Chapter 15

“You skipping the cafeteria again today?”

Deng Yuliang looked at his transferee deskmate and, noticing his complexion was visibly rosier than it had been recently, clicked his tongue with genuine feeling.

“Tsk tsk tsk, the faculty cafeteria food is way better than the slop we get in the student cafeteria, huh? You’ve been eating there for over a month now, right? Looks like you’ve put on a little weight.”

Not that he had actually gotten fat—but he definitely looked much healthier than when he first transferred in.

Other classmates who didn’t interact much with Li Zhuo might not have noticed, but as his deskmate with the most contact time, Deng Yuliang had witnessed the whole process.

Before the transferee even arrived, he had already heard plenty of inside information from a relative of his. For example, the guy’s last school was that super famous, high-barrier International School…

Rumor had it he was even a young master from a wealthy family!

How novel! Someone actually transferred from an international school in a big city to their ordinary public school? Must’ve been involved in something pretty serious!

As it turned out, apparently not.

Because Old Zhang had given him a heads-up beforehand, on Li Zhuo’s first day, Deng Yuliang kept bombarding the new student with all sorts of topics, actively brought him to the cafeteria, and introduced him to the school, the class, and various situations.

Under this kind of offensive, Li Zhuo slowly began to talk with him. Yes, only that. He still wouldn’t initiate conversations with other classmates.

Deng Yuliang had observed him closely; this guy seemed like a “study machine.” No matter how preoccupied and melancholic he was during breaks, the instant class started, he would immediately snap into focus mode, as if switching personalities entirely.

He was also an extreme rule-follower. Teachers said phones had to be handed in, so he handed his in. Teachers said no food in the dorm, so he genuinely never brought food in. He would stand outside and finish eating before entering… just, really strange.

Someone with a bit of psychology knowledge could probably analyze Li Zhuo on multiple levels—for example, his “study machine” state was actually a classic form of dissociation, a trauma response.

But Deng Yuliang was too young and didn’t dabble in that field. He just found it plain incomprehensible.

The first two months of the semester passed like that. The transferee was like a robot, mechanically eating, mechanically attending class. And his grades were steadily improving.

Deng Yuliang figured the next two years would follow this routine. Then one day, the “study machine” was late to class for the first time, and soon after, he was taken away by that mysterious psychological counselor.

Early the next morning, Deng witnessed the male teacher from the upper floor carrying a thermal container and waiting downstairs by the Boys’ Dormitory entrance.

Gotta say, it was a particularly jarring sight.

Some busybodies had specifically observed it. Very early in the morning, that man wearing non-prescription glasses would be waiting downstairs with the thermal container. If anyone tried to strike up a conversation, he’d act as if he couldn’t see them, staring toward the upper floors like a wooden post—even more NPC-like than an actual Game NPC.

This state only unlocked when Li Zhuo appeared, and the expression he’d give Li Zhuo, that look in his eyes… were disturbingly enthusiastic, enough to make your hair stand on end.

Plenty of people said it figured for a young master from Hai City—coming to school and still bringing his housekeeper or a servant from home?

And then… his deskmate never went to the student cafeteria again. His three meals a day were completely provided by that newly arrived psychological counselor.

He didn’t know exactly how good the food was in the faculty cafeteria, but his pale-faced deskmate, after eating that food for a few days, saw his complexion improve day by day.

Once during lunch break, seeing him return with a few tangerines, Deng Yuliang shamelessly asked for one.

No lie, that flavor was genuinely sweet. Later, after carefully checking the blue label, he realized just one of those tangerines cost over a hundred yuan.

Why don’t they just rob people?

So damn expensive!

Of course, all that gossip about servants and housekeepers was just rumors. According to what Deng Yuliang heard from his relative, that Teacher Mo was extremely generous with money. Maybe the two of them were some kind of relatives?

He tried to fish for information, but couldn’t get a single word out of him.

This new transferee had such strong boundaries—or rather, he cared deeply about personal privacy.

He would never, ever discuss his past or his family. Most of the time he just listened quietly. Even when prompted to talk about himself, he would only say there was nothing much to say.

Aloof and introverted, he rarely joined in conversations in the classroom or the dorms. Even joyous occasions like the Monthly Leave wouldn’t elicit a hint of happiness from him.

