Our Entire Family Has Secrets [Transmigrated] - Chapter 1
Recently, many seniors in the third year of high school had been criticized and reprimanded for engaging in early romantic relationships.
In the online forum of Qiancheng No. 1 Middle School, a tall building named “The Season of Love” has began to rise, and the September sun has further ignited the already vigorous energy of the seventeen and eighteen-year-old boys and girls.
Early Monday morning, before the flag-raising ceremony began, the homeroom teacher, Old Zhao, stood solemnly at the platform and enumerated the detrimental effects of early romantic relationships on the final year of high school and even on the coming decades of life.
The boys and girls below the platform turned a deaf ear, wearing expressions of feigned seriousness while their minds wandered off into space.
Yuan Bozhu didn’t pay attention either.
Early romance was a very distant concept for him.
Firstly, it was because Yuan Bozhu’s soul was already several hundred years old, having missed the prime time for early romance.
Secondly, even in his current eighteen-year-old body, he lacked any prerequisites for early romance.
In school, Yuan Bozhu was an extremely ordinary, uninteresting, unremarkable, and charmless person.
Perhaps every class had such a marginal figure.
They were unremarkable, with average grades, no particular hobbies or talents, nothing outstanding about them, unimpressive in character, and lacked a sense of humor.
Placing them in a crowd wouldn’t seem out of place and removing them from the collective would have no impact.
This type of person wasn’t annoying, but they weren’t likable either; they were a type that lacked any presence.
So, during group activities, Yuan Bozhu could always remain invisible.
In the two years he had been studying at Qiancheng No. 1 Middle School, the most noteworthy thing he had done was in the first semester of his freshman year when he was detained at the school gate for losing his school badge.
The student council officials recorded his name, making him stand side by side with several other classmates who were late, not wearing school uniforms, or not wearing badges, waiting for punishment.
Every teacher and student entering the school would glance at him.
That was the most disastrous moment of Yuan Bozhu’s high school career.
Since then, he never forgot to wear his school badge, nor did he give anyone the chance to glance at him as they passed by.
Yuan Bozhu knew that some people online referred to people like him as “socially anxious”, resisting or even fearing all interactions with others.
But in fact, Yuan Bozhu was not afraid of socializing.
He just hated being the one who gets noticed.
He just hated being the center of attention because attention could lead to understanding, and understanding could lead to exposing
—exposing some secrets that Yuan Bozhu had kept bottled up for many years.
The best way to avoid this danger was to be the unnoticed person at all times.
Now a senior in high school, Yuan Bozhu had undoubtedly succeeded.
In Class 7 of the third year, he wasn’t anyone’s good friend, nor was he someone anyone disliked, and he was even less likely to be someone’s object of early romance.
“Stop daydreaming all the time. We’re all third-year students now. The key is to study hard and prepare for the college entrance examination. Alright, flag-raising ceremony. Everyone, put on your badges and gather downstairs immediately!”
With a command from homeroom teacher Old Zhao, everyone put on their school badges and rushed downstairs in a swarm.
In the crowded hallway, Yuan Bozhu stood by the side as much as possible.
When necessary, he would make way against the wall, waiting for others to leave before walking.
It wasn’t because he was particularly polite; he was just afraid that in the crowded process, if he accidentally pushed someone, it could potentially injure them.
Yuan Bozhu had deep internal strength.
A careless small movement, if not restrained, could cause unbearable harm to others’ lives.
“Look, isn’t that a school flower?”
“We have quite a few school flowers in our school. Which one are you referring to?”
“The one with short hair… ah, the one walking next to the school grass.”
“”Oh, next to the school grass! Han Banlan, right? Could she really be in an early romance with Lin Shuanghuai?”
“It’s possible; they’re walking very close.”
Yuan Bozhu was forced to listen to some school gossip.
He was well aware of the students of Qiancheng No. 1 Middle School’s love for selecting school belles and school grasses.
His desk mate often browsed the school forum and was keen on voting for their favorite types.
According to the forum, anyone with over a hundred votes could be crowned as a school belle. Counting, there were three school belles in the third year alone.
As for the school grass, there was only one, Lin Shuanghuai.
The reason Lin Shuanghuai could outshine others in the competition for the school grass wasn’t just because he was exceptionally handsome.
It was mainly because he had good popularity and was widely welcomed.
Whenever the school grass was mentioned, everyone thought of him.
Girls liked his appearance, boys liked his personality, and being able to maintain good relationships with both genders was almost a rare talent.
“But why did I hear that the rich second generation in the international class is pursuing Han Banlan?”
