So, even though it was the outfit Zi Yan had relentlessly roasted before—
The sky-blue short-sleeve shirt with white cuffs, the dark navy fabric, and the mustard-yellow striped knee-length shorts—the Haizhou No. 3 Middle School summer Uniform was now being worn by Zi Yan himself.
It seemed that all the energy he had spent on those earlier complaints had drained him completely, leaving him in a low-energy, listless state.
Holding an umbrella, he leisurely followed behind Zheng Quan as they walked into the school campus.
Oh right, it was September—the day Haizhou No. 3 Middle School started its new semester. Zi Yan had been assigned to Grade Three, Class 3-6, with Class Teacher He Yanli in charge.
Since the first class in the morning began at 7:30, Zheng Quan had brought Zi Yan to school half an hour early.
“Wow.”
A surprised voice echoed, though it was impossible to tell from which direction it came.
But the voice was unmistakably youthful, clearly from a student—and it was quite obvious it was directed at Zi Yan, wasn’t it?
The students, just coming off a long summer break, walking cheerfully around campus exchanging greetings and looking forward to the new term, suddenly erupted in lively chatter.
“Look, look, that person!”
“The one holding the umbrella? Wow!”
“Such a beautiful person, I’ve never seen anyone like that before… Is he a transfer student?”
“His hair is pure white, just like the fur of a Silver Fox, and those eyes… they’re like a pair of exquisite Red Wine Eyes. White hair and red eyes, white hair and red eyes. Pinch me—I must be dreaming or somehow crossed into an anime world! Ouch!”
“Idiot, did you skip biology class?”
“Look at his Uniform—the yellow part means he must be a senior sister who transferred in.”
“Eh? Transferring in the last year of middle school?”
“So delicate and well-defined a face, and a nice figure too… pity about the flat chest though. Hey, why are you hitting me?!”
No.
That wasn’t right.
The voices of the students around him echoed word for word in Zi Yan’s ears.
No.
It hadn’t been like this before.
Zi Yan froze in place.
He still remembered that same bright morning eight years ago.
His mother, Lina, holding his hand, guiding him into school just like Zheng Quan was doing now.
“Hey, look at that white-haired guy.”
“Gross, even his eyes are red, like a rabbit. So disgusting.”
“What’s that supposed to be? A Vampire, for sure.”
“…Ah!”
The painful memories of that time flashed through Zi Yan’s mind, and a sharp pain struck the back of his head.
“What’s wrong?”
Hearing the voice, Zheng Quan quickly stopped and looked back.
“Nothing, it’s nothing, Dad.” Zi Yan forced a smile through the pain.
Though he smiled at Zheng Quan to show he was fine, deep down he knew his expression must have twisted into something terribly ugly.
“Thinking about childhood again?” Zheng Quan looked pained and gently took Zi Yan’s free hand, the one not holding the umbrella. “Don’t be afraid. Look, all these students welcome you.”
Although terms like “senior sister” irked Zheng Quan a bit, as long as it helped calm Zi Yan down, he didn’t care.
“Y-yeah…” Zi Yan’s voice trembled.
“Relax,” Zheng Quan said, patting Zi Yan’s back. “Breathe deeply. That’s right, inhale, exhale. Channel the energy you used to roast the Uniform that day!”
“Pfft.”
Zheng Quan’s reminder about the earlier Uniform roast made Zi Yan burst out laughing.
It seemed the bad mood was easing.
And…
Were those people really complimenting me?
Zi Yan had even prepared himself to be treated differently again, just like before in Antwerp.
Even though his appearance was clearly unusual…
“Let’s go find the Class Teacher first.” Zheng Quan said, taking Zi Yan’s hand.
“Mm, okay…”
…….
The first morning class of Grade Three, Class 3-6 was Chinese.
He Yanli, who taught math, happened to be in her office.
Principal Wei had already informed He Yanli about the general situation regarding this transfer student.
After exchanging a few polite words with Zheng Quan, she only asked a few simple questions.
“I see, I understand,” He Yanli nodded, looking at Zi Yan. “Don’t worry, your child will be well taken care of in our class.”
He Yanli was fifty-three years old this year, a veteran who had taught at Haizhou No. 3 Middle School for nearly thirty years. Her kind eyes and gentle expression suggested she was, just as the principal had said, a patient and friendly teacher.
She opened a drawer in her desk and took out a bunch of keys. Handing the sixth one to Zi Yan, she said, “This is the key to the indoor restroom next to our classroom. Our school’s restrooms are outdoors, which might not be convenient for your child’s health condition, right?”
“If your child needs to go, please use the indoor restroom.” He Yanli smiled at Zi Yan and added, “Remember to lock the door after using it.”
“…”
Though touched, both Zheng Quan and Zi Yan found it a little hard to understand.
If there were restrooms inside the teaching building, why weren’t they allowed to use them?
But since it was offered out of kindness, Zheng Quan smiled and thanked He Yanli, letting Zi Yan accept the key.
“Ding-ling-ling…”
The dismissal bell rang outside the office.
“Zheng Zi Yan, come on, I’ll take you to meet your classmates~!”
He Yanli seemed to be a teacher very good at communicating with students.
Holding Zi Yan’s hand, she descended leisurely from the fourth-floor office to the third floor.
Zheng Quan quietly slipped over to the classroom’s back door window to peek inside.
“Hey?”
At that moment, a boy sitting near the back door of Class 3-6 was secretly playing on his phone while the teacher was away.
Zheng Quan noticed and suddenly felt playful. He knocked lightly on the back door window with a solemn expression.
“Ah wah!”
The kid was clearly startled and shoved his phone hurriedly into the gap between a stack of books on the desk.
Then, casting a furtive glance upward, he caught sight of Zheng Quan’s intimidating, no-anger-just-authority face, and panicked, thinking he was some unknown school official.
His expression instantly turned miserable.
(Oh no! Why is my luck so bad today? Without confiscating them, I don’t even have four phones left anymore QAQ)
Just then, He Yanli entered the classroom.
Without her even saying “Quiet,” the class instantly fell silent.
She walked onto the podium and said, “Today, our class will welcome a new student who will spend the last year of middle school with us.”
“Eh?”
“A new student?”
“Could it be the person we saw this morning? Really?!”
Discussion broke out in the classroom.
Clap clap.
He Yanli, deliberately letting them talk a moment longer, then clapped her hands, and silence returned.
“So, everyone, do you welcome the new student?”
“Yes!!!”
The response was thunderous.
“Let’s give a round of applause to welcome the new student to Grade Three, Class 3-6!”
Leading the applause, He Yanli turned her gaze toward the door.
“Eh, eh?!”
Standing at the doorway, Zi Yan was caught off guard by the sudden applause, unsure what to do.
He turned his head toward his father standing near the back door, his eyes filled with a silent plea for help.
Zheng Quan said nothing, just smiled and gave his son a thumbs-up.
There was no other way.
Summoning all his courage, Zi Yan took a big step into the classroom.
“That’s definitely the person we saw this morning! Wow, he looks even more beautiful up close.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Having only spent a few days in school since childhood, Zi Yan had never experienced such a scene—dozens of pairs of eyes staring at him like he was a precious work of art…
“G-Good, good morning, everyone.” Zi Yan’s body began to tremble. “I, I… ugh.”
Calm down, calm down, don’t speak German!
He shook his head to clear it and introduced himself, “My name is Zheng Zi Yan. Please take care of me.”