"Meow~"
In the Teaching Building corridor where the evening light was turning reddish, a handsome teenager carrying a schoolbag was followed by a black cat, while that guy Yatsuhashi Ki had already disappeared without a trace.
It was already time after school, and whatever came next had nothing to do with him either. Yan Huan replied in the group chat, and after expressing his thanks to Yatsuhashi Ki, he did not let him escort him any further.
Reaching the floor where the Principal's Office was located, in the extremely quiet air, he seemed to have already faintly heard a bit of conversation coming from inside the office.
He did not continue forward, but merely turned his head toward the window glass to tidy up his appearance, shifting his carried schoolbag into a single-shouldered back carry, while at the same time turning back to look at Meow-chan sitting on the floor and licking her fur behind him,
"Meow-chan, wait for me here while I go in, don't wander around everywhere, it won't be good if someone discovers you."
"Rest assured, pay no attention to me."
Meow-chan looked somewhat unsatisfied with this name Yan Huan had given her, yet she was not the type to fuss over trifles.
Blinking her clear emerald eyes, she spoke inside Yan Huan's mind,
"If needed, I can make only you alone perceive my presence. There is also no need to worry about my whereabouts; as long as you call me in your mind, I can appear before you at any time."
"So magical? That's good then."
"Meow~"
Receiving the reply, Yan Huan nodded and, no longer paying attention to the black cat behind him, walked toward the Principal's Office he did not know how many times he had already been to.
Arriving before the door, the faint conversation drifting from inside made Yan Huan hesitate somewhat.
The main thing was that an orphan starting out suddenly having someone pop up claiming to be his mother-this was either some urban legend or related to the Modifier.
Therefore, he could not help drawing a little closer to the door leaf, listening to the voices inside,
"Yes, yes, he is exceptionally outstanding; he is, after all, the President of the Totsuki Academy Student Council. Although he needs to be in charge of some school affairs, whether it is tuition reduction, recommendation letters, or related university recommendation slots..."
This voice was the voice of Principal Hermes of Totsuki Academy; his voice leaned on the thin side, making it very easy to distinguish.
"However, I remember that no matter how much the reduction is, it only reaches two-thirds of the tuition at most, right? What is he going to do about the remaining money?"
Conversing with the principal was a gentle female voice carrying a moist nuance; her specific age could not be discerned, and one only felt that her tone was very tender, stroking the cheek like a gentle breeze.
"This... although the school does not prohibit part-time work during leisure time, I am indeed considering applying to the board of directors to set up a scholarship to ease the family's financial burden, especially for such a rare, outstanding student like him."
"Is that so? Perfect. My coming here this time was originally to set up a special scholarship fund for Dragon Nation immigrants at Totsuki Academy in the name of Ye International, hoping it can be of some help to Mr. Hermes's application. As for the donation funds, someone will contact you specifically later..."
"You are too generous, Ms. Ye-oh my, sorry for the wait. All the students are taking exams today, so he might have set his cell phone to Airplane Mode."
"It's fine."
Not hearing anything definitive, Yan Huan decided to face the storm.
Immediately, he raised his hand and knocked gently on the door,
"Knock, knock."
"Principal sir, did you look for me?"
"Ah, he has arrived." The principal spoke cheerfully once more to the woman who had been speaking previously, before raising his voice to say to Yan Huan outside the door, "Please come in, Classmate Yan."
Yan Huan pushed the door open, and saw that inside the luxuriously decorated Principal's Office, Principal Hermes was seated on the Genuine Leather Sofa directly facing Yan Huan.
He wore formal attire, his head of graying hair groomed meticulously, just like the slender goat-horn mustache at the corners of his lips, making him look very classical.
And sitting before him was a female facing away from Yan Huan, wearing her hair in a black bun.
Yan Huan's gaze was quickly captured by a jade hairpin in the bun at the back of her head that seemed naturally formed, yet at the same time caught the lingering charms dyed into that back view.
At her temple, a wisp of black hair was tucked behind her ear, while behind her other ear there was none, thus revealing a fair ear; beneath her earlobe, a jade earring was swaying slightly.
