Haizhou No. 3 Middle School was located two kilometers west of Zi Yan’s home, so the father and son, having left the Public Security Bureau, simply decided to walk there.
Since the Public Security Bureau was east of Zi Yan’s home, it was a straight line, and the combined distance was just over twenty minutes on foot.
Besides, the sky was overcast today, with little sunlight. With Zi Yan holding an umbrella, walking wouldn’t be a problem, so he went along with Zheng Quan.
To be honest, Zi Yan was actually afraid of going to school.
So when they reached the gates of Haizhou No. 3 Middle School, even though the gatekeeper had been notified and opened the gate proactively, if Zheng Quan hadn’t been holding his hand, Zi Yan might never have stepped foot into the campus.
Why was he so afraid…?
After being taken to Antwerp by his mother, Zi Yan initially attempted to attend elementary school there under her arrangement. After studying German for two years,
language communication at school was not an issue for Zi Yan, but he was still isolated by all the other children because of his unusual appearance.
Not only did Zi Yan fail to make any friends, but he also had to endure constant insults and slander from the children— being called things like vampire or demon.
Eventually, the young boy could no longer bear it and retreated into himself, escaping school to return home in sadness.
In the end, he was only able to continue learning through private tutoring.
Incidentally, even with the private tutors— though they were very respectful toward Zi Yan’s mother— Zi Yan felt that, despite the lack of concrete evidence, they were somewhat indifferent toward him.
So he didn’t want to go to school, not even now, eight years later.
It just seemed like there was no way for Zi Yan to change his situation.
Inside the Principal’s Office on the third floor, the principal warmly welcomed the visiting Zheng Quan and his son.
The principal of Haizhou No. 3 Middle School was surnamed Wei. He was a man well into his sixties, with white hair and beard, kind eyes, and a benevolent demeanor.
Principal Wei was very approachable, naturally evoking goodwill. But Zi Yan, who had a natural aversion to school, still felt a faint resistance.
The principal asked Zi Yan a few questions — simple ones about physics. Although nervous speaking with a stranger, Zi Yan answered each question one by one.
These were topics his tutor had covered, so Zi Yan found them easy. He just had to translate the German stored in his mind back into Chinese.
“We’re naturally very welcoming to your daughter coming to study at our school, but…”
Principal Wei’s expression darkened slightly, and his words faltered.
“Zheng Zi Yan, that’s your name, right?” the principal asked him.
“Yes, yes.”
“In that case, could you please wait outside for a moment?” Principal Wei said. “There are some things I’d like to discuss with your father privately. Is that okay?”
What kind of things were those, or what was inappropriate for Zi Yan to hear?
He didn’t know. But seeing Zheng Quan nod at him, he obediently picked up the umbrella placed nearby and stepped out.
“Zheng Zi Yan, you can take a walk around the school. There are some fun fitness machines over by the playground,” Principal Wei said with the playful tone of a mischievous old man.
Zi Yan smiled faintly and went out, preparing to wander around the campus.
Haizhou No. 3 Middle School wasn’t large. Two teaching buildings stood side by side, surrounded in front by flower beds and marble pathways, with a playground behind them covered in fine gravel.
At the southernmost part of the playground was a small area paved with cement, equipped with four basketball hoops and some fitness machines. This had to be the place Principal Wei mentioned.
Zi Yan opened his umbrella, the thick black fabric blocking the piercing ultraviolet rays.
“Ugh…”
It was nearly noon now. The clouds from last night’s rain were gradually dispersing, and a few rays of sunlight quietly crept over the cloud tops, spreading across the damp earth.
Though sheltered under his umbrella, Zi Yan still felt somewhat unwell. His body didn’t handle sunlight well.
Even if his skin wasn’t directly harmed, the diffused sunlight reflected around him still made him very uncomfortable.
Anything that shone brightly in the sun was simply the worst.
Zi Yan closed his eyes, aching from staring, and covered his forehead with his hand.
It was really hot.
Hot enough to make sweat break out on his forehead.
