By third period, Jiang Yue understood two more facts.
One: the rumors had grown legs overnight.
Two: legs were not enough. They had also grown wings.
He walked into his classroom to find the atmosphere already wrong. Not loud-wrong, not obvious-wrong. Just… too attentive. Like everyone's eyes had decided to become security cameras.
His homeroom teacher, Gao Lihua, stood at the front with her usual expression of controlled disappointment, a stack of papers in her hands. She looked like the kind of woman who could smell excuses through walls.
"Jiang Yue," she said, without looking up. "You're late."
Jiang Yue smiled, because smiling was his hobby now. "Good morning, Teacher Gao. I'm right on time for your favorite activity."
Teacher Gao's eyes lifted. "And what activity is that."
"Judging me," Jiang Yue said brightly.
A few students snickered. Teacher Gao didn't.
"Sit down," she said. "And stop wasting my class time."
Jiang Yue slid into his seat, which was near the back because the school believed in keeping dangerous animals away from the front. He dropped his bag under the desk and leaned back, pretending he didn't notice the whispering.
Two girls in the row ahead leaned close to each other.
"I heard his mom got remarried yesterday."
"To who?"
"Wei Nianzhan's dad."
"What? Really?"
"So they live together now?"
"Yeah. Like… stepbrothers."
A boy behind Jiang Yue murmured, "No way. That's insane."
Jiang Yue stared at the chalkboard like it had personally offended him.
He had always been talked about. That wasn't new. He was the boy who skipped class, who talked back, who showed up with bruised knuckles and a smile too sharp.
But this was different.
This wasn't just Jiang Yue the troublemaker.
This was Jiang Yue the headline.
New family. New house. New brother.
And not just any brother.
Wei Nianzhan.
The golden child.
The human answer key.
At the front, Teacher Gao began her lecture about "final year discipline," drawing big red circles around words like "rankings" and "future." She spoke with the same intensity some people reserved for religion.
Jiang Yue listened with half an ear. He could feel eyes turning toward him every time Wei Nianzhan's name was mentioned, even indirectly, like his presence had become a comparison chart.
At the end of the lecture, Teacher Gao clapped her hands once. "We have a new seating adjustment," she announced. "Some of you are being moved based on your most recent test results."
Groans rippled through the class.
Jiang Yue's spine stiffened.
Teacher Gao loved rearranging seats like she was reorganizing a broken machine. Every change was an accusation.
She began calling names.
High scorers moved forward. Low scorers drifted back like punishment.
Jiang Yue didn't care where he sat. He cared about one thing: whether Teacher Gao was going to do something humiliating with today's rumor.
"Jiang Yue," Teacher Gao said finally, eyes narrowing. "You'll move."
Jiang Yue sighed loudly. "Of course I will."
Teacher Gao ignored his tone. "You're going to sit… here."
She pointed to a desk in the second row.
The second row.
Near the front.
Gasps and whispers sparkled immediately.
Jiang Yue's eyes narrowed. He looked at the seat she'd indicated.
It was directly behind Wei Nianzhan's seat.
Directly behind.
Like a leash.
Teacher Gao continued, voice too smooth. "Since you now have a… convenient study environment at home, I assume your focus will improve. Sitting closer will help."
The class went quiet with anticipation.
Jiang Yue stared at her.
So that was her move.
She wasn't just rearranging seats. She was making a point.
The entire class waited to see if he would explode.
Jiang Yue smiled slowly, the kind of smile that usually meant trouble.
"Teacher," he said, sweet as poison, "are you sure you want me that close to the front? I might contaminate the air."
A few students stifled laughter.
Teacher Gao's expression didn't change. "If you keep talking, you'll be contaminating the hallway. Move."
Jiang Yue stood up, took his bag, and walked down the aisle.
He could feel every eye following him. Like a parade. Like a trial.
Wei Nianzhan sat in his new seat already, posture straight, textbook open. He didn't turn around. He didn't react. He looked like the rumor didn't exist, like the class didn't exist, like Jiang Yue didn't exist.
