Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Xu Leyu whispered, "Uncle and Auntie are really good to the little one."

Xu Lechen, full of envy, said, "We still don't even have our own study."

Xu Leyu opened his mouth, and though it was true, he asked, "Are you sure you'd even want a study if you had one?"

Xu Lechen: "..."

Well, perhaps not.

He blurted out, "My demands aren't high. Just get me a game room."

Xu Leyu scoffed, "Daydreaming."

Xu Lechen, ever the optimist, replied, "So what if I'm dreaming? What if it actually comes true?"

Xu Leyu ignored him. They trailed behind Lin Jiaxu and noticed a whiteboard hanging on the wall near the door. It listed Lin Jiaxu's subjects, so they immediately crowded around to examine it.

"Chinese, math, a foreign language... that's quite a lot, pretty similar to elementary school classes," Xu Leyu read from top to bottom.

As they continued down the list, they came across a subject that left even Yu Ruoshu and Xu Kaichang utterly bewildered.

"Law, with 'Moral Education' in parentheses? What on earth is this?"

"Do elementary schools even teach Moral Education?"

Both were full of questions, whispering to each other.

"How would I know?"

Xu Leyu reached out and wiped the words on the board, confirming they weren't mistaken. "No, the real question isn't that. It's why a homeschooled kid needs to take Moral Education? And why is 'Law' listed before it?"

At that moment, Xu Leyu desperately wanted to know what the adults were thinking, to arrange such an absurd class.

"One, two, three... seven, eight, nine—wow, he has nine classes!"

"At such a young age, this is way too much pressure!"

Shocked, they both turned to look at Lin Jiaxu.

The child was still sitting obediently, listening to his lesson, only the back of his fluffy head visible.

For some reason, the subtle awkwardness they had felt because of the tutoring incident suddenly vanished.

They genuinely felt sorry for this child who hadn't even started elementary school but was already under more academic pressure than elementary students. Pity showed on their faces.

"I kind of feel sorry for him."

"Me too..."

"Should we be nicer to him?"

"...He seems quite pitiful."

"Yeah, you're right," Xu Lechen nodded. "Maybe we should get him some snacks later? Can he eat them?"

"Probably. Autism is a neurological condition; it doesn't mean he can't eat."

So they murmured as they walked away.

They had sneaked in quietly and thought they were leaving just as quietly. In reality, Lin Jiaxu heard every word of their murmuring.

The child, with his hands on the desk, blinked thoughtfully. These older brother and sister weren't as aloof as he had thought?

They seemed lively again, just like when he saw them during the New Year.

Downstairs, Xu Lechen and the others went to pester the adults again.

"Why did you schedule so many classes for him?"

"You're pushing him too hard," Xu Leyu declared righteously. "It's one thing to sign us up for so many tutoring sessions, but making a seven-year-old learn so much—he won't be able to handle it!"

"Exactly!"

Xu Lechen nodded vigorously in agreement, his face full of condemnation.

Xu Kaichang raised an eyebrow and said with a wry smile, "This was arranged by Jia Jia's father before. Jia Jia is very smart, and the home tutor said this schedule and pace are just right. You don't need to worry about him not being able to handle it."

If the classes were changed, Lin Jiaxu might actually find it harder to adjust. The couple had unanimously decided to continue with the original schedule.

Xu Leyu paused, then murmured, "Then why did Uncle want him to learn so much?"

It had been a long time since they had been in close contact with Lin Cheng and Xu Yinuan. Their impressions were still from when they were very young and the few meetings during holiday visits each year.

Although they didn't particularly like their aunt's overprotective nature towards Lin Jiaxu, they also knew that these two recently deceased relatives loved Lin Jiaxu deeply. So why would they make him take so many classes?

Xu Kaichang fell silent for a moment and sighed, "I don't know."

Talking about his sister and brother-in-law made Xu Kaichang feel down. He sighed again and said, "You two go to school now; don't be late."

"Wait, don't go yet."

Xu Kaichang thought for a moment and said, "We've been very busy lately and haven't had time to spend with Jia Jia. You two have tomorrow off, and tutoring is canceled for the day. Take Jia Jia out to play."

Before Xu Lechen and Xu Leyu could refuse, he added, "I'll pay for everything for the outing."

"Okay, Dad!"

"Okay, Uncle!"

Their eyes lit up, and they beamed. "We promise to get it done!"

It had been over a month since Xu Yinuan and the others died. No matter how sad they were, life went on. The elderly had also returned home from the hospital.

Xu Kaichang was worried about his parents’ health and had originally wanted them to move in, but the elders absolutely refused, insisting on staying at the old family home. Unable to persuade them, he had no choice but to agree.

Fortunately, the old family home wasn't far—only about a ten-minute drive from his house, so he could visit daily.

What worried him was that the elders, living in the old house, often looked at Xu Yinuan’s belongings and the flowers she had planted in the yard, weeping sadly.

If this continued, their health would eventually break down.

He didn't let the two children see his stress and only added, "If you have time on the weekends, take Jia Jia to visit Grandpa and Grandma."

But how could the children not sense his mood? They couldn't help but feel sad.