“Do you think he’ll succeed? Look at the shoes Lin Shuanghuai is wearing, this year’s limited edition of Ammona, they’ve already skyrocketed to six figures. Other people would keep them as collectibles, but he wears them to school. Do you think he’s short of money?”
“Damn, handsome and rich, the gap between people is really too big.”
Leaning against the wall, Yuan Bozhu waited for a few people to pass by.
He wasn’t interested in the rumors and popular figures in the school.
People like Lin Shuanghuai and Han Banlan were far from Yuan Bozhu, who existed on the margins.
They were like parallel lines that would never intersect.
Yuan Bozhu wasn’t particularly keen on associating with attention-seeking individuals.
During the flag-raising ceremony, there was a thorough inspection of everyone’s appearance and conduct throughout the entire school.
Due to his tall stature, Yuan Bozhu stood at the back, in a rather inconspicuous position.
Initially, he never thought he would be singled out as a typical example of non-conformity.
The school had two sets of uniforms, one for sports and one for formal occasions. Except for specific requirements by the school, students usually chose what to wear themselves.
The sportswear was loose and casual but lacked any aesthetic appeal. Most of the time, students preferred the formal shirt and suit set, but Yuan Bozhu didn’t.
The shirt version of the school uniform at First High was ill-fitting and uncomfortable, made of mediocre materials and poorly ventilated. In the thirty-five-degree heat of September, Yuan Bozhu preferred wearing a sports T-shirt.
Then he got caught.
The person responsible for inspecting appearance and conduct noted down his name and told him, “Formal attire is required for the flag-raising ceremony. Deducting one point for the class’s demeanor.”
Yuan Bozhu rarely got into disputes with others, but for the sake of that one point, he still asked, “When was this announced?”
The other person glanced at him, feeling a bit guilty.
Because it was the responsibility of the student council to inform the entire school about the requirement for formal attire during this week’s flag-raising ceremony. However, they forgot about this class since Class 7 of Grade 12 was the only class located on the fifth floor of the entire Grade 12 building when they made the announcement.
But they couldn’t expose their guilt, so they put on an air of authority and said, “If you weren’t notified, how would you know to wear it?”
Yuan Bozhu is puzzled.
Without notification, how was he supposed to know to wear it?
Then the person said, “Look around at the students from other classes. Who else is wearing sportswear?”
He hadn’t asked before, but as soon as he did, Yuan Bozhu raised his head.
Yuan Bozhu had excellent eyesight; without wearing glasses, he could see what kind of patterned bird was perched on a tree hundreds of meters away.
Wearing glasses would weaken his keen visual perception, but it didn’t stop him from seeing a student wearing sports uniform several rows away from him in Grade 12 Class 1.
So, he pointed to the person and said to the student council member, “Him.”
The student council member looked around but couldn’t see anyone. “Are you kidding me? Where? When I look around, everyone is wearing shirts!”
It seemed like that one-point deduction was unavoidable.
Yuan Bozhu felt helpless.
Suddenly, someone beside him added, “But someone in Class 1 is indeed wearing a sports uniform. I saw it when I was coming downstairs. Didn’t you notice while inspecting?”
This remark stirred up a commotion.
Although Yuan Bozhu had an average relationship with his classmates, they were still classmates, sharing both glory and shame.
“Oh, why are they only deducting points from our class and not others?”
“I know why, because Lin Shuanghuai in Class 1 didn’t wear formal attire. Lin Shuanghuai used to be the former president of the student council. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you, right?”
“We weren’t even informed to wear sports uniforms. Wearing them or not was a matter of choice. Your student council should stop discriminating against our class!”
“If you’re going to deduct points, deduct from everyone or no one.”
Grade 12 Class 7 was the underdog of the entire Grade 12, always targeted by the student council.
They had been targeted many times before, and now, with a rare opportunity to resist, they all turned to confront the student council with a strong momentum.
“Alright, alright! We’ll let you off this time!”
The student council member finally surrendered.
Because if they were strictly held accountable, they indeed hadn’t notified everyone properly. If Class 7 made a big deal out of it, it would reflect poorly on the responsibility of the student council.
With a humph, the student council member wiped Yuan Bozhu’s name off the list, then glared at him and said, “Fine with the uniform, but your hair is too long and not up to standard. Your fringe shouldn’t cover your eyes. Consider this a warning; if it’s the same next week during the flag-raising ceremony, points will be deducted.”
On this point, Yuan Bozhu agreed.
His hair was indeed too long.
It needed trimming.
But this wasn’t a trivial matter. Yuan Bozhu needed a lot of courage to make a decision —
Usually, hairstylists didn’t take instructions well.
