Chapter 41 part 1
On his way back to class, Yu An ran into Mother Zhou, who was arriving in a frantic hurry. She was anxiously pulling students aside to ask for directions. “I’m Zhou Xia’s mother. Little student, do you know where my Zhou Xia is? Which way is the Principal’s office?”
Perhaps because she was dressed so poorly, her clothes covered in numerous patches, a few students cast contemptuous looks her way, looking down on her both openly and covertly.
Mother Zhou was having a streak of bad luck; the students she encountered were either from the primary school section and didn’t know the way, or simply didn’t want to tell her, preferring to watch her squirm in anxiety.
“Mother Zhou.” Yu An stepped forward. Seeing her looking so nervous and at a loss, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. “Brother Zhou Xia is fine now.”
Mother Zhou was thin as a rail, her complexion an unhealthy, sallow yellow. Hearing that her son was safe, she finally let out a sigh of relief. Wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, she grasped Yu An’s hand. “Thank you, little student. Are you and our Xiaxia good friends?”
She had heard Yu An call him “Brother Zhou Xia” so affectionately just now.
Yu An nodded. Perhaps because the aura of maternal love radiating from Mother Zhou was so strong, he found himself liking her very much. “We are good friends. Brother Zhou Xia is a wonderful person.”
To the side, Xu Mingyao curled his lip, feeling slighted. Why was he just a “friend” while Zhou Xia was a “good friend”?
Mother Zhou’s smile was so wide her mouth could hardly close, making the wrinkles on her face even more prominent. She seemed truly at peace now, nodding repeatedly as she murmured, “That’s good, that’s very good. Xiaxia has a good friend too. I was so worried he’d be bullied at this school. It’s okay now, it’s okay…”
Mother Zhou asked Yu An many questions about Zhou Xia, and Yu An told her everything he knew.
Upon learning that Zhou Xia was consistently ranked first in his grade, Mother Zhou didn’t seem as happy as one might expect. Instead, the elderly, exhausted woman raised her tearful eyes to look at the towering classroom building. “…Then my Xiaxia must have put in so much effort every day. It must be so hard for him…”
She murmured to herself, then realized Yu An was staring at her blankly. She quickly wiped her tears, feeling embarrassed that she, an adult, had let a little fellow like Yu An see her in such a state. Her face flushed. “I’ll be going now. Sorry for the trouble.”
Yu An hurried to call her back. “Aren’t you going to see Brother Zhou Xia? He must miss you very much.”
Mother Zhou froze. She looked down at her faded, white-washed pants and her shoes where a toe was peeking through. Awkwardly clutching the hem of her shirt, she forced a smile that looked more painful than crying. “No need. Going like this would only embarrass him.”
Zhou Xia’s life at this school was hard enough; she couldn’t give people another reason to mock him.
Yu An watched Mother Zhou’s receding back as she walked away with her head lowered, a sour ache in his heart. For some reason, he thought of his own grandmother—not his current Grandma Wen Yun, but his biological grandmother.
In his distant memories, his grandmother’s back used to be straight, but gradually, her waist had curved more and more, and her black hair had been replaced by silver strands, until that dark night when she left him forever.
Yu An was immersed in his memories until Xu Mingyao called his name. He snapped back to reality, looking at him blankly. “What is it?”
Xu Mingyao frowned. “Why are you crying?”
Crying?
Yu An wiped his eyes and realized his lashes were indeed wet. He lowered his long, curled lashes and shook his head. “It’s nothing. Let’s go back to class.”
Since Yu An didn’t want to answer, Xu Mingyao didn’t press him. He followed obediently at his side, occasionally stealing glances at the boy’s watery eyes to make sure he wasn’t crying again.
The news of a rare event like a mass brawl spread through the school like wildfire. Once Yu An returned to the classroom, many students swarmed around him to ask about the details.
Yu An told them everything. After hearing the story, the primary schoolers were filled with righteous indignation, standing up for Zhou Xia. “That’s too much! My mama said only bad kids bully others.”
“Exactly! And it was several of them against one. Don’t they feel ashamed?”
“Next time I see it, I’m going to help too.”
“…”
The little ones chattered away. Even though they were several years younger than those thugs, they knew right from wrong. In fact, they seemed to have a better sense of justice than the upperclassmen.
Yu An remained concerned about Zhou Xia’s situation. In the office, Xu Yening had instructed Zhou Xia’s homeroom teacher to look after him more, and the teacher had agreed.
But there were so many bad students in Zhou Xia’s class. What if they bullied him secretly when the teacher wasn’t looking?
The more Yu An thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He used Little White to send messages to Fu Yunshu and Gu Yixing, asking them to protect Zhou Xia.
That brother didn’t even know how to fight. Even if people bullied him to his face, he wouldn’t dare fight back. This simply wouldn’t do.
Gu Yixing replied almost instantly. [Gu Yixing: Why protect him? Our mission is to monitor him. An-an, that’s going to cost extra.]
Yu An was surprised. [Yu An: The Base gave you money?]
Then why didn’t he have a single cent?
[Gu Yixing: No, we’re just free labor. No one gives us money. We’re lucky they don’t use us like plow oxen.]
Yu An felt a mix of emotions and replied with six dots.
[…]
Gu Yixing sent a laughing emoji. [Gu Yixing: Fine, fine. It’s just protecting one person; I’ll help you. If I can’t do it, there’s always Ersheng. Don’t worry, don’t worry~]
Yu An thought for a bit and, with great reluctance, stated: [Yu An: Next time you come to my house, you can pick one thing from the sparkly room to take home.]
After years of collecting, Yu An’s collection room had doubled in size. Lin Huaichen knew he loved sparkly jewelry and would take Yu An to every major auction to “restock” the vault.
