The Little Wretch Differentiated into an Alpha - Chapter 5

“Damn, this kid’s face. he is definitely not your average Joe!”

Gu Yanxiu was sitting in the classroom reviewing his speech when Brandon materialized out of nowhere again.

“Who?” Gu Yanxiu looked up, finding Brandon making a fuss over thin air.

Modern communicators featured privacy screens that remained invisible to everyone except the user whose retinas were recognized by the device. Brandon gave his wrist a flick, and with a soft beep, he shared his display with Gu Yanxiu.

He was browsing the campus forum. The thread title was clickbait gold:

HOT! Are this year’s freshmen actually this attractive?

The featured image was a candid shot of Lu Ye taken at the school gates. Dressed in the school uniform, face bruised, eyes cold, and expression utterly blank he looked completely out of place against the sun-drenched flowers and sculptures of the campus.

Below the post, commenters were busy speculating about his identity.

 I never saw him in the junior high division. Is he a transfer from another continent?

 What happened to his face.

 Could he be the son of the newly appointed Continental Speaker? I heard that guy is nearing his secondary gender differentiation, and his pheromones are all over the place. He got into a massive brawl just last month.

The theories were becoming increasingly elaborate. Brandon let out a smug chuckle. “These people have no idea. I recognized him the second I saw his eyes. That’s your ‘bargain-bin’ brother, right?”

Gu Yanxiu didn’t deny it. He nodded simply and went back to his speech.

Brandon, however, decided to pull up a chair. “Doesn’t look like a Gu, that’s for sure. And he certainly doesn’t look like a saint. He looks like trouble.”

Hearing this, Gu Yanxiu recalled the sight of Lu Ye shattering a window to enter his own home the night before. He looked up, his curiosity piqued. “Why do you say that?”

Can you really tell that just by looking at a face?

Brandon leaned in, looking mysterious. “I’ve been studying physiognomy lately. The art of face reading.”

Gu Yanxiu: 

He should have known better than to listen to Brandon’s nonsense.

Ignoring Gu’s skepticism, Brandon pointed at the photo and began a remote “reading” of Lu Ye’s features. “Look at those brows they’re low, pressing down on the eyes. And that sanpaku look? This person is definitely devious and driven by self-interest.”

Brandon’s finger slid from Lu Ye’s eyes to the bridge of his nose. “His nose is high but thin, with a prominent bony knot in the middle. That means he lacks family luck a true loner. A ruthless character!”

Finally, Brandon tapped Lu Ye’s lips aggressively. “Thin upper lip? Heartless and fickle! Thick lower lip? Extremely high.  sexual drive.”

The last two words came out like a speeding car, nearly knocking Gu Yanxiu off his mental tracks. Brandon, oblivious, concluded with a flourish: “Like I said, the kid’s not a saint!”

Gu Yanxiu reached out and closed the thread. “Stop talking nonsense. Feudal superstitions were debunked three hundred years ago.”

Besides, there was something incredibly jarring about a curly-haired, Roman-looking guy gossiping about face-reading, the Five Elements, and the I Ching.

Brandon didn’t mind. The moment Gu Yanxiu closed one thread, another caught his eye.

“Huh? Yuan Ling-Sakura tried to chat him up and got rejected?”

“Who?” Gu Yanxiu still didn’t recognize the name.

Brandon slammed the desk. “Yuan Ling-Sakura! The son of the Yuan Real Estate mogul? You don’t know him? He was the ‘Prince’ of the junior high division, just started high school this year.”

Gu Yanxiu had heard of Yuan Real Estate, at least.

Seeing his expression, Brandon understood. “Right, the Great Gu Yanxiu. Your reputation is way louder than his. It’s normal you wouldn’t know him. But come on, aren’t you curious how he turned the little Prince down?”

Brandon clicked the thread with excitement. “Gossip is best served fresh!”

Gu Yanxiu spoke the truth: “Not really. I’m not that curious.”

Regardless of what Lu Ye’s “face” suggested or what kind of person he actually was, it didn’t matter to Gu Yanxiu. He was just a peer staying at his house someone who could clearly handle himself and had a tough personality.

There was no need to pay him any extra attention.

Gu Yanxiu didn’t consider himself cold.

He was busy every day, and countless people tried to approach him for various reasons. His energy was limited; he couldn’t be warm and enthusiastic to everyone. He preferred to save some space for himself. That was his philosophy, and he lived by it.

Brandon, having known him since childhood, understood this well and wasn’t bothered by his lack of enthusiasm.

While Brandon indulged in gossip, Gu Yanxiu continued refining his speech. Shortly after, a few members of the Student Union came looking for him.

“Senior Gu, the ceremony preparations are almost finished! The teachers sent us to fetch you to go over the stage procedures one last time.”

The Student Union handled the opening ceremony every year. This was the same group that had approached him last year, though they had all been promoted since then. Two department heads and one Vice President all sophomores. Gu Yanxiu had seen them a few times at social gatherings for the elite families outside of school.

