Reversed Life: Chapter 11 - The Cold and Intimidating Eldest Young Master of the Qiao Family
Chapter 11: The Cold and Intimidating Eldest Young Master of the Qiao Family
On the first day of the new term, every subject teacher without exception was startled to varying degrees.
The calmer ones were fine—they simply taught more carefully and earnestly than usual as they faced an unprecedented level of orderliness from their normally mischievous students. A few of the more emotional teachers even had choked voices when saying goodbye after class.
Compared to people who had always followed the rules, a prodigal turning over a new leaf always seemed more precious.
Another teacher left the classroom with reddened eyes, and the students of Class 9 all felt a little uneasy inside. These kids from what was broadly labeled the “bad students’ class” had long since grown used to standing on the opposite side of their families and teachers. Over time, rebellion had become a protective coloring they themselves no longer even noticed.
And today, all they had done was tone things down a little after receiving some emotional shock.
Yet the world seemed to have changed completely.
That old math teacher used to knit his brows into a huge knot every time he saw them.
But before leaving today, he gazed at them gently for a long while and said with utmost sincerity— “Goodbye, students.”
That annoying English teacher who usually just followed the textbook mechanically, who seemed unwilling to spend even one extra second in Class 9 and always packed up and left the instant the bell rang—
Today, during the latter half of class, she happily told them stories and jokes in English the entire time.
The sharp hostility they had always received from the outside world had suddenly become so soft, so gentle that these young people, who were rarely praised, did not know how to react.
In the back rows of Class 9—the mysterious territory where poker cards usually flew around whether class was in session or not—a group of kids who constantly gave teachers headaches unusually did not run wild during break time.
On the title pages of the books spread across their desks were handwritten elegant cursive English words. During class just now, the English teacher had given each of them an English name and personally written it into their textbooks.
Not wanting to dirty the original writing, Yan Zhiyang deliberately found a scrap sheet of paper to trace the letters. Only after copying it several times did he finally clumsily figure out how to write it properly. After putting down his pen, he felt a little childish for doing so. Pretending to remain calm, he glanced around, only to discover that several classmates beside him were doing exactly the same thing—quietly mouthing their new names with exaggerated seriousness.
He felt a little embarrassed.
But this feeling...
Actually felt pretty nice.
*******
Mu Xiangxiang realized that No. 12 High School was nowhere near as terrifying as Qiao Nan had scared her into believing.
Honestly, Qiao Nan really loved exaggerating things. He had done the same thing before, saying he hardly spoke to his family. Mu Xiangxiang had thought their relationship must be terribly cold, but wasn’t it basically the same as her own family? His stepmother had even gotten up especially early to prepare a whole table of breakfast waiting for her.
Later, he told her that Class 9 had tense relationships with their teachers, that the class atmosphere was chaotic, and that people might even play cards or fight during lessons. But Mu Xiangxiang hadn’t seen any of that! The teachers’ teaching standards were admittedly a bit lacking, but their personalities were all very kind, and aside from poor grades, the classmates around her didn’t seem especially outrageous in any way.
She had nearly been completely fooled.
Mu Xiangxiang felt somewhat helpless. After all, when it came to describing her own life and studies, she had never lied to Qiao Nan at all. Yet he had teased her like this, which could very well have caused her to make the wrong judgment at a critical moment.
She felt she ought to have a proper talk with Qiao Nan about it, but he showed not the slightest bit of guilt. After listening to her complaint, he actually asked with complete confidence, “Are you hallucinating or something?”
Mu Xiangxiang had intended to argue her case properly, but after only a few sentences, she heard Qiao Nan’s irritable swearing coming from the other end of the phone. Immediately afterward, he quickly said, “Talk later, something’s up here,” and abruptly ended the conversation before it could truly begin.
Left with no other choice, Mu Xiangxiang gave up on pursuing the matter. After saying goodbye to the group of classmates from Class 9 whom she had more or less gotten to know, she boarded the bus home. Along the way, she once again demonstrated the fine virtues of an exemplary student by giving up her seat to another passenger.
When she returned to Qiao Nan’s house, his stepmother, Luo Meisheng, was sitting on the sofa in the living room talking on the phone. The moment she saw Mu Xiangxiang, she sprang to her feet as though she were about to meet some important official.
“Okay, okay, I understand. You’re traveling tonight, so be careful on the road.” She hurriedly ended the call, circled out from behind the coffee table, then stopped a few steps away, looking as though she wanted to come closer but did not quite dare to. “You’re back?”