Now, Yu An decided to give one piece from his collection to Gu Yixing as payment.
Gu Yixing sent several shocked emojis in a row. He knew exactly how much Yu An adored that room full of sparkly gems. Now that he had permission to pick one, he wasn’t about to miss the chance and agreed immediately.
[Gu Yixing: Liars are puppies!]
Even with a heart full of reluctance, Yu An nodded and agreed. [Yu An: Mhm, I won’t be a puppy.]
Gu Yixing didn’t reply for a long time. Just as Yu An thought the matter was settled, Fu Yunshu and Gu Ersheng both sent messages.
[Fu Yunshu: An-an is being a bit biased.]
[Gu Ersheng: (Wailing and crying) (Rolling on the ground). Why does only Brother get a reward while Big Brother Fu and I get nothing? An-an, you can’t be like this!]
Gu Yixing, never one to pass up a chance to cause chaos, laughed loudly. [Gu Yixing: I knew An-an liked me best!]
Panicking, Yu An hurriedly typed to soothe Fu Yunshu and Gu Ersheng. [Yu An: No, no! Everyone gets one. Everyone.]
Without even noticing, two more of Yu An’s treasures were gone. For the rest of the class, his mood was visibly deflated. He slumped listlessly over his desk, poking at his pen as it rolled back and forth.
Claude sensed the boy’s low spirits. He broke off a piece of chocolate from the desk drawer, crawled onto the desk, and used two small tentacles to lift the chocolate to Yu An’s lips. His large, lake-blue eyes watched the boy.
The miniature version of the Ushatos was actually quite cute, especially its jelly-like body, which was very satisfying to squeeze.
Yu An spared him a glance, slowly ate the chocolate, and then scooped Claude into his palm to give him a squeeze. Sure enough, his mood improved significantly.
Claude was used to this by now and didn’t feel like bickering with a cub, so he just let it happen.
Compared to other cubs in the clan who were rowdy and loved to provoke Xenogenics stronger than themselves—only to come back crying after being beaten—Yu An just liked squeezing his own kind. It was a harmless little habit.
Having used his “stress-relief toy,” Yu An began checking the schedule for upcoming auctions and the new releases from major jewelers. Unfortunately, very few pieces caught his eye.
Yu An bought two aquamarines and a pink diamond ring to be sent home. He could place them in the empty spots; he couldn’t stand seeing gaps in his collection room.
With Fu Yunshu and the others looking out for him, Zhou Xia clearly grew closer to them, and their relationship improved immensely. Anyone with eyes could see Zhou Xia had a powerful backer. Those who used to bully him now kept a respectful distance, though simultaneously, the number of students who were secretly jealous of him also increased.
Because Ling Xingcheng was staying at the villa, Yu An returned there every night after evening self-study. Having Ling Xingcheng as a roommate was quite nice; at least it wasn’t boring.
Furthermore, after Ling Xingcheng arrived, he decided he needed to pull his weight. Not wanting to be a freeloader, he waved a hand, sent the housekeeper home to rest, and volunteered to handle all the chores.
Because one of his legs was still broken, a normal person would have needed crutches to walk. But Ling Xingcheng was clearly not a normal person; he tossed his crutches aside and spent every day hopping around the villa on one leg.
One evening after school, Yu An headed home with his backpack. He was met by the sight of Ling Xingcheng bopping down the stairs, jump by jump. It was enough to make Yu An’s heart race in fear, and he hurried forward to support him.
Ling Xingcheng, “crippled but determined,” resolutely refused Yu An’s help. “I don’t need a pipsqueak like you holding me up. I’m not an invalid. Get lost.”
With that, he hopped down another step.
Yu An watched Ling Xingcheng’s back, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He let out a soft sigh. Why couldn’t Brother Xingcheng, an actual invalid, have a bit more self-awareness as one?
Suddenly, Ling Xingcheng turned to ask, “Are you hungry?”
Yu An had eaten a lot at dinner, but several hours had passed and he was indeed a bit peckish. “A little bit…”
Ling Xingcheng nodded and hopped toward the kitchen. “Fine. I’ll make a late-night snack. Want noodles?”
Yu An hesitated for a moment before suggesting, “How about we order takeout?”
He had been eating noodles for a whole week and really didn’t want to continue. Even a bowl of egg fried rice would be better. But he couldn’t say that to Ling Xingcheng; the man’s fried rice was horrific—it was basically oil-soaked rice, and the eggs were always charred.
“Takeout is unhealthy,” Ling Xingcheng refused flatly, sounding perfectly righteous. “If your father finds out I’ve been feeding you junk food, he’ll definitely kill me.”
Yu An: “…”
It’s not like the stuff you cook with instant noodles is much healthier. At most, you add an egg.
Ling Xingcheng took a pack of Braised Beef noodles from the cupboard, tore it open, and tossed it into a pot. He boiled the water, added an egg and the seasoning packets, and soon the familiar scent of instant noodles wafted from the kitchen.
Yu An sighed and pulled out a bag of dog food, pouring it into Monday’s bowl.
Monday excitedly reverted to his normal size to enjoy a perfect midnight snack.
In addition, Yu An thoughtfully added some ham sausages and opened a tin of canned meat for him. Though his own snack was terrible, his Monday had to eat well.
Little White needed to go upstairs to charge, and Claude only snacked occasionally and didn’t need a full meal. Yu An squatted beside Monday, watching him eat with gusto.
Before long, the snack was served. Yu An stared at his bowl of instant noodles for a long time without picking up his chopsticks.
Ling Xingcheng was already slurping away, urging him on. “Eat up! It won’t taste good once the noodles get soggy.”
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