When Cheng Yue heard that wake-up time, his eyes went blank.
What did it mean to get up at 6 a.m.?
He might as well slap Ji Xu and boast about how impossible it was to enforce such a thing. It was absolutely out of the question.
Ji Xu glanced at Cheng Yue, who was sitting there wrapped in a blanket and not saying a word, then looked down at the clothes scattered on the floor.
On the floor was a pair of jeans riddled with holes and a jacket that let the wind through no matter how you tried to blow it. It looked like a wind turbine, with questionable fashion sense.
After thinking for a while, Cheng Yue clenched his fists, clutching the blanket, and stubbornly said, “I’m not going to school. I absolutely refuse to go to a school that starts at 6 a.m.”
Ji Xu looked at him, took out his phone, and called Tang Jing.
As soon as the call connected, Tang Jing’s cheerful voice came through, “We just parted ways! Your sudden longing is quite unexpected!”
“Business,” Ji Xu said, glancing at Cheng Yue, who was struggling with his messy hair. That hair would soon be shaved off.
Shaving it off would look best.
Tang Jing quickly sobered up, responding seriously, “What can I do for you?”
“Isn’t your uncle from the Education Bureau?” Ji Xu asked.
“Yes,” Tang Jing replied, puzzled by Ji Xu’s sudden question. Then he remembered the child Ji Xu was taking care of.
“Is this about the kid needing to go to school?”
“Mm, I’m not sure what school he attended in the U.S., but regarding his school registration…” Ji Xu’s explanation was cut off by Tang Jing.
“Don’t be so formal. We’re family,” Tang Jing said with a laugh. “There’s no problem with the school. Just point me in the right direction, and I’ll take care of it. The issue is that the kid doesn’t seem like someone who’s serious about studying. Don’t put in all this effort to get him organized only for him to disappear on you.”
“Impossible.” Ji Xu glanced at Cheng Yue, who was wrapped in a ball of blankets on the bed. “If he dares to run away, I’ll beat him up.”
“Alright, I know you’re a bit of a thug. After all, we’ve been classmates for decades,” Tang Jing said, reflecting on Ji Xu’s past exploits. He clicked his tongue in appreciation. As Ji Xu became more silent on the phone, Tang Jing quickly concluded, patting his chest.
“Send me the kid’s details, and I’ll handle it. If it’s urgent, you can even drag the kid to the police station tonight.”
“Within the next couple of days,” Ji Xu said before hanging up. He walked over to the bed and pulled off the blanket.
Cheng Yue had been struggling to put on his pants while wrapped in the blanket, with his upper body in a nightshirt and his pants only half on.
He was only properly dressed in his underwear, but due to bending over, the underwear sagged slightly, exposing part of his butt.
Ji Xu frowned, unsure whether to place the blanket back or take it away.
Cheng Yue, face flushed, quickly pulled up his pants with swift and decisive movements, looking valiant and graceful.
It would have been perfect if the zipper caught on his flesh, making him yelp and shout.
Ji Xu sighed, looking at Cheng Yue, who was sweating and too scared to move, feeling a bit helpless.
How did he become so foolish?
“Come here.” Ji Xu tossed the blanket onto the bed and motioned for Cheng Yue to come closer.
“No.” Cheng Yue, wincing in pain and sweating from his forehead, found the zipper painful whether he pulled it up or down, and his face turned pale.
Ji Xu sighed deeply, approached, slapped Cheng Yue’s hand away, and carefully examined the caught zipper.
Cheng Yue, taking in the sight of Ji Xu’s head near his groin, was nervous, clenching and unclenching his fists, sweating in his palms.
“Cheng Yue,” Ji Xu suddenly looked up at him.
“Huh?” Cheng Yue looked at him with a pained expression.
“Do you know how many articles there are in our country’s Minor Protection Law?” Ji Xu asked.
“How would I know about the Minor Protection Law…”
Cheng Yue was cut off by the pain, jumping up and clutching his groin, sitting down and crying out loudly, “Can’t you give a signal or something!”
“There are 72 articles,” Ji Xu said, wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
“What?” Cheng Yue, momentarily distracted from the pain by the sudden number, then recalled Ji Xu’s earlier question and inwardly cursed Ji Xu as crazy.
“After you wash your face, come out for breakfast,” Ji Xu said before turning and leaving.
Cheng Yue was furious and in pain but didn’t dare to resist. He understood Ji Xu’s intentions were for his own good—distracting him from the pain, he knew.
But damn, his groin really hurt!
Ji Xu put the packed food into the microwave for a quick reheat. When he took it out, he saw Cheng Yue emerge, wearing that wind-turbine-like outfit of his.
Cheng Yue, who was initially limping due to the pain in his groin, perked up when he smelled the food and hurried over.
Ji Xu watched as Cheng Yue wolfed down the food. Frowning, he was about to tell him to eat more slowly when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out and saw a message from Tang Jing.
[I’ve contacted the people. My uncle says it’s fine; just send him directly to Shi City No. 1 High School. That art school he attended in the U.S. has a pretty big reputation, and he was admitted as a special talent student. You can take him there this afternoon to get acquainted, and he can start classes tomorrow. They’ve already been in session for over two weeks, and any further delay will affect his performance.]
After thanking Tang Jing, Ji Xu sat down on the sofa, waiting for Cheng Yue to finish his meal.
Cheng Yue was eating with gusto, but he didn’t eat much. After shoveling in a couple of big bites at the beginning, he just nibbled at the rest of the food. He had the appetite of a rabbit.
After finishing his meal with a sip of water, Cheng Yue patted his stomach, sighed, and lay down on the sofa.
Ji Xu frowned in distaste and flipped him over, saying, “Fix your hair and get ready to go.”
“Go where?” Cheng Yue touched his messy hair and went to his room to grab a black baseball cap to wear.
Ji Xu watched him approach and asked, “Are you studying liberal arts or science?”
Cheng Yue blinked a few times, then quickly crossed to the edge of the sofa and hugged it as if it were his mother, saying, “I’m not going! I’m not going to school!”
“One…” Ji Xu, maintaining a serious expression, started counting.
Cheng Yue, feeling wronged, pouted. Unable to withstand Ji Xu’s pressure, he finally stood up and said quietly, “My mom said that Chinese high schools are no good.”
“Didn’t your mom tell you?” Ji Xu pulled on his arm and dragged him outside.
“You have an older brother and a second older brother.”
“Huh?” Cheng Yue, confused by being dragged, asked, “Did my mom say that?”
“Of course she didn’t tell you. Who do you think you are?” Ji Xu replied as he pulled Cheng Yue along, down the elevator, and into the car.
Once in the car, Cheng Yue finally realized that Ji Xu had been scolding him and glared, wanting to retort.
“What are you staring at me for?” Ji Xu asked while starting the car.
“Were you just…”
“Buckle your seatbelt,” Ji Xu said.
“Oh.”
Cheng Yue obediently fastened his seatbelt.
