Gu Xuelan, on the other hand, was full of anticipation for this teacher’s arrival. This lady, who usually strictly controlled her diet to maintain her figure, was so happy that she ate a few extra bites at breakfast: “I heard that Mrs. Carter’s son improved his grades by dozens of points over just one vacation.”

Gregory Cooper smiled and said to Ethan Young, “Did you hear that? Work hard, don’t let your mom down.”

Ethan Young focused on drinking his porridge, not even lifting his head, and casually replied with a perfunctory “Mm.”

But someone was not pleased.

Jack Cooper sat across from Ethan Young, and said coolly, “People are different. Just because someone else’s son can improve by dozens of points doesn’t mean your son can too. Don’t put too much pressure on him. If he can’t do it, he just can’t.”

As soon as he said this, the previously harmonious atmosphere at the table instantly dropped to freezing point.

Grace Miller awkwardly put down her spoon, not knowing what to say.

“Can you watch your mouth?”

Ethan Young unhurriedly finished his porridge, then looked up and repeated as he stared into Jack Cooper’s eyes, “Can you watch your mouth?”

Grace Miller hurriedly tugged at Ethan Young’s clothes.

The words “None of your damn business” circled in Ethan Young’s mouth a couple of times, but in the end, he didn’t say them out loud.

“Did I say something wrong?” The smile at the corner of Jack Cooper’s mouth grew wider. “You cheated on your high school entrance exam. Are you planning to cheat on the college entrance exam too?”

If Grace Miller hadn’t stopped him, Ethan Young could have sent Jack Cooper to the hospital—the kind where you’re bedridden for a month and can’t take care of yourself.

Jack Cooper looked somewhat like Gregory Cooper, but their manners were worlds apart. He always carried a certain sharpness and meanness without even trying.

He was about to start his freshman year at university. His scores weren’t enough for a top-tier school, but Gregory Cooper had plenty of connections. Even though he was more than ten points short, he was still stuffed into Nanda. And being “stuffed” in like that really gave him the confidence and pride of a “prestigious university student.”

“How I take the college entrance exam is none of your concern.” Ethan Young wiped his mouth and stood up. After walking a few steps, he stopped and asked, “By the way, are you full?”

Jack Cooper didn’t know what he meant by that question.

Ethan Young said, “If you’re full, I hope you can find something to do.”

Jack Cooper: “” Was he calling him a busybody with nothing better to do?

The meal ended on a sour note.

After breakfast, Jack Cooper and Gregory Cooper left for the company. Grace Miller stayed home to wait for the private tutor and took the opportunity to talk to Ethan Young: “Even though Xiao Jie was wrong, you can’t talk to him like that.”

“That kid?” Ethan Young said, “He’s a kid to you, but is he a kid to me too?”

Grace Miller didn’t know what to say. She just didn’t want the house to be so tense every day: “You know what he’s like. Just put up with it, let it go. Take a step back and the world opens up.”

Ethan Young was annoyed: “Why should I? Am I supposed to indulge his shitty temper?”

“Your Uncle Zhong already talked to him. Next time, be polite, okay? Please, for your mom’s sake? You’re usually at school, I hardly get to see you. Now that you’re home for the holidays, just be good, listen to me.”

As she spoke, the doorbell rang.

The tutor stood at the door with a black briefcase, looking quite young, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and had a gentle demeanor: “Mrs. Zhong, Young Master Zhong.”

Seeing the guest arrive, Grace Miller ended the conversation and got up to greet him in the living room. The two of them sat on the sofa and chatted for a while about the child’s poor academic performance and other issues.

Ethan Young sat across from them, bored, and picked a grape from the coffee table.

The tutor’s surname was Huang, a graduate from a prestigious university. He spoke eloquently about education. Ethan Young had thought the legendary “turning stone into gold” would be something special, but it turned out to be so boring that he got sleepy after listening for a while.

“Interest is the best teacher for students. My educational philosophy is to guide students to develop an interest in learning, and once they want to learn, then teach according to their aptitude, help them find the learning method that suits them. Once they find the right method, everything becomes much more effective.”

This Mr. Harper had a thick layer of hair gel on his hair and habitually adjusted his glasses with his fingers as he spoke.

The grape juice was sweet and sour. Ethan Young casually pulled out a tissue to spit out the seeds.

