What Was Worth A Heart

Chapter 5- So Tired

Back in his room, Shao Long leaned against his door and slid down with a sigh. His head felt heavy, and he was terribly tired. His eyes couldn't open well, as if he had just run a marathon. The thing is, he didn't do anything extreme today. He was either walking, sitting or standing. Nothing too exhausting.

Then why was he tired.

Shao Long noticed his heart felt heavy, and all he wanted was to close his eyes and look for warmth. Anything. Anything to chase away his exhaustion. A tear had unconsciously escaped his left eye.

He was really so tired......

🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋🔋

By next morning, the whole school was in a state of chaos. If you ask me, almost everyone was gossiping about one thing.

Shao Long.

Livio wasn't exaggerating when he said that Shao Long had been acting strange. The word strange itself was as if it was made to define his state. He was way too quiet, he stopped smiling, and if everyone was to greet him, he would only slightly smile and nod his head before walking away. In his class, he looked really tired. His knuckles were always supporting his chin, and many times he looked as if he was about to doze off. And each time that happened, the teacher would ask him a question. And every time the teacher asked, Shao Long would answer perfectly without any hesitation as if this was learnt a few years ago. It's not that his classmates had never expected this. Shao Long himself was always smart, but instead of explaining how he got that answer or showing the work on the board, the youth would only glance at the question and said the answer. The teacher had wanted to scold him, but he knew that in any case, Shao Long was right. And of course, the work was completely inside his mind.........too lazy to bring itself to reality.

One teacher even asked him "Did you stay up late to catch up the topics you missed?"

"Y- Yeah, and I was still unpacking last night" Shao Long chuckled apologetically. To others, the excuse was reasonable. But to his fellow dormmates..............not so much.  After all, it was impossible for Shao Long to do his homework which was still not given. And knowing him, even if the world was too end, there was no guarantee that Shao Long would sleep late. He wouldn't, at all cost.

At least that's what they thought.

All the while, Shao Long pretended to take notes with his computer, when all he did was just doing the two months workload. Yesterday, he may have or may not have done at least a quarter of it. His speed with the computer was unimaginable that the person beside him couldn't help but glance with a gulp.

The keyboard might not survive....

The teachers would constantly check his note to see if he's actually taking notes or playing games. The thing is, he did his report in Mandarin so that it'd be easier to write. When it's finished, he would then translate it all back to English. So when the teachers saw his report, they thought that he was just taking notes in Mandarin to further his understanding.

It's easy to fool teachers that do not understand your native language. Furthermore, with this place being an international school, the teachers do not check students' notes, only their grades. Thus, his work became a lot easier. Besides, those questions that the teachers asked, he had learned it beforehand, exactly because he knew that he would have tons of workloads. This did not even include his homework. Within a few days, he should be able to finish all the reports and homework, so he was doing his best.

During lunch, Shao Long went to eat somewhere hidden. It's not the rooftop if you're wondering. The rooftop would usually be a place for some other people to hangout, so it would be meaningless. Shao Long ate in the classroom where it would be completely empty.

Once he was done, he took out his computer and once again worked on his work.

But something, of course, piqued his attention. No one came in, despite the fact that the bell would ring in another 5 minutes........

Shao Long glanced outside to see some of his classmates peeking at him, but quickly hid themselves back when they saw Shao Long glancing at them.

What he didn't know that ever since he stopped being friendly and talkative, everyone was slightly scared. They, of course, didn't want the other to snap like the time about the viral. Shao Long could get them to stop school and he could do it smoothly without getting caught, that fact was known by almost everyone in the school, so no one dared to mess with him. Other than some princes of course......

And now, they were too afraid to enter.....

"You! You're the strongest, why don't you go first!"

"Me?! Excuse me, I may be brave but I sure as hell am not dumb. You are, so you do it!"

"Even if you're smarter than me, even I can differentiate safety and danger, so you do it!"

"What's with the fuss? Why isn't anyone entering?"

"He's in there alone!"

".............well, I'd rather be punished for being late than enter........"

*****

Seeing the commotion on the outside, Gion and Shintarou couldn't help but be curious. Livio had already known this would happen, so he only sighed. "They're afraid to enter because Shao Long is in there alone......"

"..........that's it?" Shintarou asked.

"Well if you're so brave, why don't you go in first".

" On second thought, I'll pass. How bout you, Gion. Class is in another 3 minutes."

Gion suddenly remembered his words to Alex the day before.

'Him not strangling the life out of you one by one was already a good thing and you expect him to be kind?'

Gion silently shuddered. Shao Long really could kill them all, but at least not without going to prison. But then again, what was the point? He was under aged, and by then, the princes would already be dead. For Gion, Italy would be left without its prince, only princess. Same goes for Ciel. Leon, Albert, Felix, they all might be without other male sibling. That would mean the end of the royal blood.........

Now that's pretty creepy.

Ignoring that thought, Gion made his way and entered the class without looking at Shao Long. Shintarou and Livio followed closely behind him, also not minding the Chinese boy. Shao Long himself didn't look up. Seconds later, the students all returned to their seats one by one, each glancing at the Chinese in alert.

That's how bad the situation was...

********

Once the bell rung, the students all went back to their dorms while the princes went to the meeting room for their daily meeting. Shao Long was one of the first to leave class and walked to the meeting room as fast as he could. He did not want to meet any princes along the way. That, and he wanted to finish his work fast.

Looks like fate wasn't on his side that day. He did stumble upon the princes by the stair on his way to the meeting room. Alex was first to notice him "Ah! Shao Long!" He called out.

Shao Long had no choice but to stop. He was slightly guilty for being too cold to him yesterday, especially with Alex not being the one at fault. Not that it's anyone's fault. He was just being oversensitive,.........maybe.

"I'm halfway done with my part of work in the two months I was gone. By tomorrow, I should be done. By then, I'll hand it to you. Sorry for the delay." Shao Long answered without being questioned, surprising everyone.

For one, that wasn't the question Alex was planning to ask.

Two, when the heck did he have time to finish all those tasks?!