BDBE 9

Chapter 9 A Quarrel

After a long day at the medical center, all the tests were finally completed. Zhou Hui was determined to see things through and take the Shen family elders home. 

The Shen parents had retired a few years ago and moved from their old house, where they had lived for over twenty years, to a spacious apartment in the southern part of the city. 

The two elderly people sat in the back seat. 

Mrs. Jiang Yin, Shen Wanchao’s mother nudged her silent husband with her elbow, and then pointed at Zhou Hui in the driver’s seat. 

Jiang Yin: Ask him already. 

Shen Xianru understood his wife’s meaning, he took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself, then opened his mouth – only to close it again, and shook his head at his wife with a bitter face. 

Shen Xianru: I can’t do it, you do it! 

Jiang Yin rolled her eyes. She knew she could never count on this old man in this lifetime. He was scolded by his father when he was young, managed by her after he got married, criticized by his superiors at the research institute, and now he was even afraid of his child and grandchild. He was a disgrace! 

Jiang Yin forced a smile and asked Zhou Hui, “Xiao Zhou, has Xiao Wan contacted you these past few days? Is he still abroad and hasn’t returned yet?” 

Knowing that meeting his future in-laws would inevitably involve questions about Shen Wanchao, Zhou Hui was prepared. 

The turn signal came on, and the car smoothly changed lanes. Zhou Hui’s calm voice came from the front seat: “Yes, he hasn’t returned yet. Don’t worry, he’ll be back once things are settled.” 

His tone was calm, and his answer seemed normal; at first glance, there was nothing wrong with him. 

But Jiang Yin knew that this was the biggest problem. This time, her son had been missing for so long, yet Zhou Hui didn’t seem worried, it was too strange. 

She tried to observe Zhou Hui’s expression through the rearview mirror, but failed. 

With his wife leading the charge, Shen Xianru felt confident again and said, “That’s right, the children have their own careers to attend to, so let’s not worry about them.” 

Jiang Yin rolled her eyes again.

She worried about her son, and also about his relationship with Zhou Hui. Although the two hadn’t told them anything, Jiang Yin sensed that something major had happened recently, and if not handled properly, the two might separate. 

After that incident twenty years ago, the Shen parents and son had become estranged. For many years, they appeared to be at peace, but only those involved truly understood the distance between them. 

Over the years, Jiang Yin had more than once been grateful that her son still had Zhou Hui by his side, that he at least had a confidant to spend his life with. 

But what if one day, even Zhou Hui left? 

Jiang Yin dared not think further. She wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to begin, and could only remain silent. 

… 

“It’s been almost a month since school started, and many students in our grade are still lazy and indulging in holiday mode, not focused on getting back into the swing of things! Students, you’re not freshmen anymore. The second year of high school goes by quickly, and before you know it, it’ll be the third year, and the college entrance exam will be here. You must get serious! To help everyone get back into the swing of things quickly, we’ll have our first monthly exam of the semester next Friday to properly assess your learning progress…”

A light spring rain was falling. On the platform, the round-figured director with a receding hairline was giving a passionate speech, hoping to inject a powerful dose of motivation into his students with his silver tongue. 

As for the effect… 

Zhou Mingchen lazily yawned, while Fang Chi, fist under his chin, was lost in thought. 

Shen Wanchao stood behind them, the tall Alphas shielded him from most of the cold wind, but an occasional gust of cold spring breeze still made him grab his school uniform collar and tuck his neck in. 

Zhou Hui had to go to a meeting in the next city today and left early, so no one had driven them to school. No one reminded him to wear a scarf. 

The grade director, whose glasses were thicker than bottle caps, instantly spotted Shen Wanchao in the crowd. He said, 

“Some students shouldn’t be so timid just because they’re cold! Too much warmth breeds laziness. The morning chill is what wakes you up! Come on, everyone, stand tall and straight! Show some spirit! Don’t forget you are all the rising sun of our nation at seven or eight in the morning!” 

Shen Wanchao paused, then pulled his hoodie up. 

Grade Director: !!! 

Shen Wanchao closed his eyes, out of sight, out of mind. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the grade director’s eloquent speech finally ended, and the students dispersed back to their classrooms. 

Among the dazzling array of school uniforms, Shen Wanchao suddenly caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar figure. 

Among the students around him, laughing and joking in small groups, that person stood out, hands in pockets, head down as he walked alone. 

Unsure if it was the person he knew, Shen Wanchao quickened his pace to approach him. 

Upon seeing the person’s face, Shen Wanchao was overjoyed. After a moment’s thought, an idea formed in his mind, and he quickened his pace even further. 

Thump! Shen Wanchao deliberately bumped into the person, and apologized, “Sorry, classmate.” 

Lin Anyi disliked physical contact with others, and subconsciously frowned. But he suddenly saw the face of the person who bumped into him. 

