Chapter 3

2 months later

The big final exams were over, and most of the children spent their remaining days running wild during free play, laughing, chasing each other, trading stickers, and making promises to stay friends forever.

Everyone, that is, except Li Han.

He was still the same as always, curled up in his favorite corner of the classroom during free time, nose buried in a picture book, the world around him fading into soft background noise. No one bothered him anymore. The other children had long accepted that Li Han was just… Li Han. A little strange, maybe, but harmless. They left him to his books.

Except for two very determined exceptions.

Yo Han and Yo Sun saw the relaxed days as the perfect chance to be even closer to their Fu Fu. Today they dragged two small plastic chairs right up to his desk, one on each side and sat down with matching grins. They immediately leaned their heads against his shoulders, sandwiching him between them.

"You're both weighing my shoulder down" Li Han complained

“But we want to be close to you,” Yo Han said sweetly, scooting even nearer until his cheek was practically pressed against Li Han’s neck. Li Han had accepted long ago that they would never leave him alone so he sighed and continued reading, he never knew what they saw in him anyways.

“Hey, Book Hog! The teacher’s calling you!” someone shouted from across the room.

Li Han didn’t like the nickname, but the mention of the teacher made him move immediately. He gently (but firmly) detached himself from the twins, who immediately started glaring daggers at the boy who had called out.

“Don’t call him that!” Yo Han huffed.

“Yeah, he’s our Fu Fu, not a hog!” Yo Sun added, fists balled.

Li Han ignored the tiny argument brewing behind him and walked to the teacher’s small office at the back of the building.

“Good day, Teacher,” he said politely, bowing his head a little.

“How are you, Li Han?” she asked with her usual warm smile.

He nodded once—short and shy.

“You did very well in your exams,” she continued. “You scored the highest in the class. Here—” She reached into her drawer and placed five shiny gold stars in his small hand. “These are yours.”

“Thank you, Teacher,” Li Han said quietly, fingers curling around the stars.

The teacher gave out the rewards secretly, one child at a time, so no one else would feel bad. Five gold stars meant first place. Three meant second. One meant third. Li Han understood why she did it this way; he didn’t like attention either.

Before he could turn to leave, she held up one more thing.“And here’s your report card, Li Han. It’s already been shared with the other classes, but make sure to give this copy to your parents, alright?”

He thanked her again, took the folded paper, and walked back to the classroom.The moment he stepped through the door, two small bodies launched themselves at him like missiles.

“Fu Fu! Can we see your report?” they asked in perfect unison, eyes wide and sparkling.

Li Han shrugged, he was used to this by now. He handed it over before sitting back down and opening his book again. The twins unfolded the paper carefully, reading it together with serious little frowns that quickly turned into beaming smiles.

“That means Fu Fu can still be ours!” Yo Sun said, bouncing on his toes.

Li Han didn’t look up, but he heard the relief in their voices. Yo Sun’s face suddenly fell into an exaggerated pout. “Fu Fu, you won’t even ask us what we presented as?”

Li Han rolled his eyes, but there was the tiniest hint of fondness hidden in the gesture. “What did you present as?”

They both grinned mischievously.“We won’t tell you till graduation!” they said together, voices bubbling with excitement.

Li Han rolled his eyes again, this time more dramatically. What was even the point of making him ask if they were just going to turn it into a surprise? He already guessed they would both be Omegas; everything about them screamed it — their soft voices, the big eyes and the way they clung to people like they were made of warmth. But he didn’t say anything. He just turned back to his book.

Little did he know.

Eventually the twins grew sleepy from all their leaning and whispering. One by one, their heads grew heavier against his shoulders until both were dozing peacefully, small hands curled loosely around his sleeves. When the final bell rang, Li Han gently tapped their cheeks. They woke up groggy, blinking like baby owls. Then, as had become their unbreakable habit, each of them leaned in and pressed a soft, sleepy kiss to one of his cheeks before stumbling off toward their mothers’ waiting arms.

Li Han walked home alone, report card and five gold stars tucked carefully into his schoolbag.

When he showed his mother, Huang Jin Xiao’s eyes lit up. She kissed the top of his head, hugged him tightly, and said, “You’re still so special to us, baby. Always.”

That evening she made his favorite dinner —sweet egg rolls, tender chicken with sesame, and extra rice pudding for dessert to celebrate his perfect marks.

Later, when Huang Xiaoming came home, Li Han waited until dinner was served before sliding the report card across the table.His father looked at it for a long moment. The lines around his mouth were tight. The day had clearly been a hard one.

“It was expected,” Xiaoming said at last, voice flat and cold.

Jin Xiao’s worried eyes flicked toward her husband, but she stayed quiet. The rest of the meal passed in heavy silence. No one spoke. The only sounds were chopsticks against bowls and the soft clink of plates.Then, halfway through, Xiaoming spoke again.

“I’ve been transferred to the XX district. We’re moving tomorrow.”

Jin Xiao’s chopsticks paused. “What about Li Han’s school?”

“He’s already finished kindergarten,” Xiaoming replied, not looking up. “I’ll speak to the teachers tomorrow and collect his transfer papers. You just focus on packing.”

The silence returned, thicker this time.No one dared say another word until Xiaoming had finished eating and left the table. Li Han finished soon after. He thanked his mother softly for the meal, his voice smaller than usual then slipped away to his room.

He looked around at the familiar walls, the low shelf of books, the futon where he slept every night. This would be his first time moving that he could actually remember because he was sure that they had moved a lot of times before.