It was as if there was always a transparent film around him. Or rather, it was no longer a film that could be punctured with a poke, but more like a thick wall of air.

“Have I gotten fat?”

Li Zhuo took Deng Yuliang’s joking seriously, pinching his own face and arms in succession.

“It does seem like I’ve put on a little compared to before.”

“Oh, come on, I was just joking… you call that fat? Give me a break.” Deng Yuliang reined in his wandering thoughts and laughed it off, chuckling. “Hey, for real though, break starts tomorrow!”

Li Zhuo nodded calmly. He capped his pen and put it in his pencil case. The textbooks and workbooks spread open on his desk were closed one by one, and he pulled the textbook needed for the next period from his desk compartment.

“I know.”

“…”

After second period was the Class Break Exercises. Li Zhuo moved along the bustling stream of people through the long Corridor, passing by the half-open door of the Psychological Counseling Room. In those brief two seconds, his gaze met the familiar man inside.

In Li Zhuo’s field of vision, Teacher Mo was sitting steadily in front of the computer, seemingly handling some task. However, from a perspective Li Zhuo couldn’t see, a small Light Orb was closely monitoring his every move.

【Confirmed, target has departed.】

In the next second, the originally half-open door slowly closed. The curtains were drawn tightly shut, and the figure in the office instantly vanished from the spot.

When the figure reappeared, it was on a rooftop, the view perfectly aligned with the area of Li Zhuo’s class. From high above looking down, they looked just like a bunch of little ants.

【The pressure cooker on the stove has three more minutes before it needs to be turned off. The bone broth simmering now will be richer.】

【Based on estimates, the soaked dried bamboo shoots…】

【…】

Mo Liang’s gaze was firmly locked on one of those little ants. Seeing his complexion, far ruddier than when they first met, an unprecedented sense of Achievement surged within him. This was far more exhilarating than any result he had ever produced back in the Lab 303.

【Do you see it?】

【My child is growing up healthy…】

Unlike the other enthusiastic students in Class 10, Li Zhuo truly had zero anticipation for break.

Other classmates would go home on break to eat, drink, and chat with their families. What about him?

Facing that empty “new house” so large that his own speech echoed back at him, Li Zhuo felt a two-day break was too long.

For the last two Monthly Leaves, Li Zhuo couldn’t even remember how he got through them. He only remembered the house being a bit cold, and the noodle shop outside the residential complex being both expensive and terrible.

During dinner that evening, he casually mentioned the break topic to Teacher Mo. The latter very naturally inquired about the address of Li Zhuo’s new house.

“Oh… it’s still a bit far from the school. How about you just stay at my place during future breaks?”

Although Teacher Mo used an inquiring tone, the attitude he displayed made it seem like the matter was already settled.

“I’ve actually been meaning to say for a while now…”

“Didn’t you mention that clothes you hang to dry on the dorm balcony keep getting lost? Just wash them here from now on, then dry them here. There’s a washing machine available, after all.”

Li Zhuo was about to say this might be too much trouble, but he suddenly realized this wasn’t the first time he’d made that kind of remark in the past month.

It started with eating one meal at Teacher Mo’s, then two, then three, gradually becoming all three meals a day.

Because the dorm’s water room was too crowded to line up, Teacher Mo proactively suggested Li Zhuo could wash up at his place to save time. Once, twice. Then his toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash cup, and face towel appeared on the bathroom shelf…

Because the dorm water went out once, he also showered in Teacher Mo’s apartment. The separate wet-and-dry shower area, the water heater with precisely adjustable temperature—it was so much more comfortable than the public bathhouse at the school dorm where you had to queue.

And now, Teacher Mo was suggesting his ordinary laundry, sheets, and duvet covers could also be washed and dried here. Almost without him noticing, the items in this apartment belonging to Li Zhuo had multiplied.

If an unknowing person walked in, at a single glance, they’d just assume this was Li Zhuo’s home.

And all these changes happened subtly. By the time Li Zhuo noticed, he only felt he had really lucked out, having met such a good teacher.

“…”

“Let’s just say that’s settled then.”

Teacher Mo’s gentle tone had unconsciously shifted into that of a teacher speaking to a student.

“Since it’s coincidentally the Monthly Leave, let’s use this time to go shop outside. It’s been getting hotter lately; time to switch to some summer clothes.”

