Chapter 27: New Classmate
In the short few minutes since leaving his acquaintances, Yu An’s mood plummeted visibly. He stood alone before the school’s main gate, his pink, tender mouth pressed into a tight line, while his hands restlessly tied Kloldâs tentacles into knots.
This was his habit whenever he felt anxiousâhe had to have something in his hands.
Klold lazily lifted His eyelids to glance at the little cub. Seeing His tentacles being wound together and pulled apart by those small hands, His feelings were complicated.
In all His years of existence, this was the first time anyone had dared to toy with His tentacles like this, treating them like a game of cat’s cradle. Only Yu An could do such a thing; had it been anyone else, He would have long since lashed out with a tentacle and whipped the reckless brat to death.
Looking at Yu Anâs melancholy little face, Klold hesitated for a moment before stuffing His other tentacles into the boy’s hands as well, offering a clumsy comfort.
[What is there to be sad about? They are just in different classes, not dead. You can go find them anytime.]
Even skipping class to find them would be fine.
No one would dare say anything, anyway.
Yu An was barely comforted by this, and his heart felt a bit better. He hugged Klold to his chest like a plush doll, his voice low and tiny. “I’m just scared. Can you… can you not leave me?”
The only familiar faces left by his side were Klold and Xiao Bai. But Xiao Bai counted as a prohibited electronic device; the school forbade bringing them in, so Yu An had no choice but to keep it hidden in his small backpack.
The little fellowâs soft, muffy voice was laced with fear and dependency, as if he truly couldn’t survive without Klold.
Klold had long known that Yu An was a clingy little guy. He averted His gaze and gave a stiff, awkward nod.
[Mhm. I won’t leave.]
Forget it. The little guy was so attached to Him; if Soland ever came back, He would just kick him right back out.
At this moment, Klold completely forgot that Yu Anâs dependency and reluctance were the same for everyone else. He also ignored the fact that Yu An hadn’t even distinguished the difference between Him and Solandâthe child still believed He was Soland.
Yu An looked at Klold in surprise. Since “Soland” had fallen ill, He had become much more cold and aloof, not as talkative as before, and He didn’t even fight with Xiao Bai anymore.
[I love you so much.] Yu An, filled with a sense of happiness, rubbed his head against Kloldâs. [I like you the most, super-duper-unbeatable-limit likes.]
The aloof and proud Lord of the Ushatos felt His head spin amidst the little cub’s sweet talk. If the Ushatos form wasn’t naturally black, one would surely have seen Him turning red inch by inch.
The Primary School teacher, who was arriving late, came jogging over, huffing and puffing. He was a short, stout middle-aged man wearing a grayish-blue shirt; by the time he reached Yu An, sweat had soaked through the back of his shirt.
He wiped his brow and sized Yu An up. “Are you the new Primary School student, Yu An?”
Yu An stuffed Klold into his pocket and looked up at the teacher. “That’s me.”
“My surname is Yao. You can call me Teacher Yao.” Teacher Yao took a few more glances at Yu An before leading him into the school. “I currently teach Grade Two, Class One. The school has assigned you to our class. This semester, I will be your homeroom teacher…”
Yu An listened with a serious expression, but the teacher suddenly trailed off. He looked at Teacher Yao with a blank, helpless gaze, not daring to ask questions proactively, only nodding obediently. “I understand, Teacher.”
Saying that should be right, shouldn’t it?
Yu An tentatively glanced at Teacher Yaoâs expression, terrified of accidentally offending him. The little fellow, who had never interacted with a teacher before, was very uneasy.
He reached into his pocket again and gave Klold a squeeze, using Him like a stress-relief toy.
Klold: “…”
After the squeeze, Yu An exhaled a sigh of relief, his mood improving significantly.
Teacher Yao had been observing Yu An. Logically, the school wouldn’t accept a transfer student in the middle of a semester, but he had heard from the higher-ups that the backgrounds of the students transferring today were unfathomably deep. As for the specific identities of these children, the upper management remained tight-lipped.
All the teachers were incredibly curious about them.
Boya Experimental School was home to countless wealthy scions. Teacher Yao wasn’t wealthy himself, but he could recognize most luxury brands.
The clothes Yu An wore weren’t from any luxury brand he recognized. It was possible they were custom-made; many rich people disdained pursuing so-called “big brands” and had their own dedicated bespoke labels instead.
“Student Yu An, where did you attend kindergarten?” Teacher Yao prodded circuitously. “Was it the Kyoto Royal Kindergarten?”
