The Richest Man’s Boyfriend Lives in a History Textbook - Chapter 10

In the first few days after coming out, Xingyuan still maintained the same daily routine he had kept inside.

He started by waking up early, and even refused to let the robot make his bed, choosing to make it himself. At mealtimes, he ate whatever Yue Xi put in his bowl…

After going through it all, he greatly enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that self-discipline brought him. He even secretly decided that the next time Friday came around after school, he would enter the Star-Scrying Device again.

And yet, how could a pampered young master of the prosperous age possibly maintain such a high level of self-awareness?

Sure enough, by Tuesday he had already started dragging his feet — five minutes late to get up. By Wednesday, fifteen minutes.

Then came Thursday.

Xingyuan buried his head under the pillow, his face twisted in agony.

So sleepy. He had secretly stayed up playing games until two in the morning last night, and now his head was buzzing.

Maybe… just a little more sleep?

Xingyuan was in a daze, yet deep down a stubborn thread of resolve held him back from giving in entirely.

You said it yourself — you want to enroll in a military academy someday, become a general, and stand proud and commanding. And besides, Friday is almost here. You’re about to enter the Star-Scrying Device again. Being this slack — how could you possibly endure life in there?

Xingyuan’s mind cleared somewhat. He let out a low, muffled whine and slowly rolled himself, comforter and all, to one side.

Then his consciousness blurred again, and a stream of images flashed through his mind.

Hours of trudging through scorching yellow sand. Dry, coarse black bread scraping at his throat. Sleeping on hard ground at night. Running under the blazing sun until he blacked out. The sharp, stinging pain in his knees…

All manner of hardships surfaced even in his half-dreaming state and made him recoil instinctively, his brow creasing with discomfort.

In that hazy, half-conscious space, a thought drifted through Xingyuan’s mind.

Why was he so eager to go back in? Was it to experience life in the military?

But —

Xingyuan’s eyelids lifted slightly, revealing those deep blue eyes, clouded with uncertainty.

His constitution was C-rank. He had absolutely no chance of getting into the military academy, let alone stepping onto a battlefield.

He enjoyed training alongside the soldiers because it was the path one had to walk to become a general. But he only loved the process because of where it led. If the destination was impossible to reach, what meaning did the journey hold?

Xingyuan stared blankly up at the ceiling, his gaze hollow and distant. When his eyelids grew too heavy to keep open, he reached up and pulled the comforter over his face.

A little while later, even, steady breathing rose from beneath the covers.

It seemed the boy had fallen asleep.

Xingyuan gave in to indulgence again that day.

In the morning he was dragged out of bed by Yue Xi, after which the robot brushed his teeth, washed his face, and dressed him. Xingyuan was listless from start to finish — he didn’t even open his eyes.

At breakfast, Xingyuan finally surrendered entirely and stopped eating the foods he disliked.

Yue Xi, helpless, could only take out a vitamin tablet and set it in front of the young master.

This time, Xingyuan obediently swallowed it without a word.

Yue Xi sighed.

The young master was both well-behaved and not well-behaved at the same time.

****

Xingyuan was, at heart, a rational person. During physical education class, he never exercised — every time, he would sit quietly in the spectators’ seats and watch his classmates train.

The young master might have looked soft and gentle on the outside, but he actually cared deeply about keeping face.

Out in public, if he ran at his own tortoise pace, that would be utterly humiliating.

Xingyuan took a sip of the water he had brought, and his mind drifted back to scenes from inside the Star-Scrying Device.

Actually, it wasn’t so bad in there. At least when he ran in front of people, he didn’t have to worry about embarrassing himself.

He even let himself imagine — what if someone really did see him while he was exercising? That would be mortifying.

But then again, as far as he knew, others couldn’t see him.

So only he wouldn’t be embarrassed. It would be the other person who’d be embarrassed.

Xingyuan smiled with his eyes and took a bite of his snack, thinking with a touch of mischief: if that person ever discovered that someone like him existed, how much would they question everything about life?

Xingyuan felt a sudden wave of amusement.

Just then, a loud bang rang out, followed by cheers from the whole crowd. Xingyuan looked up and saw that a male classmate had just made a basketball shot.

“So cool!!” In this era where same-sex marriage was legal, the shouts of admiration from male students were just as enthusiastic as anyone else’s.

Xingyuan looked toward the boy — it turned out to be the school’s heartthrob.

He wasn’t at the top academically, but he was full of youthful energy, strikingly handsome, with tousled hair and fair skin.

After the ball went in, as if sensing something, he turned his gaze toward Xingyuan. When he spotted the well-behaved young boy, a smile broke across his face.

The school heartthrob’s name was Song Tan, and he was the same age as Xingyuan.

He stood well over 1.8 meters tall. When he had leaped just now, the hem of his shirt had billowed up, revealing a hint of toned abs — which was part of why the students around him were so worked up.

The game was over. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, took the water bottle a classmate handed him, and walked toward Xingyuan while drinking from it.

The students nearby began whispering among themselves, but the atmosphere was clearly buzzing with excitement.

Song Tan wasn’t the only school heartthrob.

By popularity alone, Xingyuan could easily qualify as one too.

The difference was that Song Tan was the type people saw as a future husband, while Xingyuan… was the type people treated as a precious child to dote on.

Along the way, a plainly dressed girl was holding a box of chocolates, wanting to give them to Song Tan, but her friend stopped her.

“What are you doing?” her friend asked, startled.

The girl blushed a little. “I… I like Classmate Song, I want to…”

Her friend quickly intervened, “Are you — are you crazy?!”

“What?” the girl asked, flustered.