It was August, the height of summer, and also the summer vacation for Chinese students. So naturally, there were no students around the entire campus.
Suddenly, a light breeze blew by.
With his eyes closed, Zi Yan felt the surroundings were quiet and peaceful, as if time itself had slowed, without even the slightest sound…
“Eh?”
Actually, there was a faint sound—the sound of a ball bouncing on the playground.
It must have been someone playing basketball. But how could anyone be playing basketball at school right now when the campus was supposed to be closed?
Curious, Zi Yan walked over to the playground, and from a distance saw a short-haired girl playing basketball.
Her skin was a healthy wheat color, dotted with sweat, exuding youthful energy.
She wore a light teal quick-dry short-sleeved shirt and shorts, outlining the graceful lines of a body just beginning to develop.
Zi Yan stopped not far away and silently watched her.
The girl glanced at Zi Yan but then ignored him, continuing to play.
Until one shot missed and the ball bounced off the rim, flying directly toward Zi Yan.
“Eh?”
Zi Yan let out a surprised sound.
“Hey, girl!” the basketball girl called out just as the ball struck the umbrella above Zi Yan’s head. Startled, he lost his grip and the umbrella slipped from his hand.
“Hey, don’t you even try to dodge?”
At last, the girl paid him some attention.
She picked up the ball, tucked it at her waist, and with her free hand pinched her water bottle, tilting her head back to gulp down more than half of it.
“Sorry,” Zi Yan apologized and bent to pick up the umbrella.
The ball had hit the umbrella, not Zi Yan, but the brief sunlight exposure still left him feeling dizzy, his face and arms stinging.
“Wow!” Since Zi Yan had been in the shade of the umbrella, the girl hadn’t noticed his appearance before.
Now that she did, she exclaimed, “Are you cosplaying as a vampire or something?”
“…”
Zi Yan twitched the corner of his mouth. Here we go again—vampire.
I shouldn’t have come to school…
“And how did you even get in here?”
The basketball girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old, but quite tall — around 1.70 meters, noticeably taller than Zi Yan.
At this moment, she had the same question that Zi Yan had moments ago.
It was summer vacation, and the school had long been closed off. How could there possibly be any students here?
“Oh, right, right!” The girl suddenly seemed to remember. “I know! You must be the transfer student my dad mentioned.”
“Your dad?” Zi Yan asked in confusion.
“Yes, my dad.” The girl drained the rest of her water, crushed the bottle into a twisted shape, and tossed it into a nearby trash bin like a basketball shot.
“My name’s Wei Lai. The principal is my dad,” she said, pointing toward the third-floor Principal’s Office in the main teaching building.
Zi Yan looked at Wei Lai with some suspicion and silently compared her to the image of the principal in his mind.
Sigh, Principal Wei really was old but still vigorous.
Meanwhile, inside the Principal’s Office.
“Secretary Zheng, I’m not worried about your daughter falling behind academically. Although I’ve been away from the front line for some time, the questions Zheng Zi Yan answered earlier were very good.”
Principal Wei and Zheng Quan had been having a close conversation for a while.
“From what you say, I’m still concerned that your daughter might not adapt well to the school’s collective environment. If anything like before happens again…”
“I’m not worried about causing trouble for the school, but I fear the child might still have those old shadows…”
“Ah.” Zheng Quan sighed. “That’s why I can only trouble you to assign a patient homeroom teacher with relatively relaxed management.”
“As a parent, I will do my best to work on my child’s mindset.”
“Since you have come to this point, I will officially accept this child on behalf of Haizhou No. 3 Middle School.” Principal Wei reached for the phone book beside him, his finger scanning down until it stopped on a name.
“We’ll place her in Class Teacher He Yanli’s class. She’s our school’s only Special-grade Teacher in mathematics,” Principal Wei smiled. “Secretary Zheng, don’t be misled by her name ‘Yanli’ which means ‘strict.’ She’s actually very patient and kind to students.”
“Oh, by the way, my daughter also attends that teacher’s class.”