Hah! 

See? 

I told you I would be back with a new chapter today. I did not disappoint, did I? 😁😁

Let's jump right into it. Hope you enjoy <3 <3

Xiao Zhan's POV

After traveling to China on almost every vacation before, I thought I would have gotten used to the travel time and the stress that came with it, but I was wrong. Or maybe it was just more present this time because I wasn't just traveling, I was actually moving to my dream country. The moment I set foot on Chinese soil, I felt... I don't know... free and relaxed. Like coming home. Well, if you ignore the tiredness, of course.

As soon as we landed and got our luggage, we walked out of the airport into the sun. It was a little chilly, but the weather was beautiful. My parents quickly ordered a taxi to take us to our new home. All the other stuff we took with us but couldn't fit in the car was delivered by the airport, which I thought was a nice service they had here.

As we got into the taxi and drove away, I realized something we hadn't thought about. Or at least I hadn't thought about it. And that was my parents' inability to speak Chinese. The taxi driver looked rather nervous when my parents started talking to him in English, and I quickly translated for him before he kicked us out and fled.

"I guess this shows us that it was a good idea to sign up for that language class," Mom said, a little embarrassed.

"A language class?" I asked. "You two?"

"Of course, we have to learn Chinese. We can't expect everyone to speak our language, can we? Now that we have moved here, it is only right that we learn their language. I just wish we had started earlier. I heard that learning Chinese is going to be difficult."

"We should have learned it with Sean. Then we wouldn't be in this dilemma." Dad sighed. "But if Sean didn't have a problem learning it, we won't either."

"I read somewhere that the earlier you start learning, the better you can learn a new language," Mom replied. "That means we might have some difficulties, but it should be okay as long as we are eager to learn. I can already count to 100, only the pronunciation is a bit difficult."

"When did you start learning that?" Dad asked with a frown. "You should have told me so I could learn it too."

Mom smiled proudly. "Actually, you only need to know the numbers 1 to 10. The rest is pretty easy. Except for the pronunciation, of course. If you ask me nicely, I could teach you."

"Aren't I always nice?"

"You are, but how about being a little nicer?"

"Oh, I see. I think I can do that." Dad smiled and Mom giggled.

I just rolled my eyes and was thankful that I had chosen to sit next to the driver and not in the back, or worse, between them.

"I don't understand English very well, but I know the love language." The driver said amused.

"Love language, huh?" I chuckled. "Yeah, well, they kind of speak it fluently."

I looked in the back seat and saw them holding hands while my mom rested her head on my dad's shoulder. Since they looked content, I decided not to ruin the mood and turned back to the front.

"God damn it!" I cursed as I saw the house my parents had bought. The house, or maybe I should call it a mansion, on the property was maybe twice the size of our old house in America. The yard and pond were huge. Yes, there was a pond the size of a lake in the middle of our property. A gravel path went around the house and you had to cross a little bridge to get to a little house in the back.

All in all, it was a traditional Chinese compound, like the ones you see in Chinese dramas. Except that there was CCTV and some modern security stuff. I didn't like that part of the house though. Yes, security is important, but it kind of ruined the whole ambiance.

"What do you think, honey?" Mom asked excitedly. "As soon as I saw it, I had to have it. Isn't it beautiful? Doesn't it feel like you've stepped into a Chinese drama?"

"It's fantastic!" I agreed, feeling the excitement as I imagined living here.

"You see that little house over there; that will be yours. It has a big bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room with a small dining area. At first, we thought about renting it out, but then we decided it should be yours. After all, you are an adult and you need your own space," Mom explained, clapping her hands.

"And if you can't stand adult life and are lonely, you can always come over. Of course, we have a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom ready for you. It's upstairs, and it even has a big, cozy balcony, which that little house over there doesn't have. The bedroom is also on the west side of the house, so the sun won't wake you up in the morning, but you can watch the sunset in the evening."

Mom continued to rant until Dad stopped her. "Jesus, woman! At this point, just tell him to forget about the little house and move in with us."

"I'm giving him options to choose from," Mom replied.

"Downplaying the little house and praising the room with the balcony until he can't help but live with us is not giving him a choice, it's manipulating him into moving in with us."

"Oh, come on, Michael. It's still all on the same property."

"Which means it wouldn't matter if he chose to live in his own house."

Mom turned to me. "It's your decision. But just so you know, when you sit on the balcony, you will have a great view."

Dad looked at me and then rolled his eyes while pointing at Mom. I had to smile. Giving me the chance to live in my own house was great, but this room on the top floor with a balcony and a view of the sunset? That was a game-changer. Did I ever mention that I love beautiful things? And the view I would get by sitting on that terrace and watching the sunset... hell yeah!

Dad was right. Mom was manipulating me because she knew all too well what I liked and what I did not like. So I wasn't mad at all. Besides, wouldn't I be spending most of my time with my parents at their house anyway? After all, I couldn't cook, and Mom's cooking was the best.