Her friend let out a long sigh, glanced over at Song Tan, and lowered her voice. “I’m not looking down on you, it’s just that the gap between you two is too wide. I heard from Jiaojiao that the Song family still uses terms like First Madam, Second Madam, and Third Madam at home.

Song Tan was born to the Second Madam, and apparently that woman is the sort who despises the poor and fawns over the rich — she looks down completely on anyone from an ordinary family background.

If you really ended up with Song Tan, who knows how they’d make your life miserable?”

The girl covered her mouth in shock. For a moment she didn’t know what to say, and could only squeeze out a few words.

“But this is the new era now — how can his family still be clinging to all that old-fashioned nonsense?”

Her friend shook her head, lowering her voice even further. “Don’t forget whose family this is — the Songs, one of the Five Great Merchants, an elite family among elites in the Federal Empire.”

The girl bit her lip. She lowered her head, looking a little crestfallen. “It’s not like I’m after money anyway. If it’s really not a good match, I won’t pine after it.”

Her friend patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “Hey, we’re still students. No need to think that far ahead.”

“But,” her friend’s expression suddenly turned mysteriously conspiratorial, “why bother with romance? Isn’t it better to just raise a little one instead?”

“What? Raise a little one?” the girl asked, surprised and confused.

“Yes!” Her friend quietly pointed toward the boy sitting in the spectators’ seats. “That’s the little one. A lot of students at this school are cloud-raising him, you know. His name is Xingyuan. He’s incredibly well-behaved — the most well-behaved boy I’ve ever seen.”

The girl was skeptical, but when she looked up and saw the boy sitting perfectly upright in the spectators’ seats, her eyes went wide.

The boy was strikingly beautiful. That posture, that look — it hit her right in the heart.

The girl swallowed, her heart completely melted.

“So? What do you think?” her friend rested her chin on her shoulder and asked.

The girl nodded eagerly, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

Then she noticed the direction Song Tan was walking, and a wave of unease washed over her.

“What is Classmate Song doing? Why is he walking toward the little one?”

Her friend’s smile faded at that. Her expression grew serious.

“I don’t know.”

“Song Tan — could he actually have feelings for Xingyuan?”

Her friend took a deep breath. “Not sure.”

The girl looked worried. “Song Tan has so much going for him. If he really wants to pursue Xingyuan, Xingyuan would probably say yes pretty easily, right?”

As she said it, she grew even more anxious.

“The little one seems so pure and innocent — if he really did end up marrying into that family, wouldn’t he get bullied to death?”

Her friend stared at her in surprise after hearing that, and after a moment, couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“You’re thinking way too far ahead — married? Song Tan marrying into the little one’s family might not even be good enough.”

“Huh?” the girl went blank.

Her friend lowered her eyes and began to think seriously.

“You might not know this, but basically all of the little one’s everyday items start at five figures.

And also — the little one’s surname is Hua.”

The number made the girl flinch, and then the surname that followed left her completely in the dark.

“Surname Hua… what does that mean?”

Her friend drew in a sharp breath. “The Hua family is the wealthiest clan among the Federal Empire’s Five Great Merchants. Though I’m not sure whether the little one’s family is that particular Hua family.”

“Why aren’t you sure?”

Her friend smiled faintly. “Because the young master of the Hua family is an only child.”

An only child had no need to fight over an inheritance the way young masters from other families did. The young master was born as the sole heir to the vast Hua family empire.

….

Song Tan made his way to Xingyuan’s side. There happened to be an empty seat nearby, so Song Tan sat down.

Xingyuan sensed the shadow beside him and turned to look. When he saw it was Song Tan, he gave him a polite smile.

Xingyuan’s lashes were thick and full, and his deep blue eyes were strikingly beautiful. The sight of them made Song Tan’s heart stir.

His fingertips twitched. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a chocolate, and offered it to Xingyuan. He said softly, “This is for you.”

Xingyuan was surprised, but quickly recovered and shook his head at once. “Thank you, but it’s alright.”

Song Tan found himself drawn to the boy’s unguarded, genuine gaze, which made him think of his own home by contrast.

The thought of all that murk and ugliness there darkened his eyes for a moment. Then he looked back at the boy, and the other’s clarity made him feel ashamed of himself.

Still, when he thought of his own purpose in being here, Song Tan’s feelings grew complicated — he felt reluctant and yet also strangely hopeful.

If someday he could be with this boy, it would truly be a wonderful thing to imagine. Only, with a family as sordid as his, the boy could very easily be tainted by it.

Even so, though his thoughts went in that direction, his mouth made no move to give up the conversation.

He said gently, “I heard your mental strength is A-rank? What a coincidence — my constitution is also A.”

(tn: sorry, will be changing ‘mental power’ to ‘mental strength’)

Xingyuan’s eyes lit up when he heard this, and he looked at Song Tan with a trace of envy.

Never mind A. If his constitution could reach B-rank at any point in his life, he would be willing to do whatever it took.

“What about you?” Song Tan asked. “My mental strength is B+. What’s your constitution?”

Xingyuan gave an awkward half-smile and turned his head away, not wanting to give a straight answer. He said vaguely, “I forgot. I only remember my mental strength.”

How could anyone forget something as important as their rank? Though if someone had one rating that reached A, it was possible they might focus on that and let the other slip their mind.

Song Tan didn’t seem to be in a rush. He said casually, “That’s alright — don’t you remember? Every afternoon is rank testing time. You’ll find out then.”

Rank testing was a mandatory yearly event during the compulsory education period. Even if many people’s scores stopped changing after birth, the tests were still held on schedule.

Xingyuan said nothing in reply. He only cast a sideways glance, quietly putting his guard up.

What was this guy’s deal? He was being quite pushy, really.