Mu Xiangxiang was still deeply caught up in her suspicions about whether Qiao Nan had deceived her, and for a moment, she did not know what kind of attitude she should take. She could only nod. “Mm.”
But even that was enough to make Luo Meisheng overjoyed. Nervously rubbing her hands together, she stepped forward and then retreated again, her eyes fixed on the schoolbag hanging from her stepson’s hand, looking as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.
After thinking about it, Mu Xiangxiang guessed what she wanted. Hesitating briefly, she handed over the schoolbag in her hand.
Luo Meisheng immediately revealed an expression of surprise and emotion. After taking it, she carefully hugged it in her arms and looked around as though searching for an altar on which to place it. Only after Mu Xiangxiang had already gone upstairs did she finally pull herself out of her excitement and hurry to the staircase. “Oh right, Nannan, your dad and your older brother have already returned to the country. They’re in City B right now. They said once they finish up the work they have on hand, they’ll be home tonight.”
Mu Xiangxiang froze upon hearing that and thought to herself that Qiao Nan really was a liar again. Hadn’t he said that he might only see his biological father and older brother a few times a year?
At this point, she no longer dared to trust how accurate his descriptions of his father’s and older brother’s personalities had been. She merely nodded, then after thinking for a moment, called out to stop Luo Meisheng.
“Um—” Forms of address were the hardest thing to handle. Calling her “Mom” was obviously impossible, but even “Auntie” did not feel entirely safe. In the end, feeling a bit guilty, Mu Xiangxiang chose this vague form of address that seemed somewhat impolite to her.
But Luo Meisheng did not seem to find anything wrong with it. On the contrary, she responded eagerly, “What is it?”
Mu Xiangxiang recalled the breakfast table from that morning, of which she had only eaten a few bites, while the rest had almost certainly gone to waste. Having grown up in poverty, she found such wastefulness hard to accept. She shook her head, her expression calm. “…It’s nothing. In the future, don’t buy so much breakfast.”
******
Meanwhile, after hanging up the phone, Qiao Nan stood at the school gate holding his helmet and looking into the distance.
Under a banyan tree not far from Yingcheng’s main entrance was parked an extremely eye-catching motorcycle. The dark black paint was polished so exquisitely it nearly reflected the glow of the setting sun, making for a thoroughly pleasing sight—if Fang Lingli had not been standing beside it.
Watching her wander around his bike with her head lowered, Qiao Nan narrowed his eyes irritably. Generally speaking, he rarely disliked people who had nothing to do with him, especially girls, but for some reason he had absolutely no patience for Fang Lingli.
Had what happened that morning not been enough to scare her? He had heard from classmates that she had even been dragged off to the discipline office. What did she want now? Looking for trouble?
Qiao Nan was not afraid in the slightest. Tucking the helmet beneath his arm, he flicked his keys in one hand and walked straight toward her with a cold expression. “Hey.”
Unexpectedly, the moment she heard his voice, Fang Lingli—who had been standing there with her head lowered—shuddered all over as if stung by a bee.
Qiao Nan saw that her expression was a chaotic mixture of shock and panic, making his frown deepen further. “What do you want?”
Fang Lingli remained dazed. Her fingers twisted tightly together behind her back as her gaze landed on the girl before her—on that delicate yet violent face. After pausing for a moment, her eyes shifted to the other’s unruly stance as she held the oversized helmet.
Qiao Nan waited impatiently for a while. Just as he thought she was about to say something, Fang Lingli suddenly turned and ran away.
And she ran extremely fast, disappearing around the corner outside the school gate in the blink of an eye.
Qiao Nan: “………………”
What the hell was wrong with her?
He analyzed the situation for a while but failed to reach any conclusion. A thought suddenly struck him—could Fang Lingli have tampered with his motorcycle? Becoming wary, he circled the bike and inspected it carefully, but nothing looked unusual on the surface.
Even so, Qiao Nan still felt uneasy. Unable to find the problem no matter how hard he looked only made him even more irritable.
As he swung a leg over the bike, his mind—completely filled with annoyance—paused very briefly. He recalled the phone call with Mu Xiangxiang earlier. She had also said a bunch of weird things, though because he had been so irritated by seeing Fang Lingli, he had not listened very carefully.
Something about accusing him of lying or whatever. Qiao Nan found it baffling. Since when had he lied?