When he was fourteen, he ended up with a bowl cut because he believed a self-assured Tony who blurted out nonsense. That hairstyle made him look like he had an IQ of 100 minus 80.
In simple terms, it made him look silly.
In a moment of enlightenment, Yuan Bozhu made a decision.
When he returned home, his older brother, Yuan Qifeng, who loved to watch the excitement, laughed at him for a whole half hour.
His reliable sister, Yuan Wanjiao, couldn’t stand her brother’s foolish appearance and, taking matters into her own hands, shaved Yuan Bozhu’s head on the spot.
The foolish bowl cut was gone, leaving Yuan Bozhu looking clean and neat.
A hairstyle could really change a person.
Yuan Bozhu returned looking handsome on the spot.
However, when his brother saw the handsome face peeking through the greenness of his youth, he suddenly couldn’t laugh.
Yuan Qifeng had spent hundreds of dollars on a hairstyle just like a celebrity, but it couldn’t compare to the buzz cut Yuan Bozhu got in two minutes.
Yuan Qifeng, who considered himself a handsome young man with no equal, felt inferior in front of the young Yuan Bozhu and couldn’t help but cover his face and cry in the bathroom.
But Yuan Bozhu didn’t need this kind of attractiveness that made his brother cry.
Drawing attention was troublesome and would attract unnecessary social interaction for him.
He just wanted to keep a low profile and avoid doing anything unnecessary.
So, for the next month, Yuan Bozhu wore a hat to school.
When teachers asked, he simply said he had undergone brain surgery and couldn’t expose himself to the wind.
Fortunately, his parents helped cover for him, saying he had indeed had surgery, probably for a brain tumor.
Since then, for several years now, Yuan Bozhu had always asked his sister, Yuan Wanjiao, to cut his hair. Uneven, lacking a few grams, pitted and bumpy, very casual, Yuan Bozhu was satisfied.
But recently, Yuan Wanjiao wasn’t at home.
Yuan Bozhu might not be able to find his elusive sister.
It wasn’t just her; even his brother, Yuan Qifeng, was unpredictable.
This situation had persisted for a long time.
Since Yuan Bozhu’s eighteenth birthday, his siblings had become strange. Not only did they not like to come home, but when they occasionally did, they were always covered in injuries.
His parents didn’t comment on this; they didn’t even find it strange.
This couple’s acceptance of everything was extraordinarily high.
In the eyes of Yuan Bozhu’s parents, whatever happened in the world next had its reasons; they didn’t interfere or resist.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have adopted Yuan Qifeng when Yuan Bozhu was ten years old and, on the same night, picked up the bewildered Yuan Wanjiao lying on the roadside.
This couple’s tolerance reached a terrifying level.
Although the family atmosphere was so peculiar, Yuan Bozhu never delved into it.
He held a belief that as long as he didn’t inquire, some things would never have answers. He tried hard to be an ordinary person in this strangeness.
A simple matter for others was a dilemma for Yuan Bozhu.
How about cutting it himself tonight?
“No way, no way. Can it be that someone doesn’t know that Lin Shuanghuai in Grade 12 Class 1 has hair longer than the girls?”
“They don’t deduct points for that, but they target our Class 7. The world is cold-hearted, and the student council is ruthless!”
“What do you know? Lin Shuanghuai has good grades, looks handsome, and has friends everywhere. Of course, he has privileges. How dare we, small fries, accuse the former president of the student council?”
The students of Class 7 argued with the members of the student council, making them pale and red-faced. Finally, they stomped their feet and ran away.
Yuan Bozhu’s crisis was resolved.
He enjoyed this treatment for the first time—where all his classmates helped him fight for his personal rights.
If his classmates hadn’t helped, he would have been penalized today. If penalized, the class teacher would have talked to him. If talked to, Yuan Bozhu would have definitely become the focus of the teachers for a while.
Yuan Bozhu felt he should thank his classmates.
However, just as he was about to speak, the boys and girls who had helped confront the student council turned their heads back, not even glancing at him.
“It feels great to chase away the members of the student council for the first time!”
“You kept mentioning Lin Shuanghuai just now; be careful he holds a grudge against you.”
“What’s there to fear? Lin Shuanghuai has a good temper. I’ve never heard of him getting into a fight with anyone. Am I supposed to be scared he’ll beat me up?”
“Stand straight, here comes the teacher!”
They talked among themselves, completely unconcerned about Yuan Bozhu behind them.
They had united to defend the honor of the class but completely forgot who the person nearly penalized was.
