"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.