No student talked to me but a few parents and teachers congratulated me on my way out. By the time I left school, I was more than one hour late.
Luckily Grandma Li and her grandsons were waiting for me. No driver though.
“Master! I heard people saying that you got an award! Congratulations!” Said Li Yao with sparkling eyes
“You are amazing master Bai” said Li Bo with the same eyes
“Congratulation master Bai” said grandma Li while bowing
“Thank you all. Sorry for the wait, I did not expect that award ceremony. The driver left?” I asked
“heuu… He never came. This is why we walked here… Old lady Yu said that because you chose to be independent she allows you to hire as many servants as you want as long as you can afford it… including a driver…and a carriage” said grandma Li awkwardly
So THIS was their answer to yesterday’s complaint. This was…perfect! I could play the petulant kid, fake being angry then leave their residence early.
“Let’s go to the shelter then” I decided
“But where would the driver live? there are no other bedrooms in the courtyard” said grandma Li.
Mmm, I did not think of that “You are right, let’s rent a private carriage for a few days until we figure it out” I had to ask around to find one though
“We could go to the work agency” suggested Li Yao
“Work agency? What is that?” I never heard of it
“It is close to the shelter. All adult refugees use it to find daily tasks. I checked it out one day and I saw a few people going there to reserve carriages and porters to go out of the city. We could ask if you can rent from there”
“Let’s do that then” It would take a while to reach the agency by foot so we started to walk briskly. Shortly after, the driver from the Yu family came running “Young master Bai. Young master Bai. Please wait!”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came to get you. Sorry for the delay, there was a mix up at the family but old lady Yu personally asked me to come and get you” I looked at grandma Li, she shrugged.
“Didn’t grandmother say I need to be independent and to take care of my own transportation from now on?” I sneered
“... I don’t know about this... Why don’t you come with me so you can ask her yourself?” said the driver. I saw the driver coming not from the north but from the east like he was spying on us. He must have panicked because he saw us going the opposite direction of the Yu residence. I was not sure what this toxic family was playing at but I was DONE with their petty mind games.
“We will go back later. You don’t have to come with us”
“Master…please I am just a driver. I can only follow orders” pleaded the driver
“Yes. You follow orders, just not mine”. With that, I turned around. I had too many things to deal with to care about him now.
“Please master, have mercy on me” The driver came quickly in front of me and knelt. Some onlookers started whispering.
“How dare you” said grandma Li angrily. For whatever reason, a kneeling servant asking for mercy in front of onlookers could be very bad for one's reputation.
However, he forgot that I was a 10 year old kid so I acted like one. “Grandma Li, I am scared” I ran behind grandma Li while pushing a few tears out. Li Yao and Li Bo were smart enough to understand. Li Bo joined me behind his grandma while the 12 year old Li Yao put himself in front of us to protect us from the driver.
“What is going on here?” For safety, there were a lot of patrol officers around the school. As good officers, they came as soon as I hid behind grandma Li
“This man wants us to follow him but I don’t trust him” I said with tearful eyes and a weak voice
“You follow me” one of the officers ordered to the driver
“No. No. I am his driver assigned by his family. I was asked by the old lady to bring the young master with me. I don’t want to hurt him!” answered the panicked driver
“A few hours ago, my grandmother, old lady Yu, announced that it was time for me to be independent. She said that, from now on, I had to hire my own servants with my money! Why would you come to get me just a few hours later saying it was at her orders?! Especially that you are more than one hour late” Here I was destroying my grandmother's reputation and questioning his purposes at the same time. I was forever grateful for my mother and big sister pushing me into watching those historical TV shows. I learned a lot from them!
The whispers around us intensified. Even if a grandmother changed her mind later, telling a 10 year old to use his own money to take care of himself would make her the evil witch in the story. With a bit of luck, outsiders would find out that my parents paid the Yu family for my expenses already and then she would turn into a stealing - from grandchildren - witch. Wait, why wait for luck when I already have an audience?
"Sniff, my parents already paid for my expenses before leaving for the secret realm. I don't understand why she would announce my independence only a month before they came back. Sniff, now this driver said that she changed her mind. I am scared that he came to kidnap me to sell me before my parents came. Sniff, I miss them..." I said while sniffing to keep my tears from falling. I started acting but along the way I got a little bit emotional. There was no way I would let my tears fall in this case.
Little Bai YuShin did not know that what started as a fake act of sadness and scare that somehow turned into a real one with him trying hard to keep away tears made everyone around him believe him.
“Let’s do this, we will take you to your family. If the driver is telling the truth then he can go free but if not we will jail him. Do you agree, young master?” asked an officer gently.
To continue my act, I looked first at grandma Li as if to check if it is safe to agree or not. When grandma Li nodded, I turned back to the officer and agreed with a bow and said with a loud voice “Then please help us go back to the Yu family residence in the north district” I could not lose a chance to let everyone know which family was shameless do I?
Because the residence was a bit far. A patrol officer went back quickly to explain to his superior the issue and to have some officers replace them for the patrol while they took us home.
We took the patrol officer carriage to the residence. The Yu carriage was driven by one of the officers while the Yu driver was sitting next to him - tied -
No student talked to me but a few parents and teachers congratulated me on my way out. By the time I left school, I was more than one hour late.