After Yan Huan pushed the door open, she turned her head around immediately, revealing a comely countenance standing precisely at the boundary between maturity and youth, as well as her slightly shrinking pupils.
A very pretty lady.
She stood up with her mouth parted slightly, gathering the skirt hem of a dark green flagbearer dress patterned with flowers, her pair of eyes inspecting up and down meticulously over the somewhat puzzled Yan Huan, with her face as the key target of care.
In merely an instant, the rims of her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly raised her hand to cover her mouth,
"Like... too alike, wuwuwu."
What on earth, how could they look this alike?
Yan Huan widened his eyes, staring blankly at the beautiful married woman before him, and then glanced once more at the cheerful Hermes, failing to grasp what on earth was happening.
Yet once again, the feeling he had encountered earlier when meeting Bai Yi popped up in his mind.
And which one are you?
We don't seem to have met before, do we?
Yan Huan looked inquiringly toward Principal Hermes, who had likewise stood up following the woman before him, and the principal also introduced to him cheerfully,
"Classmate Yan, this is the newly transferred head of Ye International in Sea Linmen, Ms. Ye Lan."
Sea Linmen, the floating independent mega city-state where Totsuki Academy was located, noted for its high modernization, thriving economy, and multiple immigrants; his past life had no such place.
Ye International, a well-known top-100 enterprise in this world's Dragon Nation. As for Dragon Nation, hearing the name made it obvious that it shared an uncanny resemblance to the Celestial Empire of his past life.
This was enough to show that the identity of the woman before him was no small matter.
Yan Huan understood all the logic, but he still hadn't figured out what on earth it meant for the other party to claim to be his "Mom".
"Um, Ms. Ye, hello. But may I ask if we've met before?"
Ye Lan wiped the corner of her eye with the hand covering her mouth and hurried toward Yan Huan, preparing to say something.
But as her throat tightened, the words she was about to say turned into a sob.
Unable to hold back any longer, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Yan Huan, pulling him into her embrace.
Feeling the softness and warmth pressed against him, Yan Huan stiffened in fright and nearly leaped away. He even began to wonder whether she had a Modifier that could only be triggered at close range.
Just as he was about to move, Ye Lan's trembling voice reached his ears.
"I'm sorry. Wuwu, you look so much like your mom. Wuwuwu."
"...Mom?"
Yan Huan paused, his body relaxing slightly, but he still didn't dare move.
A moment later, Ye Lan finally managed to compose herself a little. She held Yan Huan by the shoulders and stepped back, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes.
"Yes, your parents were very close friends of mine back in the Dragon Nation, especially your mother, Wang Yulu. She was my best friend."
"Your parents and I were fellow students at university. After graduation, they came to Sea Linmen to build their careers, while I stayed in the Dragon Nation. We haven't been in touch for so long. How could I have known they... wuwu..."
So she was a friend of his parents in this life.
Hearing his mother's name, so unfamiliar yet familiar, Yan Huan finally understood, and the weight on his heart lifted.
To be honest, ever since he had transmigrated, Yan Huan hadn't paid much attention to the relationships of the previous generation.
The reason was simple: he had spent very little time with his parents in this life.
His brain hadn't fully developed when he was a baby, so he had been dazed and confused when he first arrived. Much later, after his parents still hadn't returned, he learned they had died in a plane crash.
A baby, far away in a foreign country, with no immediate family. Yet a whole gaggle of shady distant relatives had come running to Linmen, just to divide up the estate of his deceased parents.
There was an unsavory name for this: "eating the family fortune after the last heir dies."
By the time he was a little older and the soul that had transmigrated into Yan Huan had fully awakened, his relatives had already taken everything and run off, leaving him with the difficult opening of life in an orphanage.
He had grown used to being alone over the past decade or so. Only today had a true friend of his late parents finally appeared, though he had no idea why she had taken so long to find him.
Thinking of this, Yan Huan immediately changed how he addressed her.
"Aunt Ye."
"Aw, what a good boy."