Before Lin Anyi realized what was happening; the other person had already begun introducing himself: 

“I’m from Class 1, my name is Shen Chao. Which class are you in? Are you alone? Want to walk together?” 

Lin Anyi opened his mouth to refuse, but then he saw an annoying guy walking up behind this classmate who called himself Shen Chao. 

Zhou Mingchen slung one arm around Shen Wanchao’s shoulder. He spoke to him but his eyes were fixed on Lin Anyi: “Class is about to start, what are you still standing here for?” 

Shen Wanchao turned around; he wanted Zhou Mingchen to leave first so he could stay and talk to Lin Anyi a bit more. 

But before he could even speak, Lin Anyi snorted, and as if he’d seen a fly, made no attempt to hide his disgust for Zhou Mingchen. He turned to leave. 

“Hey, Lin…” 

Shen Wanchao reached out to stop him, but Lin Anyi seemed to have a motor inside his feet; he disappeared dozens of meters away in the blink of an eye. Shen Wanchao tried to run after him, but Zhou Mingchen grabbed his wrist from behind. 

Shen Wanchao twisted his hand and broke free before quickly running, he only managed to say to Zhou Mingchen, “I’m going to talk to him for a bit, you go back first!” 

The Omega’s figure quickly shrank to a tiny dot. Zhou Mingchen stared blankly at his empty palm. 

A second later, hr frowned in annoyance. 

Damn it, what was he so lost about?! 

It was definitely because he hadn’t eaten breakfast and was experiencing low blood sugar. 

Meanwhile, Shen Wanchao finally caught up with Lin Anyi in front of the teaching building thanks to his long legs. 

He hadn’t thought much about it while chasing him, but now that he’d caught up, Shen Wanchao realized that given his current status, asking Lin Anyi any question would seem rather abrupt.

So he could only suppress his concern and say to Lin Anyi, “Excuse me, I bumped into you earlier. I’m really sorry. I’m also a transfer student like you, I joined this semester. You must be an Omega, right? Me too. Want to be friends?” 

Lin Anyi narrowed his eyes warily, like a stray kitten arching its back in alertness when it encounters a human on the street. 

He asked, “How did you know I’m also a transfer student?” 

Shen Wanchao’s heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and smiled: “Slip of the tongue, I didn’t know before, but I do now.” 

Lin Anyi took two steps back and said, “No need, I have no intention of making friends with anyone.” 

With that, he turned and left again. 

Shen Wanchao sighed. 

Lin Anyi was an interviewee that he met during the filming of his documentary. 

His documentary focuses on certain AO issues existing in contemporary society. For example, although there are various inhibitors and blocking patches on the market, in the dark corners that few people pay attention to, many Omegas still become pregnant or even give birth to children due to their heat cycles. Some of them can’t even support themselves, let alone raise children, so they can only apply to send these children to welfare institutions for social care. 

Lin Anyi was one such child from an orphanage. 

Shen Wanchao met him during filming; he was not yet sixteen years old at the time. Shen Wanchao felt sorry for his plight and wanted to help him as much as possible, so he recommended him to Qiongya and sponsored him to continue his studies after leaving the orphanage. 

This child was very well-behaved in front of him and even called him “Dad Shen,” but he didn’t expect him to be so shy in private. 

Shen Wanchao sighed and turned to walk towards the classroom. 

It was a little late when he returned to the classroom, but fortunately, the first period today was English class taught by the homeroom teacher, Yang Liu. The young Omega woman did not scold him but simply nodded, indicating that Shen Wanchao should hurry back to his seat. 

He noticed that Zhou Mingchen was sleeping on his desk rather than paying attention in class.

He returned to his seat, tugged at the brat’s clothes, and whispered, “Get up and listen to the lesson.” 

But Zhou Mingchen, for some unknown reason, not only ignored him but also wriggled around to shake off Shen Wanchao’s hand like he was shaking off lice. He muttered irritably “Don’t bother me.” 

Shen Wanchao felt a surge of anger and reached out to pinch the brat’s ear. 

“Slap!” 

“Clang!” 

A crisp slap followed by a sound of desks and chairs colliding echoed almost simultaneously in the quiet classroom. 

It was Zhou Mingchen; as he slapped Shen Wanchao’s hand away, he abruptly stood up, his chair nearly knocking over the desks behind him. 

Yang Liu was startled, then forced a stern expression and demanded, “Zhou… Zhou Mingchen, what are you doing?” 

“Tsk.” Zhou Mingchen glared at Shen Wanchao, then said nothing and sullenly walked out of the classroom. 

“Zhou Mingchen!” 

Yang Liu shouted angrily, but even in her anger, her voice sounded so soft and lacked any real threat, rendering her completely ineffective. 