"Okay, we'll take Jia Jia to visit Grandpa and Grandma tomorrow first, then go out to play."

"Mm," Xu Kaichang nodded approvingly. "You're going to be late; hurry to class."

During evening self-study, in the classroom.

Xu Lechen sat at his desk, plodding through tedious homework. As he wrote, his mind suddenly went blank. He first calculated all the things he wanted to buy, planning to get them all tomorrow.

Then he thought about Lin Jiaxu's boring schedule. He poked the person sleeping at the desk in front of him, keeping his voice down.

"Xiao Qian, I have a question."

"Xiao Qian..."

"What is it?"

Zhong Qian was getting annoyed from the poking.

He lifted his head with difficulty, glanced at the time—there was still an hour left before school ended—and his tired face looked even more drained.

He sighed, leaned back. "Just say it."

"Do elementary school students have a Moral Education class?" Xu Lechen had meant to ask if they wanted to go out tomorrow, but the question that came out was different.

He was genuinely curious.

"What? Moral Education?"

"Yeah, like the predecessor of our current Politics class?"

Zhong Qian: "..."

What kind of weird question is that?

Zhong Qian had been dealing with the emerging Aliens with the Special Team these past few days. Thanks to the still-anonymous "Lei Feng" mentioned by Guang Yongwang, they discovered that many Aliens were hiding in the corners of Lan City.

These Aliens were almost reproducing and raising the next generation right under their noses.

That "Lei Feng" had been diligently doing his/her work in the middle of the night. Director Li had monitored the situation for a few days at the bureau initially, but after seeing that the pattern was largely the same, she decided to let things take their course.

The only ones suffering were the bureau's clerical staff. According to non-combat department personnel, they were practically living upside-down—sleeping frantically during the day, chugging coffee and tea at night, and working overtime like crazy to cover up for that free-roaming "Lei Feng."

As a member of the Special Team, Zhong Qian also had little rest time. Whenever he had free time after school, he would join the efforts to take out the Aliens.

Finally having some time to return to class, he was so tired he could only catch up on sleep during evening self-study, only to be interrupted by Xu Lechen. His mood was definitely not good at the moment.

Hearing Xu Lechen call him for such a trivial question, he couldn't be bothered to respond.

Zhong Qian had his head down on the desk for a while, and his hair was a bit messy.

He casually ran a hand through it and said helplessly, "You're asking me about elementary school classes? Who should I ask? Do I look like I'd know?"

Xu Lechen said sheepishly, "Alright, so even Xiao Qian doesn't know. My brother is taking that class at home now, so I just wanted to ask."

Zhong Qian really wanted to ask: We're all high school students, and it's been five, six, seven, eight years since elementary school. Why would he think that just because he doesn’t remember, I would?

"Because Xiao Qian, you seem like you know everything!"

Xu Lechen argued confidently, "Look, you sleep all day every day, barely study, and still easily rank in the top five in the school. You even casually outperform the sports students in athletics. Isn't that the standard genius trope? Since you're a genius, of course you know everything!"

Zhong Qian: "..."

Zhong Qian was getting a headache. "Cut the nonsense. Even if I know a lot, don't just treat me like Baidu or AI."

Xu Lechen regretfully took out his phone secretly and looked it up. Elementary school did indeed have that class. He shook his head and said with feigned seriousness, "Ah, it seems artificial intelligence still has the upper hand."

Zhong Qian said expressionlessly, "...Don't make me tell the teacher you brought a phone to school."

Xu Lechen quickly stuffed the phone into his desk, covered it with a book, sat up straight, and looked around. Not seeing the teacher, he sighed in relief. "You scared me."

After that scare, he didn't dare to keep using his phone and lowered his head to do his homework.

But Zhong Qian, now awake, couldn't fall back asleep under the bright classroom lights.

He lowered his gaze to the textbooks and exercise books scattered on his desk, twirling a pen in his hand as he thought about the Aliens killed in recent days.

The wounds on those Aliens were very messy, as if they had been stabbed by something sharp and then bound and strangled.

It didn't seem like something a human would do, and there were no Superhumans in the Alien Bureau who used such methods to kill monsters. If it wasn't a human, there was another possibility: the Aliens were killing each other.

So, the "Lei Feng" that Guang Yongwang was hiding... was an Alien?

His expression tightened, and the pen in his hand stopped.

But then he dismissed that possibility.

Humans and Aliens cannot coexist. If there really was such an Alien, the bureau would never let it roam free.

Yet Li Yuanlu and Zhang Hongyuan’s nervousness these past few days couldn't be fake...

Zhong Qian thoughtfully put down his pen.

Although he lacked key evidence and couldn't draw a conclusion yet, he could guess a little.

The recent frequent activity of Aliens in Lan City must have significant implications. Otherwise, Director Li and Captain Zhang wouldn't have refused to reveal even a hint of information so far...

Xu Lechen’s deskmate, Cheng Hezhi, was a studious-looking student who wore glasses.

He had been immersed in his studies earlier and only looked up slowly after finishing a problem, picking up the conversation.

"Elementary school does seem to have a Moral Education class. But aren't you an only child? Since when do you have a brother?"