All Chapters of Leaving the Old Perch: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

When I opened the door, the Lieberts were gathered around the dining table, which had a three-tiered cake on top of it.And the words 'Congratulations on your admission' were written on the cake.Naturally, it was bought for Yohan. Even if he didn't reach the minimum score for undergraduate admissions, my parents, Anna and Joshua, would always celebrate the completion of any exam for him.He was tearing up, hanging his head, with Joshua smiling understandingly as he patted his shoulder.Meanwhile, Anna was handing him tissues, assuring him, "It's alright even if you got low scores, Yohan—you just couldn't perform well this time. I'll get you that watch you like, okay?"Joshua nodded, his tone mild. "That's right. We'll be there for you for the rest of your life even if you don't make it to college."I stood in the shadows, watching their blissful moment, when my starving stomach growled loudly.Hearing that, Joshua turned.All affection faded from his face as he frowned, thou

Chapter 2

Joshua didn't even let me refuse as he released me and left to pick up a wet towel to wipe the cream off Yohan's face.It was as if making me drop out and work wasn't even worth mentioning.Anna frowned unhappily when she saw that I wasn't moving, and she urged, "What are you spacing out for? Pack your bags already. The factory will provide everything you'll need, so work hard and don't embarrass us."Yohan couldn't even be bothered to look my way, as he was busy browsing through a list of Jordans that cost thousands on his tablet.I looked down at the white canvas shoes I wore. They were hand-me-downs from Yohan, riddled with holes, exposing my toes that were reddened from having to squeeze into a smaller size.My eyes stung as I watched them revel in familial bliss, but I hurried to my room before my tears could fall.It was a storeroom without a window, with only a hard bed and a very old desk as furniture.Still, my phone vibrated when I closed the door, as I received a text

Chapter 3

Meanwhile, I finalized my acceptance of the admission to Project Starfire and the non-disclosure agreement at school.But as soon as I stepped through the front door, a slap landed across my cheek, sending me stumbling and crashing painfully into the shoe rack.Even as my ears rang and I tasted blood on my lips, I looked up to see Joshua glaring at me like he would skin me, bellowing, "You ingrate! Will you only stop when Yohan dies?!"It was certainly not the usual pretense of affection, while Anna rushed out of my room too just then.In her arms were my notes and treasured physics textbooks, which she flung to the floor.Then, she stamped all over everything, leaving black footprints."How dare you taunt Yohan with mock exams!" she screamed, shaking with rage. "So what if you got good grades?! You've learned nothing aside from these dirty tricks when you wandered around for ten years, huh?!" Yohan's wrists were heavily bandaged, and he sniffled as he reclined against the coat

Chapter 4

Mr. King's voice echoed in the living room, leaving it dead silent.Anna froze, still holding the phone, while Joshua looked utterly taken aback.That was when Yohan cried out, clutching his chest and collapsing unconscious on the couch."Yohan!"Coming to their senses right then, they didn't stop to question me as Joshua quickly picked Yohan up and rushed to the hospital.Two hours later, I was called over.Suddenly, both Anna and Joshua were endlessly nice and were charming instead of slapping or insulting.Anna even held out a check to me. "Here's five hundred grand."Joshua then walked up to me, affectionately clapping me on my shoulder. "You're a good boy, Cal. You've done so well in your exams, and we're so proud of you."But the people in the big city are two-faced, and you're too rigid in personality—they'll just bully you over there. But that's not the case for Yohan, since he's grown up mingling with the elite all the time. And he has a heart condition, so he doesn't

Chapter 5

After a brief silence, the banquet hall erupted in an uproar."Caleb Liebert? Not Yohan? What the heck is going on?""If I remember, Caleb is the eldest son whom the Lieberts had found and brought home recently.""Mr. Liebert, I thought you said it's Yohan's party? Why is the letter addressed to your other son?""Right, and he was just saying that Caleb flunked and would be working at some electronics factory…"Yohan's smug smile naturally stiffened, and he could only stare fixedly at the name on the screen, shaking with rage while his nails dug into his own palms.Anna's face also turned ashen, and she was sweating all over her brow, but she quickly came up with a response after a brief panic.Laughing, she quickly explained very loudly to the guest below the stage, "It's alright! It's just a misunderstanding! Yohan used to go by the name Caleb before we adopted him! "Since Yohan was always falling sick, we consulted a fortune teller who said we must name him Caleb to unjinx

Chapter 6

The Lieberts couldn't even remember how the banquet ended, only that all the business partners who were sucking up to them earlier were smirking in glee and contempt.As they returned home, ashen-faced, Yohan snapped as soon as he strode through the front door.He swiped at all the crystal saucers and expensive vases, sending everything crashing into pieces on the floor."Argh!!!" he screamed. "It's all Caleb's fault for acting like he was going to a community college when he got accepted by Jogen University! He just wanted to humiliate me, so that everyone would laugh at me!"On another other day, Anna and Joshua's heart would break, and they'd be hugging him to comfort him.However, even the humiliation at the banquet was eating at them this time.But instead of reflecting on their mistakes, they believed they were right and pinned the blame on me."That wretch! Running away with our money while getting back at us!" Anna snapped as she slammed her coat on the floor, her eyes r

Chapter 7

Months quickly passed, and I found myself in an insulated lab coat, standing before a huge piece of precision equipment to record the last data set.I was deep within the desert—yellow sand kicked up whenever the wind blew, but none of it seemed to dampen the will to further scientific progress.Naturally, living here was not easy either.The mess halls only offered food cooked for scores of people, and certainly not gourmet food or cakes. Even the water had a hint of earthen flavor, but I had never felt such freedom and purpose.No one would snap at me because I walked too quietly or slacked at menial chores.The nation's top physicist had even taken me on as the last personal student he would ever take on, and my fellow students were all down-to-earth, striving for the same purpose. They would even toss me into the air just to celebrate something simple like solving a complex equation.During the evenings, I would climb the dunes outside the facility alone, watching as the wi

Chapter 8

Every passing day at the rental was grilling for the Lieberts.To clear up more space, Anna took a few more boxes from their home before the courts impounded everything.It was whatever I had scrounged out of their old storehouse, and among them was a rusted cookie tin.Frowning, she opened it to see that there was nothing valuable within, only a stack of yellow medical reports, as well as an old diary with edges that had dulled from use.Joshua came over when he saw that and turned pale when he saw the medical reports.[Patient Caleb Liebert, Male, 12. Severe malnutrition and gastric atrophy.][Patient Caleb Liebert, Male, 14. Three fractured ribs, mild concussion—suspected physical abuse.][Patient Caleb Liebert, Male, 15. Extensive frostbite…]These were reports from when I had wandered off for ten years.Joshua was reminded of the day when I was brought home, when they took Yohan out for an expensive steak dinner because he flunked his exams again, while I was only given l

Chapter 9

The national commendation conference was held at the plaza outside Jogen City Hall.However, there were also a police line that stretched around the entire plaza, with a police officer standing guard every few feet.Even so, the Lieberts stood outside. They were three homeless bums trembling in the early winter cold, their eyes fixed on the front doors of city hall.They had waited for three days and three nights until a group of bigwigs stepped out, escorting several young academics.And I walked in the center, looking sharp in my suit while I wore the golden badge—the highest honor.Outside the police line, the trio were stunned as I spoke quietly with a professor walking with me, my eyes sharp and my presence significant."Cal… That's my Cal…" Joshua's tears flowed freely.In an instant, he started shoving the crowd out of his way, intent on breaking through the police line.Anna followed suit, dragging Yohan along as she scrambled.The police officers promptly noticed and

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