Chapter 4 Act Like One

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

It was supposedly a soft sound, but it rang through Li Tian's ears like thunder. After all, it was the sound of his mother's heels.

"24 million dollars," a sharp woman's voice cut through the silence. "I wonder if your concert last night made as much."

Li Tian said nothing and kept his head down in shame. He didn't dare move a muscle, only focusing on his fingers, that somehow looked so interesting all of a sudden.

𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵... Meilin didn't warn him of this. Granted, he never cared about his schedule anyway, but this was his mother they were talking about! Li Yelan, the hands behind the curtain of the entire Li Empire! He had to be mentally prepared for this!

He secretly glanced at his cousin manager sitting on the sofa beside him but she was giving him no signals.

She would have warned him about the lunch meeting today after the concert last night but he left as soon as it ended. No possible way to warn him then now was there.

His body ached from top to bottom. The head-splitting migraine was one thing but it was the bruises he got from the beating last night that bothered him the most.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘠𝘪𝘫𝘶𝘯... 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮...

SMACK!

A piece of newspaper was flung onto the coffee table in front of him. Printed upon it was a magnified picture of himself, the first thing that caught his eyes. Seeing it, his eyes bulged.

It was a picture of him in the club with one woman sitting on top of his lap while another pushed him down. His hands had already been cuffed by this time and Lila, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩, had a hand going down his lower half. The hand wasn't visible, and no one could see what was happening, but perception was a dangerous thing. All it took was a vague image to spark the fire, and people's minds would make conclusions however they wanted.

He turned his head away, not daring to look any further. He caught a few words in that brief look but it was enough to make him feel nauseous.

"Too much for you is it?" his mother's reprimand cut deeper. "Think how worse it would have been if they 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 published this abomination this morning. If it weren't for Melin, you would have been all in the news by now."

Li Tian's fists tightened. Again, Melin saved him again. He tried to peek up from under his bangs but could look no further after noticing the silhouette of his mother with her hands grasping her hips not even two meters ahead of him.

"Well?"

The single question invoked a mountain of frustration inside him.

This wasn't his fault! All he wanted was to celebrate and they beat him up for it!

"It was Yijun and the rest!" he bursted out loud with his head still facing down. "They tricked me, got me to drink, and decided on their own that I was going to pay for everyone! Even the tablet! I didn't even-"

"Enough!" she barked. "I can't bother to listen to any more of your excuses."

"Ex-excuses?" that was when he made the stupid mistake of lifting his head up to look into his mother's eyes.

Terrifying.

Her sharp gaze pierced him like a sword, stabbing right into his throat.

He couldn't get another word out.

"Anything that has happened is no one's fault but your own. They didn't 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 you drink. You 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 to. They didn't 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 you pay anything, you 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 them to," every word she spoke shredded any lingering defense. "Remember Xiao Tian, every bad decision you make is your 𝘰𝘸𝘯. You are a Li. No one can 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 you to do anything."

Li Tian said nothing, not daring to look at her again, not in this mood.

"Did I make myself clear?" she questioned.

He couldn't accept it. He couldn't accept it at all! How is this 𝘩𝘪𝘴 fault!? Those damn bastards...

"Li Xiao Tian!"

He snapped out of it. "Y-yes, mother."

The woman stared at her son with narrowed eyes. It was obvious to anyone that he still had a wall of ego surrounding him. How had he ended up being so incredibly arrogant? None of his successful siblings had their heads up 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 high into the clouds. But then again, none of them were in the entertainment business, and Tian was also the youngest. Everyone had spoilt him.

It seemed like her son not only made bad choices, he was horrible at social interaction and was undoubtedly incompetent when it came to finding people he could trust.

She loved her youngest son to bits. He was slightly tan, like the majority of Southerners, had inherited her dark brown eyes, and was born with his father's unruly chocolate locks. He was her pride and joy when it came to looks. But she was never so materialistic. His perfect appearance would be worthless if he had a lack of everything else.

No matter how much her son made as a singer, it was like a drop in the ocean in comparison with the Li Family wealth as a whole. But as long as it was worthwhile, and he was thriving in it, then she had no protests.

Unfortunately, not only has he been 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 money, his lack of self-awareness has been hurting his, and the whole family's image.

Seeing him sit there with almost no regret caused her ire to re-trigger. She needed to make him realize what it really meant to be a proper citizen.

"I'm sending you to the North," Li Yelan declared.

"W-what?" his head snapped up.

Disregarding his reaction, she continued with a blank expression, "Not only am I sending you to the North, you will only be getting the most minimal amount of allowance, just enough for your living costs. No servants, no late-night hangouts, just you adapting to your new life as a 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳."

"What!?" Li Tian stood up in disbelief. He couldn't believe his ears. Did his mother just say she was sending him to be a fucking 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳!?

No. He must have heard wrong.

"You heard me correctly, Tian," she shot at him. She may not have been present regularly but he was her son; she could read him like a book.

