NASAY CH 11

The driver responded with a simple “Oh” and fell silent.

 The wiper’s frequency increased, and even he muttered, 

“This rain is too heavy. I can’t see the road at all.”

Luo Xing was afraid his phone would get wet, so he kept it in his backpack. But he worried the cake might fall apart, so he held it in his arms. 

As soon as he got out of the car, he hurried into the rain.

They lived in an old family housing complex that had been assigned to them long ago.

 The surrounding buildings had been demolished, leaving only this single, weather-beaten old building that stood even more worn under the elements, exuding an air of age and decay.

An elderly neighbor came out to pour some water and nearly splashed a basin of hot water on him. 

Startled, she quickly grabbed an umbrella. 

“little darling, why are you coming home soaked in the rain? Didn’t your mom come to pick you up? Come here and take shelter from the rain.”

Holding the cake box, Luo Xing said,

 “It’s fine. I’ll head home first. Goodbye, Grandma.”

“Come and have a piece of sweet cake… Ah, wait…!” 

Grandma Zhou watched Luo Xing’s retreating back and sighed.

Zhao Jiulan, who lived in the same courtyard, had never spoken to her. 

She was a reclusive and eccentric woman. But the child she raised, on the other hand, was remarkably well-behaved.

Grandma Zhou glanced at her own little grandson and sighed again.

“Lele, look at your brother Luo Xing. He’s always so polite and well-mannered, greets everyone he meets, never causes trouble outside, and goes straight home after school to do his homework. Now look at you—you only know how to play games all day!” 

While scolding, Grandma Zhou took a freshly steamed sweet cake from the pot, placed it on a small plate, and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Grandma,” 

Lele said, putting down his phone. He accepted the plate and smiled sweetly.

 “Lele is also a good boy!”

Grandma Zhou pinched his cheek with a smile. 

“Eat slowly, don’t burn yourself… Ah, such a big bite! Is it good?”

Lele’s mouth was stuffed, and he nodded repeatedly. 

“Grandma’s sweet cake is the best! You should try some too!”

 He picked up a piece and handed it to her.

Grandma Zhou bent down to take a bite, rubbing his head with a smile.

 “Lele is really Grandma’s little sweetheart. You didn’t disappoint me!”

Lele swung his legs while sitting on the chair and quickly finished the cake. He handed the plate back to her.

 “Grandma, I want another one! A big one!”

Grandma Zhou laughed as she took the plate. 

“Alright, alright, a big one!”

Meanwhile, Luo Xing circled around half the courtyard to reach the small yard at the back. He pushed the front door but couldn’t open it. 

He was completely soaked and shivering from the cold, barely able to hold the key steady.

After much difficulty, he managed to insert it into the keyhole, but it wouldn’t turn.

It seemed like the lock had been replaced.

Luo Xing didn’t insist. He put the key into the side pocket of his backpack, stood under the eaves, shook the rain off his head, and wrung the bottom of his shirt.

The cake box in his arms was a little wet, with raindrops trickling onto it from his chin. He wiped it with his hand and opened the box to check. 

Fortunately, the cake hadn’t fallen apart or gotten wet.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness.

Luo Xing stared blankly at the rain for a while. After some time, the rain seemed to let up a bit, and a faint rainbow appeared in the southeast sky.

He raised his hand, just about to touch the rainbow, when he heard the sound of the lock turning behind him. Immediately, he dropped his hand and turned around.

“You’re back?” 

Zhao Jiulan glanced at him with disgust. When she noticed his soaked clothes and water dripping from his hair, her brow furrowed. 

“Why didn’t you knock on the door?”

“I just got home and was about to knock.”

Luo Xing forced a small smile and carefully held out the cake he had protected all the way home. 

Even though he was drenched, the cake remained intact. 

“Mom, it’s your favorite cake. I saw it on my way back and bought some for you.”

Standing under the dry porch, Zhao Jiulan looked down at Luo Xing outside in the rain with a cold expression. She took the box without a word.

Luo Xing breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I—”

She suddenly raised her hand and flung it.

The cake smashed onto the ground, breaking into pieces. 

The cardboard box collapsed, and pale yellow cream seeped out through the cracks, quickly soaked by the rain, forming a long streak as it washed down into the drain.

Luo Xing stared blankly at the trail of cream. A flash of lightning cracked across the sky, followed by a downpour so heavy it made him squint against the rain.

“Did you go to the hospital to see Hua Zhensheng?” 

Zhao Jiulan asked.

Hua Zhensheng was the school principal. Luo Xing nodded. 

“The principal got injured. I thought I’d visit him on your behalf.”

“On my behalf?” 

Zhao Jiulan sneered. 

“He got what he deserved. Why should you visit him? Your grades are easily at the top school’s level. He sent you to the second-rate school because he took bribes and gave your spot to someone else!”

Her voice grew colder.

 “Or do you think I was wrong and you need to apologize on my behalf?”

The rain poured down relentlessly. Luo Xing struggled to speak, taking in a mouthful of water before managing, 

“No, I just wanted to check on him.”

“He’s trying to harm you! He did it once seven years ago. If I hadn’t transferred you in time, you’d have been ruined by him. And now, after everything I’ve done to educate you, you’ve forgotten all of it?”

