Gu Zai'an covered his face, deeply resigned.
Could this attention magnet please be less of an attention magnet? There was simply no dealing with him.
Lin Qinyan, seeing none of his expression, even asked, puzzled, “What are you all standing out here for? Practicing military drill? Hahaha.”
Gu Zai'an: “…You'll understand once you're in the class.”
Lin Qinyan went “oh,” and marched straight in without hesitation.
Before long, another person had appeared at Gu Zai'an's side.
Gu Zai'an smiled. “Now you get it?”
Lin Qinyan wasn't laughing anymore. “An, you haven't changed at all.”
Standing punishment—back in the day, An had always dragged him into it too. Some things never changed...
An was still An.
Gu Zai'an rolled his eyes and thought: your old An was pure evil—he made sure that if he suffered, someone suffered with him. You really thought you were comrades in hardship?
Whereas he just found it entertaining. Hardly comparable, was it?
After Lin Qinyan appeared, Gu Qingbai edged closer to Gu Zai'an, as if afraid that one moment of inattention would get Gu Zai'an snatched away.
Lin Qinyan of course saw every one of these little maneuvers, and simply decided he was the bigger man and wouldn't stoop to arguing with him.
So thinking, he leaned closer to Gu Zai'an as well.
Gu Zai'an instinctively dodged.
Because the group standing opposite had been staring at them this whole time, and one particular stare was especially conspicuous.
He figured Lin Qinyan simply drew too much attention; better to keep his distance. Gu Zai'an was socially anxious and had no desire to be watched like a zoo exhibit.
In a corner where nobody was paying attention, Lin Qinyan's heart shattered all over the floor.
An dodged him! Waaah, heartbroken, devastated!
But his face kept its smile as always—only it stiffened for a moment.
“An, where are we going tonight?”
“Going? For what?”
“The bar, obviously. Isn't that your favorite place, An?”
Gu Zai'an gave two cold laughs. He knew it.
“Your An here has gone straight. From now on I'm going to be the Joint Academy's model student. My advice: reform early, while you can.”
Seeing “yeah, right” written all over Lin Qinyan's face, he affected deep sorrow. “I've done too many wrong things over the years. But yesterday, after being thrown out of the Gu family, I achieved enlightenment: only by becoming a good student can one prosper!”
“Is that so?” Lin Qinyan scratched his head.
Just then the homeroom teacher came around on patrol, saw the several of them standing in a slouching huddle, and lost her temper. “Stand up straight, all of you! Can't even take punishment properly!”
Gu Zai'an snorted softly, but obediently straightened up anyway.
He was going to change the original owner's fate of dying. He had no intention of dying.
The other two straightened up as well, even competing in secret, standing at attention with exaggeration beyond birds.
Gu Zai'an, planted in the middle, was the odd one out.
After class, things finally eased up.
The homeroom teacher assigned the three of them seats.
At the forceful request of Gu Qingbai—the provincial top scorer—she seated them at the same desk.
Lin Qinyan accused him, unwilling to let it go. “Gu Qingbai, you fight dirty! No martial virtue!”
“Modern society runs on virtue, not martial virtue.”
Gu Qingbai flashed him a provocative smile and sat down beside Gu Zai'an without a shred of embarrassment.
It made Lin Qinyan hop with rage.
Before long, the class monitor came around handing out books.
Only then did Gu Zai'an understand why a book bag had been mandatory.
Nine textbooks. Twenty workbooks and unit test papers. Plus three exam listening booklets.
They wouldn't fit in a whole desk, let alone on it.
The Joint Academy's rules contained one clause: no books may be left at school overnight.
Absurd.
Only elementary schoolers hauled books home. What possible purpose could the Joint Academy have for this?
Wanted to work students to death and have them will him their homework?
Gu Zai'an considered the question for a moment and decided not to think about it.
Bring them, then.
A plastic bag would carry them just the same.
The Joint Academy cafeteria served terrible food, complete with the traditional serving-lady's half-ladle policy.
Gu Zai'an not only couldn't fill up, the smell of the cafeteria food nearly made him gag.
He looked at his sparse, watery serving, then turned to watch Gu Qingbai and Lin Qinyan eating away contentedly.
“Qingbai I get—he lived in the countryside, he can eat anything. But how are you, a city rich kid, managing to eat this?”
“Is it bad? I think it's fine. Been eating too much pretty food, An? This is just what cafeteria food looks like.”
Gu Zai'an's eyes went wide with revelation. So it wasn't just this school's cafeteria—all school cafeterias everywhere were like this?!
What kind of hard-scrabble existence were the students of this world living?
Gu Zai'an felt a surge of pity for everyone living in this world.
Himself included.
“Can we order delivery?”
“No. They check bags hard at the school gate. They'd find it even stuffed in your backpack.”
“The school store?”
“Outside the school. You can't leave campus during lunch break.”
“...So it's the cafeteria or nothing?”
“The cafeteria or nothing.”
“...Hahaha.” Gu Zai'an gave two dry laughs, spooned up two mouthfuls, and shoved them in.
After lunch break came another five fifty-minute periods.
By the end of them, Gu Zai'an didn't have the strength to walk; only half-leaning on Gu Qingbai could he drag himself out the school gate.
Why Gu Qingbai?
Because the moment he leaned on Lin Qinyan, Gu Qingbai would get jealous.
Jealous in the literal, red-eyed sense.
Utterly resigned, Gu Zai'an let himself be half-carried out the gate, where a luxury car pulled up in front of them.
The window rolled down, revealing the calm face of a middle-aged man.
The Gu family's driver, Uncle Chen.
Uncle Chen unlocked the doors and called out, “Young master. Madam sent me to fetch you.”
Gu Zai'an's eyes lit up. He pulled open the door and stuffed himself inside, and Gu Qingbai climbed in right after him, shutting the door.
Their movements were so perfectly synchronized that Uncle Chen was stunned. “Young Master Qingbai, Madam said to pick up only you.”
Gu Qingbai glanced at Gu Zai'an sprawled out enjoying the leather seat, and said politely, “It's fine, Uncle Chen. Take him back with us. I'll explain to Mother.”
“Very good.” Assured of backup, Uncle Chen drove off in peace.
Before long they reached the Gu villa gates, the great iron gates standing open. Having rested a while in the car, Gu Zai'an's spirits had largely recovered, and he walked into the estate side by side with Gu Qingbai.
Inside the main hall.
Hearing the door, Qin Shaofen shot up from the sofa, all smiles, hurrying over as she spoke. “Sweetheart, was class tiring today? Should I have your teachers ease up a—”
Mid-sentence, her face suddenly seized up. The mere sight of Gu Zai'an's face soured her stomach; the violent contrast of her mood right now gave her the urge to beat this brat to death on the spot. She said coldly, “Why is it you? Where's Xiaobai?”
Gu Qingbai popped his head out from behind Gu Zai'an, voice sweet as syrup. “Mama, I'm here.”
In front of Gu Qingbai, Qin Shaofen packed away every ounce of her bad temper, smiling as she walked over and pulled him out from behind Gu Zai'an, drawing him well away—as if Gu Zai'an were some highly contagious virus.
Even Gu Zai'an found her reaction excessive.
“Why did you come back with him? Didn't I tell Uncle Chen to pick up only you?”