Shen Wanchao’s hand still felt slightly numb. He blankly withdrew it. The scene just now feo like a replay of his first day at his new school. 

It was as if he had been working hard all week, only to find himself back where he started. 

Shen Wanchao heard the whispers of his classmates around him: 

“It’s him again.” 

“Annoying! If he doesn’t want to study, he shouldn’t be affecting us…” 

“Say less, or he’ll beat you up.” 

“Alphas are all like that, irritable and easily angered.” 

“Don’t generalize, are you crazy?” 

Fang Chi slammed his book on the table: “Alright, stop talking! Teacher Yang is still teaching!” 

The noisy chatter instantly subsided. 

Only Fang Chi’s deskmate, Lu Niannian, whispered a reminder: “You’ve got the Chinese textbook instead, you idiot.” 

After class, Yang Liu called Shen Wanchao to her office and asked him the same question as before: 

“Is Zhou Mingchen bullying you? Should we change seats so you won’t be affected?” 

Shen Wanchao didn’t answer Yang Liu’s question but instead asked, “Teacher Yang, has Zhou Mingchen ever bullied other students before?” 

Yang Liu was taken aback; she couldn’t understand why he asked this: “This…” 

“Teacher, you might not believe it, but he hasn’t bullied me,” Shen Wanchao lowered his eyes, “and he won’t bully anyone else.” 

Shen Wanchao felt bitter. He could see that in Yang Liu’s eyes, Zhou Mingchen was already a definitive bad student. Perhaps even Yang Liu herself didn’t realize that subconsciously she had given up on this student, and only saw him as trouble to be avoided, rather than a child who could be educated and reformed. 

But Shen Wanchao could also understand Yang Liu; ultimately, it was all because that brat’s behavior was indeed bad! 

Shen Wanchao raised his eyes, and said to Yang Liu, “Teacher, I don’t want to change seats. I want to try to get along with him properly.” 

His classmates and teachers had given up hope on Zhou Mingchen, but even if the whole world considered him a bad kid, Shen Wanchao couldn’t just abandon him like everyone else. 

After all, they were family, bound by blood. 

After all… he was that brat’s dad! 

Sen Wanchao bowed to Yang Liu, and left the office while silently reciting Tao Yan’s instructions on “blending in,” and constantly reminding himself that to truly blend in, he needed to interact with Zhou Mingchen as a peer. 

When he reached the classroom door, Shen Wanchao encountered Zhou Mingchen, who had been absent for the entire class. 

The brat had reverted to his usual lazy, indifferent demeanor. He slowly approached Shen Wanchao, then pulled a carton of milk from his oversized school uniform pocket and handed it over. 

“Here.” 

Shen Wanchao was organizing his thoughts on making peace, but all his words were disrupted by the carton of milk. 

He reached out and took the milk; it was still warm, the warmth reaching his heart as it touched his palm. 

The brat’s voice rang out from above: “Didn’t you skip breakfast?” 

Shen Wanchao grinned, revealing a dimple at the corner of his left mouth: “You mean you skipped class in front of the teacher and classmates just to buy me breakfast?” 

“No,” Zhou Mingchen corrected, “I ate breakfast, and just bought it for you.” 

Shen Wanchao didn’t press the matter further: “Haa, I actually wanted Aunt Zhao’s jianbing guozi more, but milk is fine too.” 

“Now?” 

Shen Wanchao was just joking; students couldn’t leave school during class time, so they couldn’t visit Aunt Zhao’s Jianbing stall near the school gate. 

“No need…” 

“I know a place where we can climb over the wall.” 

“?” 

“To buy jianbing.” 

“…” 

“Shall we go?”

Sen Wanchao felt his anger gradually building, he closed his eyes while repeating in his mind: “I’m his classmate, not his father; I’m his classmate, not his father; I’m his classmate, not his father; I’m his classmate, not his father; I’m his classmate…” He almost unleashed the power of the Great Compassion Mantra.¹

However, the Great Compassion Mantra had little effect on suppressing his anger. Shen Wanchao finally couldn’t hold back. He smiled warmly on the surface, but a closer look revealed the bulging veins on his temples. He questioned, 

“Do you often climb over the wall to go out, Zhou Mingchen?” 

“Occasionally… What are you doing?!” 

Shen Wanchao slowly rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. 

To hell with blending in, to hell with classmates, to hell with father-son relationship! Today, he was going to teach this brat who repeatedly violated school rules a lesson. 

Zhou Mingchen felt a shiver and instantly took a step back: “I just didn’t want you to go hungry. If you don’t eat, give it back to me.” 

Shen Wanchao’s movements stopped abruptly. He gritted his teeth and held back.

“Never mind, let’s go back to class.”

1. Mantra of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Benefits: purification of negative karmas, protection and healing. ↩︎