My Brother's Arranged Marriage Partner Is My Boyfriend - Chapter 2

Bai Yi was no fool. Moreover, Bai Ruoning was his only “son” and the future heir to the Bai family. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Bai Yi would never be willing to let his heir enter into a marriage alliance with the Mo family.

Consequently, this “wonderful opportunity” naturally fell upon him—the illegitimate son who shared the same Bai bloodline but posed no threat to Bai Ruoning’s status.

What a “wonderful” thing indeed.

Gaining a powerful backer without lifting a finger.

Bai Yi’s little scheme was so loud that Bai Nanxing could hear the gears turning from ten thousand miles away.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m heading back to school.”

Without waiting for Bai Yi to speak, Bai Nanxing turned and left.

Once outside the gates of the Bai residence, Bai Nanxing walked toward the bus stop. The October wind wasn’t cold, yet it made his heart feel chilled to the bone.

He shouldn’t have expected anything from Bai Yi. He had thought that being called back meant there was some good news, even if it was about Bai Ruoning; he would have been happy for Bai Yi. As it turned out, he had simply been sold out behind his back, while Bai Yi still put on the facade of a good father to disgust him.

Bai Nanxing didn’t know whether to curse Bai Yi’s shamelessness or his own pitiful naivety. He had known exactly what kind of person Bai Yi was for years, yet he still hoped for a shred of change.

It was truly laughable.

Bai Nanxing pulled a mocking smile and stood in the bus shelter with his arms crossed, waiting for his ride.

Today wasn’t a weekend; he should have been in a classroom attending lectures. But at a single phone call from Bai Yi, he had rushed back without hesitation.

He hadn’t even asked for leave.

By now, the counselor probably felt like committing murder.

Sure enough, just as the thought crossed his mind, his phone rang.

However, it wasn’t the counselor calling, but his roommate, Yan Mo.

There were four people in their dorm. Bai Nanxing wasn’t on great terms with the other two; they maintained a mere “face-deep” relationship, barely speaking beyond greetings. Only Yan Mo treated him sincerely, always being the first to run to him with news.

“Yan Mo, what’s up?”

“Are you still at home?”

“I’m out now, just about to take the bus back to school. Did the teacher look for me?”

“Do you even need to ask? You skipped class without leave, and the school leadership happened to come to our class for an inspection today. The counselor is nearly losing her mind with rage.”

Exactly as he had expected.

Bai Nanxing showed little reaction, asking as he boarded the bus, “What did the counselor say to you?”

Yan Mo sighed and repeated, “The counselor told me to call you. She orders you to report to her office and apologize before the end of the fourth period, or else…”

“Deduct my credits?”

“Yeah. Since you’ve already guessed it, I don’t need to say more.”

Bai Nanxing gave a casual “Oh,” as if the matter of “deducting credits” no longer mattered to him.

Yan Mo sounded frustrated at his lack of concern, scolding him over the phone, “What do you mean ‘Oh’! Those are credits! Credits! It’s about whether we can graduate! Nanxing, please don’t act so indifferent, it makes me feel like credits aren’t important! Ugh!”

Bai Nanxing used to think credits were very important. They meant he could graduate smoothly, obtain his degree, enter society, and find a suitable job with a decent salary—living life one step at a time.

He thought that once he earned enough money, he could pay back every cent he owed Bai Yi over the decades and finally become a free man.

But now, he couldn’t do that anymore.

Bai Yi had secretly sold him to the Mo family in exchange for leverage. If he tried to run, Bai Yi might not stop him, but the Mo family would.

They might even crush him entirely.

The Mo family’s influence permeated all of Yancheng. If he made even the slightest move, he would surely be discovered.

For the foreseeable future, he might never escape this giant, gilded cage.

“Yan Mo,” Bai Nanxing called his name in a calm voice. “Do you know why my dad called me back?”

Yan Mo went silent; he didn’t know.

He only knew that Bai Nanxing came from a troubled background and was often criticized by surrounding students. Even in the dorm, he frequently heard the other two roommates discussing Nanxing’s identity using incredibly foul and filthy language.

Looking at the scenery outside the bus window, Bai Nanxing said softly, “I was sold by my father.”

Hearing this, Yan Mo was stunned on the other end of the line. He asked in disbelief, “Nanxing, don’t scare me. Your dad sold you… what does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

“How… how could that be? Isn’t he your biological father?!”

Bai Nanxing asked himself the same question in his heart.

He was clearly Bai Yi’s biological son, just like Bai Ruoning, so why did Bai Yi treat only him this way?

When he was younger, he couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried. As he grew up, he understood. There was no complex reason—the words “illegitimate son” were his greatest sin in this life.