That, more than anything, made Jiang Yue want to do something childish and dramatic, like kick his chair.
Instead, Jiang Yue dropped into the seat behind him and leaned forward slightly.
Wei's neck was visible above the uniform collar, clean and pale. His hair was neatly trimmed at the nape. Everything about him screamed control.
Jiang Yue lowered his voice. "Congratulations," he whispered, just loud enough for Wei to hear. "You've been assigned a personal demon."
Wei didn't turn.
He simply flipped a page.
His voice came, quiet and flat. "Sit properly."
Jiang Yue blinked, surprised by the response. "What?"
Wei's pen moved across his notebook. "Teacher Gao is watching."
Jiang Yue's smile sharpened. "So you do notice me."
Wei paused his pen for half a second.
Then he wrote again. "You're loud. Hard to miss."
Jiang Yue leaned back, amused despite himself. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me today."
Wei didn't answer.
The class resumed. Teacher Gao continued her lesson, firing questions like bullets. Students answered nervously. Wei answered effortlessly, voice calm, like he was reading from a script the universe had given him at birth.
Every time Wei answered, the class made little sounds of awe. Every time someone else answered wrong, Teacher Gao's disappointment radiated like heat.
Jiang Yue stared at the back of Wei's head and felt his irritation grow.
It wasn't fair.
Wei didn't even have to try to be impressive. He just existed.
And now, Jiang Yue was trapped behind him like a bad joke.
At break, the class erupted into movement. Students clustered in groups, whispering louder now that Teacher Gao wasn't actively murdering them with her eyes.
A girl from the front row turned around and leaned toward Jiang Yue, eyes bright with curiosity.
"So… it's true?" she asked. "Your mom married Wei Nianzhan's dad?"
Jiang Yue stared at her, expression blank. "No," he said. "She married his math tutor."
The girl blinked, then laughed awkwardly. "No, I'm serious."
Jiang Yue leaned back in his chair. "Why."
"Because it's… kind of crazy," she admitted. "Like, you guys are stepbrothers now."
Jiang Yue smiled politely. "We're not brothers. We're roommates with paperwork."
The girl giggled, then lowered her voice. "Do you live in the same room?"
Jiang Yue's eyebrows shot up. "Do I look like I want to die?"
The girl flushed. "I just mean—"
Wei's voice cut in, calm and cold without turning around. "He has his own room."
The girl froze for a second, then smiled too brightly. "Oh! Wei Nianzhan. Hi."
Wei nodded once. That was his version of socializing.
The girl scurried away.
Jiang Yue stared at Wei's back. "You're answering questions about me now."
Wei finally turned his head slightly, just enough for Jiang Yue to see the edge of his profile. "You're too slow."
Jiang Yue's mouth fell open for half a second.
Then he laughed, sharp. "You're unbelievable."
Wei turned back around, as if the conversation was finished.
Jiang Yue stared at him, heart beating a little faster for reasons that had nothing to do with anger.
Across the classroom, a group of boys were watching them. Jiang Yue recognized them: the basketball guys, the loud ones. One of them, a boy named Han Yong, leaned toward his friend and whispered, not quietly enough.
"So the top student and the troublemaker are brothers now."
Another boy laughed. "Poor Wei Nianzhan."
Jiang Yue's jaw tightened.
He stood up before he could think, chair scraping.
Wei's head lifted slightly, sensing movement.
Jiang Yue walked down the aisle toward the boys, smile too calm.
Han Yong's grin faltered. "What."
Jiang Yue stopped in front of his desk. "Say it again."
Han Yong frowned. "Say what."
Jiang Yue leaned forward, hands on Han Yong's desk, voice soft. "That 'poor Wei Nianzhan' part. I didn't hear it clearly."
The classroom went quiet in that immediate way it did when trouble started.
Han Yong swallowed, then tried to laugh. "Relax, Jiang Yue. It's just a joke."
Jiang Yue smiled. "So am I."
