The correctional school sounded like school, not prison, but it was fully enclosed, cutting off external temptations. It wasn't that free either. So Sui Dongsheng didn't want to go. During this time, he had to take the money in his hand and get in touch with other kids.
Bo Xin sighed. "Are you afraid of being lonely there?"
He Xiuyuan was taken aback, then realized he was indeed about to enter a completely unfamiliar environment. He heard that all the kids there had committed crimes before. It probably wouldn't be easy to get along with them. He clenched his fist. "I think I should be able to manage."
Bo Xin smiled. "I'll come visit you."
What? He Xiuyuan was a bit stunned.
Bo Xin: "In a place like that, if a kid doesn't have a parent, they'll still suffer a bit. So I'll come see you."
He Xiuyuan didn't expect Bo Xin to even think of such details for him. It was really too thoughtful. His mouth opened and closed. He hadn't felt a mother's warmth for a long time, so he didn't know how to respond.
"...Maybe I could call you Teacher?"
Bo Xin paused. She didn't really have kids around who called her 'Teacher'; they called her Doctor or Madame. 'Teacher' would definitely bring them closer, but she was someone who gave him things and acted as his backer. Couldn't be mother and son. The title of teacher seemed the most fitting. But there was something she needed to make clear: "I'm a doctor. There's not much I can teach you."
He Xiuyuan held his bandaged wrist and explained, "I think you've already taught me a lot."
Bo Xin didn't ask 'what'. Instead, she smiled and said, "Is that so? That's good."
The day He Xiuyuan was sent to the correctional school, most of Bo Xin's family came, including Ji Xingzhi.
Ji Xingzhi didn't expect that his wallet would cause such a little incident in the family. He touched the scratches on the wallet and had developed some goodwill toward the kid. On it was his personal number, made into a business card and placed in the wallet's inner pocket.
"If something happens, you can call this number."
He Xiuyuan, wearing a faded jacket, stood at the door and said, "Madame Bo Xin already gave me one."
Ji Xingzhi was taken aback, then stubbornly said, not quite like an adult, "What does her giving you one have to do with me wanting to give you one?"
He Xiuyuan rubbed the font on the card. The words 'Hengxing' suddenly jumped into his eyes. Obviously, his attitude changed. "Your company's name is Hengxing, right?"
Ji Xingzhi nodded casually. He Xiuyuan smirked and said, "Is that so? Then I'll remember it."
Remember? Remember what? Clearly, the kid's attitude had changed because of his company. Strange kid. After Ji Xingzhi's sigh, he put the wallet in his pocket. "Why do kids nowadays always speak in half-sentences?"
Ji Yanyi, standing beside him with hands on his hips, was very dissatisfied with this remark. "What do you mean 'kids nowadays'? You just mean little brother, don't you?"
Yuxu was also like that, but he could understand with his smart brain. But Dad couldn't understand, so he started attacking all kids. He wasn't like that.
Ji Yanyi: "Anyway, you only dare to complain because little brother isn't here."
Ji Xingzhi roughly rubbed Ji Yanyi's head, messing up his smooth hair. "Learn an idiom from your dad: 'Man's inhumanity to man makes it hard to bear.'"
It wasn't that he didn't dare; he was just afraid the kid would get prickly. Better not to say it at all than to spend time and energy coaxing him. Ji Xingzhi hadn't been completely idle at home recently. He patted the car roof, signaling Bo Xin, who was still chatting in the distance, to get in.
Bo Xin glanced at him, unresponsive. She turned to the guard and said, "If someone claims to be He Xiuyuan's friend, please contact me immediately. That kid was the one who led my child astray and disappeared after the incident. I want to see him."
The guard hesitated. "If you put it that way, I feel like that kid probably won't come to see this kid anymore."
Bo Xin thought that wasn't necessarily true. In Sui Dongsheng's eyes, his brother was still sincere with him, taking all the blame and willingly accepting education. Bo Xin thought about the timing and realized she might have spoken too soon. "Maybe when this kid is about to graduate. If it's not you then, I'll remind you again. If it's you, repeating it again and again will help you remember better."
The guard took the phone number. "So it seems you really want to see that kid."
Bo Xin nodded. "It's hard not to want to see him after what happened. To put it bluntly, yes, I really want to see him. But please rest assured, I'm definitely not a rude person. I don't want to receive education alongside my student."