Luckily Grandma Li and her grandsons were waiting for me. No driver though.
“Master! I heard people saying that you got an award! Congratulations!” Said Li Yao with sparkling eyes
“You are amazing master Bai” said Li Bo with the same eyes
“Congratulation master Bai” said grandma Li while bowing
“Thank you all. Sorry for the wait, I did not expect that award ceremony. The driver left?” I asked
“heuu… He never came. This is why we walked here… Old lady Yu said that because you chose to be independent she allows you to hire as many servants as you want as long as you can afford it… including a driver…and a carriage” said grandma Li awkwardly
So THIS was their answer to yesterday’s complaint. This was…perfect! I could play the petulant kid, fake being angry then leave their residence early.
“Let’s go to the shelter then” I decided
“But where would the driver live? there are no other bedrooms in the courtyard” said grandma Li.
Mmm, I did not think of that “You are right, let’s rent a private carriage for a few days until we figure it out” I had to ask around to find one though
“We could go to the work agency” suggested Li Yao
“Work agency? What is that?” I never heard of it
“It is close to the shelter. All adult refugees use it to find daily tasks. I checked it out one day and I saw a few people going there to reserve carriages and porters to go out of the city. We could ask if you can rent from there”
“Let’s do that then” It would take a while to reach the agency by foot so we started to walk briskly. Shortly after, the driver from the Yu family came running “Young master Bai. Young master Bai. Please wait!”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came to get you. Sorry for the delay, there was a mix up at the family but old lady Yu personally asked me to come and get you” I looked at grandma Li, she shrugged.
“Didn’t grandmother say I need to be independent and to take care of my own transportation from now on?” I sneered
“... I don’t know about this... Why don’t you come with me so you can ask her yourself?” said the driver. I saw the driver coming not from the north but from the east like he was spying on us. He must have panicked because he saw us going the opposite direction of the Yu residence. I was not sure what this toxic family was playing at but I was DONE with their petty mind games.
“We will go back later. You don’t have to come with us”
“Master…please I am just a driver. I can only follow orders” pleaded the driver
“Yes. You follow orders, just not mine”. With that, I turned around. I had too many things to deal with to care about him now.
“Please master, have mercy on me” The driver came quickly in front of me and knelt. Some onlookers started whispering.
“How dare you” said grandma Li angrily. For whatever reason, a kneeling servant asking for mercy in front of onlookers could be very bad for one's reputation.
However, he forgot that I was a 10 year old kid so I acted like one. “Grandma Li, I am scared” I ran behind grandma Li while pushing a few tears out. Li Yao and Li Bo were smart enough to understand. Li Bo joined me behind his grandma while the 12 year old Li Yao put himself in front of us to protect us from the driver.
“What is going on here?” For safety, there were a lot of patrol officers around the school. As good officers, they came as soon as I hid behind grandma Li
“This man wants us to follow him but I don’t trust him” I said with tearful eyes and a weak voice
“You follow me” one of the officers ordered to the driver
“No. No. I am his driver assigned by his family. I was asked by the old lady to bring the young master with me. I don’t want to hurt him!” answered the panicked driver
“A few hours ago, my grandmother, old lady Yu, announced that it was time for me to be independent. She said that, from now on, I had to hire my own servants with my money! Why would you come to get me just a few hours later saying it was at her orders?! Especially that you are more than one hour late” Here I was destroying my grandmother's reputation and questioning his purposes at the same time. I was forever grateful for my mother and big sister pushing me into watching those historical TV shows. I learned a lot from them!
The whispers around us intensified. Even if a grandmother changed her mind later, telling a 10 year old to use his own money to take care of himself would make her the evil witch in the story. With a bit of luck, outsiders would find out that my parents paid the Yu family for my expenses already and then she would turn into a stealing - from grandchildren - witch. Wait, why wait for luck when I already have an audience?
"Sniff, my parents already paid for my expenses before leaving for the secret realm. I don't understand why she would announce my independence only a month before they came back. Sniff, now this driver said that she changed her mind. I am scared that he came to kidnap me to sell me before my parents came. Sniff, I miss them..." I said while sniffing to keep my tears from falling. I started acting but along the way I got a little bit emotional. There was no way I would let my tears fall in this case.
Little Bai YuShin did not know that what started as a fake act of sadness and scare that somehow turned into a real one with him trying hard to keep away tears made everyone around him believe him.
“Let’s do this, we will take you to your family. If the driver is telling the truth then he can go free but if not we will jail him. Do you agree, young master?” asked an officer gently.
To continue my act, I looked first at grandma Li as if to check if it is safe to agree or not. When grandma Li nodded, I turned back to the officer and agreed with a bow and said with a loud voice “Then please help us go back to the Yu family residence in the north district” I could not lose a chance to let everyone know which family was shameless do I?
Because the residence was a bit far. A patrol officer went back quickly to explain to his superior the issue and to have some officers replace them for the patrol while they took us home.
We took the patrol officer carriage to the residence. The Yu carriage was driven by one of the officers while the Yu driver was sitting next to him - tied -
