Chapter 22 Part 1

Experimental High School starts on August 31st. Summer break was just over a month long. For the first half of it, Li Zhuo stayed home diligently working through his summer homework for every subject.

From time to time, he would check the new messages in the class group chat, watching them joke and banter while he quietly lurked, only occasionally popping up to reply if someone @mentioned him.

Midway through the break, he received an invitation from Director Guan, who took the initiative to invite him to his home over the summer. It just so happened he had a son around Li Zhuo’s age, and he said they could play together.

Li Zhuo politely declined.

Regarding the Li family, after returning from the summer camp, Li Zhuo received a phone call from his mother, Ms. Lu. In the background, he could faintly hear Li Huachuan’s voice.

The earlier part of the chat with Ms. Lu mostly revolved around how his life was going. Later, when the phone was handed to Li Huachuan, the atmosphere abruptly shifted into a question-and-answer session, like a work report.

He asked how Experimental High School was.

Li Zhuo said it was alright.

He asked if he was keeping up with his studies.

Li Zhuo said he was managing.

He asked if he lacked anything, and to speak up if he did. His tone seemed to carry a hope that Li Zhuo would bring up the matter of coming back over the summer, but Li Zhuo said he lacked nothing.

Li Huachuan misunderstood, thinking Li Zhuo was still angry and deliberately answering that way. After a moment of silence, the phone was handed back to Ms. Lu.

They chatted a bit more about everyday things, and the call ended in an atmosphere that was neither clearly harmonious nor outright cold.

Later, before the new term started, they called again. The conversation was slightly longer than before, but it never went beyond those routine familial greetings.

The monthly living allowance still arrived punctually at the start of each month, and the accompanying messages continued without interruption.

June’s message was: The scorching heat is coming, remember to drink water. July and August were shorter: July told him to enjoy the summer camp, while August was the briefest, just two words: Transferred.

In July and August, perhaps because they considered that summer break meant higher expenses than usual, or perhaps for other unknown reasons, the living allowance suddenly increased.

It went from the original 30,000 to 60,000 and then 80,000.

For Li Zhuo, he didn’t have a single opportunity to spend this money. His material desires were not strong; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so content living in a bare concrete apartment before.

His meals were precisely prepared by Mo Liang every day—balanced with meat and vegetables, nutritionally planned. His daily necessities and clothes were still purchased for him by Mo Liang.

He watched the money in his bank card grow day by day. Unknowingly, he had saved over 200,000, nearly catching up to the savings of an average small household.

With this money in hand, Li Zhuo became more generous.

In the last ten or so days of summer break, after finishing all his subject homework along with several sets of past exam papers he had purchased himself, Li Zhuo took the initiative for the first time and proposed a trip to the nearby ancient town for a few days.

With Mo Liang, of course.

Midway, there was a scenic spot that required an extra ticket for further entry. Li Zhuo bought tickets for both of them in advance and even bought two expensive ice creams from a nearby snack stall.

Mo Liang’s expression was absolutely delighted at that moment; he even ate the ice cream wrapper along with the ice cream.

He wore the gratified look of a parent whose child had finally grown up, praising Li Zhuo all the way there and still praising him on the way back.

Li Zhuo had to stop his excessive outpouring of compliments, saying he actually didn’t like being praised like that, especially since it sounded so fake.

That “alien” truly didn’t understand humans. He fell silent for a few seconds, doing who knows what, then opened his mouth to refute Li Zhuo’s statement.

“Not right. You like it very much. Your micro-expressions were joyful, your hormones were all rising… Hey, hey, why are you leaving? I’ll stop talking.”

In the bustling scenic area, on an arch bridge, Li Zhuo’s hand was tightly held by a smiling young man.

“There are too many people here. Hold onto me, don’t let go. What if you get abducted by other humans again?”

“But don’t be afraid. No matter where you are, I can always follow your scent and find you…”

At that moment, Li Zhuo thought, how could that even be possible? He wasn’t the same one-year-old child anymore, utterly defenseless. Under Mo Liang’s meticulous care, he had shot up in height, so how could he possibly be kidnapped again?

Seemingly jostled by the crowds, yet completely unable to feel the presence of those humans, under the blazing sun, he could even feel a trace of coolness. Li Zhuo’s hand tightened its grip on the hand that perpetually maintained a constant temperature of 37.5 degrees.

—It was he who had casually mentioned the issue of body temperature before, and afterward, Teacher Mo’s skin temperature had remained within this range ever since.

~

In the first semester of the new school year, Li Zhuo had two major changes compared to the last semester:

The first change was that he had grown taller.

Because he looked in the mirror every day, he didn’t have a strong reaction to his height change due to its gradual nature. But after a summer break, when his Class 10 classmates saw him again, they would all exclaim in surprise, “What kind of hormones did you eat this summer?!”

Previously, he was about 1.74 meters tall, but in just one summer, he shot up to 1.80 meters, like a stage magician’s trick. This speed was incredibly unbelievable, even for the rapid growth spurt of puberty.