They had arrived in a large group, clearly having an agenda.

Sure enough, as they escorted him to the auditorium, the Vice President broached the subject of his “plans” for the year.

“Senior Gu, you know the Student Union was very sincere in inviting you to join us last year,” she said expectantly.

Gu Yanxiu smiled politely. “I told your President last year. I wouldn’t be able to contribute much to the workload.”

The Vice President waved her hand dismissively. “No work required! We’ve discussed it internally, and we believe having you hold the title of ‘Honorary President’ would be more than enough.”

“Honorary President?”

The two department heads nodded eagerly. “Yes! You wouldn’t need to do anything. Just a few appearances, the occasional meeting. it won’t take much of your time at all.”

“You know, Senior, several Speakers of the Asian Continent started out in our Student Union. You more than deserve the title!”

“Exactly! We heard that Uncle Gu has already entered the Federal Council, so we…”

The Vice President quickly elbowed him in the ribs, and the boy shut up instantly.

Gu Yanxiu suppressed a smile, playing dumb. “I’ll consider it. Thank you for the invitation.”

The department head who had misspoken happened to catch Gu’s eye. After a brief moment of eye contact, his face flushed a deep red all the way to his ears.

The Vice President looked at him with exasperated disappointment.

The Council! How could he just blurt that out? The list of Federal Councilors hadn’t been publicized yet; they had only heard rumors. Their plan was to get Gu Yanxiu into the Union before his father officially took office.

She didn’t want any variables to ruin this. After all, Gu Yanxiu was already the school’s star. They had spent half of last year trying to recruit him without success. This year was different.

The Blue Planet’s political system was strictly hierarchical. The five Continental Councils were local governments, while the Federal Council was the center of power for the entire planet. If Gu Yanxiu’s father was elected, he would be on equal footing with a Continental Speaker.

Not to mention Gu Yanxiu’s own lineage. His great-grandfather, Mr. Gu Heyi the founder of Lush Group was a titan of biology and a renowned scholar. There was even a statue of him in the Great Men’s Park at the school gates.

Having Gu Yanxiu join the Student Union wasn’t about “padding his resume” it was about padding the Union’s prestige.

And yet, this idiot teammate of hers had not only misspoken but was now blushing like a schoolgirl just because the Senior was being polite.

As if we don’t all know he’s handsome! Get it together.

Gu Yanxiu had no intention of joining the Student Union.

The last time he had joined a club was in his first year of junior high, the Astronomy Club. Within a single semester, he had somehow ended up with a mountain of “junior members” and “club friends” constantly seeking his time. He hated managing those social webs, so he had resolved to remain unaffiliated.

He was skilled at polite evasion, but this Vice President was persistent.

“Thank you for giving us a chance, Senior! Since you’re considering it, I’ll reserve a seat for you at our weekly meeting this week!”

She was already trying to pin him down to a time. Gu Yanxiu’s smile didn’t waver, but his internal thought was: Run.

“We’ll see. I’m quite busy this week.”

He looked up; the crowd of students was thickening as the auditorium came into view.

The Vice President stayed glued to his side. “It’s no problem! I’ll leave the seat for you. If you really can’t make it, it’s fine if it stays empty.”

Gu Yanxiu remained silent, picking up his pace. Leaving an empty chair whether I show up or not? Only a fool would agree to that.

He figured if he reached the auditorium quickly without giving a verbal “yes,” they wouldn’t dare make a move.

But just then, an enthusiastic greeting rang out from behind them.

“President Zhou!”

The Vice President’s surname was Zhou—Zhou Yu, if he recalled correctly.

Hearing her name, the group turned around. Gu Yanxiu turned as well.

He saw a tall, sturdy boy surrounded by a small entourage. The boy had one hand in his pocket, looking every bit the dashing playboy as he waved at them. “What a coincidence, President Zhou.”

He had blonde hair combed into a slick side-part, blue eyes, and a dusting of freckles across a prominent nose a very typical European Continental look.

Gu Yanxiu heard Zhou Yu mutter under her breath, “Not him again.”

Then, she forced a polite smile. “Noel? You’re here too.”

Noel tilted his chin toward the auditorium, leading his group toward them. “Here for the ceremony, of course.”

He then introduced her to his friends with a proprietary air. “This is Zhou Yu, the President of the Student Union. We met at a banquet recently and had a great chat.” He winked at her. “About joining the Union. I’m still considering it.”

He acted as though they were close and as if she had begged him to join.

Gu Yanxiu looked at him. He had a vague impression of the boy. He was likely the son of the newly appointed District Head of the Inner Harbor. His father had secured an invitation to the Gu family’s dinner party last month and had brought the boy over specifically to offer a toast.

Was he really that close with Zhou Yu?

The next second, Zhou Yu exposed him with an expressionless face.

“Take all the time you need. Submit your application yourself; our designated officers will review it.”

Her professional, cold attitude was a complete 180 from how she had just been treating Gu Yanxiu.

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