Introduction: the beginning that prepares for the main part of the piece.
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Yang Liu.
The surname Yáng was sixth on the list of most widely spoken surnames in China, and the first name Liǔ meant willow tree. The word Liǔ sounded similar to Liù, which was the number six. The number six was generally considered a lucky number in China because Liù sounded like Liú, which meant "flow."
Many businesses displayed the number 6 to bring good fortune. Unlike in western culture where 666 was associated with the devil, multiples of 6 were good in Chinese culture.
The good fortunes were also attached to Yang Liu. If you ran into Yang Liu, then you could be sure you wouldn't be able to look away for at least ten seconds, sometimes even longer than that. Even when the man had walked past you, your head would automatically turn to him, following where the man was going. Why? It was because Yang Liu was very handsome.
The young man was quite tall. His height was 183 cm, and his posture was slender. His skin was fair and smooth like porcelain, his hair as black as ebony, he had a pair of wide-set eyes with double eyelids, a straight nose, and a pair of thick lips which reddish. And, the already complete package still got the bonus of a dimple on his left cheek.
The grace given by the Almighty did not stop there. The young man who was born in Tianjin seventeen years ago was also blessed with a brilliant brain. English and Mathematics were the two subjects he was good at the most. In addition, the handsome young man was also good at playing musical instruments and was also good at playing basketball. Such a complete package in one body.
The young man had left his hometown since he was in his third year in middle school. At a very young age, but that did not hinder his parents' desire to send their youngest son to Beijing. Of course, there was a reason behind all decisions, and the reason had to do with Yang Liu's 'dark side.'
True, the near-perfect figure also had a dark side in him. Behind his charming appearance, it turned out that there was a monster inside. Don't think too positively about the word 'monster' and just accept the fact that the word had a denotative meaning.
Yes, Yang Liu was indeed a monster in the true sense. To be precise, he was a vampire. That was the reason why he ended up in Beijing at a young age. True, he was 'dumped' by his parents.
At the end of the day, the number 6 for Yang Liu meant devil, just like Western culture believed. That was not a lucky number for him.
Yang Liu was now in his first year in Zhineng Science high school, a school that focused specifically on the field of science.
It had been a semester since he became a student at a male-only school in downtown Beijing after he completed his middle school year. Yang Liu himself chose that school on the pretext that he did not want to deal with female students who would follow him every day, just like chicks that faithfully followed their mother. He was more than enough of his popularity in middle school, and he just wanted to be a regular student at an all-male school.
Yang Liu did not expect that there were some students with 'special preference in his current school,' and he was still admired by his schoolmates who actually had the same 'lightsabers' as his.
Today, Yang Liu entered the classroom just as the bell rang loudly. Even though he had a brilliant brain, Yang Liu was not the kind of diligent student who would arrive at the school thirty minutes before the bell rang.
The tall, slender student took his seat right by the window. The seat was located in the back corner of the classroom.
"I thought you were late."
The name of the student who just spoke to him was Fang Xing, a figure of an exotic tan-skinned man who sat right in front of his desk, but was currently turning his head towards him.
Fang Xing had a shorter stature than Yang Liu, maybe about four to five centimeters shorter than him. His hair was in chocolate color, he had a pair of slanted eyes with single eyelids, a Grecian nose, and also a pair of thick lips. If measured by the level of good looks, Yang Liu won hands down.
"I always come at this time every day. There's no need to worry about me."
Yang Liu's cold and indifferent reply made Fang Xing snort and turn his head back to look forward. The tan-skinned student immediately regretted that he bothered to greet his cold friend.
Cold and indifferent. That kind of image was built by Yang Liu since he moved to Beijing one year ago. A sturdy invisible fortress was built by him firmly, not letting anyone break through. Yes, anyone, except Fang Xing who managed to outwit Yang Liu's defenses and sneak in, stole a place in Yang Liu's heart as the only friend in school.
But, until this moment, Fang Xing did not know the true identity of Yang Liu. To be precise, no one in the school knew about his true identity.
Fang Xing only knew that Yang Liu lived alone in Beijing because his parents lived in Tianjin. Even though they got along well at school, but they didn't know much about each other's personal lives. Both of them respected each other's privacy.
A teacher who was known to be in charge of Chemistry entered the classroom, making the twenty-four students in the class immediately sat down quietly. The class leader, who was sitting in the front corner, led the greeting procession followed by his classmates.
The male teacher answered the greeting with a faint smile. "Good morning too, boys. Today you are very excited, huh?" He asked full of pleasantries to which the students lazily replied.
It was clear that the students looked so lackluster, but they were even called excited. Meaning to be sarcastic, huh?
The teacher chuckled a little amused before continued, "We have a new transfer student from Shanxi today." The man in his 40s turned to the door which was still open and gestured to someone at the door. "Come on in and introduce yourself to your new friends."
Not long after, a tall student entered the classroom. The student looked so nerd with a pair of round glasses and brown mushroom hair.
The new student stood beside the teacher, then bowed for a moment. "Hello, everyone. My name is Zhou Yongliang. Yǒng means forever and Liàng means bright. I come from Daiyang Village in Shanxi Province. It's nice to meet you all."
The sound of boisterous whispers started to fill the classroom after Zhou Yongliang finished his introductory session. The new kid looked very cheerful and friendly despite his nerdy appearance. He smiled very broadly at the whole room.
"So, you are from the village, huh? No wonder you look tacky. Your dialect sounds weird too."
A student sitting in the middle of the class suddenly sneered, resulting in laughter from the other students. They started talking about Zhou Yongliang's appearance, which could be said to be lousy. A white shirt buttoned to the top and closed by a tie knot, pair of trousers ironed with a vertical line down the front, and a large yellow backpack that hung from the boy's back.
But, it seemed that Zhou Yongliang was not insecure about the taunts. "You insulted the country people, didn't you?" The boy asked irritably. "Yes, I'm indeed a country person, born from a peasant family, living on the urban fringe that's dominated by farmland. I speak the Shanxi dialect[1] since forever. But, what's wrong with that? You city people depend on us for life. Where do you think the wheat, millet, and soybeans that get into your fat belly come from?"
The class was now laughing back at the student who had mocked Zhou Yongliang before. What a strong counterattack!
Feeling humiliated, the 'fat' guy immediately got up from his chair and walked over to Zhou Yongliang. His hands grabbed Zhou Yongliang by the collar even though he had to tiptoe because he was way shorter than his opponent.
"Who do you call fat, huh?!"
The chubby kid's shout was loud and echoing throughout the classroom. The whole classroom fell silent.
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Footnote:
[1] Shanxi dialect: is used in Shanxi Province and is known as a dialect that is difficult to understand.