Chapter 44: A Friendly Greeting from My Dear Younger Brother
Just as I was pondering how to respond to their greetings, my phone suddenly rang.
A call came in; how coincidental, or perhaps they had been trying to contact me all along?
I exited to see that I had missed calls numbering in the double digits, and it became somewhat clear to me—my phone had been draining power quickly and none of their calls had come through while my phone still had charge.
At that moment, the caller was my younger brother, Yang Yunhan, the second child my parents raised after they had basically given up on me; he’s not that much younger than I am.
Just as I intended to answer, it suddenly hit me that I am no longer the same person I used to be. My voice has naturally changed significantly; at least those familiar with me should be able to hear the difference.
What identity was I supposed to take on when I answered this call?
As my girlfriend?
They know I have a girlfriend, so that doesn’t seem feasible.
I watched as the call would soon hang up automatically if I didn’t answer. My phone was powered on, and since the caller had been trying for so long, they must have realized it was now active.
If it were off, they wouldn’t have been able to reach me at all.
So, I answered the call directly.
“Hey, where the hell have you been? Why haven’t you answered any of my calls?”
Upon answering, I was surprised by my brother’s temper; he immediately started holding me accountable.
Such an intense emotional reaction—could it be that my parents took out their frustrations on him?
“Why aren’t you speaking? Are you deaf? Hurry up and come back!”
He continued to vent his emotions without giving me a chance to interject.
Listening to his tone, I couldn’t quite understand what he was trying to express. Since I was born, I had been a mentally unstable person outside my family’s control. Now Yang Yunhan had such a bad attitude and spoke in a commanding tone, which I find hard to tolerate.
Does he want me to come back or not?
“Say something! Did you run away with that * next door? Do you have any idea that since you’ve disappeared, Mom and Dad are going crazy looking for you? Ah!”
When I heard him refer to Sister Bai, my slightly calm expression broke, and I nearly let loose some profanity.
However, just as I was about to curse, I stopped myself in an instant.
Because I calmed down.
First, I don’t have much vocabulary when it comes to swearing, making it hard for me to effectively argue back. Secondly, cursing isn’t beneficial; other than venting emotions, it serves no purpose.
I didn’t answer the call to engage in an argument or for an emotional outburst, but rather to see what kind of performance they would put on for me.
Mainly, I wanted to witness the biodiversity of this world.
“I don’t know.”
I instinctively lowered my voice, though the tone was still noticeably different from before. This wasn’t an attempt to disguise anything.
After all, talking to them doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm in me, and my tone naturally became more somber.
“You! Hmph…”
It was as if I had choked him; my response seemed to render him speechless.
“I’m doing quite well, thank you.”
I replied, though I was curious if he hadn’t noticed the difference in my voice or if his old phone made it hard for him to tell.
“You’re doing well! You just know about yourself. Do you have any idea how we’ve been doing these last couple of days? Dad hasn’t even gone to work because he’s been looking for you. The Security Bureau has searched our house who knows how many times! And you tell me you’re doing well?” Yang Yunhan seemed angered by my words, and his tone grew heavier, even somewhat incoherent.
During his tirade, I found myself reflecting for a moment on whether I might have gone too far, but I quickly quelled that ridiculous thought.
His emotions were off; he was too anxious. He is the youngest son doted upon by my parents. How could they put that kind of pressure on him and then have him vent to me?
Could it be that they suddenly discovered their conscience and started to care for me, their eldest son with mental issues?
Did they do something they urgently needed me to take the blame for?
That couldn’t be the case…
“What’s the hurry in looking for me? Shouldn’t everyone be happy with me gone?” I asked slowly, while also recalling what happened on the day I left.
The trigger that made me leave was… to send me to the Inferior Demon Academy?
The Inferior Demon Academy is a terrible institution. They were only offering a measly fifty thousand. That shouldn’t be enough to make them resort to this.
After all, fifty thousand would only allow them to live a little more comfortably for a while.
Oh right, they could completely get rid of their mentally unstable son.
As for why the Inferior Demon Academy would spend money to recruit, it’s simply because no fool would willingly attend such a school.
If the Witch Academy merely had a bad reputation, the Inferior Demon Academy is outright terrible; it was like graduating from a diploma mill with no legitimate degree, the bottom of the hierarchy of Extraordinary Academies.
The regulations within the academy are akin to those of an addiction rehabilitation center; they wouldn’t treat people like people. This can be seen from the fact they offer money for recruitment, even accepting students who haven’t unlocked Spirit Vision.
In this world, students without Spirit Vision should not be qualified to access the Extraordinary, yet they still accept them, which indicates malicious intent.
When ordinary students enter an Extraordinary Academy, they essentially sever ties with the outside world. This is different from my previous life; the power of the Extraordinary delineates boundaries in this world. The academy’s influence maintains control over this aspect, ordinary people stabilize society, while Extraordinary beings constantly improve.
This may sound simple, but it’s difficult to implement. Even with so many years of social struggle, hiding information about the Extraordinary world from ordinary people remains the most efficient method.
Because of that, schools like the Inferior Demon Academy were born, and society harbors the worst suspicions towards such institutions. However, regrettably, now that I am at the Witch Academy, I have no idea what the Inferior Demon Academy is really like.
Maybe they are misunderstood?
Even if that possibility is small, I won’t jump into that fire pit and gamble that there aren’t flames waiting to scorch me.
“I’m telling you, hurry and come back! The person in charge of recruitment at the Inferior Demon Academy has already contacted our family. If you don’t return, I can’t guarantee you’ll have a comfortable time at the academy.”
In the end, Yang Yunhan revealed the most crucial piece of information: someone had indeed contacted our family because of the Inferior Demon Academy?
Did I guess correctly?
But I didn’t apply to the Inferior Demon Academy. Did the person contact my parents privately?
Did they think that since it was my last day, I didn’t apply to any academy and was aiming to go work instead, intending to run away from home?
Thus, they figured that since that was the case, they could directly contact the academy because as long as the academy was willing, they could take me in. Applying online was merely for convenience of registration.
Needless to say, the Inferior Demon Academy would do such things to ensure enrollment.
