AN: Apparently, I'm a night owl cause I'm staring at the rising sun and my head has yet to hit my pillow. Truly, I live a healthy lifestyle~

*****

Despite Li Suren's promise to not bother him, his reputation kept following Jun Yibai everywhere he went. If Li Suren did something, somehow, Yibai was supposed to know something about it. Due to the child's insistence that they were friends, many students assumed he knew a lot about him.

He didn't. He knew just as much about the popular boy as everyone else but somehow that never stuck. It almost made him want to skip school for a couple of days.

Almost.

But the end of the month was getting closer and seeing the grades of the bi-monthly exams was his favorite part of school. He refused to let that troublesome boy get in the way of his one joy at school.

***

In the teacher's office, the men and women sat in the room were all talking among themselves. They had so little time to themselves, how could they not take advantage? One such teacher, the homeroom instructed for class 3C, was slouching over his desk.

"Ah, having such a pretty student..." He grumbled, his eyes filled with envy as he spoke the Class 3A's teacher. Not only was he handsome but he had an adorable student too. "you are so lucky~"

3A rolled his eyes.

"Surely you have some cute students as well?" He stated, unsure why 3C was so bothered by this. Weren't all kids a bit cute and ugly at the same time?

"All my students are brats!" The other man snapped, looking annoyed. "So loud and annoying."

"Why'd you become a teacher if you don't like kids?"

"I love kids!" 3C snapped back, lowering his voice when he saw his coworkers turn in his direction. He ducked his head as he continued. "It's just that my class doesn't have anyone adorable for me to admire."

3A snorted, finding his co-worker to be quite amusing. He was so fixated on appearances, even his students were subjected to his words. Had he not been happily married with children of his own, 3A might have felt some concern.

But no, 3C was just someone who liked pretty faces as opposed to much else. He was an idiot that way.

"What about academics?" He tried, wanting 3C is find something to complement his students on. "Any smart kids?"

The man grumbled, looking put out. "I guess but he's just-"

"Teacher." Both teachers jumped from their seats, surprised by the sudden appearance of the child. Neither had heard him enter.

"Holy Sh-" 3C bit his tongue, knowing it wouldn't be good to curse in front of a child. Regardless of the fact that said child had just suddenly appeared from the ether like a freak ghost. "J-Jun Yibai, where did- How long- Why?!

"I came from the classroom, I've been here for a few minutes and you called me here." He answered, his gaze steady in the way a normal child would never have. It was these moments that made most people feel uncomfortable around him.

He was way too quiet, like he wasn't even there. This is what most people thought of Jun Yibai, especially the teachers.

3C, his homeroom teacher, however, just thought of the child as his super-smart yet not cute student. In that way, 3C was the kindest of all his teachers.

"Cheeky little thing." The man huffed, swiveling his chair over to his desk. "Well, I just wanted to let you know about your grade on the last test. You know how it is."

In their school, most of the children were average and barely managed to exceed expectations. They weren't the worse and there was no drive to push the students any more than necessary. Yet the principal had some pride and chose to reward those who did well despite not being pushed to.

To do well without being told at that age was admirable.

As such, a system had been put into place in which those who did well were rewarded by their teachers. To keep the children from feeling demoralized, the names of those who did well were a secret to everyone but the teachers. The scores went like so:

First Place: Student JYB

Second place: Student WRM

Every month, the scores would be posted with the children's initial, and the child would be personally rewarded in the teacher's office.

To be called to the office was Jun Yibai's favorite part of school. Since he was barely noticed, no one knew he was in first place. It was a fun secret, his covert pride as he slipped his gold star covered certificate into his bag.

Perhaps it was silly to be so proud of something no one knew about but knowing he was doing well made him so happy. Even if his face didn't show it.

Yet upon receiving his certificate this time, he didn't find any gold stars on it. It was all silver.

"Where are my gold stars?"

"Huh?" 3C looked up from his coffee. Looking over the certificate, he nodded. "Oh, right. You won second place this month. Good job though. No one else even got close to third so you are still doing well."