This was also due to Yuan Bozhu’s usually low presence in class.
On this point, Yuan Bozhu felt content.
The principal took the stage and spoke for ten minutes.
Due to the official implementation of the Alliance Education’s new policy, starting this week, evening self-study was canceled, and school would end promptly at six o’clock.
This announcement stirred the entire school.
After the principal and everyone else were excited, he continued, saying that the new policy had provided a scholarship for all large public schools. Encouraging everyone to enthusiastically apply, all performances and final grades of this semester would be significant factors in the scholarship selection.
This news, compared to the previous one, didn’t elicit the same excitement from everyone.
In schools like Qiancheng No.1 High School, there is a mix of students, among whom there are excellent students, but more are there just to pass the time and get a high school diploma.
These students have a pretty clear self-awareness – scholarships have nothing to do with them.
And there are some stable academic achievers who express their excitement in their eyes. Although their hearts are pounding, they remain calm on the surface.
It was Lin Shuanghui who led the applause.
Then the whole Grade 12 Class 1 applauded together, followed by the entire school.
After the applause, someone whispered to Lin Shuanghui, “Are you so active because you want to get a scholarship?”
“It’s alright,” Lin Shuanghui said.
Lin Shuanghui was wearing a sports jacket that was out of season, which made him stand out from the others around him. With a smile on his face, he seemed very approachable as he said, “I can give it a try.”
When they dispersed, a group of people surrounded Lin Shuanghui, discussing the matter of scholarships.
“It’s over ten thousand, if you really get it, you have to treat us, right?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Even when you didn’t get the scholarship, you treated us every day. Will you skip treating us this time?”
“That’s true, hehehe.”
It seemed like everyone assumed that as long as Lin Shuanghui applied, he would definitely get the scholarship.
Since the first year of high school, Lin Shuanghui has maintained top grades, and no matter how much time he spends with everyone, it doesn’t affect his status as a top student.
Everyone admires him for this.
“Isn’t it over thirty degrees today? Why are you still wearing a jacket?” someone asked.
Lin Shuanghui raised his eyebrows at him, “I have delicate skin, what if I get sunburned?”
Standing next to him was a tall and sturdy boy, who instantly got goosebumps and shivered, saying, “You really can show off, huh.”
Suddenly, a few freshmen from the student union came running up behind, panting, and crowded around Lin Shuanghui, saying, “Brother, during the flag-raising ceremony just now, someone from Class 7 reported you!”
Everyone was surprised, even Lin Shuanghui was taken aback, “Reported me?”
He wasn’t familiar with the people from Class 7, so why would they report him?
“They said you weren’t dressed properly and that your hair was too long. Obviously, they couldn’t even see your class from where they were standing, yet they kept mentioning your name. Clearly, they’re targeting you!”
“What’s wrong with long hair? Who did I offend?”
Among this group of people, Han Banlan was the only girl, and she had been classmates with Lin Shuanghui since elementary school, so they were very close.
Many people who didn’t know them always assumed they were a couple, but Han Banlan denied it quickly every time.
“It’s a bit too long,” Lin Shuanghui said with a smile, twirling a strand of stray hair with his index finger. “I’ll get it cut this weekend.”
Compared to other boys, his hair was indeed long
His fine hair was slightly curly, reaching past his ears, with a light color that shimmered golden-brown in the sunlight, making it look very special.
Because of this unique hair, during his first year of high school, Lin Shuanghui was called out by his homeroom teacher and told not to perm his hair again and to immediately dye it back to black.
Lin Shuanghui had to put in a lot of effort to prove that this was the natural state of his hair.
Nowadays, no one would fuss over his slightly curly hair, whether it was actually a meticulously designed style from a hair salon.
But Lin Shuanghui’s hair growth rate still shocked everyone.
Sure enough, as soon as this was mentioned, someone exclaimed, “I remember you got a haircut when school started, right? How come it’s grown longer than Han Banlan’s in less than a month!”
“To be honest, if Banlan and Lin Shuanghui walked together, from the back, I might not even be able to tell who’s the girl.”
Han Banlan, who had been staring at Lin Shuanghui’s hair seriously, exploded upon hearing this. She kicked the person who spoke and said, “Let me teach you how to recognize now!”
Lin Shuanghui watched them fool around, smiling without saying a word.
Suddenly, a freshman pulled Lin Shuanghui’s sleeve and whispered to him, pointing in a direction, “Senior, look, it’s that tall guy with glasses. He’s the one who led the report against you!”
In the crowd, Yuan Bozhu walked alone, with no classmates by his side.