Han Yong's friend shifted nervously. "Jiang Yue, don't—"
Han Yong's pride flared. He stood up too, chest out. "What, you gonna hit me because I said the truth?"
Jiang Yue's smile widened. "Truth? You don't even know me."
Han Yong scoffed. "Everyone knows you. Always causing problems. Now you're dragging Wei Nianzhan into it too."
The words landed like a spark.
Jiang Yue's fist clenched on the desk.
Behind him, a chair scraped.
Wei Nianzhan's voice came, calm but sharper than before. "Han Yong."
Jiang Yue turned his head slightly.
Wei had stood up.
He wasn't rushing. He wasn't emotional. He simply looked at Han Yong with that same assessing gaze he'd used at the wedding, the kind that made people feel like they were being weighed.
Han Yong stiffened. "What."
Wei's voice was even. "Apologize."
The classroom froze.
Jiang Yue's pulse kicked.
Han Yong laughed, but it came out strained. "Why would I apologize?"
Wei's gaze didn't move. "Because you're talking about my family."
The word family hit Jiang Yue like a slap.
My family.
Wei said it like it was fact. Like it was already true.
Jiang Yue's chest tightened violently, half anger, half something else he refused to examine.
Han Yong's face flushed. "Since when do you care about him?"
Wei's eyes shifted, briefly, landing on Jiang Yue.
Just one glance.
And in that glance there was something complicated, like Wei didn't know the answer either.
Then Wei looked back at Han Yong. "Since now."
The room stayed silent, holding its breath.
Han Yong's jaw flexed. He looked around, saw the class watching, realized he was losing face in front of the top student.
He muttered, "Fine. Sorry."
Wei held his gaze for a beat longer, then sat down without another word.
Jiang Yue stood there, still, fists tight, adrenaline humming.
The fight had been pulled away from him like someone had grabbed the weapon out of his hand.
And Wei had done it so smoothly that it felt like Jiang Yue had never had control in the first place.
Jiang Yue returned to his seat behind Wei, jaw clenched.
He leaned forward, voice low. "Why did you do that."
Wei didn't turn. "He was wasting time."
"That's not an answer," Jiang Yue hissed.
Wei's pen moved again. "It is."
Jiang Yue stared at the back of his head, furious.
Furious that Wei had stepped in.
Furious that Wei had said "my family."
Furious that part of Jiang Yue wanted to believe it.
The rest of the day continued like a slow burn. Whispers followed them. People watched them. Teacher Gao's eyes sharpened every time Jiang Yue shifted in his seat, as if expecting him to explode.
At lunch, Jiang Yue tried to escape the attention by leaving campus, but Xu Zhe caught him near the gate.
"You're famous," Xu Zhe announced, delighted. "Everyone's talking about you and Wei Nianzhan."
Jiang Yue groaned. "Kill me."
Xu Zhe grinned. "Did he really tell Han Yong to apologize?"
Jiang Yue glared. "Yes."
Xu Zhe's eyes lit up. "Oh my god. That's hot."
Jiang Yue smacked him lightly. "Stop making everything weird."
Xu Zhe laughed and threw an arm over Jiang Yue's shoulder. "Too late. Your life is a drama now."
Jiang Yue stared out at the schoolyard, students moving like a swarm, sunlight cold on the concrete.
He could feel the new reality settling in.
This wasn't just about a new house.
This was about being tied to Wei Nianzhan in public.
In front of teachers. In front of classmates. In front of everyone who already had opinions.
And the worst part was this:
Wei Nianzhan didn't seem bothered by the connection at all.
As if Jiang Yue was something he could simply… manage.
Jiang Yue's jaw tightened.
He didn't like being managed.
Not by teachers.
Not by parents.
And definitely not by Wei Nianzhan.
As the final bell rang and students packed up to go home, Jiang Yue stared at Wei's back once more and made a quiet, stubborn decision.
If everyone wanted to compare them, fine.
If everyone wanted to watch, fine.
But Jiang Yue would not be the only one under a microscope.
If Wei Nianzhan was going to call him family, then Jiang Yue would make sure Wei paid for that word.