The remark was humorous, and the guard was clearly amused. He received countless reminders every day, and he had to admit Bo Xin's methods made sense.
When the conversation ended, Ji Xingzhi came to Bo Xin's side. "What's up? Anything else to say?"
Bo Xin shrugged vaguely. "I've thought of more than you have."
Ji Xingzhi scratched his head, thinking he hadn't done nothing. "I just chatted with He Xiuyuan for a bit."
Bo Xin thought for a moment, then said unceremoniously, "All things I've already arranged, right?"
Ji Xingzhi raised an eyebrow, clearly hit the mark. With kids, he could say 'man's inhumanity to man,' but with Bo Xin, she obviously took pleasure in it. He smirked, at a loss with her.
Today, Bo Yuxu was practicing piano at the Bo residence. Since the competition was approaching, his practice time was becoming more precious. Practicing piano was different from how he performed in piano class. Back then, as long as he got sixty percent, the teacher would call him a genius. But practice after practice was the key to improving his score. After all, the higher you go, the harder it gets.
"Do we need to pick up Yuxu now?"
Bo Xin shook her head. "Forget it. Give the kid more time."
Ji Xingzhi nodded. That worked too. But if they weren't picking up the kid, they still had to go back to the Bo residence, since the car was from the Bo family. Guess he really needed to buy a car soon. There would be more occasions for the kid's competition later. Ji Xingzhi started the car and drove toward the city center. The surroundings were desolate; the correctional school for kids was obviously not in a bustling area.
——
Sui Dongsheng took a bite of noodle soup, holding a fake ID. When He Xiuyuan was by his side, he had learned a lot, unlike in his past life. After mastering everything, Sui Dongsheng found it better to have all abilities in his own hands, even if others were obedient. For instance, in his past life, He Xiuyuan would appear and disappear mysteriously around him. Gradually, he began to suspect He Xiuyuan's targeting of the Ji family. He didn't know what Jiang Yuxu had told him, but that was the downside of similar personalities—they were easily swayed. The subsequent unease was enough to crush him.
He had returned late, so after He Xiuyuan came out, he would find him again. Reborn as a child and doing it over, he was confident he could do better than last time. Sui Dongsheng made a phone call. Beside him was a yellow sticker advertising a tutoring position for a ten-year-old child. But the child had autism; his parents had divorced, leaving him alone with a multi-million-dollar mansion. However, the kind of nanny abuse seen on TV hadn't happened to this child. The parents had only divorced, not died. So they still managed the mansion meticulously, and their divorce had caused the child's autism. They felt deeply guilty toward him. In short, if someone could win the child's trust and become his close companion, they could become his spokesperson and communicate with his parents.
Sui Dongsheng scheduled a meeting with the family's butler, Butler Wang, under the pretext of tutoring. In a quiet café, Sui Dongsheng arrived first. Butler Wang sized up the kid, who wasn't even as tall as the table, and was taken aback. "...Are you sure you want to apply for the position of family tutor in this household?"
Sui Dongsheng smiled confidently. He had been reborn; he could easily handle elementary school questions. High school wouldn't be hard to learn either. He had managed it in his past life. Besides, "Isn't the biggest concern for this child his psychological issues? Adults easily create a sense of pressure for him. A child's body can make him feel closer. I think I'm more suitable for this position than those adults."
Butler Wang was stunned. He had to admit Sui Dongsheng made sense. Thinking of that child, who only kept his head down with teachers and played alone in a corner, it was indeed worrying. "What you said does make some sense."
Sui Dongsheng's eyes lit up. "Then—"
"But any child could do that. Why should I pick you? I dislike the arrogance in your tone when you talk about our young master." The young master just had autism; it was an illness, not stupidity. He was even a genius at piano.
"But not every high-achieving kid is willing to work and help support the family like I am."
Butler Wang sighed. "I'll find someone suitable eventually." Even if not that suitable, it would still be better than this kid. Butler Wang exhaled. He didn't know why, but after that surge of temptation, he had almost immediately agreed. Fortunately, reason stopped him in time. "I'll take my leave. Since you're still a child, I'll pay for this."
Sui Dongsheng didn't feel reassured. He bit his nails, feeling only anxiety. In his past life, he had become this family's tutor. Was it because the negotiator then was He Xiuyuan? So why was He Xiuyuan arrested earlier this time? Damn it. He should have gone to see him when He Xiuyuan was taken away.