But then reality set in and I frowned.

"Does it really matter which one I choose? I'm not going to live here anyway, am I?"

I took out the list with the names of the universities and held it up. "Haven't you already chosen for me not to live here?"

"What do you mean?" Dad asked, looking at Mom who shook her head in confusion.

"There are 5 colleges on this list. The closest one is where Dad will be working. That's understandable, so you won't have to travel far. But I'm not going to that university, no matter how close it is. I've already told you that I won't. Another one is also close, but it's a small university and it's said that certain subjects, including art, are not taught well. Besides, the building doesn't look very nice."

"Sean, darling, you don't choose a college by how it looks." Mom chuckled. "You would only study there for a few hours and then go home."

I ignored the comment and continued. "Of the remaining three, two are too far away for me to go home every day, so I would have to live in a dorm. And the last one is even further away, and after scrolling through their website, I found out that it is a damn boarding school that includes a high school and a middle school. Although the campus and the classes only contain college students because the three schools are separated, the dorms are filled with high school and middle school kids. Depending on my luck, I would probably have to share a room with a 13-year-old! Hell no!"

"Sean, we told you that it would be your choice which college to attend. Only the five colleges have agreed to allow you to transfer in the middle of the year. I will not allow you to reject a school because your father works there, because the school doesn't look nice, or because middle schoolers and high schoolers would live in the same dormitory." Mom scolded me. It didn't happen very often, so of course I was a little surprised and upset.

"It took a lot of talking and your father's name to get them to agree to let you attend their school in the middle of the year. All 5 schools have a good reputation and they all cost a lot. The last one is also a private school, so imagine how difficult it would be to attend it without your father's help?"

"Your mother is right. In the next two or three days, we will visit all five schools, yes, even the one I will start working on soon, and you will have a look before you make your decision. There will be no debate."

"Exactly. No matter which school you choose, we will respect your decision. And just because three of them will force you to live in a dormitory doesn't mean that there are any less good ones or that we don't want you here. Remember that you will only be there for about seven to eight months before you graduate. It's not that long."

"Still! A dorm? Come on! I want to live at home, not in some random dorm where I don't know anyone."

"Stop acting like a spoiled brat." Dad scolded me. 

"I can't. I am spoiled. You spoiled me." I replied but sighed. "Fine. But I won't live in a dorm!"

"Welcome to our private school." The director greeted us with open arms. Today was only the second day and this was the second university I visited. Yesterday, we took a closer look at Dad's workplace, where we spent quite a bit of time. And because I overslept in the morning, there was only time to visit one school. I didn't do it on purpose. But I was grateful. At least until my parents kicked me out of bed at 6 a.m. today so we could come here to this boarding school. Sorry, the private school. It took us four hours to get here.

The director spoke fluent English, so he and my parents had no trouble communicating. Which also means they didn't need me as a free translator. Seriously, the next time they ask me to translate, I should ask for a fee.

Since I wasn't interested in attending this school, I didn't listen to their conversation at all. I looked around and saw a lot of students who didn't have any classes. They were just hanging out, reading books, studying for tests, listening to music, or taking naps. In America, everyone would look at me strangely, but here, no one paid any attention to me, which I enjoyed. Well, except for a group of girls who kept looking at me as they whispered and giggled.

Luckily, I didn't see any kids here, which meant that this school really kept university, high school, and middle school separate.

"Would you like to take a look around, young man?" The director asked me in his perfect English.

"No, I am fine," I replied in Chinese. "I'm not going to this school anyway."

"You decided without seeing anything?" He asked back, this time also speaking Chinese.

"I am not interested in a boarding school. And I definitely won't share a room with a child."

"This is not a boarding school." He replied with a smile. "It's a private school with housing. The best private school in the country, I might add."

"Isn't housing mandatory here? So it is a boarding school. Why is boarding mandatory? Is this some kind of cult?"

The director started to laugh and my parents looked at us curiously.

"In the beginning, living here wasn't mandatory. But later it changed at the request of the parents. They wanted their children to pay attention and not get distracted by things like hanging out in the city and making trouble, coming home late, and so on.

This private school was much, much smaller and much stricter than it is now. School was every day, there was no weekend, you had to get up at 5 a.m. and go to bed at 9 p.m., there was a mandatory gym class in the morning, breakfast was only half an hour, so there wasn't much time to talk to friends. In fact, talking during meals was forbidden anyway. Attendance was strictly monitored, and if you didn't call in sick when you missed class, you got a bad grade. There were a lot more rules than there are now, and I think the parents liked that."

"All this makes me want to come here even less."

"Like I said, a lot has changed over the years. The parents are still strict, of course, and want their kids to have less fun and study a lot more. But they know that this school isn't one that forbids its students to have free time and fun. They are allowed to go home on weekends and holidays. There is a shuttle bus that belongs to his school that allows students to visit the city every day as long as they don't have classes. This is controlled, of course. So students have more free time than they used to have."

