Chapter 158: shen ji yun's gift

WHEN the bell rang, Luo Yan neatly put his e-tablet back in his bag. Although he's a bit disappointed that the teachers in the afternoon class still only talked about their subject's course syllabus, he must say that this first day was still quite fruitful.

He stood up and was immediately surrounded. Luo Yan didn't mind. He was the new kid, a huge source of curiosity. That curiosity was only amplified further by his appearance. As time passed, he was sure that the novelty of it all would fade. They would get used to his presence. And then they wouldn't surround him like this anymore.

"Luo Yan, is your brother going to come and get you again?" one asked.

"Yes," he answered very amiably.

Huang Wen who just stood up heard that. He wanted to say some scathing remarks. Like; letting your younger brother fetch you, what are you, a kid? But he held himself back. Or else, what happened earlier in the morning might happen again. He didn't really know how to argue with someone who used innocence instead of violence to fight back. 

He just wasn't sure if that innocence was fabricated or natural. He wanted to think it's the former. That way, he wouldn't care much if he said anything offensive to him. But if it's the latter, then he would just feel guilty arguing with someone who couldn't understand why they're arguing. He just huffed and decided to not think about it anymore. And then he walked out of the classroom.

"I still couldn't believe that Luo Jin is the type who would care for his brother. You know, being always so violent and all. When I saw him earlier coming to our class, my eyes almost bulged," another one said to Luo Yan. Then as if realizing that she just literally said that Luo Jin was a violent delinquent, she gasped and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say something so rude."

Luo Yan smiled at her. "It's okay. And Ah Jin is not violent. He's very lovely and cute. It pains me when people think about him in a negative light." He then showed a sad expression. After that, he raised his head and made sure that his eyes looked like it was silently pleading at them. "I hope everyone could see him the same way I do."

Looking at those big pleading eyes, it felt like their hearts were squeezed by something. So even though they couldn't really see that always violent Luo Jin as 'cute' and 'lovely', in fact, those two words were so far off from the guy, they still nodded their heads vigorously. 

"Yes, of course we will," everyone said almost at the same time.

Luo Yan smiled, his big peach blossom eyes bending into crescents. "Thank you everyone."

Everyone looked like they would melt at any second and turned into a puddle. How could someone, a boy their age even, be so lovely?

Luo Yan was about to speak again when his eyes caught a scene. Not far away, someone bumped into a tall girl wearing glasses. The girl almost tripped over. Instead of apologizing, the boy just went ahead and continued walking. As if he didn't see the girl at all. Their other classmates near the two also acted like nothing happened. Much to his surprise, the girl didn't react at all. 

He could only think of one reason why. She's used to it.

"Who's that girl?" Luo Yan asked curiously, looking at the direction of the tall girl who was about to leave the classroom.

"Oh, that's—" the one who tried to answer Luo Yan's question stopped, as if she was trying to remember the name of the girl. 

"Her name is Yu Jiao," finished another girl. "You don't have to mind her. She's a loner. She preferred to be alone so we also just let her."

"I see," Luo Yan only said.

Being a loner and being treated like she didn't exist were two completely different things. And here Luo Yan thought that this class had a good atmosphere.

Soon, Luo Jin arrived and he said goodbye to his classmates.

----------

Luo Yan and Luo Jin arrived at home a few minutes after five in the afternoon. The first thing that Luo Yan did when they entered the house was to speak with one of the maids.

"Was there an item delivered for me today?" he asked.

"Yes, second young master," the slightly startled maid answered. "We put it in second young master's room."

"Okay, thank you," Luo Yan said and let the maid continue what she was doing.

"You bought something online?" Luo Jin asked when he heard the conversation.

"No. Brother Ji Yun sent me a gift for passing my exam."

The corner of Luo Jin's eye twitched when he heard that. "Why did he have to send you a gift?"

"Because we're friends and he wanted to congratulate me," Luo Yan simply answered. Seeing the deep frown on Luo Jin's face, he sighed. "Ah Jin, when will your prejudice against Brother Ji Yun disappear? Brother Ji Yun is a good person." Although a bit awkward with a facial expression that didn't change much. "Do you know that almost all my classmates think you're a violent person? But I told them that you're cute and lovely. And they promised that they would try to see you the same way. You should do the same for Brother Ji Yun."

Luo Jin's whole face suddenly turned red. He couldn't care less about Shen Ji Yun. Not when he just heard his brother said that he told his classmates to see him as 'cute' and 'lovely'. Now he wondered if he could ever show his face in that class again. 

"You- you--!" he pointed at Luo Yan, not really sure if he's angry, frustrated, or simply embarrassed.

"Me?" Luo Yan said, tilting his head innocently.

At the end, Luo Jin could only stomped his feet and climbed up to his room. 

Luo Yan chuckled. Ah, he really missed bullying Luo Jin. If he didn't do that, he was sure his younger brother would just go on and on about him not receiving gifts from Shen Ji Yun. He might even take the gift and throw it out.

He happily went to his room. The moment he did, he immediately saw a box on his study table. He walked forwards and picked it up. It was wrapped simply and elegantly in a black box with a white ribbon. He untied the ribbon then opened the box.

Inside was a small mahogany box carved beautifully. When he opened it, music suddenly filled his room. Not just any music. It was the same music he danced to when they were in that blue door doing task for the King of Arcadia's birthday. Then slowly, two small figures rose from the inside of the box. 

One was a fluffy white rabbit wearing a red robe while the other was a fierce qilin wearing an all-black costume. The two were facing each other and holding each other's hands. They rotate in circle with the music. 

The dress the rabbit was wearing was obviously the same as what he wore inside the blue door. While the qilin was wearing the same clothes as Shen Ji Yun's. Even the lower half of his face was covered. It was quite obvious that this music was customized. It probably took a lot of effort to design it.

"So it did have something to do with a rabbit," he murmured helplessly.

His eyes were soft as he stared at the two figures. And his heart was filled with unprecedented warmth and joy.