3C was legitimately trying to congratulate the child. While he wasn't cute or pretty, he at least was smart. That was definitely a plus when you lacked looks.

Yet Jun Yibai didn't feel the same.

"Who got first then?!" He demanded, his pride not allowing him to let the matter go.

"You know I can't tell you-"

"Li Suren, I'm shocked by how smart you are." 3A said from the other side of the desk. "I thought you were just a pretty face but you're smart too!?"

From the other side, Li Suren's little head only barely peeked over the desk. His pale as snow hair glimmered in the sunlight, drawing many eyes even as the child gave a bemused look to his teacher.

"Is... Is that a compliment or an insult?" He honestly couldn't tell.

"No no, don't listen to me. Go on and be both." 3A insisted, patting the small child's shoulder with enough enthusiasm to choke someone. His smile was practically consuming his face. "We need more smart and pretty people in the world. Finally, someone in my class beat-" He stopped, his eyes darting to 3C who was watching him. "O-oh, Teacher San, you are-"

Whatever excuse 3A was going to say was left unheard as Jun Yibai circled the desk to grab hold of Li Suren's arm.

"Li Suren!" Jun Yibai snapped, earning three pairs of confused stares. Li Suren was the only one to speak.

"S-sweetie?" The pale-haired child flushed, having not expected to see his favorite person so soon. Especially not in the teacher's office.

"Come with me." He said, dragging Li Suren from the room as their respective teachers supposedly made their feelings known. Either way, neither child truly cared.

They were both only thinking about the present and what would come of their upcoming conversation.

Li Suren was taking this as well as to be expected. Pure confusion.

"S-sweetie, what is all this?" He asked as he was dragged back to the empty stairway. While he was overjoyed that his favorite person was talking to him, he was very confused as to why. "I thought you didn't-"

"How much did you get on the last test?"

"Eh?" Li Suren blinked, lost for a second. Was this about the tests? "Uh, well... I was falling a bit behind so about a 92 I think."

"A 92!" He echoed, pouting as he thought about it. "So I must have made a mistake on question #7."

"#7? You mean the math problem?"

"Yeah, it wasn't covered very well in class." Jun Yibai grumbled with some resentment. While his teacher was good at most subjects, math was not one of them and he relied way too much on the textbook.

Li Suren nodded with understanding. "If your teacher was that guy, that's no wonder."

"Right?! It's not fair." He whined, stomping his foot. While it usually wouldn't bother him to get a couple of questions wrong, losing his first place spot hurt a lot.

His gold stars had been taken by this troublesome person.

Li Suren watched the boy as he seemed to grumble to himself about 'gold stars' and 'dumb variables complicating everything' and came to a conclusion. His sweetie seemed to be upset about his grades for some reason.

"If you want, you can have my certificate." He said with a shrug. "Honestly, I don't really want it."

"Don't want it? Don't insult my pride!" The child snapped back, yet again surprising Li Suren. "I don't need your charity."

"Is it that important?" 

"Obviously." He had worked hard to get good grades. He doubted he'd ever get a perfect score but first place was still a win in his eyes.

"But no one else knows who gets first place."

"And?"

"So then what's the point?"

At this, Jun Yibai could only frown, truly confused.

"Why do I need everyone to know to be proud of something I earned?" He retorted, surprising Li Suren into silence.

Li Suren was a very eye-catching child, with his pretty face and pale hair. Everything he did, he did with the purpose of gaining attention and showing off. It was because of this that upon learning about how the first place winners were required to stay quiet about it, he felt underwhelmed.

It was annoying that he couldn't show off when he'd earned those gold stars.

Yet Jun Yibai felt the exact opposite. Regardless of whether everyone knew or no one, his feelings didn't change.

It was quite an interesting contrast that Li Suren wished to explore more. Yet Jun Yibai had already moved past that point, stepping up to Li Suren like an opponent.

"But don't get any ideas about getting first place again." He warned, narrowing his eyes. "I'm gonna beat you next time."