Royal Kindergarten was the best in Kyoto; wealthy families would all send their children there.
Yu An looked like he was carved from pink jade, a fair-skinned little fellow who clearly grew up pampered and nurtured by money.
“No, it wasn’t.” Yu An shook his head. “I didn’t go to kindergarten. My Papa taught me at home.”
Teacher Yao: “…”
Wait, does that make it even more mysterious?
Yu An met Teacher Yaoâs inexplicably fervent gaze and felt bewildered. However, he was never comfortable making eye contact with strangers, so he averted his gaze and pretended to look at the sceneryâlooking at the sky, the ground, anywhere but at this weird teacher.
The smile on Teacher Yaoâs face bloomed cheaply. He understood; young second-generation rich kids were always arrogant.
Yu An first went to Teacher Yaoâs office. The moment he stepped through the door, every teacher in the office looked over in unison, their eyes filled with obvious curiosity.
Yu An wanted to step inside, but he also wanted to turn and run. After some psychological preparation, he took a deep breath, followed Teacher Yao into the office, and greeted the surrounding teachers politely. “Hello, Teachers.”
The teachers nodded back at him kindly.
“This is your school uniform, and all the books for this semester are here.” Teacher Yao tapped a stack of books on his desk and handed a sealed uniform to Yu An. “You don’t have to wear it today, but starting tomorrow, you must wear the uniform and your nameplate, otherwise you’ll be disciplined.”
The nameplate was very small, and Yu An tried to shove it into his pocket, but he accidentally missed. It started to fall, only for a small tentacle to snatch it like lightning and retract back into the pocket.
None of the teachers present witnessed this eerie sight.
Yu An could carry the uniform and nameplate, but he truly couldn’t move such a large stack of books into the classroom all at once. Teacher Yao noticed his struggle and patted his back. “Go to the classroom first. I’ll ask a few other students to help you move them in a bit.”
It happened to be recess, and the Grade Two, Class One classroom was a din of voices. The little ones were bursting with energy, playing and romping in the classroom and corridors, unable to sit still for a second.
Xu Mingyao was the king of Class One. He was a head taller than the other “little sprouts” and had an exceptionally bad temper, yet many boys still swarmed around him to play.
A boy who loved causing trouble intentionally snatched the pencil case off his desk, and Xu Mingyao immediately gave chase. He was so focused on the pencil case that as he charged out of the classroom door, he collided with a short little kid.
His chin slammed into the person’s head, making him hiss in pain. His temper flared up. “Don’t you have eyes when you’re walkâ”
Xu Mingyaoâs angry roar vanished bit by bit as he met Yu Anâs watery, lake-blue eyes. He blinked, looking at Yu Anâs red and swollen forehead, speechless.
Yu Anâs skin was fair and tender; even a little bit of redness would stand out exceptionally. With such a heavy collision, his forehead had turned a large patch of red, looking quite frightening.
It wasn’t just frightening; it was also very painful.
Yu Anâs head spun for several seconds before he recovered. Then, waves of pain radiated from his forehead. The little guy, who had always been afraid of pain, immediately developed red circles around his eyes, and tears brimmed in them.
“Oh, my little ancestor!” Teacher Yao was so scared his heart nearly stopped. He hurried to squat down and check Yu Anâs condition. “Does it hurt very much? I’ll take you to the infirmary. Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
Yu An sniffed and shook his head bravely. “Thank you, Teacher. I’m okay. I don’t need to see the doctor.”
In case they gave him a shotâthat would hurt even more.
By comparison, Yu Anâs head didn’t hurt quite as much.
Teacher Yaoâs heart slowly settled back into place. “Thatâs good then. As long as you’re okay.”
But the next second, the look he turned on Xu Mingyao became stern. “Student Xu, hasn’t the teacher said not to run inside or outside the classroom? Look at what happened nowâyou bumped into a classmate.”
Of course, he only offered a verbal scolding. Teacher Yao knew how naughty Xu Mingyao was and how he refused to follow discipline. Since his family was wealthy, the teacher didn’t want to offend him too much and just gave him a light rap on the knuckles.
Yu An looked at Xu Mingyao, who was a head taller than him. Despite being scolded by the teacher, his expression didn’t change much; he was just staring intently at Yu An.
The bump on Yu Anâs forehead hadn’t gone down yet, so naturally, he didn’t want to pay much attention to this culprit.
After Teacher Yao finished a long, earnest lecture, Xu Mingyao stared at Yu An and took the initiative to ask, “Teacher, is this the new student?”
