Liu Tiancheng was from a neighboring province. Although his family was quite wealthy, he was not spoiled or arrogant. Instead of renting a place outside, he chose to live in the school dormitory, claiming he loved its atmosphere. He had even strongly urged Lin Ge to live in the dorms as well, rattling off a long list of benefits.
Unfortunately, in his past life, Lin Ge had eyes only for the Lin Family and could not bear the thought of only being able to go home once a month. No matter how exhausting or miserable things were, he had always chosen to commute from home, leaving Liu Tiancheng full of regret.
Liu Tiancheng had genuinely wanted to share a dorm with Lin Ge so they would have more time to discuss schoolwork together. And it had to be said that Liu Tiancheng had an exceptional eye for talent. Although Lin Ge only ever scored in the mid-to-upper range on exams—far from being at the very top—Liu Tiancheng felt that Lin Ge possessed a unique grasp and understanding of the material. Every time they learned a new concept, Liu Tiancheng would drag Lin Ge over to debate it.
It was also this same Liu Tiancheng who, a month before the college entrance examinations in their past life, had accidentally run into Lin Qingyang and Lin Ge together. Not knowing the true situation, Liu Tiancheng had assumed the two were merely relatives and had once advised Lin Ge to be wary of Lin Qingyang.
"So you've been living at a relative's place all this time? But as a good brother, I still have to advise you to stay as far away from that relative as possible. I have a gut feeling that this relative of yours isn't as nice as he makes himself out to be!"
At the time, Lin Ge had only smiled without offering any explanation. Assuming Lin Ge didn't believe him, Liu Tiancheng had pressed on anxiously:
"Don't brush me off. I'm not trying to drive a wedge between you. I just get the feeling that guy is all sunshine on the surface and ice-cold underneath. You really need to keep your guard up, or one day you're going to get burned by him."
Never had Liu Tiancheng expected his words to prove prophetic; a month later, tragedy struck Lin Ge. Later on, Lin Ge's disembodied spirit had even witnessed Liu Tiancheng visiting his grave to pay his respects on several occasions.
Seeing his deskmate and brother once again, Lin Ge felt a surge of genuine joy.
"You're right, your reasoning makes sense. Living on campus will save me more time for studying—after all, the college entrance exam is less than half a year away!"
"Then come to my dorm! The other three rent places outside and don't stay in the dorms, so it's just me. Come keep me company!"
"Alright, sounds good. But I still need to go apply with our head teacher. Do you mind helping me take my things back while I go find him?"
The two split up.
Lin Ge went straight to the teachers' office, found their head teacher, and made his request to board at the school.
The head teacher, Teacher Hu, was a kind and amiable middle-aged man with high professional ethics who was deeply loved by his students. When Lin Ge had first returned to the Lin Family, for reasons unknown, his household registration had never been transferred over. The records he had on file at the school were still tied to Changshan Orphanage.
Teacher Hu knew every student's background like the back of his hand and felt an extra measure of sympathy for Lin Ge as an orphan. Coupled with the fact that Lin Ge was usually well-behaved, obedient, and kept to the rules in class—with respectable, mid-range grades—he was the kind of student teachers loved to have around.
Hearing Lin Ge's request, Teacher Hu agreed immediately.
"Alright, take a look at which dorm in our class still has a vacancy and just move right in!"
"Thank you, Teacher Hu!" Lin Ge said sincerely.
Teacher Hu was one of those rare teachers who treated all students equally. He never showed any discrimination simply because a student's grades were poor or their family background was humble. Lin Ge liked Teacher Hu from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't mention it! I'm your teacher, and helping you solve problems is my duty. Now that you're living on campus, you'll have more time—work hard and put your all into your studies! With your grades, if you push yourself, getting into a Project 211 or even a Project 985 university won't be a problem at all!" Teacher Hu took the opportunity to offer some encouragement.
With Teacher Hu's permission, Lin Ge settled into Liu Tiancheng's dorm.
Unlike before he moved out of the Lin Family, when every exam required him to tiptoe around Lin Qingyang's feelings, Lin Ge now intended to be his own person after cutting ties with the Lin Family. It was time to show his true strength and let everyone witness the real him!
As luck would have it, a monthly exam took place the very next day, and Lin Ge effortlessly placed in the top one hundred of the school and the top five of his class. The only reason he stopped at this ranking was that Lin Ge wanted to progress step by step so as not to shock everyone too much. Besides, in a top-tier high school like the one in Haishi, these grades were already quite impressive.
Furthermore, Lin Ge had previously kept himself lingering around the school's bottom eight hundred and the class's top twenty, so this leap forward could be considered massive.
"Bro, you've made such huge progress! We simply have to celebrate!" Liu Tiancheng had improved as well, breaking into the school's top two hundred.
"It's just a small monthly exam, there's no need to make such a big fuss about it," Lin Ge replied with a very casual attitude.
"Haha, Lin Ge, I just love this unflappable vibe of yours!" Liu Tiancheng burst into a happy laugh. "We definitely have to make a fuss! My school ranking finally went up by fifty places too, so this celebration is non-negotiable. Let's go, my treat!"
Liu Tiancheng hooked his arm through Lin Ge's and headed toward the cafeteria. Although students weren't usually allowed to leave campus for extra meals, being the best high school in Haishi, the cafeteria was very accommodating. If students had cravings, they could order custom stir-fries right there in the school cafeteria—there was a wide variety, and the food tasted exceptionally good.
Lin Ge and Liu Tiancheng exchanged a smile. "Alright, your treat today. Once I make it big in the future, I'll treat you back!"
"No problem, we're brothers, aren't we?"
After various medical interventions, combining both traditional Chinese and Western medicine, Huang Huijuan's headaches were finally brought under control.
Yet the relief wouldn't last; every now and then, the attacks would flare up again. After being hospitalized for two weeks, seeing as staying in the hospital any longer was pointless, Huang Huijuan resolutely discharged herself and went home.
By this time, the members of the Lin Family, who had gathered for Lin Qingyang's birthday, had largely dispersed to attend to their own affairs. Only the second eldest sister, Lin Jiayi, remained at home to keep their mother company because her career afforded her a relatively flexible schedule.
On the second day after returning home, feeling that her condition was improving, Huang Huijuan asked Lin Jiayi to accompany her for a stroll in the back garden.
"It's been over ten days, and Lin Ge hasn't even bothered to call back once. Does he still regard me as his mother? He hasn't asked after me once while I'm in the hospital—simply unfilial! Hmph, how old is he, pulling this runaway stunt? So childish! Does he really think we're going to coddle him and chase after him?"
Perhaps because she had too much time on her hands, Huang Huijuan suddenly thought of Lin Ge.
Even now, deep down, she still refused to believe that Lin Ge had truly broken ties with the family. Her feelings toward this son were complicated. Abandoned since childhood, he had only been found after so much difficulty. Huang Huijuan had genuinely wanted to make it up to him.
Yet relentless time had eroded the bond of motherhood between them, wearing it thin. The Lin Ge of today was no longer the adorable two-year-old toddler she had lost all those years ago. He was timid, petty, and always carried a fawning attitude toward his family. He had even picked up many bad habits, and his grades were mediocre. In short, he had failed to inherit any of the fine genes of the Lin Family.
And now, he had even learned to steal and run away from home.
Huang Huijuan had even made up her mind: unless Lin Ge took the initiative to come back and apologize to her, she would firmly refuse to forgive him.