Yan Mo still couldn’t believe there was such a cold-hearted biological father in the world and asked, “Then… who did your dad sell you to?”

Bai Nanxing was about to blurt out the name “Mo family,” but the bus reached his stop. He could only hang up first. “I’m here, I’ll talk to you later.”

Getting off the bus, he tucked his phone into his pocket. He stood at the school gate for a while before walking in unhurriedly.

At this hour, most students were in class, so the campus looked somewhat deserted. Occasionally, a few students without classes wandered about, but not many. When they saw Bai Nanxing passing by, they would stop and whisper.

“He really is good-looking, totally my type.”

“So what if he’s good-looking? His story is all over the school forums. His mother was a mistress who destroyed a family. How good can a mistress’s child be? With that face, who knows how many times he’s slept around outside. You still like him?”

“I just like his face, I didn’t say I’d date him. Can’t I even do that?”

“The face… is indeed impressive.”

Bai Nanxing had heard such words hundreds of times. Ever since his status as an illegitimate son was posted on the school forum, things had fermented to an irreversible point. He had heard things a hundred times worse than this; soon, even the campus dogs would probably bark at him.

Having heard it so much, he had gradually grown used to it.

Bai Nanxing acted as if he heard nothing and quickened his pace toward the counselor’s office building.

Before arriving, he called Yan Mo to confirm that the counselor was indeed in the office before hurrying upstairs.

Knock, knock—

Bai Nanxing knocked politely on the door.

A voice from inside said, “Come in.”

He pushed the door open cautiously. There was no one else in the office except for his counselor, Yang Yi, who seemed to be grading documents. The rustling sound of her pen never stopped.

“Teacher Yang…”

Yang Yi stopped writing and turned her chair to look at him. “Why did you skip class so suddenly?”

Like a student who had made a mistake, Bai Nanxing lowered his head and stammered, “Something… something urgent happened at home. I didn’t have time to ask for leave, Teacher Yang.”

Yang Yi usually managed over a dozen classes, each with at least fifty or sixty students. With hundreds of people under her care, she was truly exhausted whenever something went wrong.

She should have been angry, but the moment she saw Bai Nanxing’s face, her temper vanished. “Even if there was an emergency and you didn’t have time to call me, you should have at least sent a text to your roommate Yan Mo and had him tell me. Now that the school leadership is doing a surprise inspection, I can’t even find an excuse to cover for you.”

“I’m sorry, Teacher Yang. It’s my fault,” Bai Nanxing looked up. “I accept the punishment.”

Seeing that innocent, pitiful face, Yang Yi felt both angry and helpless. She rubbed her temples and said, “Since you have a good attitude about admitting your mistake and this is your first offense, I won’t deduct points this time. Go back and write a five-thousand-word self-reflection. Hand it in on my desk by next Wednesday.”

Bai Nanxing had no objections and replied, “Okay.”

Yang Yi turned her chair back around and waved him away. “Go back to class. Don’t let it happen again.”

Bai Nanxing bowed and turned to leave.

When he reached the ground floor, he found Yan Mo standing at the entrance of the office building, seemingly waiting for him.

“Yan Mo?”

Hearing his name, Yan Mo looked up. Seeing it was Bai Nanxing, he rushed over. “How was it? Did the counselor say she was deducting your points?”

Bai Nanxing answered truthfully, “No, she just told me to write a five-thousand-word self-reflection.”

Yan Mo looked as if he was the one who had been spared, letting out a massive sigh of relief. “As long as no points are deducted. It’s just five thousand words; you can just copy one from the internet to finish it. You have no idea, you scared me to death. Oh, by the way, what you said on the phone… you were just joking to tease me, right?”

Bai Nanxing didn’t want him to worry. After a few seconds of silence, he forced a small smile. “Yeah.”

“I knew it! You really scared me. Don’t play such mean jokes ever again!” Yan Mo sighed in relief again, pulling him along as they walked. “Right, Nanxing, I have something to tell you. When you hear it, you’ll definitely have the same reaction I did!”

Bai Nanxing was thinking about other things and could only ask dismissively, “What is it?”

Yan Mo leaned in and whispered in his ear, “A transfer student joined the neighboring department. He’s a junior, so he’s our senior…”

Before he could finish, Bai Nanxing interrupted, confused, “Just a transfer student? Is that worth getting so excited about?”

“Of course not!” Yan Mo anticipated this reaction and explained, “If it were a normal transfer student, I wouldn’t react like this. But this time is different!”

“We’re all human, what’s different?”

“It’s just different! I’m telling you, Nanxing, this one is mixed-race—legitimately mixed! He’s tall and handsome, like an idol walking out of a TV drama! Most importantly, he is really handsome. The school forum is exploding right now; everyone is begging for his contact info!”