"This is my papa, Suolan." Dorian continued the introductions, having completely given up on concealment.

"Hello..." The three greeted him haltingly.

Dorian led his classmates into the living room on the ground floor, mainly used for receiving guests. Suolan placed the pastries on the coffee table. The treats, exquisite as works of art, left the classmates even more astounded. They instantly felt woefully ignorant, completely unable to identify what these desserts actually were. At any rate, they appeared to be some kind of small cakes.

"Make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just say so." Suolan smiled.

Once both parents had temporarily departed, the three finally regained the ability to speak normally.

"Dorian, your dads are way too handsome! And they look so young!" Andrea lowered his voice.

In truth, Dorian was also a strikingly beautiful child. It was just that, for one thing, at thirteen his features hadn't fully matured yet, and for another, most of his classmates had known him since elementary school and had grown accustomed to seeing him over the years.

Luca surveyed the décor that combined both grandeur and refinement, a perfect fusion of classic Tuscan country style and sophisticated modern aesthetics. "And this house... this is definitely not an ordinary home!"

"These pastries look like they should be sold in shops..." Tommaso carefully picked up a mini tart topped with fruit purée and mousse. After one bite, his eyes went wide as saucers. "Oh my god, this is incredible! This is absolutely not ordinary home baking!"

Dorian sighed, knowing there was no hiding it anymore. "Alright, my family is a bit special."

"A 'bit' special? Dorian, be honest, just how rich is your family?" Luca couldn't believe it.

"I don't know the exact figures, but it should be... pretty good?" Dorian silently organized his words, opting for a less feelings-hurting phrasing. He truly didn't know the total assets, and felt too embarrassed to say outright that his family was probably among the wealthiest tier.

The three boys exchanged glances, all seeing the same thought in each other's eyes: their friend wasn't just any rich kid, but the kind of rich where you don't even know how rich you are.

Andrea had an epiphany. "No wonder you didn't react to thirty-five-hundred-euro shoes. For you, that really is 'that's it'!"

With that, he popped a brownie into his mouth and instantly lost the ability to speak. Good heavens! Cherry jam filling! This was sacrilege against brownies! This was, this was—a miracle!

"No wonder you thought eight hundred fifty for the trip was cheap. You don't even have the concept of 'saving money'!" Luca understood now too.

He also picked up a tart to try, then followed in Andrea's footsteps. Meanwhile, Tommaso ate another canelé.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hide it. I just didn't want everyone to think I was different from you." Dorian scratched the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed.

The three boys, captivated by the treats, took quite a while to regain their senses. Tommaso said half-jokingly, "But you really are different from us! You're a genuine trust fund kid!"

Just then, Lleuad passed through the living room again and caught the tail end of the conversation. He paused, looking at his son with an ambiguous smile.

"Little Milkshake, seems your true colors have been exposed?"

Dorian blushed. "Dad..."

"It's fine. Friends should be honest with each other anyway." Lleuad shrugged, then turned to the three boys. His slightly narrowed eyes revealed a hint of danger. "But I hope this won't affect your friendship."

Though his tone was casual, all three boys felt that invisible pressure. They nodded hastily.

"Of course not! Dorian is still our friend!" Tommaso rushed to assure him.

"Right, rich or not, it doesn't matter!" Luca chimed in.

Lleuad gave a satisfied nod, then left.

Once he had gone, Andrea whispered, "Your dad... seems really impressive. For a moment there, I found him terrifying."

"Dad really is impressive. Both he and Papa are." Dorian admitted. In his heart, his parents had always been the most impressive people.

"So where does your family's money actually come from?" Luca really wanted to know the answer. The "freelancers" explanation wasn't going to cut it anymore.

The source of the family's income really wasn't something he could explain to ordinary people. After deliberating for a while, Dorian decided to use the conclusion he had come up with as a child to deflect: "Because they're really impressive, money just finds its way to our house on its own."

"..."

How uncooperative! Infuriating!

The three boys exchanged glances and ultimately decided not to probe further. Regardless, Dorian was still the Dorian they knew; they just now realized this friend's background was more mysterious than they had imagined.

But from that day on, whenever someone mentioned something expensive, they would unconsciously glance at Dorian, and he in turn learned to control his reactions more carefully.

After all, accidentally exposing his trust fund kid status was embarrassing enough. Revealing more family secrets would really not be good.

＊

Tommaso's Instagram [attached: pastry_photo.png]:

"Just went to a friend's house to do homework and discovered he lives in a mansion 😱😱😱 His dads are ridiculously good-looking!!! And their pastries were insanely delicious #shook #trustfundkidfriend #winningatlife"

＊

Luca's forum post:

"[SHOCKING] How I discovered my classmate is a secret trust fund kid

OP went to a classmate's house today and learned what real wealth looks like 😂

He usually dresses super ordinary, but turns out his home is a mountain villa

And his reaction to 3,500-euro shoes was 'that's it?'

Fellow netizens, is this what they call 'so rich you don't know how rich you are'?"

＊

Andrea's Facebook:

"Learned a lesson today: real trust fund kids keep a low profile

My friend usually eats packed lunches and uses ordinary stationery just like us

But when I went to his house today... I was too shocked to speak

His dads look like they're in their 20s but they're actually his dads???

And that aura... feels like important people

#lifeissowondrous #whatrealmoneylookslike"

Netizen replies:

"Is OP writing a novel or something?"

"Got pics? No pics no proof!"

"Jealous that OP has a friend like this +1"

"Real rich people always keep it low-key! It's poor people who love to show off"