He tried hard to remember and finally vaguely pieced together a few key points.
Apparently, Luo Meisheng had specially gone out to buy breakfast that morning, the atmosphere in Class 9 had been harmonious, and Yan Zhiyang and the others loved studying and respected their teachers…?
An image flashed through his mind of his group of friends—who normally acted like firecrackers ready to launch into the sky at any moment—wearing obedient expressions and politely greeting teachers. Qiao Nan hurriedly shook his head, throwing off the thought that made his skin crawl.
This was bad. No. 12 High School really was a giant dye vat. Mu Xiangxiang had only gone there for half a day, and already her mind was becoming abnormal too.
******
A dark black business car cut through the heavy evening haze of A City and drove into the gates of a residential complex.
Inside the car, two men—one older, one younger—sat in the back seat continuously typing on laptop keyboards without pause. After the security booth lights flashed across their eyes, the younger man turned to look out the window.
“Dad.” A trace of nervousness briefly crossed his steady, handsome face. “We’re home.”
“Hm?” His father immediately stopped working and raised his wrist to check the time. The assistant in the front passenger seat thoughtfully reminded him, “Chairman Qiao, it’s currently 1:15 a.m.”
The middle-aged man sighed. “So late already.”
The father and son got out of the car and entered the elevator from the parking garage with the assistant. No one spoke along the way. Their similar-looking faces were both tightly tense, frightening the assistant into silence as well.
Warm lighting and a woman’s concerned greetings poured out from inside the apartment the moment the door opened. After entering, the middle-aged man’s first sentence was: “Where’s Nannan?”
Luo Meisheng looked at her husband reproachfully. “You came back way too late. He still has school tomorrow, so he went to sleep ages ago.”
Father Qiao revealed a disappointed expression, but quickly recovered and began pulling his wife aside to ask about his younger son’s recent situation. The older son beside him showed no obvious reaction. He calmly changed shoes and removed his coat, the cold sternness on his face making the assistant even more cautious.
The assistant had worked for Chairman Qiao for nearly eight years and had practically watched the eldest young master grow up. By now, the reputation of the Qiao family’s eldest son, Qiao Rui, had spread far and wide throughout the business world. His ruthless methods in commerce were as widely discussed as his appearance and family background.
Speaking of family background, one naturally had to mention the Qiao family’s other young master, Qiao Nan.
The assistant had spent many years around this father and son, yet he still did not know much about the younger master. From their few brief encounters, he only knew that the boy had a bad temper and average relations with his family.
Father Qiao would occasionally mention his younger son while outside. Though he never said much, one could still vaguely sense the affection between father and son.
As for the eldest young master, Qiao Rui…
The assistant caught sight of his usual icy expression and could not help shrinking his chin back nervously.
Wasn’t that what members of wealthy families spent all day doing anyway—fighting over wealth and inheritance? In all these years, the assistant had never once seen the Qiao brothers contact each other, and every meeting between them inevitably ended in conflict. In any case, when it came to rich families, he could more or less guess the situation without anyone explaining it.
Over on Father Qiao’s side, he was already chatting with his wife about Qiao Nan’s daily life. Upon hearing that his younger son had spent the evening in the study doing homework before bed, the older man’s face filled with gratification.
After changing his shoes, Qiao Rui did not linger in the living room. He merely said flatly that he was going to shower and sleep, then leisurely headed upstairs, leaving everyone behind.
Before leaving, the assistant could not help exchanging glances with the driver. Both of them clearly believed Qiao Rui was in a bad mood, probably angry that his father paid too much attention to his younger brother.
On the second floor, Mu Xiangxiang caught the fresh scent of water vapor in her light sleep. Groggily, she opened her eyes and vaguely saw someone crouching beside the bed in the darkness.
Back at the Mu household, her parents would occasionally enter her room as well, so she was not frightened. Half-asleep, she simply looked at the person.
The face had sharp, well-defined features, and the brows and eyes vaguely resembled… Qiao Nan’s?
Mu Xiangxiang remembered who he was. Drowsily thinking she ought to greet him, she rubbed against the pillow and forced her eyes open with effort. “Big brother…”
The next second, her eyes were covered.
Those large hands blocked out the light from outside. He gently brushed aside the hair on her forehead and stroked the top of her head twice, very slowly.
His soft voice trembled slightly.
“Good boy. It’s okay. Go to sleep.”
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