"Next time?..." The child stared at Jun Yibai for a moment before an idea formed. This could be his chance. "Well, then how about we make things more interesting. A bet."

"A bet?" He echoed, frowning. "What are the terms?"

"Whoever scores first place gets a boon." He explained with a sly smile. "Since I won this time, I want your name."

Ugh, this again. He rolled his eyes. "Why not wait until next time?"

"Oh? You're that confident?" He teased, his smile growing wide. "Well, think of it as just a sample, eh?"

Jun Yibai considered the conditions. It wasn't bad and he was sure he could beat Li Suren now that he knew there was a rival to watch out for. While he might not want to openly challenge him, he didn't mind finally having someone to match wits with.

"...Fine." He grumbled, hiding his mild excitement. "But I get something from you when I beat you."

"Oh, I like how confident you are. You're nothing like the sweetie that pretends to be a statue." Li Suren retorted, loving that his sweetie had agreed to his terms. It gave him a chance to get closer. "Now, your name."

"...Jun Yibai." He grumbled, feeling even more upset that he had to concede after weeks of work. Li Suren, on the other hand, beamed.

"Bai... " He breathed, feeling a deep sense of joy at finally being told the name of his favorite. While he already knew it, to be told was truly special. "Good, now that we have an agreement, let's get ready for it."

Li Suren truly didn't care too much about his grades. Whether he was in first or last place, his intention was to be friends with his sweetie. But if he cared that much about it, how could he not use this?

***

Over the next few months, their secret competition went on. As the children fought to get first place, they grew somewhat closer. Whenever one was having trouble, the other would seek them out.

Eventually, during the winter, the two boys found themselves huddled in the library, exchanging notes. Jun Yibai was focused solely on his textbook, determined to figure out how he'd messed up on one question. All the while, Li Suren watched him with a smile.

"Did you figure it out yet?" The pretty boy asked, his gaze never leaving Jun Yibai's furrowed brow. He must have been truly concentrating to have such a look.

"No." The child grumbled through clenched teeth. It was the same response as before when he was asked. Yet Li Suren was relentless.

"Do you want me to help you?" He offered, though he already knew the answer beforehand. It turned out that Li Suren had gotten the question right and was lording it over the frustrated child.

"I don't need your help!"

"Ah, but you won this time so you could totally just ask me for help as your reward." He said with a pout. At this point, they were tied but only one of them really cared about the rivalry.

Li Suren just enjoyed spending time with Jun Yibai. Every day, he learned just a bit more about the boy and he was having a great time doing so.

If only his companion wasn't so stubborn and just let them be friends.

Jun Yibai slammed his textbook and as if to prove Li Suren right, repeated himself. "I don't need your help!"

"Fine." His companion grumbled with a pout. "Well, then what do you want? You haven't told me yet."

Over the last few months, Jun Yibai's 'rewards' had been strange. It was almost always focused on school work. Lending him notes and suggestions on textbooks.

It was sad that he'd never asked Li Suren about himself.

Meanwhile, Jun Yibai shook his head, uninterested. He'd already told his rival that he had no interest in getting a 'reward' this time around. There was nothing he really needed from him.

This left Li Suren wilted as he watched his so-called rival ignore him for the rest of their study time.

***

The sun was starting to go down when the two boys finally left school. Jun Yibai was pretty tall for his age so there was no concern with letting him walk home alone. Li Suren, on the other hand, was picked up by a chauffeur, sleek black car, and everything.

Of course, he was rich on top of everything else. Jun Yibai huffed, moving to walk around the vehicle.

Li Suren offered to give Yibai a ride but was refused outright. How was he going to explain a fancy black car driving him home if anyone saw him? It would be a disaster!

On his way home, Jun Yibai passed by some adults he sort of knew. They were friends of his father and always smiled at him and gave him treats.

There were no smiles or treats this time, just blank stares and murky eyes.

He tried to greet them but they basically ignored him. He briefly wondered if their meeting hadn't gone well today. If so, that might mean his father was in a mood.