“I haven’t forgotten…”

He hadn’t.

That day, she had taken a study guide and robbed him of 70% of his hearing.

Luo Xing lowered his head, a chill seeping into his bones. October’s cold made him shiver violently.

“Come inside. Don’t use that well-behaved face to gain sympathy. People might think I’m refusing to let you into the house.”

Zhao Jiulan grabbed an umbrella leaning by the door, opened it, and walked ahead. 

Luo Xing glanced at the ruined cake, blinked once, and raised his hand to wipe the rain from his eyes.

He sneezed softly but didn’t follow her inside. Instead, he said quietly,

 “I’ll change my clothes first.”

The small courtyard wasn’t that small. Both sides were planted with all sorts of strange flowers that grew abundantly.

The courtyard had three rooms.

 Zhao Jiulan lived in the one with a small attic, while Luo Xing lived in the side room—a damp, cold place that hadn’t seen sunlight for years.

He pushed the door open. Since it had been unused for a long time, the air was filled with a musty, decaying smell. 

He turned on the light, illuminating the cramped room.

On the floor was a wooden plank stacked with countless study guides, thick and thin, most of which were too complicated for ordinary people to understand.

 He had started studying them in elementary school.

While other kids were playing and being mischievous, he was buried in these profound books in this tiny room.

Luo Xing withdrew his gaze and looked at the bed in the corner. 

It was small—still the same one he had slept on in middle school.

His school luggage lay on the floor. He found a dry set of clothes, changed into them, and put his wet clothes into a plastic bag before placing it in his luggage and zipping it shut.

He took out the umbrella, took a deep breath, opened it, and walked straight to the main house without even glancing at the small separate room across the courtyard. 

Once under the eaves, he closed the umbrella, placed it aside, and stepped inside. Hearing her on the phone, he stayed silent and just stood there quietly.

Zhao Jiulan had a cat, her treasure—a pure white cat of unknown breed with heterochromatic eyes, one golden and one blue. It was curled up on her waist, sleeping soundly.

By the window was a handmade cat tree that Zhao Jiulan had built herself. There were also some imported cat snacks placed on the cabinet.

She gently stroked the cat’s back, afraid of hurting it.

Luo Xing watched quietly. Since he could remember, Zhao Jiulan had never smiled at him. This kind of tenderness, given willingly to a cat, had never once been offered to him.

All these years, he never understood why.

When he was little, the first time he got first place, he excitedly showed her his certificate. She only responded coldly with an “Oh.”

Later, when he grew up, he won countless competitions and excelled in every field he touched. Still, it never earned him a trace of affection or care from Zhao Jiulan.

As a child, he didn’t understand. But as he grew older, he gradually realized that all Zhao Jiulan had for him was hatred—deep, bone-engrained hatred.

Tomorrow was October 28th. He figured that was the reason she called him back.

Luo Xing didn’t know what kind of day it was, only that no matter her mood, even if she wasn’t upset, he would still have to spend the day in that dark little room.

From desperately trying to do his best and earn a little tenderness and praise from his mother to eventually becoming completely disillusioned, Luo Xing no longer hoped for a shred of warmth from anyone.

He could only rely on himself.

Luo Xing turned his head and looked outside. Zhao Jiulan finished her call and shot him a cold smirk. 

“You’ve grown up now. I have to ask you repeatedly before you’ll come back to any of your four homes.”

Luo Xing lowered his head and said nothing.

Zhao Jiulan glared at him, her eyes filled with hatred as if she were looking at her worst enemy.

“I never lied to you.” 

Luo Xing raised his head. 

“The teaching quality at No. 2 High School is good. Although its university admission rate isn’t as high as No. 1, it has more students passing the top-tier university benchmark. Mom, my grades won’t drop.”

Zhao Jiulan’s expression didn’t improve. She stared at his increasingly familiar face, her hatred so strong she wished she could tear him apart. 

“Your grades won’t drop? If I hadn’t spent so much effort educating you from a young age, who knows how low you would have fallen by now. And you dare speak to me like this?”

Luo Xing lowered his eyes.

“I heard you were transferred to Class 9. What kind of class is that? A messy mix of students. How can you guarantee you’ll learn anything from being with those troublemakers? I’ll talk to the principal and have you transferred to Class 11.”

“I’m not switching,” 

Luo Xing said, raising his head.

A slap.

Before he could react, Zhao Jiulan’s palm struck him hard across the face, leaving his cheek numb.

“I’ve said it before—you’re just like him. The same cheap blood flows in your veins. If I don’t teach you properly, you’ll end up just as lowly as he is!”

Her sharp nails dug into his skin, her eyes brimming with hatred that seemed capable of tearing him apart.

Luo Xing didn’t move. His cheek burned, and without even looking, he knew her nails had left a scratch. He didn’t want to dwell on who this he she always mentioned was, nor did he care anymore.

He had finally been placed in the same class as Huo Xingzhou. For once, it felt like fate had shown him a bit of mercy.

It was the first time in his life that he didn’t listen to her. It was also the first time he followed his heart and rebelled.

He didn’t want to go to Class 11.

“Are you going or not?”

“I’m not.”