The two parents chatted ahead, so Yu Shulin walked alongside the boy called "Xiao He".
"You're called Shulin? Hello, I'm Zhou He, Liang Zhou's cousin." Zhou He bore some resemblance to Liang Zhou, especially in the contour of his mouth, which was almost identical. However, because he smiled often, his features appeared much softer than Liang Zhou's.
"Hello, I'm Yu Shulin."
"When did you come to B City? Do you also go to City No.2 High School? Which class are you in? I'll come find you to hang out later." Zhou He seemed very cheerful, slinging an arm over Yu Shulin's shoulder with familiar ease. "How do you usually get along with my cousin? You actually haven't frozen to death around him, that's really something. You have no idea, all us cousins are most afraid of his stern face, even my dad and uncle are like that."
Yu Shulin felt a bit awkward from his overly familiar tone, but the nervousness in his heart lessened considerably. He answered gently, "I came to B City after the high school entrance exams. I'm in Experimental Class 2 now."
"You're in an experimental class?" Zhou He's eyes widened, then his face filled with admiration. "I'm in Class 6, right below yours. You're amazing, actually getting into an experimental class. Wait, Yu Shulin... the one who got second in the grade level, that wouldn't be you, would it?"
"It's me." He felt inexplicably embarrassed and added, "I just performed well on the test."
"Performed well, my foot... that monthly exam paper was practically inhuman!" Zhou He said indignantly, thinking of the scene after the grades came out when his dad gave him a thorough scolding, grinding his white teeth.
Zhou Qingren withdrew his gaze from looking back and asked sideways, "How's that child's character?"
Liang Zhou waved the materials in his hand, a slight smile curling his lips. "He's very good."
Those were the materials handed out at the parent-teacher conference. Zhou Qingren knew them well; he had a set himself, for Zhou He. His gaze lingered on his nephew's overly brilliant expression, and he ultimately couldn't suppress his curiosity. "He's also a first-year at City No.2 High? How many points did he get on the monthly exam?"
"Not many. Just second in the grade, first in his class."
"..." It had only been a while since they last met, but his nephew was getting more and more annoying. Zhou Qingren pushed up his glasses, a cold glint flashing on the lenses—it seemed it was time to seriously crack down on Xiao He's grades.
During lunch, Zhou Qingren asked Yu Shulin about his daily life and studies, his attitude gentle but not excessively enthusiastic. Zhou He buried his head in his food, eating happily, his attitude towards Yu Shilin much more natural. Liang Zhou didn't talk much, occasionally chatting with Zhou Qingren. The atmosphere at the table was quite harmonious.
Yu Shulin felt a bit strange inside. The attitude of the Zhou father and son towards him was simply too good. After all, in a way, he was evidence of Liang Chi's "betrayal" of Liang Zhou's mother. Not being cold-shouldered was one thing, but them speaking to him so gently and amiably... they were a bit too easy to get along with.
From 1 PM to 2 PM was the time for parents to tour the school. Liang Zhou and Zhou Qingren weren't very enthusiastic about this activity, so they simply found a teahouse to rest, continuing their casual chat from lunch.
Zhou He sprawled unceremoniously on the sofa. Seeing Yu Shulin sitting properly with a problem-solving workbook in his hands, his admiration for him surged like an endless river.
"It's break time now, understand? Break. What are you reading for? Ugh, did cousin force you to get a certain rank? Look what he's driven you to. Come on, relax." Zhou He pulled the exercise book from his hands and shoved a magazine into them. "Read this, this is more interesting."
"Brother didn't force me. He's very good." Yu Shulin smiled in defense, obediently picking up the magazine and flipping through it. "Do you usually read this?" He cherished his current study environment so much that he had unconsciously slipped into bookworm mode, rarely paying attention to other students' entertainment activities.
"Actually, it's not that interesting either." Zhou He pouted, then waved a fist. "Next time, I'll take you to play ball. A real man should sweat it out on the sports field!"
Yu Shulin looked at his own skinny body, then at the muscles on Zhou He's arm. He fell silent, reflected on his own lack of physical activity, nodded, and agreed, "You have a point. Let's do it together next time."
"No problem, I've got your back!"
Liang Zhou withdrew his gaze and picked up his teacup for a sip.
"Reassured now? I told you Xiao He wouldn't bully him. Speaking of which, it's our Zhou family who wronged him. If it weren't for that agreement back then, he and his mother wouldn't have moved all the way to W City." Zhou Qingren took off his glasses to wipe them, seemingly recalling something, his expression turning subdued as he sighed.
"I will make it up to him." Liang Zhou didn't like this pitying look he had for Yu Shulin and frowned. "He's fine, and he'll live well in the future. Don't worry unnecessarily."
"..." This nephew was indeed as unlovable as ever.
