Chapter 27: Parent-Teacher Conference

Wen Xiao lay on his desk, feeling drowsy under the warmth of the sunlight streaming through the window. The Wei family estate, where the banquet was held last night, was quite far from the city; he remembered the drive taking over an hour each way. Being a child, he always felt as though he hadn't slept enough. Amidst his grogginess, he heard the other children in the classroom chatting.

"It’s Friday! I really don’t want to be in class anymore!"

"I actually like coming to school. There’s no one to play with at home anyway."

"What’s good about Friday? Isn't there a parent-teacher meeting this afternoon? I don't even dare to imagine if my dad will pick up a broom to hit me once he sees my report card," a child said with a mournful face.

Wen Xiao suddenly remembered it was indeed the day of the parent-teacher meeting. He wondered if his father would come. In truth, it didn't really matter whether he came or not; he wasn't a young child, and he didn't care much about whether his parents attended these meetings.

Wei Nanxing arrived at school today with a bright red slap mark on his face, which had given Wen Xulai quite a start. After calling the boy into the office and failing to get any answers, he eventually brought Wen Xiao in to get a better understanding of the situation. Wen Xiao briefly recounted the events of the Wei family banquet. After listening, Wen Xulai simply sighed repeatedly while looking at the two children, which made Wen Xiao tilt his head in confusion.

Wen Xulai just felt that Wei Nanxing was such a pitiful child, while Wen Xiao was so well-behaved and sensible, always standing up for his friends. He couldn't help but wish Wei Nanxing had been born into a more normal environment. If that were the case, he might have been able to live a simple and happy life like other children.

Feeling the sunlight becoming a bit too harsh, Wen Xiao buried his head deep into his arms to sleep, but suddenly, the light dimmed. Had a cloud covered the sun? Wen Xiao looked up and saw a book held up to his side, blocking the sunlight from the window. He followed the hand holding the book and met the smiling face of Song Jingbai.

"You said you were sleepy, so why aren't you sleeping?" Song Jingbai asked with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Wen Xiao inexplicably thought of Song Kaizhi, whom he had seen the night before, and the indifferent attitude the man had shown when mentioning his son, Song Jingbai. With such a deadbeat father, Song Jingbai was actually quite miserable too.

"I can sleep even without you blocking the sun for me," Wen Xiao grumbled as he buried his head again. However, after having dozed for a while, he didn't feel as tired once he opened his eyes. He felt he was making progress; he wasn't as prone to excessive sleepiness as other children, and he decided he must eat more at lunch to help himself grow.

Song Jingbai seemed to be in a very good mood. "I'm happy to block the sunlight for you."

Wen Xiao felt that ever since he had spent that night at Song Jingbai’s house, Song Jingbai had developed a habit of watching him sleep. Sometimes, when he would wake up from a nap on his desk, he would find Song Jingbai staring at him. Could it be that Song Jingbai had some strange quirk? Thinking of this, Wen Xiao gave him a wary look.

"Did you go out last night?" Song Jingbai rested his face on one hand, while the other continued to hold the book upright.

Wen Xiao thought about it; there was nothing secretive about the Elder Wei’s birthday banquet. By the time he finished speaking, Song Jingbai let out a sigh that sounded rather sad.

"What a pity."

Wen Xiao didn't quite understand what Song Jingbai found regrettable. Before he could ask, he heard Song Jingbai say, "I haven't seen you in a little suit yet."

"What's there to be a pity about?" Wen Xiao turned his back to him to rummage through his desk for the textbook needed for the next class.

Wen Xiao had assumed Song Jingbai would stop asking about the banquet, but as soon as he pulled out his book, he heard Song Jingbai ask, "What was the banquet like?"

Facing Wen Xiao’s puzzled gaze, Song Jingbai offered a smile, though it looked quite regretful. "I've never attended a banquet, so I'm curious. Were there many people your age there last night?"

Hearing that Song Jingbai had never attended such an event, Wen Xiao didn't find his question strange. He chose a few simple things to share, deliberately omitting his encounter with Song Kaizhi. He talked about the paintings he saw in the hallway, the snacks he ate in the grand hall, the flowers in the garden, and the sandalwood bracelet Elder Wei had given him. Finally, he addressed the second question: were there many people his age?

Though he found the question a bit odd, he answered, "As for people my age, there were Leng Shucheng and Wei Nanxing. I don't know about anyone else."

Upon hearing these two names, Song Jingbai’s eyes flickered slightly, and he said with a smile, "So those two went as well? I thought..."

Wen Xiao didn't catch the rest of his sentence and looked at him in confusion. Song Jingbai, however, moved on from the subject of the banquet, helped him insert a straw into his milk, and asked, "Is your birthday next month?"

"How did you know?" If Wen Xiao hadn't known what Song Jingbai’s family did, he would have suspected they were in the business of selling intelligence.

Song Jingbai replied, "It's all in the school's archives."

