Then the Wolf Step In

Chapter 2

Joy’s POV

Thanks to my mother's efforts, I now live in a grand house as magnificent as palace.

My room is on the same floor as Ryan's, but it's far away, with a long corridor in between. I think this arrangement is great because Ryan doesn’t seem to welcome my arrival. Just now, he mocked at me in front of all people yet no one tried to stop him.

Since my step-brother was the favored one, I’d better keep a distance from him in the future.Just to prevent mutual discomfort.

My mother might presume that all girls like pink. The bed in my room is pink, so as the table and curtains.

My mother has been away from me for too long and has forgotten that pink is the color I dislike most.

The Davis must have had dinner already, for no one called me down to eat. I haven't had a proper meal for a day and I only ate a few pieces of bread roughly on the train. I was hungry but I didn’t want to leave my room.

Sitting in front of the dressing table, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized a melancholy truth.

I am increasingly resembling my mother, yet she and I have become so distant that we were basically like strangers.

I hated to admit but her second marriage brought me advantages. After my mother married Mr. Davis and became Mrs. Davis, she has known more important figures and gained more social connections. With their help she got me into Groton School, the best private school in this city.

I decided to value this opportunity, studying as hard as I can so that I can attend a college as far from this place as possible.

***

The next day.

After proceeding the enrollment procedures, we left the principal's office. I hesitated for a long time before whispering to my mother, "Mom, I want to live in school."

"What’s that idea came from?" My mother stopped and said with great concern, "Joy, you're about to go to college. The education you received in Twilight Town can't compare to the one here. When you were with your father, he paid no attention to your studies…"

She suddenly paused. Feeling the awkwardness to mention her deceased husband, she changed the topic and said, "You have fallen behind others by huge margins. Now you should work hard to catch up with your classmates. Living with us, you can always ask your brother for help. He's an A student."

Brother?

Since when do I have a brother? How can Ryan be considered my brother? Even if I accept him as my brother, Ryan won't acknowledge me. My mom’s confidence to convince Ryan to tutor me sound ridiculous.

I disagreed my mom but I didn’t want to piss her off. The only thing I could do was to lower my head in silence.

My mom continued incessantly, "Now that you’re living with us, you shall get along well with Ryan."

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I’ve been Mrs. Davis for so many years, outsiders envied me for marrying a billionaire, but only I know the misery." My mother smiled bitterly, "Out of guilt towards Ryan, Henry never officially acknowledged me as his Luna to his people."

"Luna?"I asked curiously.

"Wife." My mom gave me a nervous smile and explained, “The meaning are the same. It's simply different ways of expression.”

“Oh.”

“All these years, I've been trying to please Ryan. No matter what I did, Ryan still treats me coldly and speaks harshly to me. I am a pill to him.”

“Is gaining public recognition so important for you?”I asked quietly.

“You’re too young to understand rules for adult life.”Mom smiled, “Forget it. Just be good to your brother, alright?”

Seeing the eagerness in her eyes, I held back the urge to argue that Ryan wasn’t my brother. I nodded and said, “Okay.”

As we walked through the corridor, my mom stopped and pointed to the wall and directed me to see, "This is Ryan."

I looked up and saw a bulletin board made of the birch wood frame. At the top, a piece of paper reads "Honor Roll". Below are numerous photos pinned on the board, among all Ryan’s photo was in the first row, first from left to right.

He was wearing a navy blue blazer and a tie, looking ahead with a smirk.

“He wasn’t nice to me yet he behaved well at school. At least he appeared to be a good student.”Mom muttered to herself, “I hope you could be on this roll someday.”

I gulped at my mom’s interpretation. For real? What I saw from this picture was an arrogant devil. I sighed and continued to study the jerk’s portrait. Seeing the personal motto underneath his picture, I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows and silently laughed.

It read “No Comment”.

***

I studied in Class 10, where girls were the majority. They treated me well, better than those in the Twilight Town.