Teacher Yao took a sip from his thermos. “Yes. Perfect timing. Go find another male student and go to the office to help him bring his books. They’re on my desk.”
Xu Mingyao looked at Yu An. “Are they his?”
“Mhm.”
“Then I’ll go get them.” Xu Mingyao acted out of character, becoming helpful. He walked slowly to Yu An and said with a guilty tone, “I didn’t see the path clearly just now and bumped into you. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll help you get your books, and then you forgive me, okay?”
Yu An: “…?”
This person didn’t seem like this at the start.
“You clearly said just now that I was the one who didn’t have eyes and bumped into you.” Yu An looked piteously at Xu Mingyao. Though his voice was small, he was very certain. “I heard you very clearly.”
But he had been walking into the classroom normally. Yu An felt very aggrieved, and the gaze he turned on Xu Mingyao became resentful.
This is a very bad older brother, Yu An thought.
“I did say it, but I… I…” Xu Mingyao was anxious to defend himself but couldn’t find an excuse. Looking at Yu Anâs red and swollen forehead, he lowered his head. “It was my fault.”
This was the first time Xu Mingyao had ever apologized, because Yu An was the cutest little boy he had ever seenâlike a glutinous rice ball. His voice was soft and sweet, and even after being hurt from the collision, he only lowered his head in silence and grievance, not even hitting him back.
If he didn’t take the initiative to apologize, this well-behaved and soft little brother would probably cry, wouldn’t he?
Yu An reluctantly accepted his apology and wiped away the small tears on his eyelashes. He looked up, only to find that almost every student in the corridor was staring straight at him.
For someone with social anxiety, this was more terrifying than seeing a ghost.
Yu Anâs fair face instantly turned mostly red. He covered his face and followed Teacher Yao into the classroom.
The students gathered at the classroom door to watch the commotion were also dispersed by the Dean, who had heard the news and arrived. Yu An let out a sigh of relief, his clenched palms covered in sweat.
Teacher Yao introduced Yu An to the class. He saw that Yu An had an introverted personality, so he kept it brief and found him a seat.
Yu Anâs seat was by the window. His new desk mate was a boy with a bowl cut and thick black-framed glasses, looking even more taciturn than Yu An.
The two spent a few seconds in a suffocating silence before the bowl-cut boy finally spoke. “I’m Wan Cen.”
Yu An also hurriedly introduced himself. “I’m Yu An.”
“I know. Teacher Yao said it just now.” Wan Cen pushed his glasses, appearing mature beyond his years. He looked at Yu Anâs face. “You’re very cute.”
Yu An: “…Thank you?”
“No need to thank me. I’m not complimenting you; I’m just stating a fact.”
Yu An: “…”
He once again felt the suffocating sensation of being unable to breathe.
Yu An shut his mouth and slumped dejectedly on the desk, gazing at the green trees and flowerbeds outside the window. Brother Yunshu, Brother Yixing, Brother Ersheng… I miss you all so much.
Wan Cen perhaps sensed that Yu An wasn’t interested in his words. He thought for a moment and started another topic, leaning closer to Yu An mysteriously. “Do you know that monsters exist in our world?”
Yu An: “…Mhm.”
His flat reaction made Wan Cen feel uninspired. Wan Cen continued, intentionally lowering his voice to create the atmosphere of a horror movie. “The kind that are terrifying and eat people. They can swallow kids like us into their stomachs in one bite.”
Yu An: “…”
What was he supposed to say? He had one in his pocket.
One must not tell others about the existence of Deviantsâthis was something Wen Xun had repeatedly cautioned him about before they left.
Facing Wan Cenâs enthusiastic gaze, Yu Anâs eyes drifted. Adhering to the principle that saying less meant fewer mistakes, he only said, “Oh.”
Wan Cen: “…”
In the silence of both parties, the conversation between the new desk mates came to an abrupt halt.
Translator’s Note: Welcome to the first day of school! Poor An-an is already dealing with a classic “bully turned friend” trope with Xu Mingyao. Also, Wan Cen trying to scare An-an with monster stories when An-an is literally an Ushatos cub is pure irony.
- Boya (ĺé ): Often translates to “learned and refined.” It’s a common name for prestigious schools in China.
- Deviants (ç°ç¨Ž – YĂŹzhÇng): As established in previous chapters, these are the monsters of this world.
- Ushatos (äšćććŻ – WĹŤsÄtĂşosÄŤ): Yu An’s actual race, the “Lord of Space”.
Hope you’re enjoying Yu An’s journey! See you in the next chapter~
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