Zhou Qingren put his glasses back on. Just as he picked up his teacup to take a sip, the lenses fogged up again from the steam. He frowned and took them off once more. "When are you planning to take Qingchi back? Your uncle is getting impatient with managing it."
"I don't want it. I just got my hands on Rongguang; I don't have the time."
"That's the company your mother left you. You're really not going to manage it?" Zhou Qingren raised an eyebrow, squinting at him. "You're grown up now. Being this lazy isn't good."
"...I'll talk about it after I've straightened out Rongguang." With his thoughts seen through, Liang Zhou lowered his eyes, his expression darkening a bit. Rongguang alone was annoying enough; adding Qingchi on top would leave him even less time to spend with Shulin, wouldn't it? What if his little brother went astray?
...Tch.
The afternoon one-on-one class meetings proceeded smoothly. Apart from people occasionally stealing glances at Liang Zhou, everything was perfect.
Yu Shulin had good grades, so naturally he was the main subject of the teachers' praise. Liang Zhou wore a gentle, humble smile, listening to the teachers' words, his heart full of pride—Hmm, his younger brother was really quite something.
Teacher Gao, standing at the podium, saw his demeanor and was so disgusted she wished she could poke her own eyes out. This inexplicable getup, this fake, polite smile... was this really her former star student?
Seeing Liang Zhou happy, Yu Shulin's inner worries subsided a bit. For him, only two things mattered most—his studies and his family. Now his studies were going well, and his only family member was also happy, so he naturally felt content.
The top female students in the class had been secretly observing the two brothers, their faces flushed, hearts practically shooting out of their eyes. Ah, the Yu Shulin brothers were simply too easy on the eyes! The younger brother had good grades, a good temper, and looked refined and handsome. The older brother also appeared gentle, refined, and gentlemanly—they practically glowed! Ahhh, so exciting, especially the older brother. He looked like a celebrity, ahhhhh!
The top male students, however, were filled with sour bubbles of envy. Why did they have to experience the inhumanity of "someone else's child" and "someone else's parent" even after getting into an experimental class? Parent-teacher conferences were the worst!
Li Tao's gaze swept around the classroom before he turned to look back at Yu Shulin, who was smiling. His eyes darkened slightly as he slumped onto the desk. His was the only parent's seat in the whole class that remained empty, standing out awkwardly amidst the noisy classroom chatter.
"Li Tao, this is for you."
Li Tao paused, sat up straight, and turned to look at the palm Yu Shulin was holding out towards him. "What for?"
"My brother brought these. I can't finish them all, so help me eat them." Yu Shulin scratched his cheek, looking a little embarrassed. He hadn't expected Liang Zhou to pack up all the candy and snacks Aunt Liu had prepared. Now his desk compartment was completely full of them, with no room left for books... This wasn't a primary school parent-teacher meeting where you needed to bring candy for classmates...
"I don't eat candy," Li Tao frowned, refusing to take it.
Yu Shulin glanced at the empty seat beside Li Tao. Instead of withdrawing the candy, he directly took Li Tao's hand, firmly pressed the candy into his palm, and closed his fingers around it. "It's not candy, it's chocolate. The not-too-sweet kind." After saying this, he let go and turned to talk to Liang Zhou, who was flipping through a textbook beside him.
The candy wrapper felt prickly in his hand. Li Tao looked at Yu Shulin's profile, pressed his lips together, stuffed the candy into his pocket, and slumped back onto the desk.
Wang Zhi didn't understand Yu Shulin's attempt to be friendly despite Li Tao's cold shoulder. He pursed his lips and whispered, "Why bother with him? He has such poor relationships with people, all because of his terrible temper."
“We're all classmates. Here, I still have some fruit drops. Auntie seems to really like them, take them all.” Yu Shulin smiled, changing the subject as he bent his head to pick out the fruit drops. Li Tao's temper was indeed bad, but he wasn't a bad person at heart. Yu Shulin understood all too well the feeling of loss and hurt when your parent is the only one not present at a parent-teacher meeting. At times like that, having someone talk to you might make it a little easier to bear.
"You're just too thoughtful. My mom practically treats you like her own son now," Wang Zhi groaned in mock despair.
"Stop talking nonsense," Mom Wang laughed, giving him a light tap. "Learn from Shulin. Look at how boisterous you are. Be careful, or I really might not want you anymore."
"Mom!"
Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere grew lively again.
Listening to the laughter and conversation behind him, Li Tao took out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, put it in his mouth, and buried his face in the crook of his arm... Hmm, sweet.
Liang Zhou set down the textbook he had been flipping through. He glanced briefly at Li Tao, who was still slumped over, then reached out to gently stroke Yu Shulin's soft hair. As always, his own kid was the best.
