe instead."

"H-huh?" Rai was confused, but the expression on the other party's face had swiftly lightened up the mood.

"Your combination today is dreadful, after all. Meilin, what time is our first and second job today?" Li Tian asked his manager, using her position efficiently.

"The first is at 9:45 a.m. while the second will be late afternoon at 3 p.m." she answered in a heartbeat.

"Great. Tell the first one to postpone it an hour or so."

"What? Why?" she asked, with Rai also confused in the back.

"We've got to go shopping for our Leixue first," Li Tian claimed like a doting brother.

𝘖𝘶𝘳? the boy's eyes widened.

"You're being willful again, aren't you," the annoyed woman complained.

"If they can't, well we don't really need to do the job anyway."

Meilin rolled her eyes but silently admitted to it as well. As people from the direct family of the Li Clan, they didn't really need other people to help them get more publicity. Other's needed them instead.

However, they did usually refrain from making too many demands even as a monstrous clan unless there was a special case. Too bad this was one of those special cases. "Fine. Where to?"

"The Four Season's biggest North Branch."

.....

The car entered a luxurious building in one of Lunar City's biggest fashion streets and parked at the entrance. There, a valet was already ready by the side to take their car elsewhere.

Rai exited the car and was already expecting something fancy when Big Brother Tian said 'shopping', but the scale still managed to catch him off guard.

The Four Seasons was a very famous fashion line that delved into many different genres. From business wear, street casual, swimwear, and lavish ball gowns, they covered nearly everything. It was barely established nearly twenty years ago but already was currently one of the top clothing brands in all of Huaxia.

Rai's father owned a few suits from the brand and they were amongst his favorite to wear. It was one of the reasons why he knew about it.

The brand had many branches all over the nation, many to cater to more common folk, but this particular branch was the biggest in the North and only the second biggest in Huxia, losing in size just to the main store in the South. Anything sold here was sure to be the most extravagant.

"Come on, Leixue," Li Tian called out to him. The Li heir had already walked ahead and was greeted by a few shop attendants who bowed respectively.

Meilin had also already entered the building and went off to check out a few things with some other attendant.

Rai shuffled forward to keep up with him and looked around. The inside was as grandiose as he thought it would be. As it was meant for catering to the rich, anything less would have been an insult.

"You're getting me some new clothes 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦??" he asked the big brother walking next to him.

"Of course. Now that you're under my wing, this is the least I've got to do," Li Tian answered as a matter of fact.

"B-But..." Rai looked around and felt a little guilty. "Everything seems so grand and expensive. It wouldn't be worth it just for me..."

The words made Li Tian stop in place. He turned to look at the boy and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, he exclaimed full of assertion, "What are you talking about? Leixue, you are very worth it."

Rai's eyes widened as he felt his heart be moved ever so slightly.

"Also, don't worry so much. The Li Clan owns the place."

"W-What??"

Hearing that just after his heart was moved had rather ruined the feeling, but the sheepish grin on Li Tian's face was still nice to see.

"Specifically, my sisters own the place. Everything you see here are their designs. As their baby brother, I get special privileges. Now as my apprentice, so do you," the Li heir said proudly.

Hearing that made Rai feel even more flabbergasted than before. The Four Seasons was under the Li Clan? The creators were Li Tian's sisters?

Was this public knowledge?

His thoughts might have been displayed on his face too obviously, as the Li heir immediately addressed it.

"This isn't known to the masses so best to keep it to yourself."

"O-Okay," Rai nodded his head. Although it turned out no actual money was going to be spent on him, he still felt a little touched to be told a big secret. Nevertheless, it just proved how outstanding the direct line of the clan, the Li Family was.

"Enough chitchat. Let's get going," Li Tian pulled Rai's hand and dragged him to the kid's wear.

.....

"Not bad," the singer said, looking at the boy sparking his tenth outfit. "Next!"

Hearing that, Rai left to change again.

"Why are you trying to force the color red on him so much?" Meilin raised an eyebrow.

"Because red is the best color. Red represents fire, and fire represents me."

Rolling her eyes, his cousin manager refuted him, "Just because you think it's the best color, doesn't mean it suits him. Not to mention your element being fire doesn't make his fire as well. The light blue he wore earlier actually matched him better."

"Hmmm..." Even if that were the case, Li Tian still felt Rai was somehow suited to fire just like him.

Not long after, Rai came back out sporting a blazing red pea coat, black slim jeans, a matching red Breton hat, and a fuzzy gold scarf wrapped around his neck.

It was a very fashionable look, something most kids his age couldn't pull off.

"Take the hat off," the Li heir requested, to which the boy acquiesced to immediately.

Not having a hat on actually helped even more in drawing peoples' gazes towards the young boy's hair and beautiful eyes, even if they were significantly hidden. Clothes really do make the man, as the stylish attire gave him a very mysterious feel when compared to the timid image he had gotten from the clothes before.

After making the boy turn around a few more times, Li Tian motioned for the attendant.

"Show me all the same clothes he wore in the color blue. As for this one, also give me an exact pair in adult size," he ordered.

"Yes, Master Tian," the attendant answered and immediately left to finish the orders.

"Come here, Leixue," he then called the boy still standing stiffly on the platform.

Rai came down to him cautiously. In contrast with earlier this morning, his emotions had improved greatly, but he still had a feeling he would be caught off guard again. "Is it over?"

"Yeah. So what did you think about all the clothes you wore?"

"Umm... Although I feel like they were a bit much, I did like them," the boy said honestly.

"Is there any that you liked in particular?" Meilin asked him from the side.

"Well... I think the one I'm wearing now is pretty cool. It's very warming too."

"Hahah! As expected!" Li Tian burst out happily. "We have similar tastes don't we, Leixue?"

The grinning Big Brother Tian gave little Rai a little confidence. "Y-You think so?"

"Of course! You're the one I've chosen after all."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦... 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯...

The Li heir sounded so proud and confident, Rai couldn't help but wanted to believe him. However, should he?

"Master Tian, I have brought what you asked for," the attendant came in, and soon a few others followed suit, pushing in racks and racks of clothing colored in different shades of blue.

The attendant brought one of the racks forward and said, "These are all the blue shades for what Master Leixue is currently wearing."

"Good," Li Tian commended. "Come, Leixue. Choose your favorite."

"But... I thought you said red was better?" Rai asked confusedly.

"I did but... I guess it doesn't mean it looks better on you. Besides, you like the color blue, don't you?" the singer scratched his head embarrassedly.

Seeing this made the boy finally crack a small smile. "I do."

Meilin, who was watching from the side, also felt that her baby cousin really was improving and was delighted at the heartwarming scene. She let the two interact while she remained as a third wheel.

"So now we have a few shades here, which do you like best? You usually go for light blue or sky blue right?" Li Tian asked his opinion.

"Yes," Rai replied as he checked out the clothes one by one. His sense of distance had undoubtedly reduced. "But that's because there weren't many options... As expected of such a big brand..."

Soon, his hands stopped at one of them, the one he felt like was the best.

"This one..." he whispered.

"Oh?" the choice startled the singer.

"What's wrong?"

"This shade... It's one of the Four Season's exclusive top-tier colors under the royal category. It's called lightning blue. They should only be available in both this and the South main stores," a smirk grew onto Li Tian's face. "Leixue... you have a good eye."

"H-Huh?" Rai boy looked up at the big brother smiling at him with a big thumbs up.

"I definitely didn't choose wrong. Allow me to nurture you further... Leixue."

.....