The second change: he no longer wore his school uniform all day. He started dressing like the other students, only putting it on during class break exercises and wearing the new clothes Mo Liang bought him at other times.

One class period, returning from the restroom, the chubby boy sitting in the front row saw him and his first words were: “Oh my, how did our young master manage to change his everyday skin? Is this a limited-edition look, or has the version been updated for good?”

After returning from the summer camp, he had played several rounds of games with his classmates and, in his spare time, tried out other games with Mo Liang. Li Zhuo was now quite familiar with some basic gaming terminology.

He originally wanted to reply with a humorous approach, but after thinking for a long time without success, he said, “Not sure, probably consider it a version update?”

The chubby boy was also one of the summer camp members and was even on the same team as Li Zhuo, so he naturally wasn’t as formal with his words as before.

“Hahahaha… what’s wrong with you?” He laughed, slapping the table. “I must’ve been blind before. How could I have thought you were an arrogant person? You’re actually pretty great, you know.”

Deng Yuliang walked into the classroom with a bottle of coke just in time to hear this sentence. He naturally chimed in, cupping his hands towards Li Zhuo, “Young Master, this scoundrel is sucking up to you. Quick, drag him out and behead him!”

Li Zhuo’s lips curved into a smile. “Hurry up and come sit down. The teacher will be here soon.”

After the class ended, Li Zhuo casually reached into his desk compartment and felt a bottle of drink still frosted with ice, as if it had just been taken out of a refrigerator.

He unscrewed the cap and took a sip. The sweetness and iciness of the orange juice, even the plump pulp pieces inside, were just perfect…

Teacher Mo had really stopped bothering to even pretend lately.

Some time ago, there was a final heatwave resurgence before autumn’s arrival. The late afternoons were the most unbearable; after baking under the sun all day, the entire classroom was like a giant furnace. Even though the fans on both sides were whirring with all their might, creaking loudly, it was still useless.

The sweltering climate left everyone with little enthusiasm for studying. Under these circumstances, Li Zhuo, who could still seriously write out test papers, garnered countless admiring glances.

At the time, Teacher Zhang, the head teacher teaching the class, even specifically reminded him: although it was indeed a critical period right now, he also had to balance work and rest.

“I’m not hot.”

Li Zhuo said that.

He truly wasn’t hot.

Although he didn’t know what method Teacher Mo had used, the temperature around him was very comfortable, as if all the stuffy heat had become mindful of human intent, purposefully bypassing him as it bared its teeth and claws, devouring the air.

He even felt cool.

And besides these, there were many tiny details he hadn’t noticed before.

For example, hearing other students frequently searching for pens or certain small items, he discovered his belongings were never lost. Even if he casually tossed them into some nook or cranny, they would be properly back in their original place when he needed them again.

For example, he began to frequently feel a warm breeze brush against his cheek, or feel as if someone was gently stroking his hair, yet there was no one around him.

Another example: before the monthly exam in the first month of the term, probably seeing him review so hard, Mo Liang proposed directly projecting the answers before Li Zhuo’s eyes during the test.

Li Zhuo sternly refused.

After that previous summer camp trip, Teacher Mo had become increasingly unrestrained. In the middle of a class, a line of twisted text suddenly appeared on his notebook.

Asking him what fruit he wanted for lunch?

And providing a list of options.

With a wooden face, Li Zhuo gravely filled in his choice as carefully as if solving an exam problem.

D: Hami melon.

~

Time, like a bird in hiding, brushed past silently. One day, when Li Zhuo reached into his desk compartment again, what met his fingertips was no longer a frosted drink, but a consistently warm health tonic.

In that moment,

he distinctly felt the change of seasons.

The Autumn Sports Meet after school started seemed vividly etched in memory. It was his first time participating in a campus activity, and he signed up for the relay run…

The cheers echoing in his ears, the breeze brushing his cheeks, the joy when he ran towards the person handing off the baton—everything still seemed lively and fresh, lingering in his heart. But in the blink of an eye, a long time had already passed.

Unknowingly, Teacher Zhang’s outfits changed from those few striped polo shirts to plaid sweaters, and then to a thick down jacket added on top.

The thing she said most often to the students by the window shifted from “It’s too hot, open the window for some air” at the start, to “It’s too cold, close the window” later on.

The first Christmas spent at Experimental High School arrived as scheduled. After discussion among the class, Teacher Zhang finally agreed to let them use two evening self-study periods to hold a Christmas party.

The students’ enthusiasm soared. Half a month in advance, they started signing up for performances and used class funds to plan what snacks and fruits to buy.

That evening was also the liveliest self-study night. The head teacher, who usually constantly lectured them to study hard, sat smiling at the back of the classroom watching them perform.

Li Zhuo even participated in one act.

He hadn’t wanted to initially, thinking he wasn’t like the other students. They either sang and danced, performed magic tricks, or acted in skits. What could he do?

When he voiced his doubts, he received a heap of bizarre performance suggestions. In the end, he chose a slightly more reliable instrumental solo.