Tang Ke understood for the first time that even relatives have varying degrees of closeness. He had grown up without grandparents, and on his father's side, he barely had any relatives. On his maternal side, there were many relatives, but his maternal grandparents passed away suddenly before he could remember them. His father struggled in pain on a hospital bed, and during Tang Ke's growing years, his mother had no time to keep in touch with relatives.
He always thought relatives were just relatives, all the same. But the scornful laughter and mocking eyes of some children made him realize that... they weren’t the same. In their eyes, he was a distant "relative," different from them. However, he hadn't yet fully experienced this "difference" in his heart. Han Yanyan's gentle demeanor was like a veil, softening the harshness of others.
Xinya also stayed overnight at the manor, so she could send Tang Ke off to the ship the next morning. Tang Ke quietly told her, "Sister Yanyan gave me a fully functional model of the Xiangrui x7614 mech." His eyes were sparkling with satisfaction.
The fully functional model was a scaled-down realistic reproduction; every piece could be disassembled. Although it was called a model, when powered, it became a miniature mech, very expensive. Tang Ke had dreamed of it for a long time, but given their current financial situation, such a "luxury" was out of reach.
Unexpectedly, on the first night at the manor, he received such a gift from Han Yanyan. Han Yanyan's excessive kindness towards Tang Ke always made Xinya feel inexplicably uneasy. But if this unease were voiced, it would sound rude and ridiculous.
She could only pat Tang Ke's head and say, "Don't forget to thank Sister Yanyan." As she bent down, Tang Ke noticed several red marks on her white neck. He couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.
Once the children boarded the ship, Han Yanyan walked out of the main building, being the last to board. The small private ship rose into the sky, turned into a white streak, and disappeared into the vast blue.
She had finally set her child on the best path, and Xinya felt both relieved and weary.
“Xinya—” she heard a man's voice call her.
Turning her head, she saw a man wearing only a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, standing on the stairs at the gate. The shifting tree shadows made him appear, at first glance, like the young man of years gone by.
But Xinya shrank back a little.
The man walked over, standing in the morning light, his skin and the corners of his eyes showing traces of time.
"What are you lost in thought about?" he asked.
"The children just left for school," Xinya lowered her head. "I should be heading home too."
"What's the rush? Don't you want to personally ask how his first day at the new school was?" the head of the Han family teased, brushing aside her hair and gently touching her neck.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked softly.
Xinya lowered her head further.
The Han family head said, "There's a suite inside the study with a healing pod I use. I’ve enabled access for you. Go lie down for a bit."
Xinya had weak spiritual strength and had never been trained as a mech pilot. The healing pod, regularly used by mech pilots as frequently as bathing, was unfamiliar to her. She hesitated and made a small movement to leave, but the Han family head suddenly tightened his arm, pulling her into an embrace.
He was silent for a moment, then spoke softly: "I've never treated anyone else like this..." Xinya felt a little confused, unsure whether to express gratitude or feel honored. Her body, however, instinctively shrank back a little.
The head of the Han family sighed and released her. He watched as she hurried inside like she was fleeing, then stood for a while, hands in his pockets, in the morning light.
He did not have any embarrassing tastes. But Xinya, Lin Xinya... her broken demeanor was truly delightful.
He lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, lost in thought for a moment, then softly flicked the ash away.
Tang Ke had only ridden a spaceship once before, when they moved back to the Eastern District. It was a large public ship and the conditions were poor. This was his first time on a small private ship, and his heart was filled with excitement. After exchanging a few more words with Xinya, when the other children had mostly boarded, he waved goodbye to Xinya and got on the ship.
Upon boarding, he saw there were scattered passengers filling most of the cabin. The front row was empty, so he went straight to sit there.
Han Yanyan's brother immediately objected.
"New kid, move to the back!" he shouted.
Tang Ke was stunned: "Why can't I sit here?"
"That's my sister's seat," the boy said with a frown, "Move back."
There were two empty seats in the back, so even if Han Yanyan came on, they could sit together. And... Tang Ke really wanted to sit next to Han Yanyan. But in these few years following his mother, he had learned to avoid conflict and often chose to retreat. If sitting here was going to upset Yanyan sister's brother...
