"Teacher, I'm done. May I go back down now?"
Teacher Beibei spoke into the microphone on the lectern, smiling with narrowed eyes that revealed several distinct crow's-feet. Her tone was gentle. "Yes, thank you, Luo. Not only was your answer entirely correct, but your solution was also very rigorous and orderly. Everyone should learn from him!"
Thunderous, ear-ringing applause instantly erupted from the stage. A little unused to it, Luo Beishi bowed slightly to those below before returning to Lan Li's side.
As he sat down, Lan Li said in surprise, "That problem up there was pretty hard. You really do think fast."
Luo Beishi put his white Bluetooth earbuds back in and replied quietly, "Is this your first day knowing me?"
Lan Li thought back carefully, and that did seem to be the case. Luo Beishi had always been outstanding, but in the past, others had thought he was all looks and no substance. What use were good grades when he was vicious, arrogant, and looked down on everyone?
Things were different now. Everyone actually knew perfectly well why the female students' attitudes had changed so abruptly.
Who would admit to being a snob?
So now, in everyone's eyes, as long as Luo Beishi's handwriting was legible, it deserved praise, let alone when it was actually good.
Reality was just that cruel.
But it didn't matter. Lan Li felt that Luo Beishi never cared what they thought anyway. He was indifferent; they could do whatever they liked.
Damn, Luo Beishi was seriously so cool.
How could someone be cool, handsome, and rich all at once!
Huo Cixiao had really lucked out. If it were her, wouldn't she wake up laughing in bed? Having such an outstanding wife.
Classes ended as usual today, but some people refused to leave him alone. He was blocked at the doorway again.
"Beishi, Mom hasn't seen you in so long. I wanted to come see you."
Mrs. Qin kept her voice very low. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was cold, heartless, and unfeeling.
"Mrs. Qin, as I recall, we no longer have any relationship. That ended the moment you slapped me," Luo Beishi said openly, without any hesitation.
Her expression instantly turned very ugly. She hadn't expected Luo Beishi to speak about her in front of so many people.
"Please leave. Don't come to our school to bother me and my classmates again." Luo Beishi felt there was nothing to say. With his shoulder bag on his back, he started to leave.
In a panic, Mrs. Qin seized Luo Beishi's wrist with both hands and said anxiously, her voice strained, "Don't, Beishi. Just talk to Mom for a moment, okay? I won't take up your time."
Luo Beishi scoffed, but his gaze was utterly cold as he looked at her and said, "You're already taking up my time. Also, you people from the Qin Family-are you always this sanctimonious?"
Mrs. Qin hadn't expected Luo Beishi to say such a thing to her, dragging the entire Qin Family into it as well.
All the female students around them looked over. As an adult, she found it very upsetting to lose face, but she had been shut down before she could even bring up Luo Bai's situation. Suddenly, she didn't know how to continue.
"Coming to find me over and over again is honestly pretty annoying. I've never expected anything good to come out of your Qin Family's mouths. Hypocrisy-you all know that word, don't you?"
Luo Beishi lowered his head, narrowing his eyes slightly as he raised his hand to check the expensive, fully diamond-set starry-sky watch on his wrist. Tsk, another two minutes I could have spent with my handsome husband wasted.
He raised his other arm, pulled free of Mrs. Qin's hands in one motion, and walked toward the stairs without looking back.
Mrs. Qin remained where she was. She didn't understand why Luo Beishi could be so heartless, so resolute.
After all, she had carried Luo Beishi for ten months and given birth to him. He was her own flesh and blood, yet now he wouldn't even give her the chance to say another word.
How could this child be so hard-hearted... Was he really not going to leave his adoptive father's family any way to survive?
"Are you Luo's biological mother?" one of the nearby students asked Mrs. Qin, who wore a sky-blue qipao and looked very refined.
Mrs. Qin nodded slightly and looked up at the female student who had asked, seemingly having something to say.
"You're so strange. Why come looking for Luo all of a sudden? You never came before, but now that you know he has money, you come looking for him. What exactly are your intentions?"
Almost all the female students in Luo Beishi's class were blunt and said whatever was on their minds. Calling them a whole class of villains wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
They wouldn't pass up any chance to mouth off at anyone and everyone.
Mrs. Qin: "..." Were all the students here this rude?
"What kind of life did Luo Beishi have before? When he was being ostracized and bullied at school, did you ever show up even once?"
The female student knew she had also been one of those ostracizing him, but if Luo Beishi's family hadn't been indifferent to him and tacitly condoned this behavior, he wouldn't have ended up in that situation.
They were villains, and passing the buck was something they were very good at.
After hearing this, Mrs. Qin merely furrowed her brows coldly. She asked in confusion, "What school bullying? Don't talk nonsense. Don't think I don't know what you students are like. You just love spreading rumors."
Mrs. Qin couldn't be bothered to talk to them. She turned and hurried away from the classroom doorway.
Luo Bai was clearly the one who had suffered violence. Why were these students twisting the truth? Now that Luo Beishi had become like this, who could say it had nothing to do with his classroom environment? Luo Beishi must have been led astray...
Watching Mrs. Qin recede into the distance, the female student who had just spoken curled her lip and said to the others, "See? That's exactly the kind of parent she is. Even when we tell the truth, they pretend not to know. Or they just don't believe it... Luo Beishi really has it rough."
"Luo Bai even said the Qin Family treated him badly. Was that true or false?"
"You can't trust what that white lotus says. It's probably false."
When Luo Beishi got home, Huo Cixiao's complexion looked much better. He didn't look at all like someone who had been bedridden in a vegetative state for a long time. An ordinary person seeing him would only think he was asleep.
"Handsome, you're looking good. Look at those lips. They look so kissable."
Huo Cixiao: "..." Would it kill you to say less? I'm handsome, not pretty. Open your eyes wide, you bargain-basement wife who even pays for the privilege! Take another good look!
Wait, what did he mean by kissable!
Oh no. His bargain wife liked him so much, he would definitely lose control and sneak a kiss. Damn it, his first kiss was in imminent danger!
Huo Cixiao grew increasingly agitated, but if his bargain wife didn't kiss him, would he go kiss another man?
Forget it. His bargain wife really was this thirsty... as ravenous as a wolf or tiger...
Yes, exactly. He was afraid his bargain wife would cuckold him and leave him unable to hold his head up in front of others when he woke!
If he really wanted to kiss him, he just shouldn't let him find out!
"Time to eat, hubby. Today you're having some juice and a porridge-like liquid meal. Plenty of nutrition." As Luo Beishi spoke, he slowly fed him...
Huo Cixiao could even hear himself swallowing.
Hmph, such balanced nutrition. Was he trying to fatten him up? So he would belong to his bargain wife alone, right! Wow, his bargain wife really had it all worked out!