I shrugged and the director nodded. "Still no interest, huh?"

"No, not really."

"Well, I can't force anyone, can I? But I don't think you can decide without a tour of the school, don't you?" He asked, turning to my parents.

"How about a tour of this school?" He asked again in English. My parents immediately agreed, but Dad's phone rang immediately. He looked at us apologetically.

"Sorry, this is the university. I have to take this call."

"Go ahead. I know how important a call from work is. I just hope no one set fire to the school." The director said and Mom gave him a strange look.

"Has anyone ever set fire to this school?" I just had to ask.

"Only once. And it was an accident in the kitchen during one of the classes. It took several days to fix, but the students didn't mind because they got to order food delivery."

"Cool." The director raised his eyebrows at me and shrugged. "Depending on the food here, it might not have been an accident."

"Believe me, our food is nothing to complain about. Especially when the students get to vote on what they eat."

"The students decide that here?"

"Sure. Well, I do make sure they don't get chicken, burgers, or pizza every day. Their parents would kill me." He smiled at me. "What? Did I pique your interest?"

It sounded like this place was less of a prison than I thought, but...

"Nice try, but no. I'm not going to boarding school."

"A private school." He corrected me. "You do know that a dormitory is no different than our school, right?"

"Except for the fact that this place has a middle school and a high school and I have to live with those kids."

"University, high school, and middle school are separate. The only place you would share is the dorm, but I think we can arrange for you not to share with a middle or high school student."

"Is there a prize if you get me to go to this school or why are you so eager? Did my parents pay you?"

The director laughed. "Not at all. But so far, no one has ever disliked our school. Everyone wants to get in, so I'm not used to someone who doesn't. It kind of ... hurts my pride to see you reject us."

"Always getting what you want isn't healthy. I learned that the hard way." I switched to English so my mother could hear me, who looked at me with amusement.

"It looks like my husband's call is going to take longer. How about we take the tour without him?"

"That's okay. You can stay here too, Mom. I'll take the tour alone." Mom looked like she was going to say something, but then she sighed.

"Fine, then. You do your tour; I'll do mine as soon as your dad's done talking on the phone."

"Great. Then I will show you around and for Sean..." He looked around until his eyes fell on a student who was about to pass us.

"Ji Yang." He called him and the boy, who looked about my age, turned and walked towards the director.

"Do you know every student's name?"

"Of course, I am the director and I also teach some classes."

"Every student? From middle school to university?"

"That's right." He grinned when he saw how impressed I was.

"You called for me, sir?"

"Ji Yang, this is Sean, a potential new student who will be finishing his last year here. Would you please show him around? Or are you busy?"

"A new student in the middle of the year?"

"A potential student, yes." He emphasized and gave me an amused glance.

The boy named Ji Yang looked slightly confused but nodded. "I was on my way to the library, but I have time. I don't mind showing him around."

He turned to me. "Hello, I am Song Ji Yang. I study law and I am also a senior."

The colors around him were bright, mostly reddish. Especially in the middle, there is a ball-sized spot with a strong red color. He seemed to be a cheerful person with a tendency toward passion and determination. I couldn't be sure, but I read a lot about colors to make sure I don't read people wrong, so I'm pretty sure about my analyses.

"Thank you, my dear. Sean likes to explore things, so you better keep a close eye on him or he might stray from the path." Mom gave me a sideways glance. I quickly suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. What she meant was that he should be careful that I didn't run away. Which was scary because I thought about it for a moment and from the way she looked at me, she knew that too. Parents could be scary. 

"Don't worry, ma'am. With me as his guide, he won't get lost." Ji Yang answered honestly and innocently in perfect English. Mom thanked him, grinned at me, and walked over to Dad.

"You can speak English?" I asked him in surprise.

"Of course. I have been studying here since middle school, and English is one of the most important subjects taught here, along with Chinese and math. That doesn't mean that everyone is good at it. Many are just good enough not to fail the class. But law students have to be good at English or they won't be able to graduate. At least not with a good grade, and if you don't have one, it might be hard to get a job."

"I see..."

"So your name is Sean?"

"Sean Smith, but that is my American name. Please call me by my Chinese name, which is Xiao Zhan."

"You are from America?"

"Yes, I was born and lived there until I recently moved here. And before you ask, no, I was not adopted. They are my biological parents."

Ji Yang laughed. "I wasn't going to ask that. Did you get asked that every day in America?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, that is understandable. But I am not a nosy person. Anyway, shall we start the tour?"

"I don't think it will be necessary since I won't attend this school, but let's keep up appearances. Let's go."

to be continued...      

Let's see if you will change your mind, Zhan. I surely hope you do. 

If it was me... I would have agreed the moment I saw a hot student like Ji Yang. 😉😉

If you liked this chapter, feel free to leave a vote and a comment or two... or three <3 <3 <3