Tang Ke hesitated for a moment, then moved to sit at the back. As he walked past, he couldn’t help but feel that a few of the kids were looking at him as if they were laughing, which made him uncomfortable.
Han Yanyan wasn’t running late; she deliberately arrived later on Tang Ke's first day of school.
A newcomer should always first experience the hierarchy and dynamics of the group. As it’s said, in the military and prisons, newcomers often get hazed the first night, and the logic isn’t too different. Moreover, she had laid the groundwork for this day earlier.
Once she boarded and saw, unsurprisingly, Tang Ke sitting at the back.
"Little Ke—" she smiled and beckoned him over, "Come sit with me."
All the children on the ship looked at Tang Ke. This made him feel anxious, but also very happy. After a moment of hesitation, he moved forward.
"Sit next to me." Han Yanyan pulled him to sit beside her and even helped him fasten his seatbelt.
Being treated like a little kid again! Tang Ke's face turned red.
He had inherited Xinya’s good looks, with attractive features and fair skin. When his face turned red, it showed his shy side, which made others want to tease him—Han Yanyan thought to herself.
The young Han Yanyan wasn’t just for show; she had a character setup too. Most of the time, Han Yanyan's true self controlled things, but occasionally, the character shone through. It was clear that the young girl was indeed the true heir of the Han family, possessing a hunter’s instinct.
Sitting next to Han Yanyan brightened the morning journey for Tang Ke. But this pleasant experience was not shared by the others.
These children didn’t exactly lack the means for their private spaceships to transport them to school each day. But they left the comfort of their homes to stay in guest rooms at the manor, leading a disciplined life, all for the chance to build relationships with the future family heir. Their parents had drilled this into them repeatedly before they were sent to the manor.
Except, the eldest miss was not easy to get close to. She never liked having others sit with her. Even her full-blooded brother didn’t get a kind look sitting with her. So why, just because this new distant cousin from a poor background, should it be any different?
Han Yanyan sensed the atmosphere in the cabin and smiled faintly, pressing a button to have the service robot bring some juice. She also patted Tang Ke's head, smiling at him, adding fuel to the jealousy.
This jealousy would build up slowly. Never underestimate children; school bullying can ruin someone’s life.
Returning home from school to see his mom still there, Tang Ke couldn’t be happier. He had so many things he wanted to tell Xinya about his day.
"The simulation pod is the latest model, with a sensitivity as high as 90%!" he enthusiastically said, "The explosion nearly scared me to death, it felt so real."
"A score of eighty in the simulation means you can try the real mechs! Though it’s still basic mechs for us in third grade, and Yanyan Jie has already moved on to battle mechs, she’s amazing!"
"Mom, guess what? I scored sixty-four today. The simulation pod at my old school was too weak, and I didn’t adjust well to this one immediately. Tomorrow I’ll definitely get eighty!"
Tang Ke’s eyes were sparkling, his expression full of confidence.
When he became aware of things, his father was already struggling in a hospital bed. After losing his father, he and his single mom had to fend for themselves. This upbringing made him sensitive and self-conscious, and due to his mother's influence, he had learned to step back first when faced with situations.
Xinya had never seen him so confident, as if the negative shadows of life had been wiped away.
She gently patted his head, feeling relieved, and said, “You must keep working hard.”
"Mom, are you going back home?" Tang Ke asked.
“Would you be scared if I weren’t there?” Xinya asked.
Tang Ke puffed out his chest proudly: "No."
Xinya thought for a moment and asked, “By the way, how’s it going with your classmates? Are the Han family kids easy to get along with?”
Classmates were okay, but the Han family kids... Tang Ke hesitated. Some of them had a bad attitude toward him, but he didn’t want to worry Xinya.
“Everyone’s nice. Yanyan Jie looks after me well.” His smile was genuine and bright, especially when he mentioned the sister he admired.
Xinya saw no problem and felt reassured.
As she left the Western District, she hesitated whether to say goodbye to the Han family head. At this moment, a servant came over and asked, “Are you heading back?”
Xinya's heart tightened, and she quickly said, “Yes, could you call a car for me?” Without permission from the manor, taxis couldn’t enter.
But the servant replied, “The master has arranged a car for you.”