Ye Lan took her hands off Yan Huan's shoulders and wiped away her tears, speaking happily.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up things that would make you sad. Ever since I came to Linmen, I've been asking around about you. I never imagined you'd be so strong, or that you'd turn out so well. You've not only managed to take good care of yourself, but also gotten into such a good school. Your mother would be so relieved if she could see you now."
As she spoke, she couldn't help bringing up Yan Huan's mother again.
Yan Huan could only go along with her words.
"I'm sure my mother would be very happy to see you again too, Aunt Ye."
Who knew that saying this would only make things worse? As soon as she heard Yan Huan's words, Ye Lan's eyes reddened again, and her lips slowly began to pout as if she were about to cry.
Seeing that same crying expression, so unlike her age, Yan Huan hurriedly waved his hands.
"I'm sorry. We said we wouldn't bring up sad things."
"Wuwu, Xiao Huan, can Auntie call you that?"
"Of course."
He glanced at Principal Hermes behind Ye Lan, whose wrinkled face was smiling like a chrysanthemum. Yan Huan knew that this was the principal's trademark smile when he was attracting investment. Whenever someone donated money, he wore that same ridiculous expression.
Noticing Yan Huan's gaze, Principal Hermes belatedly hurried to pull a few tissues from the box on the desk and hand them to Ye Lan.
"Ms. Ye, please."
"Thank you, Mr. Hermes."
Ye Lan wiped her tears and blew her nose into a tissue. Only then did she pout and look up at Yan Huan.
But as soon as she saw his face, so similar to someone she had once known, the corners of her lips still turned downward despite her efforts.
Fortunately, the Perfect Facial Expression Control he had just obtained came in handy.
He weighed his response for a moment, then pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow slightly. His gaze wandered in confusion around her reddened eyes.
"Aunt Ye..."
He seemed to be moved by the feelings Ye Lan had revealed, yet the blankness in his memories of his late parents left him confused.
He could sense how deeply she treasured her bond with his parents, but he couldn't help that he felt no strong resonance in his own heart. Confusion and emotion mingled, ultimately turning into just the right touch of helplessness.
Seeing his expression made Ye Lan's heart ache a little. She realized she had lost control and had put too much pressure on her old friend's son. She quickly composed herself and suggested to Yan Huan,
"It's all right. Auntie is here in Linmen now, and I'll help you with everything from here on. Things here are almost taken care of. I'll take you home for dinner in a little while. Principal Hermes, sorry for the trouble this afternoon."
Seeing Ye Lan finally calm down, Yan Huan felt a little more at ease.
This elder seemed to have been very close to his late parents, which was why she was so emotional.
Although Yan Huan wasn't very good at dealing with elders like this, the good news was that Ye Lan didn't seem to have much to do with the Modifier. She had simply come to the school to find him.
"No trouble, Ms. Ye. Totsuki Academy should be thanking Ye International for its recognition and support."
Ye Lan perked up and took her phone from her arms, unlocking it. She seemed about to send a message. At the same time, she smiled at Yan Huan and said,
"Just in time. Your older sister only arrived in Linmen recently, so she doesn't have many friends her own age. I'll have Xiao Huan meet her tonight, too. She'll be delighted. I'll tell her right now."
Wait, what did you say?
There's another expert?
The heart that had just settled a little leapt up again. Yan Huan blinked and zeroed in on one particular word in Ye Lan's sentence.
"Older sister?"
Ye Lan nodded with a smile. After thinking for a moment, she said,
"That's right, Auntie's daughter. She should be a year older than Xiao Huan, if I remember correctly. She was a sophomore at a university in the Dragon Nation before. You'll be going to the same school, too. Auntie will introduce you to her in a bit."
Looking at the eager anticipation in Ye Lan's eyes, Yan Huan couldn't find any reason to refuse this perfectly reasonable arrangement.
But perhaps because of what Meow-chan had just described, an ominous premonition suddenly welled up in Yan Huan's heart.
On the surface, though, he still kept a polite smile.
"Okay, Aunt Ye."
Before you continue