The next morning, Bai Luoyin got up to get ready for school. Jiang Yuan had had him enrolled in a private school.
His new uniform was a long navy-blue colored trouser, a white shirt and a plaid jacket. A sharp contrast to the sportswear his former school used as their school uniform.
The uniform hugged his body surprisingly well. It was likely Jiang Yuan had used one of his clothes size to have the said uniform made.
Her words echoed in his head, "My husband's son attends that school. Why should you deserve any less?"
It had made him wonder if she'd expect him to jump off a cliff if her husband's son were doing the same.
Bai Luoyin walked downstairs with his backpack slung on his right shoulder, ready to leave.
"Luoyin," Jiang Yuan called.
He stopped and rolled his eyes.
"What now?" he mumbled.
"You look very nice in your new uniform," she smiled, a feeling of fulfillment overwhelming her.
"Is that all?" he asked in a tone that was rude and calm at the same time. He knew he looked nice, he just felt uncomfortable in the fancy outfit they dared call a school uniform.
"Come and have breakfast with us," she pointed to the large dining area.
He subconsciously glanced at the direction she had pointed to. Gu Weiting and a boy around his age, wearing the same school uniform as he was sitting there, both of them watching him keenly. He immediately guessed the boy was his stepbrother.
What a happy family.
"I'll rather not," he objected. "I'm in a hurry."
"Okay," Jiang Yuan said, obviously displeased. "Wait. Let me give you some money so you can buy something later."
"I don't want your money," Bai Luoyin quickly objected.
Gu Hai chuckled. This dude is obviously a fake. If he has no interest in their money, why is he living in their house and going to his school?
"Then wait for Da Hai so he can bring you to school in his car."
Adding one to one, he guessed Da Hai was the boy on the dining table.
Does your husband's son have a car? You should get one for me as well since you desperately need me to be on the same level as him, Bai Luoyin thought.
Gu Hai was furious at Jiang Yuan's suggestion. He squeezed his chopsticks, trying to contain his anger.
I must act rationally. I have a plan that I must follow meticulously if it is to work, Gu Hai told himself.
"I'll rather walk," Bai Luoyin told Jiang Yuan firmly.
Gu Hai scoffed. Apparently, he's also a good actor.
"If you don't want to go with Da Hai, someone else can bring —"
"I've been walking to school all these years. I'm sure I'll be fine," he interrupted her, his voice doing nothing to mask his irritation as he walked out the door.
When he finally got to school, there was already a teacher in class. He stood outside for a minute, closed his eyes and sighed. He was late again. Some things never change. He was in a new school, but he had the same bad habit of getting to school late.
As he opened his eyes, he noticed someone resting against the wall, his piercing eyes staring at him, the teacher must have asked him to stand out here as punishment.
They did that in the rich people school too? Bai Luoyin chuckled quietly.
Why was this person looking at him like that, why was his face so familiar? He could not remember where he had seen him before now. Was it in a movie? He does have the looks of a movie star. Wasn't this rich-people kind of school a movie star would attend?
Now is not the time, Bai Luoyin.
He held his head up, walked into the classroom, past the teacher and took the first empty seat he saw.
Gu Hai watched him waltz into the classroom and take the empty seat directly in front of his.
So, Jiang Yuan's son is in his class, and he dared take the seat in front of him? That place was empty because people who knew him in this class always gave him space.
Bai Luoyin wondered why it seemed his new classmates were staring at him. Was it that obvious he did not fit into this place? Not to be bothered, he put his head on his desk and closed his eyes.
Luo Xiaoyu, the class's homeroom teacher, was vexed. She walked over to Bai Luoyin and tapped his shoulder.
He raised his head to look at her.
"You're tardy and apparently… remorseless about it. Then you immediately start sleeping in class?"
He looked up at her and reluctantly sat up.
Why does she look like my mum? he pondered.
When she did not get a reply from him, she continued, "Well, you obviously have no sense of responsibility. Moreover, since you are in school, I will let you know that we do not only teach you things written in books. We also teach discipline and responsibility.
"From today, you're the class captain. For your first task, pass a sheet of paper around the class and collect everyone's names then create a sitting layout according to those names."
"Yes ma," Bai Luoyin answered. He was accustomed to being class captain but it that was usually because he was smart, not because he was tardy.
He sighed. Everything is upside down in this place. The uniforms, the lockers in the hallway, the cars the students drove and the smug snobby faces the students wore.
"Gu Hai," Luo Xiaoyu called, and Bai Luoyin's head swerved towards the direction of the door, where she was staring at. "Go and take your seat. I hope you've learned your lesson."
As Bai Luoyin saw him coming in, he busied himself, pretending to be indifferent to him. Was that the son of his mum's husband? It is no wonder he looked vaguely familiar to him just now. He had given him a quick glance this morning at the dining table. Why were they in the same class?
'Damn you, Jiang Yuan. You act polite and sweet, but your ways are evil and manipulative,' he thought.
In truth, this was purely coincidental. Jiang Yuan had no idea Bai Luoyin and Gu Hai were in the same class.
Gu Hai walked in, staring at Bai Luoyin who looked like he was scribbling something down on a piece of paper.
He wondered what he was writing. The class was yet to begin.
Gu Hai had only seen him twice, but this guy pissed him off.