My desk mate was Daisy Lee, a girl with short hair. She had a round face, big eyes, and dimples that stood out when she smiled. She was very outspoken and energetic. During the recess, she would tell me about various affairs happening in school.

Our headteacher was a strict man called Hue Martin. Mr. Martin was also the school's Director Of Academic Affairs. He was tall and sturdy like a trunk and he was always known by his nickname of Piggy. He basically made everyone terrified of him because he was a harsh grader. In addition to that he had a habit of squinting his eyes and scrutinizing people. He made you feel that Big Brother is watching you, which indeed sent shivers down one's spines.

Daisy also told me a secret she found-that the cafeteria in the north yielded the best food. Unfortunately, most students discovered this and it was no longer a secret. On lunchtime, the junior students would rush to the cafeteria and occupied all the seats. It was a big scene to watch, reminding me of the African Animal Migration I had saw on TV.

After several failed attempts to find ourselves a seat, I asked Daisy, "Do we really stand any chance to have lunch there?"

"Only if the teacher doesn't delay the class, we have a chance to occupy a seat in the cafeteria," Daisy made a face.

A month had passed, and I still hadn't been able to eat at the northern cafeteria. Daisy's enthusiasm for food gradually waned, and her attention soon turned to the boys in school.

Ryan was her favor.

"You don't know what Ryan looks like, right? He's really a god of sexiness. That gorgeous face! And he is smart like hell... and he could play basketball! It was a pity that there haven't been any basketball match recently, or we could see him play on the court." Daisy purred and whined with a sad face. Talking about people or events that interest her, Daisy would be passionate and didn’t bother to hold back her enthusiasm. She kept talking to herself, giggling and sometimes flew her hands in the air.

I didn't really want to talk about Ryan, but I didn't want to discourage Daisy either. So I answered curtly, "I saw his photo on the honor roll."

Daisy beamed at me and asked enthusiastically, "I bet! So what do you think? Isn’t he hot?"

Fairly speaking, Ryan is hot. Whoever responsible for editing the students’ photos must be an i***t. The photographer has horrible skills and he or she made most students on the Honor Roll looked like idiots while Ryan stood out exceptionally handsome among them.

But the problem was that I disliked Ryan. It's difficult to give any credits to someone you dislike. So I shrugged and said, "He's okay, not my type.”

Daisy opened her mouth, trying to defend her s*x God but I interrupted her impatiently, “Grab your bag. Let's go or we'll be late for the next class."

***

When I was home, Henry and my mom were out. I passed by Ryan's room, and the door was closed. I wasn’t sure if Ryan was inside, but I guessed he wasn't, for he didn’t show up when dinner was served. And I had my meal alone at the dining table.

By the time I finished my homework, it was already half past nine. I stretched and opened the window to breathe some fresh air. The night was quiet, with little commotion sounds. I immersed in the peaceful silence and enjoyed solitude, feeling relaxed after a long day.

Appreciating the moon for a while, I felt sleepy and decided to take a shower and go to bed. I closed the window and grabbed a nightgown to the bathroom. After showering, I was about to put on my clothes when my nightgown accidentally fell onto the floor. I hurried to pick it up but it was too late. The moment the gown dropped, it was soaked with water.

Holding the clothing in my hands, I sighed and threw it into the laundry basket.

It is alright. Accident happens from time to time. Not a big deal. I told myself. No one would come into my room anyway. And I’ve closed the window so it's okay to get out naked. With that comforting thought, I walked out wearing nothing but my panties.

And that’s when Ryan showed up in my room.

He wore a black t-shirt with his arms crossed over his chest, slouched in the same spot I had been sitting in.

Thank God he wasn’t facing me.

My whole body was tensed up and I was desperate to go back to the bathroom. I was only a few feet away from the knob and I nearly got it. In the nick of time, however, my slippers croaked a sound like a traitor and had me exposed. Hearing the noise, Ryan c****d his head to my side and his eyes widened.

He stared at me for a moment, and snapped out of his thought with a flippant whistle. A mocking smirk appeared on his face as he greeted me with a pleasant voice, “Hello, slut.”