Chapter 4

The twins were very worried when their Fu Fu didn’t show up to school the next day. They waited by the gate during morning arrival, eyes scanning every face that passed. Then they checked the playground, the hallway, even peeked into his classroom during break. Nothing.

“Maybe he’s sick,” Yo Han whispered, clutching his brother’s hand.

“Yeah… he must be really sick,” Yo Sun agreed, voice small. Skipping school was something Li Han would never do, he loved his books too much. The idea of him just… not coming felt impossible.

They spent the whole week like that: hopeful in the mornings, disappointed by lunch, and quietly miserable by the end of the day. They talked about going to his house to check on him, maybe bring him soup or a new picture book. But they didn’t know where he lived. They regretted it deeply—why hadn’t they followed him home just once?

When they finally worked up the courage to ask their teacher, the answer hit like a cold wave.

“He moved away, sweethearts. His family relocated.”

Their little hearts cracked open right there in the classroom. He didn’t even say goodbye. No note, no wave, no last cheek kiss. Nothing. The rest of the week blurred into gray. They barely played. They didn’t chatter or cling to each other the way they usually did. Even their usual sparkle dimmed—the big dark-blue eyes looked dull.

Their mothers noticed immediately. The two Alphas tried everything: extra hugs, favorite snacks, trips to the park, promises of new toys. Nothing worked. The twins just shook their heads and stared at the empty spot under the big tree where Li Han used to read whenever they were in school.

Graduation day arrived, the one they had been so excited about. They had planned it perfectly: they would finally tell Fu Fu their sub-gender results. They would run to him, announce it proudly, and maybe give him the biggest cheek kisses ever.

But the spot under the tree stayed empty.

The ceremony felt hollow. They stood on stage in their tiny caps and gowns, smiling for the cameras because they had to, but their eyes kept searching the crowd for a familiar quiet face that wasn’t there. When it was over, they went home and cried into their pillows until they fell asleep, exhausted and heartbroken.

Just as Elder Huang had said, the move happened the very next day. It took two full days of travel to reach the XX district—long car rides, bumpy trains, and quiet meals eaten in strange rest stops. Then another two days to unpack boxes, arrange furniture, and make the new house feel even a little bit like home. Xiaoming went back to work almost immediately.

Jin Xiao, meanwhile, spent those first days searching for a suitable new school. She finally found one, though it was a bit far from their neighborhood. When she worried aloud about the distance, Li Han looked up from his book and said calmly,

“I can come home by myself, I’m in junior secondary school now.”

She hesitated, then nodded, proud of how grown-up he sounded. She bought his new school uniform, ordered the textbooks and prepared his schoolbag. A few days later, Li Han resumed classes.The new school was different.

The school he went to was mostly betas because during this time it was better for the sub-genders to learn about what it entails to being an Alpha or Omega so they were schools which had only omega's or alpha's but since this was a beta school there were no special classes.

Li Han sat in his assigned seat near the window, already pulling out a book. The class wasn’t rowdy, but it had its own little cliques—groups of friends who laughed together, shared snacks, whispered secrets. He had no interest in joining any of them.

But the girls in the row behind him had no volume control.

“Aiya, you must be really smart if you read so much,” one said, leaning over but Li Han didn’t reply, he simply turned the page.

“I bet you’d take good care of us during exams. What’s your name?” another asked, giggling.

Still nothing. He focused harder on the words.

The first girl scoffed. “You little shit, must be really arrogant, huh?”

That finally made him move. Li Han stood up abruptly, the chair scraping loudly as he grabbed his book, and walked out without a word. The sudden motion startled them into silence. He headed straight to the library.

Finally, quiet. Finally, alone.

or so he thought

A few minutes later, a girl slid into the seat beside him without asking.

"Hello I am Liu Yifei what is your name?"

Li Han noted that she was pretty for a beta but not pretty enough to match that of an Omega or Alpha but pretty enough in a lively approachable way.

"I am Li Han" Li Han replied seeing that he had no where to run

"This is my first time seeing you so you must be new. I already heard about you from the other class—the quiet boy who reads all the time and ignores everyone.”

Li Han gave a small nod

"So... would you like to be friends?"

"No" Li Han replied flatly before going back to reading his book but suddenly he felt an arm being slung over his shoulder and registered a presence sitting beside him

“Shūdāizi, stop being such a prude and be my friend. Aren’t I so pretty? Who can resist the great Liu Yifei?” She flipped her hair dramatically, praising herself without a hint of shame.

Li Han rolled his eyes, but there was the tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Wouldn’t you leave me alone, great Liu Yifei?”

"Wouldn't you leave me alone great Liu Yifei" Li Han said but Liu Yifei smiled because she made Li Han say her name

"I feel like this is a start to a beautiful friendship" Liu Yifei proclaimed but Li Han sighed and continued reading his book.