The sound of a yawn broke the silence in the car. Bai Li was not used to waking up early. He’d gotten used to the freedom of getting up at any time and working at his own pace. He didn’t know how he would adapt to school. All he knew was that he was not a fan of Monday mornings.

Bai Fang was the opposite of him. Having come early to pick Bai Li up. His boundless energy was placed into going to school and making new friends. Bai Li was envious and annoyed.

Bai Li was not thrilled to be back in school. He contemplated skipping grades but refrained from doing so. He’d raised enough red flags for himself, as it is.

People thought he was hiding his abilities. If he did anything more at this point, he’d just make everyone more suspicious. It was better to go through a few years of high school. It did not stop him from doing his work. Instead, it provided a convenient cover for his activities.

Bai Li looked at Bai Fang, who was bouncing around. He was amazed by his excitement. It highlighted something that was missing in his own life. Was there anything that made him excited? Not including sparring with Ping An.

The thought bounced out of his head as quickly as it came. Bai Fang was unwilling to remain in the car any longer. Bai Li gave an indulgent smile before taking his younger brother’s hand.

He led Bai Li to his classroom and handed him over to his teacher. Bai Fang was coming into school using his real identity. With Ping An away, it was a perfect time.

The intelligent children knew who he was. They could already guess Bai Fang’s origins. Walking him to class was a way to show his importance. Although he was an illegitimate child, Bai Fang was recognized by the family.

This would be solidified in people’s minds by Ping Zen. He was coming to the parent-teacher conference at the end of the week. This would also help Bai Li. There were a lot of rumors about him. Ping Zen’s appearance would dispel these. Or, no one would be dumb enough to bring them up.

Bai Li walked back to the high school building. Odd stares accompanied him the whole way. Both Bai Tao and Ping Zen wanted to accompany them, but Bai Li had declined. He wanted to see who would react and how they would do it.

He wouldn’t let his backer show up on the first day. It was a crude method, but he would still be able to gauge the people around him.

The dumb ones would come over for a clash. The idiots would make friends right away. The smart ones would hang back and assess the situation. The intelligent ones would come over but not make friends right away.

Walking into the class, he felt eyes on him immediately. These were the people from his generation. He clashed against quite a few of them in the future. In this life, he was far ahead. His companies would be established and thriving by the time they were starting.

Taking a scan of the room, he found the faces of the people he wanted to get to know. While he was ahead of the game, there were people who would do the same thing. He wasn’t afraid to admit they were better than him. They achieved the same things without knowledge of the future.
If he was honest, he wanted them to be working for him. Since that wouldn’t be possible, he might as well play nice and be friends with them.

Bai Li didn’t have friends. He groomed a lot of leeches and backstabbers. This time around, he wanted to change that as much as his suspicious nature allowed.

He took a seat in the middle of the classroom by a window. The gazes followed him. Who would approach first?

What a silly question. It would have to be a dumb one. Bai Li felt his desk move as someone kicked it. Looking to the side, he shot the idiot a lazy look.

“What are you doing here?”

Bai Li raised an eyebrow. “Going to school.” He heard giggles from his classmates. The dumb ones made fools of themselves without help.

Scanning the class, he took note of who laughed. All people weren’t made equal. There would always be bullies and those bullied. In a school like this, it was all about family power. His family background wasn’t the problem. Rumors about him being ostracized by his father and grandfather swirled around, giving the dumb ones confidence.

The dumb one’s face got red. He kicked the table again. “You don’t belong here?”

Bai Li couldn’t help but laugh. “What is this? Kindergarten?” He spoke the first thing that came to his mind.

The smart ones and intelligent ones would realize that he wouldn’t be here if his father didn’t approve. They would be waiting to go home and tell their family that something at Wen Shi had changed.

“You think you’re funny?” The dumb one said.

“No,” Bai Li countered before he could go on. “I find you amusing. I didn’t know I would get a comedy show right off the bat.” Bai Li wasn’t doing this just to antagonize the boy in front of him. He was communicating with the smart and intelligent ones.

‘I am watching and waiting to see what happens. What are you going to do next?’ Bai Li was in a unique position. In this class, he was the person with the best family background.

That would make him the center of the class social circle. He was setting that position up. He planned to spend two years in high school before skipping ahead. He would use this time to solidify his companies and scout for talent.

“You find me funny?” The dumb one said, veins pounding in his temple.

Bai Li found this suspicious. It was true that he was in a precarious position, but coming over on the first day to antagonize him to this extent made no sense.

Someone set this idiot up. Bai Li scanned the room again. Only one person was looking away. Humans acted in similar ways. A confrontation happening on the first day of school would grab everyone’s attention.

On the off chance that someone wasn’t interested, they would be doing something else like looking through their phone or reading. What they wouldn’t be doing is skipping through the class workbook on the first day of school.

If he didn’t get caught, Bai Li would have put him in the intelligent category. Since he did, Bai Li could only throw him into the dumb category along with the bird brain he sent over.

“Don’t do this!” A milky voice said. A cute girl with a ponytail and bangs said, standing from her seat. “We are classmates. We should get along.”

“Anne, why don’t you mind your own business?” The dumb one asked.

Bai Li was snaking on imaginary peanuts. Anne White. She would go on to dethrone her brother as head of White Industries. Groomed to be a housewife, she bided her time before taking over the company.

She fell into the intelligent category. She was also dangerous. The holy mary smile on her face gave him goosebumps.

“Idiot,” the boy behind him whispered under his breath.

Bai Li wondered which of the two he was talking about.

The bell rang ending the thrilling scene.

“I will see you later,” the dumb one said before kicking his desk and walking off.

Ignoring him, Bai Li took out his notebook. Inside was the business plan he was working on. Bai Li would do well for the duration of high school, but he wouldn’t make it his main objective.

Tobias sent him an update on the embezzlement case. Everything would be wrapped up in the week’s time frame he’s originally given. His plans would be able to move forward after that.

The teacher stepped in, and Bai Li did his best imitation of a studious A student. Stand and bow. Eyes focused on the board.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. School provided a useful cover and he would have amusing little problems to occupy him.

While not at the same level, fending off the petty little attack from his classmates would keep his mind sharp enough to handle Ping An when she returned.

Ping An had someone assessing him. He needed to provide enough material. A carefully crafted image. Superior for his age group, but not a cause for worry.

Bai Li let the hum of the classroom fade to the background. He wrote in his notebook as if taking notes. With a smile, Bai Li’s plans formed on the page.

From time to time, various games would fix on him before dancing away. He wanted to see which one from each category would approach him.

Suddenly he was looking forward to his high school career. It would pass quickly if the people around him continued to be this cute.