Wen Xiao didn't bother asking how he accessed the archives. Suddenly, he saw Huo Zhanyan dragging a chair over again, holding a small booklet. He flipped to a page and said to Wen Xiao, "My birthday is July 24th; I'm a Leo! What’s your sign, Wen Xiao?"

This time, Huo Zhanyan finally didn't just steal a chair from another student but brought his own. Even so, Wen Xiao found him quite in the way—very much in the way.

"What's my sign? I'm made of meat," Wen Xiao said expressionlessly.

He didn't know where he had heard that phrase before, but realized what he’d said only after it was out. He could hear Song Jingbai laughing beside him. Huo Zhanyan was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and said to Wen Xiao, "Brilliant! That’s so good, why didn't I think of that?"

Wen Xiao stared at him with an "are you an idiot" look. "Alright, I've answered. Huo Zhanyan, you should go back to your seat."

Huo Zhanyan scratched his head, feeling he had forgotten something. It wasn't until he moved his chair back that he realized he had forgotten to ask what sign Wen Xiao was. Wen Xiao watched him drag his chair away and began to doubt whether Huo Zhanyan’s IQ even reached double digits. What exactly was he doing bringing a chair over here in the first place?

Just as he thought this, Huo Zhanyan ran back. "I was asking about your birthday to see what your sign is. This book says I’m a Leo, and Leo sounds so imposing!" Huo Zhanyan opened the book and read aloud, "Has the air of a king, a broad mind, excellent temperament... What is temperament? Is it edible?"

Wen Xiao felt that this astrology book was likely a fake; Huo Zhanyan didn't fit any of those descriptions. Song Jingbai seemed a bit annoyed and couldn't help but mock him upon seeing Huo Zhanyan again: "I think you’re made of idiocy. Have you even learned to read all the characters in that book?"

"Who are you calling an idiot! I haven't settled the score with you from the night before last! How dare you call me an idiot!" Huo Zhanyan glared at Song Jingbai.

"You asked if temperament is edible—if you're not an idiot, then who is?" Song Jingbai was smiling, but his words were merciless.

He had been having a perfectly good conversation with Wen Xiao, but Huo Zhanyan, that attention-seeker, insisted on running over here every single break. Once he remembered that Huo Zhanyan hadn't gone to the banquet last night, Song Jingbai couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore. The fool was still completely in the dark about everything.

Wen Xiao noticed that Huo Zhanyan’s attention had been diverted again, having forgotten what he came to ask. He couldn't help but tap Huo Zhanyan’s head with his textbook and said blankly, "My birthday is December 7th. Can you gracefully leave now?"

Originally, Wen Xiao wouldn't have bothered answering, but Huo Zhanyan kept coming and going, pacing in front of him, and forgetting his questions as soon as he asked them. Wen Xiao just wanted to answer and get him to go back to his seat.

Upon hearing this, Huo Zhanyan immediately began flipping through his booklet and shouted, "Wen Xiao, you're a Sagittarius!"

Wen Xiao kicked Huo Zhanyan’s chair, his face icy. "So what if I'm a Sagittarius? You got your answer, now get lost."

"The book says Sagittarius and Leo are love at first sight—a match made in heaven." Huo Zhanyan finished, though he didn't quite understand the meaning of "love at first sight." "It just means we were born to be friends, right? Look, Wen Xiao, the book says so!"

Wen Xiao didn't believe it for a second. He looked Huo Zhanyan up and down. Noticing the gaze, Huo Zhanyan even stood up straight, chest puffed out. From the moment Huo Zhanyan had read out "the air of a king" and "broad mind," Wen Xiao had dismissed the book as total nonsense.

Song Jingbai snatched the book from Huo Zhanyan’s hand, flipped through a few pages, and tossed it straight into the trash can with perfect aim. "Huo Zhanyan, if you have the time to read such street-side pamphlets, you’d be better off looking at your textbooks. Then you wouldn't keep ranking at the bottom of the class."

"So what if I rank at the bottom? I still got fifty-eight points!"

"You can even calculate fourteen plus five wrong; it’s no injustice that you're at the bottom," Song Jingbai said with a smile.

"That was a mistake in filling out the answer! I filled it out wrong!"

Song Jingbai chuckled. "So I suppose your test paper was also a mistake in filling out your name, which is why you ranked at the bottom."

When class started, Huo Zhanyan was finally chased back to his seat by the teacher, though he did possess enough pride as the young master of the Huo family to avoid the indignity of digging through the trash.

It was an English class, and the teacher led them in reading an English picture book. Wen Xiao opened his book and looked at the cartoon characters, when he suddenly heard Song Jingbai whisper beside him: "Actually, Aquarius and Sagittarius are also a good match... definitely better than Leo."

"Have you been infected by Huo Zhanyan?" Wen Xiao tilted his head, looking at Song Jingbai with a hint of suspicion.

The English teacher stood on the podium, holding a colorful book. "The theme of today’s English picture book is 'When I Get Bigger.'"

They read along line by line as the teacher read.

When I get bigger, I will do many things.

I will go to the corner store by myself.

I will wait for the green light to turn on.

I will have my own watch to tell everyone what time it is.