When he arrived home, he didn't need to wait long to figure out what had happened. His father, ever the outspoken man, was screaming in rage.

"Again!" He shouted, a loud bang echoing through the house. "Those fuckers did it again and now my guys are-"

"Honey, please." His mother pleaded, her tone making clear this hadn't been the first time she had sought to calm the man down. "The neighbors will hear you."

"Let them hear me." He snapped back. "It'll be them next on the chopping block and then we won't have to keep our voices down."

Listening in, Jun Yibai quickly found out why his father was in a rage. He and his friends had lost their job to a couple of Alphas. It was a common story, one he'd heard his father rage about for many years.

He couldn't blame his father for his rage. Having his job taken from him like this was stressful. But it truly wasn't the alphas fault either.

Ever since the discovery of true mates, the union of an Alpha and Omega that were destined by some kind of pheromone thing, there had been a sudden surge in the population of the two sub-genders. Betas were still the majority but with the business world being only so big, a lot of alphas had to settle for the normal jobs.

The jobs that betas had secured for themselves for generations.

It was hard for those pushed out. What could they do? They weren't like alphas, who could settle into any job or like omegas who could comfortably be taken care of.

No one cared about the betas. They were background characters, the mob that is looked over and ignored. Never mind that they sweep down the streets and fill the shelves in stores. They were all faceless people in the crowd.

His father and every male in their family shared this fate and accepted it with a weary heart. His father was just more blunt about how he felt about the matter.

His father had eventually turned on the TV, probably to distract himself as his mother slipped from the room. As soon as she saw him, she gently pushed him to another room, sitting him down and asking him about his day.

Even as his father's voice grew angrier as he watched the news, his mother's gentle smile didn't falter. It was this that he admired about his mother. Her ability to stay calm despite it all.

But being calm wasn't what he wanted at the moment. 

"Is dad going to be alright?" He asked, knowing the answer already. He just needed clarification.

"Your father is... going through some things." His mother said, careful not to be too loud. "It might be best to stay at a friend's house tonight."

Ah, it was one of those kinds of fits. Jun Yibai sighed, knowing his father was not going to be in a good place in a few hours. His mother usually tried to hide this from him but all the adults in his life knew how his father felt about non-betas. He was very very vocal about it.

"Okay. I'll call when I get there."  He said with his overnight bag slung over his shoulder. His mother saw him out as he walked some distance. Her mind was set at ease, knowing her son would be safe at a friend's house.

The problem was that Jun Yibai had no friends. He had made sure not to make any. Friends went to each other's houses and he didn't want anyone to see his father. Worse, what if one of his friends later presented as an alpha or omega?

He'd be forced to cut ties with them anyway so why bother risk it? It was easier to be alone.

But now he was stuck outside with no place to go. On days like this, he would usually sleepover at his father's friend's house but considering the circumstances, he doubted they'd appreciate him knocking on their door.

But who else could he call to sleepover at?

His mind briefly thought of Li Suren and his annoying smirk.

No, he couldn't! It would be bad news if his parents found out who he had spent the night with. He was sure his father would lose his mind.

Yet despite his better judgment, he had already begun dialing that number. He'd been given the number by Li Suren as one of his rewards. He had to keep the number on his phone as per their deal.

It had never come up before and honestly, it was the last thing he wanted to do but there were no other options. His neighbors weren't on good terms with his father due to his views of their marriage and he doubted he could convince them to let him stay without answering some difficult questions.

Questions he had no answers for.

His cell phone rang for a while, leaving Jun Yibai to shivering outside for a while as he waited. It clicked and a sleepy yet familiar voice spoke.

"Yes?"

"Li Suren."

"Sweetie?" He gasped, clearly shocked he was being called at all. "Why are you-"

"No time for that. I know what I want as my reward this time."

"Okay."

"Let me stay the night at your house."

*****

AN: Jun Yibai's neighbors are a recently divorced beta and their newly wedded omega spouse. Jun Yulan used to be on good terms before the divorce when they got remarried, things turned sour.