Someone comes around the corner and says, "What the fuck."

Oh great. More of an audience. What he needed.

The boy kneels and starts to help Meng Yao up.

?!

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine-- I've survived worse--"

The boy doesn't look impressed by this. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he says.

Meng Yao flinches.

But he's not yelling at Meng Yao. "You understand that kicking someone down the stairs is a murder attempt?"

"He's--"

"If it's something worth kicking him down the stairs for, you should call a fucking tribunal. Either you're deliberately not informing everyone of someone who's a risk to everyone so you can instead kick them down the stairs, or you're bullying someone because you can, and either way I'm incredibly unimpressed." 

The kids don't seem to have a response to this.

"I'm Nie Mingjue."

"Meng Yao."

"Come with me."

"I don't have anything I can trade--"

"Yelling at assholes is its own reward."

Meng Yao is being escorted to... the Shanghai reading room?

What. 

"This is Meng Yao. Some assholes were bothering him. Wen Qing, can you take a look?"

A delicate-featured girl looks up, walks over to Meng Yao, and puts her hand on his head. She mutters something in some language Meng Yao doesn't know. "No concussion." She mutters something else. "Your head should feel better now."

?!

"What happened?"

"Some assholes kicked him down the stairs, I figured he could sit in here for a bit and they'd think twice before doing it again."

"You're too noble."

"I think you shouldn't kick people down stairs."

?!?!?!?!?!

"I-- really don't have anything I can trade-- I'm sorry, I'm just a freshman-- I can do your homework--"

Does Nie Mingjue want him to suck his dick. Is this how Meng Yao goes from being the son of a whore to a whore. It seems ludicrous but he's very pretty and he can't imagine any other reason anyone would do this. 

"A favor to me, a-Qing."

"You are far too noble."

?!?!?!?!!

"Do we have any classes together?"

"Algebra I?" Oh god oh god was that creepy he shouldn't know that he's too good with faces--

"Good. You can study with me and Zixuan and Xichen."

Apparently, this is happening?

"This is Meng Yao," Nie Mingjue says to the most beautiful boy Meng Yao has ever seen and also Meng Yao's brother. 

This is fine. This is fine. He probably doesn't know he's Meng Yao's brother. Most people wouldn't keep track--

"Oh! Meng Yao. You're my half-brother, right?"

FUCK.

"With the whore?"

In retrospect can he be kicked down the stairs again?

The Most Beautiful Man In The World says, "Zixuan, that hardly seems relevant to algebra. Sit by me, Meng Yao?"

Thank you, Most Beautiful Man In The World. You are a knight in shining armor and rescuer of innocent damsels, Most Beautiful Man In The World. 

He bows. "I'm Lan Xichen."

The Most Beautiful Man In The World is bowing? The Most Beautiful Man In The World is bowing to him? Do people even bow anymore? What is going on?

He quickly bows without revealing how much he's internally freaking out. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The Most Beautiful Man In The World, possessor of The Most Beautiful Slight Smile In The World, says, "it's a pleasure to meet you as well" and it sounds like he means it.

?!?!?!??!?!??!??!??!?!

"Now, on problem fourteen--"

Algebra homework! He can do algebra homework. He's going to be the best doer of algebra homework the Shanghai enclave has ever seen. 

Lan Xichen keeps the topic on algebra with only an occasional glance at Jin Zixuan when he seems inclined to bring up family matters.

Lan Xichen is his favorite person in the entire world. 

"I've never met one of my siblings before," Jin Zixuan says thoughtfully. "I think my father was too respectful of my mother's feelings to bring them around. Not too respectful not to cheat on her with prostitutes, though. A very specific level of respect."

"Shut the fuck up, Zixuan."

Correction: Nie Mingjue is Meng Yao's favorite person. 

They're going to talk about algebra now.

Everyone keeps not mentioning the blood on his head and it's super weird.

He's almost starting to believe that this isn't some kind of horrifying prank where Shanghai enclave all laughs at him for thinking he'd ever be good enough to study with them and then calls him the son of a whore and kicks him down the stairs a second time. 

Maybe Nie Mingjue is actually looking for a lover??? Meng Yao would be so good at it. 

He's going to be the very best at Algebra I in the entire Scholomance. 

"Would you like to study with us again some time, Meng Yao?"

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN. IS HE GOING TO BE A COMMUNAL PROSTITUTE.

"Of course, Lan-gongzi," he says, and ducks his head. 

"I'll look forward to it."

"We'll get to show those assholes what for. --Shut up Zixuan."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

Meng Yao's smile is frozen. He should be saying something charming, flirty but noncommittal, something that lets them know he's powerful and a good ally and getting kicked down the stairs is a bizarre aberration in his life of being extremely useful to any enclave who might have him--

Instead, he says, "thank you for this opportunity," bows clumsily, and flees.