He sat back down in complete disarray, trying to wrap his head around his mother's words.

Li Yelan felt no sympathy for her son's devastation. He needed a clear reality check and be washed of his current world views. Throwing him out to survive on his own would be a good way for him to gain experience.

"S-so..." he managed to get some words out and fully understand. It might not be so bad. "I just have to survive there?"

"Of course not," she responded before looking at Meilin sitting quietly beside him. "You will be working. Meilin will be handling your work schedule there."

He looked at his expressionless cousin.

Meilin nodded to his mother, a.k.a. her aunt, and carried on with the gist of his venture. "You will mostly be taking jobs for photoshoots, singing gigs and interviews to increase your rep there. Until your new music is finalized, there will be no scheduled tours in the North, especially not with Yingxue's prime summer tour on the way. She will be tough to beat on her home turf without anything new."

Li Tian crinkled his nose at the name.

𝘠𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘹𝘶𝘦.

Never missing a beat, his mother took another shot as if to spite him. "You shall be proposing a partnership with the young Yingxue when you arrive there. It would be good to increase your influence through her and vice versa."

He stiffened.

Why? Why?? Why??? Why!?!?!?!?

Meilin also noticed his reluctance whenever it came to the North Siren. Being his manager, how could she not? Every time the name was mentioned, he would get agitated irrationally. It was obvious the girl wounded his ego even more than he let on, and they hadn't even met yet!

Li Yelan sat down elegantly onto the sofa in front of him and picked up the untouched cup of tea. "You will get the basic needs of the average person, with only slightly better accommodation for security reasons."

In shambles as he was, he still tried to control his tumult emotions and find a good side to it.

"What... can I get for entertainment?" He peeked at his mother meekly.

She glanced at her listless son and replied nonchalantly, "I'll throw in a television."

He clenched his fists in hesitation. There was something else he wanted but was unsure if he should voice it out.

Suddenly, he felt a slight nudge on his right arm. It was Meilin looking at him supportively.

He admitted it did make him feel a little better.

"Mother, can I have my gaming system instead?" he finally asked.

It earned him a solid stare from the stoic woman, but it was all or nothing. If he had to survive on his own and coop himself inside, he at least wanted his basic form of entertainment.

Watching her fidgeting son, an interesting thought started to play on her mind. She knew exactly what he was after, and she wasn't too against it; it was definitely better than going out to party. But allowing it would defeat the purpose of teaching him a lesson.

After a long moment of silence, she smiled. "Alright, I'll let you bring your games. I shall even throw the television in as a bonus."

His eyes widened in delight.

"But there is a catch."

His heart stopped mid-celebration.

"I'm sending you to school," she dropped the bomb, the taunting smile still playing on her lips.

"S-school!?"

"Yes, Tian. Youngsters your age go to school."

"But I've already learned everything they have to offer!" he weakly tried to defend his freedom.

"If you want any sort of entertainment in that house, you are 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 to school. A 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 school," she added as she pierced him again with her sharp eyes. "𝘈𝘯𝘥 I have a simple assignment for you there. If you complete it, I'll allow you to come back. Understood?"

"Yes, mother..." he looked at his interesting fingers again, waiting for her to finish.

"You will head to the North 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 and besides going to work for assignments, you are not to have any sort of contact with other people as 𝘓𝘪 𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘯."

Was she implying what he thought she was?

She put down her teacup and held his gaze with hers."Yes, Tian. When I said you are going to live the life of a commoner, I 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 it. In the North, you shall no longer be 𝘓𝘪 𝘟𝘪𝘢𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘯 of the Li Family, but a normal seventeen-year-old teenage boy. When you go to school, no will is to find out who you are. Every time you go out, the Li Family will mean nothing to you. There will be no more getting whatever you want just because it's 𝘺𝘰𝘶 who wanted it. Understand? I want absolutely no wind of such a thing."

The last sentence implied many things. She had let him get away with too much lately.

"But- how am I supposed to go undercover? What identity am I supposed to have?" Li Tian asked confusedly.

"That is something you will have to figure out on your own. Meilin will assist you through it."

Meilin nodded in confirmation.

" Now let me make myself CLEAR, Tian, I want no news whatsoever regarding your identity being blown. Even more so any more news like 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴," she waved her hand in disgust towards the ghastly piece of newspaper on the table. "Either make some 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 friends or survive without them. After all, you were a lone wolf at one point in your life."

His eye twitched at her lashing.

"You are to head there in three weeks and last 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 until the end of October. If you 𝘢𝘳𝘦 discovered, the cycle will start 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 again."

"October!?" he yelled without meaning to and immediately stopped himself. But the look in his eyes was easy to understand.

It still was only early May! He had to last almost another five months in 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 there!?

Maybe he didn't need the gaming system after all...

"It shouldn't be too difficult now should it, Tian. You are not a man 𝘺𝘦𝘵, you're still just a boy. So act like one. Who knows... maybe you will want to stay there," his mother chuckled softly.

𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯.

.....