What Mo Liang meant was to buy new ones. But Li Zhuo didn’t grasp that layer at the time and took over the conversation naturally.

“Then after break starts tomorrow, I’ll go back to that house to pick up my luggage. There are still quite a few of my summer clothes inside.”

Mo Liang smiled and didn’t explain.

He had plenty of methods and rhetorical techniques to make his child accept the new clothes he purchased.

For example, the System’s recommended rhetoric: They’re already bought, tags are off, can’t return them. You can’t possibly make him wear clothes that don’t fit, right?

Just thinking about his child wearing clothes he himself purchased—like a mark he owned being placed upon him—a wisp of Mo Liang’s true form hidden beneath his skin couldn’t help but stir restlessly.

He had no choice but to mentally warn them:

【Quiet——】

The seasons shift imperceptibly. The students’ attire on campus changed from single-layer shirts plus jackets to short-sleeves. The School Store stocked many more ice creams and popsicles. At high noon, the sun outside the window grew fiercer by the day.

When Li Zhuo received the Children’s Day gift from Mo Liang, he didn’t react at all at first. A moment later, realizing this gift was for him, he was stunned.

“I’m not a child anymore.”

He tried to explain to Mo Liang that this kind of holiday was for kindergarteners. It wasn’t his turn to celebrate it.

“Think about it, I’m seventeen this year. In a few more months I’ll be eighteen… this, this…”

“And then? Is that not allowed?” Mo Liang didn’t see any issue with it. He even added, “I checked. The nation has not promulgated any such regulations about this…”

“…”

Thus, under the other’s serious gaze, Li Zhuo silently accepted his very first Children’s Day gift.

The huge gift box was dazzlingly filled with many exquisitely packaged boxes. He casually unwrapped a few: there were combo snacks that kids would like, building block toys, and a brand new watch.

—Coincidentally, Li Zhuo’s own watch strap had worn out and snapped two days earlier. His wrist was currently bare.

Putting the new watch on his wrist, Li Zhuo raised his hand and shook it. There was not the slightest discomfort, as if it was naturally meant to be there on his hand.

“Where was I last time?”

Li Zhuo didn’t need to return to the classroom during lunch break. The official reason given was that this transferee needed to receive counseling from the psychological counselor. In reality, that was indeed the case.

Those things weighing on his heart—those things he couldn’t tell his classmates about, didn’t know how to say—the good, the bad—suddenly became so easy to speak of under Teacher Mo’s infinitely tolerant eyes.

Last time, he had spoken generally about matters concerning the Li Family. Some of it he’d heard from the Li family house servants, and even directly from Father Li and Mother Li’s own mouths.

The Li couple had told Li Zhuo more than once: how utterly exhausted they had been searching for him back then, how they’d toiled and rushed around, how they couldn’t eat or sleep. And how Li Xuan, who was only five years old at the time, had so maturely consoled them, accompanying them in their search.

During the dozen-plus years Li Zhuo was gone, it had always been Li Xuan by their side, fulfilling the duty of companionship a son ought to provide.

Even raising a dog, after so many years together, creates affection. Let alone a living, breathing person?

Besides, Li Xuan was just that brilliant.

According to the house servants, Li Xuan was a well-known prodigy far and wide, displaying astonishing talent from a young age. Multitalented, he skipped several grades in elementary school and was the youngest test-taker for the College Entrance Exam at the time, bringing considerable glory to the whole Li Family.

Outside the academic stage, his business acumen was also exceptionally sharp. The Li family’s subsequent investment ventures had ridden wave after wave of market trends, all thanks to a few casual remarks from him.

Li Xuan was simply too perfect. Emotional value, honor value—he could even bring the Li Family real, substantial, enormous benefits.

From that moment on, he was treated as their own flesh and blood.

“Teacher Mo, didn’t you praise me last time for my grades improving very quickly?” Li Zhuo sighed softly. “That’s because you haven’t met Li Xuan. Before he was even sixteen, he had long finished all his university courses…”

Li Zhuo expected Teacher Mo to be impressed or skeptical. But there was neither.

The expression on the man across from him was very subtle. “So you study so hard, just to catch up to him?”

Li Zhuo first nodded, then shook his head.

Mo Liang still wore that mild, harmless expression, asking in a tone that sounded like his usual daily concern: “If he died… would you be a little happier?”