The other "Murong Yu" sighed. "Enough, Xuefeng. How long do you intend to play the game? Either go and grab her or just leave this place. Blow up the base or something and come to the US with me. I'll take care of you."
"Aww, is my little brother, Xiao Yu, worried about me?" Murong Yu said with a smile as he leaned forward to ruffle his "little brother's" hair. In the entire world, his "little brother" was the only person he would trust with his own life.
Xiao Yu slapped Murong Yu's hand away and looked at Murong Yu's pale face as he said sternly, "I'm not joking. Let me take care of you until..."
He glanced at the prescription bottles that were on Murong Yu's desk. The bottles had increased since the last time they met, and he was worried that it might not be long before...
"No need. Xiao Yu, just let me be. You're free now and you should enjoy it. Go back to the States. Once you go back, I'd leave this school." Murong Yu then gave him an evil smirk as he said, "Since you're free, help me mark these papers. After all, Murong Yu is the teacher and not Xuefeng."
Xiao Yu rolled his eyes and took over the stack of papers that needed to be marked. If it were before, he would just ignore his big brother, but now... Seeing his big brother doing his best to hide his pain, he sighed as he continued where Murong Yu left off.
Based on how Murong Yu kept frowning and pinching his glabella, Xiao Yu could see that his big brother was feeling extreme discomfort, but before he could say anything, Murong Yu shook his head.
"I'm going to sleep now. Don't forget. You have a class in an hour. Actually, just take all of my classes. Oh, don't forget to change your shoes," Murong Yu said as he walked into the small bedroom that the school prepared for him.
Since the teachers at the school all worked long hours, especially during the exam period, the school had prepared a small bedroom in each of their offices for them to rest in. It was a small room with only a simple bed and a small closet for extra clothes in case the teachers wanted to stay at school.
As for the shoes, because of the difference between their height, whenever Murong Yu felt weak and his brother had to take over the class, the latter would have to wear padded shoes in order to avoid suspicion.
"Don't forget to lock the door," Xiao Yu said without looking up.
When he heard a "click", Xiao Yu looked up at the bedroom door. He then murmured to himself, "Xuefeng, do you really want to end your life like this?"
A flashback went through his mind.
....
When he was 10 years old, his father brought him to see someone in a medical facility. When he saw a fully bandaged up young boy lying unconscious on the bed while rigged to a few machines, Little Xiao Yu had asked his father about the boy.
To which, his father merely said cryptically, "He will be you..."
At that time, Little Xiao Yu did not know what his father was talking about, but not long later, he realized his father's nefarious plan. The late leader of Lion's Herd wanted his son to get out of the gang life, but he was worried that his enemies might not let his son off that easily.
Thus, he decided to replace his son with another "son". Ever since he realized that his son had no interest in violence, he had been looking for a boy that could pass off as his son. After a few years, he found him.
Another boy that looked similar to his son.
Little Xiao Yu's father one of his trusted men to follow the boy, and one day, that man brought the boy back, bruised, battered, covered in dirt from top to bottom, and barely holding onto his life.
"His mother didn't make it," the man reported back to his boss as he looked at the boy who was wrapped in bandages from top to bottom. "I barely managed to get him out in time. Any later, and he would have been dead. That man was really cruel. No matter what, the boy is his biological son!"
Little Xiao Yu's father did not say anything. He merely sat at the side of the bed as he looked fondly at his precious son who was reading while he sat at the couch beside him.
When the anesthesia finally wore off, the unconscious boy opened his eyes slightly. Despite feeling weak, he fearlessly glared at the two strange men and the boy who were beside him.
"Interesting..." Little Xiao Yu's father thought as he stared at the boy who was staring at them fearlessly.
The boy had an angry glare in his eyes, and that angry glare told the late leader of Lion's Herd that the boy wanted to live.
A boy who wanted the power to take revenge.
"Do you want to kill the man that killed your mother?" Little Xiao Yu's father asked, which caused his own son to look over with a frown. However, he merely waved his hand to tell his son not to interrupt.
With much effort, the boy replied with one word, "Die."
"Xiao Yu, go out with Uncle Chen," Little Xiao Yu's father said to his son.
Little Xiao Yu glanced at the boy on the bed before he nodded. He then walked out with the man who saved the boy, his mother's brother, Uncle Chen.
Once they left, Little Xiao Yu's father then told the boy what he wanted from him. The moment he finished speaking, the boy agreed immediately and said, "He. Die."
The boy was so agitated that his blood seeped out of his newly-stitched wounds, but he was so angry that he did not even feel it.
The late leader was right. Even though the journey of recovery was tough, the boy managed to survive his terrible injury eventually.
They made an agreement. The late leader promised to give the boy a good life while the boy promised to keep everything a secret.
Since then, the boy had a new identity.
....
As he looked back at the papers, Xiao Yu sighed. "Dad, you were a really cruel person..."
.....
With his head low, Xiao Zhihao looked at his plate of braised pork rice that was drenched with ketchup. His hair was covered with ketchup as well, and he could feel them running down his back.
Johnny was holding an emptied ketchup bottle while his best friends Joshua and Oliver giggled at the side.
"Oops... My hands slipped..." Jonny said with a smile as he placed the ketchup bottle down on the table.
The other kids in the cafeteria either giggled or talked among themselves. No one bothered to help him. After all, there was no benefit in helping a poor scholarship student. As for the other scholarship students who came from the same background as him, they were either too afraid to even look that way or they were indifferent to it.
No one wanted to be the focus of attention. Some were worried that if they helped, they might be the next target for those three; some were stressed out by the school's curriculum and they just wanted something to laugh at.
"I... It's fine," Xiao Zhihao said with his eyes closed. His fists were clenched tightly.
"You know, we waited for you at the party... How can you skip it? We were so disappointed," Oliver said as he wiped the ketchup on the table on Xiao Zhihao's cheek.
Xiao Zhihao's face was completely reddened now, both by anger and by the ketchup that was sliding down his cheek. When he opened his eyes, there was a wave of hidden anger. Yet he forced himself to smile.
With the forced smile, he stood up and said, "Sorry. I was busy. I'll go and clean up now."
He then quickly carried his tray of food and put it to the designated area. As he walked out of the cafeteria, he could feel the sneer and whispers that were targeted at him. However, with his fists clenched, he told himself to bear with it.
"Just a few more years..." he thought as he headed toward the toilet to clean up. Although he wondered if he could actually last that long.
As he watched, Joshua continued to snack on his pack of ch.i.p.s as he asked curiously, "Are we letting him go just like that? I still want to play more."
Johnny sneered, "Of course not. Let's go."
However, just as they were about to leave the cafeteria, someone blocked their way.
"Hey, get-" Johnny was about to say something when he realized who it was that blocked his way. "Yo, tomboy... What do you want?"
The one who blocked their way was Alex, the twins' friend. "I have a name you know."
"Ya, and your name is Tomboy," Johnny smirked. He waved his hand nonchalantly as he said, "Out of my way. I have things to do."
Alex stuck her tongue at him before she spurted ketchup on him. As she held the bottle, she grinned. "Oops, my hands are kinda slippery."
Johnny wiped the ketchup away from his face and snarled, "You b*tch!"
When he glared at her, he saw the twins who had appeared behind her.