Butler Ge raised his eyebrows in surprise, his kind eyes focusing on the road ahead, pondering for a long time, and then shook his head slightly.
"No, among the young lady's acquaintances, there's no one who looks like you."
He then offered an apologetic smile, "Perhaps it's because I've always been at the Xu Mansion, and the young lady has a difficult situation. Not many people would go out of their way to visit, so I'm not familiar with her social circle. If Young Master Pei finds this question very important, maybe you should ask the young lady directly?"
"It's not very important, thank you, Butler Ge."
Pei Zhen tilted his head slightly, the confusion in his eyes mixed with the dim morning light, blending with the endless cold of winter, faint like dew yet thick like the blazing sun.
He remembered that when they met yesterday, his aunt's gaze towards him was never pure and was occasionally complicated.
As if through him, she was looking at someone else.
There's never senseless kindness in the world. Although his aunt was good to him, it might be because of someone who resembled him, making her persistently want to save him.
What kind of existence was that person in his aunt's heart?
Pei Zhen pondered for a moment, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on the distant noble academy coming into clearer view.
No matter who it was for.
If his aunt wanted him to do something, then he would simply comply.
After all, when the whole world abandoned him, she walked toward him like a deity.
The black car stopped, and he picked up the black patent-leather school bag beside him, said goodbye to Butler Ge and walked slowly towards the academy gate.
He seemed to have no particular feeling about the speculations that just occurred.
Butler Ge watched his figure disappear with a smile before driving the luxury car away. He had also received word yesterday and wondered why the young lady suddenly adopted an orphan, but seeing the person, it didn't seem strange anymore.
At least he, despite his young age and having faced great adversity, remained imperturbable and composed.
He was a promising prospect. If he concentrated on his studies, his future wouldn't be bad.
Moreover, he was attending the school the young lady used to attend.
Imperial Private Academy on Hong Kong Island.
This could be said to be the best academy in the whole harbor. Whether in teaching quality or fees, it was leading across the board, recognized as the most expensive academy, with the principal claiming that all students could enter prestigious universities for further studies. Most of the students who came here were heirs of well-known entrepreneurs.
Pei Zhen indeed listened.
On the first day of class, he formed friendly relations with his classmates. Despite everyone learning about his current situation by noon, they were still willing to interact with him warmly.
He had exceptionally beautiful eyes, and when he smiled answering classmates' questions, many teenage girls blushed involuntarily, and boys were happy to befriend a popular classmate.
On Hong Kong Island, the law stipulated that teachers were not allowed to have private contact with parents.
After investigating the young man's past, Butler Ge took some time at noon to visit the school again, consulted with the teachers about his learning status, and reported back to Xu Si at the Xu Mansion.
"Miss, Young Master Pei is doing well at school, communicating and interacting smoothly with his classmates."
The winter season on Hong Kong Island brought blinding sunlight, with the warmth from the hearth filling every corner.
Xu Si was merely wearing a coat, sitting on the spacious soft leather sofa, her slender fingers holding a cup of bitter coffee. Her face appeared snow-white under the light, with a slender figure, a demeanor neither gentle nor as clear and amiable as in front of the young man.
Hearing Butler Ge's words, she slightly relaxed a sigh, as this was expected.
A capable person has always been capable from a young age.
Without some tactics, the future Pei Zhen couldn't possibly firmly control the immense and dangerous Triad Society.
Butler Ge stood appropriately on the side, loosely frowning, said, "I also inquired about Young Master Pei's previous education. He did not receive a traditional education. From childhood to adulthood, he had advanced private tutors from abroad. I thought he might not adapt to having classmates in the classroom, but unexpectedly, he did quite well in the entrance exam and quickly integrated into the class. His adaptability is particularly excellent, no wonder the young lady likes him."
"Mm, he's quite good."
Xu Si laughed as a conversation inexplicably flashed through her mind.
She casually told the young man last night, hoping he could get along well with his classmates, and the young man replied with a yes.
Was it truly a love for socializing, or was that why he tried so hard?
Xu Si didn't know.
She picked up the old-fashioned classic men's wallet placed on the table, inside were some business cards and bank cards left by her father. Any random card had six or seven figures. Remembering the young man's old shirt and shoes not matching his style, she raised her eyes and said to the butler:
"After school this afternoon, pick him up to the nearby mall. I want to buy him something as a reward, and this wallet is too tacky. You handle it."
"Understood."
Butler Ge, wearing white gloves, took the cards from the men's wallet, locked the remaining trinkets in the third-floor room.
Anyone could see that the Xu family father-daughter relationship was not good. Though living under the same roof, the feelings were very thin.
When Mr. Xu left, Xu Si did not shed a single tear, nor did she intend to preserve Mr. Xu's belongings properly.
...
By five in the afternoon,
The giant clock atop the Imperial Private Academy transmitted a melodic mechanical chime, the twilight turning pale and yellow wrapped in coldness.
A line of luxury cars, rare for ordinary people to encounter, parked outside the archway, and finely dressed boys and girls stepped onto the car edges with laughter, leaning out to wave goodbye to classmates, contrasting sharply with the modest residential buildings miles away.
Just separated by a winding urban river, seemingly intentionally divided into two different eras' worlds.
Butler Ge waited for half an hour but did not see Pei Zhen come out.
He glanced at the electronic watch on his hand and said to Xu Si in the backseat, "Miss, I'll go take a look."
Xu Si nodded, her expression somewhat inscrutable.
In the narrow corridor,
shadowed foliage cut off most of the light, the dew was damp and cold, and fallen leaves were scattered all over the ground. It was not a place many would come without a particular reason.
After searching the school, Butler Ge emerged, hearing noise in the corridor, quickening his pace forward, only to find under a Phoenix Tree a group of people teaching a lesson to a handsome young boy.
The boy leaned against the rugged tree trunk, his collar stained with dirt, features exceedingly distinguished, his eyes downcast, holding onto one of the individuals' hand, silent.
"You still dare to grab my hand? Your Xu Family is about to crumble, ask your big miss from the Xu Family, see if after her dad died, she dares to go head-to-head with our family, street rat."
The leader, a young master with eye-catching red-dyed hair, had a delicate face full of arrogance and wickedness, lightly tapped the boy's face.
It was not painful nor itchy, yet incredibly insulting.
"You'd better obediently make amends for your sister from the Xu Family, damn it. Last month, she pinned my cousin on the coffin and beat him, really think I forgot? Acknowledge your mistake, speak."
The person holding the boy chimed in, "The main thing is, keep your distance from Cheng Keli, hear me?"
The boy still did not speak.
"Hell, are you kidding me? This is Hong Kong Island! How dare you not treat me seriously?" The young master sneered in rage, weighing the golf club in his hand, and swung it. The boy slightly tilted his head, the curved side of the club just barely brushed past his ear, quickly raising an exquisite red circle.
The boy furrowed, the muscles in his jaw tight, his slender fingers clenched into a fist, but for that instant, all he could think of was Butler Ge's words.
"The young lady has a difficult situation."