He secretly opened his phone’s contacts, found Ray, and while Grace Miller was engrossed in conversation, sent a text with one hand: Call me, quick.

Years of brotherhood made this kind of thing instantly understood.

Ray Jones’s call came the very next second.

Ethan Young got up: “Mom, Mr. Harper, I’m going out to take a call.”

On Ray Jones’s end, all he could hear was the sound of keyboard tapping. Ethan Young was about to say, “Are you at an internet café?” when he heard Big Ray take two heavy breaths, then shout at the top of his lungs, “—Fuck you, you bastard! You stole my purple weapon, I’ll kill your whole family!”

Ethan Young: “”

Ray Jones cursed for a while, slammed his mouse, and almost wanted to smash his keyboard too. The internet café owner hurried over: “Little Ray, calm down, calm down. If you break it, you’ll have to pay. It’s just stuff in a game, let it go, the rights and wrongs of the world…”

“I can’t let it go, this isn’t over.” Ray Jones was very persistent. “You can steal my in-game partner, but not my limited-edition purple weapon.”

After saying that, Ray Jones finally remembered he was still on the phone: “Boss Young? I’m telling you, I’m so pissed off my balls hurt.”

Ethan Young asked, “Limited-edition purple weapon?”

“Yeah, that boss was clearly killed by our team, the drop rate is only 0.1%. We’ve been farming this hidden boss for days, damn, we were about to get it and someone snatched it at the last second.” Ray Jones said, “Those people are so dirty, really dirty.”

Ray Jones added, “I’ve arranged a showdown with them today. Whoever doesn’t show up is a coward. Are you coming?”

Ethan Young: “I don’t even play your martial arts game.”

“Not in the game, on Nanjing Road.”

They’re actually meeting up in real life?

Ray Jones: “They’re in City A, we’re in City B. We checked the map and picked a midpoint. Two hours from now, Nanjing Road Central Plaza.”

Ethan Young glanced back at Ms. Miller, who was still chatting with the tutor: “Alright, wait for me. Big bro will back you up.”

Grace Miller and Mr. Harper chatted for about twenty minutes. By the time she realized something was wrong, Ethan Young was already gone.

He said he was taking a call, but he never came back.

“Where is he?”

Seeing the lady’s face darken, Annie hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to say: “He… he left. Before Second Young Master left, he said you shouldn’t waste your energy.”

Grace Miller almost dropped the porcelain teacup in her hand.

Ethan Young was the last to arrive.

When he got to the central plaza, the two groups were already lined up facing each other, apparently trying to argue before fighting.

There were more than a dozen people in total.

Ethan Young had no intention of fighting, just came to hang around, so he picked a scenic, shady spot not far away to stay out of the sun.

In the sweltering summer, two groups of hot-blooded boys, average age fifteen or sixteen, stood under the ten-thirty sun, cursing each other’s families over a piece of game equipment.

Ray Jones led the charge, shouting loudly, “You still have the nerve to talk? Was that yours?”

The other group wasn’t backing down: “It was ours, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Have you no shame, bro? It’s just a game, don’t be so dirty.”

“Opportunities are always for those who are prepared. We camped for three or four days to get this, what do you know!”

“Wow, you’re proud of that? Looking for a beating, are you?”

“Come on, who’s afraid of who!”

Ray Jones was almost furious to death. He took a deep breath and finally squeezed out through gritted teeth, “While I can still talk to you calmly, hand it over, give us the item, and I won’t make things hard for you. We’ll pretend this never happened.”

Ethan Young saw in the crowd a person who had been standing at the back of the group, wearing a black mask and standing out from the rest, slowly walking forward. The people around him cooperatively made way for him.

That person’s voice came through the fabric, muffled and low: “We got the item with our own skills. Why should we give it back?”

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7. Chapter Seven

Really asking for a beating.

Just listen to that self-righteous tone.

The two groups immediately started fighting, chaos breaking out everywhere. Ray Jones was so angry he wanted to take off his shirt and burn all his energy, letting them know what happens when you piss him off: “You stole my purple weapon, stole my purple weapon, I’ll show you what happens when you steal my purple weapon!”

“We didn’t steal it, how is that stealing? If you’re not as good, just admit defeat, fuck, don’t hit my face!”

In the midst of the brawl—