Hearing she wasn’t called to meet him, Xinya breathed a sigh of relief.
The Han family head watched from the study’s floor-to-ceiling window as Xinya's car left, and asked, “How did things go today?”
“Like usual,” Han Yanyan replied without lifting her head. Unlike the other children, she returned from school with the additional burden of studying and managing family affairs in the study.
“Did you allocate more personnel to Mother's side? Quite a bit? Was her side taking heavy losses? The Yin family is even more formidable than I expected,” she said.
The Han family head turned and asked her, “What do you think of the Yin family?”
“They’re mine,” Han Yanyan said.
Han family head: "..."
He walked over and gave her a light tap on the back of her head. Han Yanyan cried out in mock pain.
“People who make grand claims beyond their abilities often end up failures,” he said.
“Alright, I misspoke.” Han Yanyan rubbed the back of her head, “They'll be mine eventually.”
Han family head: "..."
Han Yanyan quickly changed the topic, “When can I go to Mother's side to practice?”
“Do you want to go to the battlefield?” the Han family head asked.
“The best mech pilots are honed on the battlefield, not trained on playgrounds,” Han Yanyan said.
He looked at her, “Before the battlefield, you need to learn to kill. The battlefield won’t give you time to adapt.”
“Killing, it’s not difficult,” Han Yanyan said.
The Han family head lifted his eyebrows to look at her.
The girl smiled faintly, “What if I said I have killed?”
He frowned: “You don’t have the chance.”
Her schedule was entirely under his control, she had no chance to kill. But... her gaze bothered him. The look in his daughter's eyes, who hadn't had a chance to kill, wasn’t that of someone who’d never seen blood.
Han Yanyan smiled silently and looked away, “When will I have a chance to kill then?”
“In such a hurry,” the Han family head said, “I first thought about this at fifteen.”
“Does this mean I’m better than you?”
Han family head: "..."
Han Yanyan winced in mock pain again.
With the serious matters handled, the Han family head asked, “How’s the kid?”
“A bit dim,” Han Yanyan said. “I made him a target for resentment, and he doesn’t notice a thing. He seems eager to be my real brother.”
“And the others?”
“Most can hold their temper. But the one who shows his displeasure outright is my real brother, the one who’s actually related to me. Can you believe it?” Han Yanyan sighed, a bit doubtful. “Have you had a paternity test done?”
“Even you’ve had one. Don’t doubt it, he’s your brother,” the Han family head said, twitching a little at the corner of his eye, “His mother... her intelligence is questionable. Bear with him. I don’t hold much hope for him anyway.”
“With intelligence that low, she must have been extraordinarily beautiful for you to notice her, but I don't think she's even prettier than Aunt Xinya. I really don’t get what attracted you,” Han Yanyan mumbled.
The Han family head's eye twitched again, suppressing the urge to tap her on the head once more. He didn’t want to tell his twelve-year-old daughter that back then he was fond of her eighteen-year-old mother when she was youthful and vibrant, her dancing full of alluring energy. At that age, even stupidity could be endearing. Unlike now, aged, with only the stupidity left.
Inferior genes tend to override superior ones. When there’s a large gap between levels, the one with poorer genes usually drags the child down.
For them to have a child rated B+, it must be because his genes are exceptionally good.
“Who’s the calmest?” he urged the conversation back.
“Han Jun, Han Wei, Han Jinghan. These three are the most sensible. You can see the clarity in their eyes. It’s comfortable being around them.”
“Han Jin, Han Cheng, Han Ning, Han Jing, these four are as dumb as pigs. They practically wear their jealousy on their faces.”
“Han Yunqi, Han Shao pretend to be clever, trying to curry favor with Tang Ke as a way to get closer to me.”
“Most others are biding their time, observing. Han Mingxuan tries to curry favor but hesitates at every step, lacking even basic courage. If possible, send her home.”
These children bore the mission to become close with the future family head. Yet the future head was here, under the current head’s guidance, honing her skills in manipulating people's hearts and minds.
Han Yanyan didn’t find it uninteresting. On the contrary, the last round she had already ascended to the position of family head. This new round, reviewing old lessons from years ago, still intrigued her.
The human heart and nature, no matter when or how you delve into them, remain fascinating pursuits.