If you looked closely, you would find that he had a straight back, tall and slender figure. His height of over 1.8 meters was outstanding among his peers, but he didn’t utilize this advantage.
Because he always hung his head, his thick bangs and clumsy glasses covered most of his face, making him look spiritless and diminishing his naturally erect posture, hiding silently in the crowd.
Overall, he was a very inconspicuous person.
Lin Shuanghui glanced briefly and then looked away, saying, “Did you go and deduct his points?”
The freshman scratched his head, “His attire was inappropriate.”
“You only deducted his, not mine, right?”
” “Of course, why would I deduct Senior’s points!”
“I knew it……”
Lin Shuanghui sighed.
He actually doesn’t care about these deductions, anyway, as long as he participates in one or two competitions or activities, he can make up for them.
“It’s not easy for the Student Union to establish authority, don’t make special exceptions for such trivial matters, don’t set a bad precedent, okay?”
“Oh… got it, bro.”
Han Banlan finished beating up people, then turned back and walked to Lin Shuanghui’s side, asking, “Even though the freshmen students reminded you to wear formal attire today, why didn’t you listen? Isn’t this making trouble for others?”
Lin Shuanghui didn’t expect this matter to come back to him again, and he said, “Oh, I… forgot, be understanding, my memory hasn’t been good lately.”
The junior student waved his hand, “It’s okay, it’s okay, no points deducted today. Originally, we thought the principal was going to inspect strictly, but in the end, nothing happened.”
Lin Shuanghui patted his shoulder, “Thanks.”
“Not at all!”
On the way back to the classroom, the seniors split from the other grades.
The junior students waved goodbye to Lin Shuanghui.
Han Banlan bumped Lin Shuanghui’s shoulder and grinned, “Your reputation in the second grade is really high, I see they almost want to erect a statue of you in the Student Union.”
Whether it was an illusion or not, Lin Shuanghui frowned slightly and took a very light breath.
“What’s wrong?” Han Banlan was taken aback.
Lin Shuanghui’s face was full of grievance, “You hurt me with that bump.”
Han Banlan was dumbfounded.
“Sister Ban, be gentle, our brother Lin Shuanghui is delicate, what if you hurt him!”
Han Banlan rolled her eyes, “Lin Shuanghui, I really want to beat you up.”
Everyone joked that Lin Shuanghui had become more and more affected recently. Last week, he wore a mask even though he didn’t have a cold, acting overly delicate.
Lin Shuanghui always just smiled at these jokes.
But no one noticed that when he smiled, his lips lacked any trace of color.
Before returning to the classroom, Lin Shuanghui made an excuse to go to the restroom and separated from a few people.
He went to the teachers’ restroom where fewer people were and entered a cubicle.
Taking off his hot school uniform jacket, he wore an oversized T-shirt inside.
Lin Shuanghui’s gaze swept over his arms and tugged at his collar, his peripheral vision catching a slight change in his complexion when he saw his shoulders.
The smiling face that was always joking in front of others faded away, leaving Lin Shuanghui’s expressionless face with a distant coldness.
There were mottled red marks on his arms and shoulders, a mixture of green and purple bruises.
The wound on his shoulder, which was about to scab over, still showed the appearance of torn flesh from a few days ago.
And where Han Banlan had bumped into him just now, there was a shocking hematoma under the skin.
Lin Shuanghui frowned, checked the wound to make sure it wasn’t torn, then calmly put his clothes back on and walked out of the cubicle.
Coincidentally, the grade director was using the restroom.
“This is for faculty and staff only, kid, you’re quite good at finding places.”
The grade director, Wen Zhong, knew Lin Shuanghui and didn’t criticize him.
Lin Shuanghui was first stunned, then bowed politely, “Hello, Director, goodbye, Director.”
“What goodbye, I just happened to have something to tell you. Find some time to go to the counseling office and fill out a scholarship application. This is not just a matter of money or not, the Education Bureau attaches great importance to the first batch of students applying for scholarships at each school, and there is a chance to be recommended to an alliance college.”
For a regular high school to produce a student admitted to an alliance college every year was already a historic achievement.
Although Lin Shuanghui’s grades were not always the top in the school, his overall quality was high, he was quick-witted, and he had been an outstanding student from the first year to the third year, also serving as the president of the Student Union. If there was a chance to select someone for a recommendation, he had a good chance.
Being able to attend an alliance college was the highest ideal for almost every student.
But strangely, upon hearing Wen Zhong’s words, Lin Shuanghui didn’t seem too excited.
He just nodded politely, flashed his customary smile, and said, “Got it, thank you, Director.”