Every time it got quiet, everyone would fall silent together—the whole class as quiet as a mouse. When the silence ended and they looked up, they’d exchange a certain knowing look. It was all very strange.

Henry Howard borrowed a power bank from a boy in the next group. When he went to return it, the boy barely dared to take it back, looking like he wanted to just put the power bank on an altar.

Henry Howard simply put it on the boy’s desk: “Thanks.”

“You’re w-w-welcome.” The boy’s voice buzzed as he spoke, his hand hidden under the desk, clutching something, his whole body tense. Henry Howard couldn’t quite hear what he said and was about to ask, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the boy shuddered.

Henry Howard: “Am I really that scary?”

Only after Henry Howard walked away did the boy carefully take out his phone.

In the blink of an eye, nearly two weeks had passed since the start of school.

Ethan Young watched as Henry Howard’s skills at dress-up games got better and better, racking up high scores again and again.

It was simply unbelievable.

Could it be that the offhand comment last time really helped him find a way to unlock his potential?

“No way, I tried your technique, it didn’t help me at all.” Before quitting the game, Henry Howard took a screenshot of his highest score so far, and said to his deskmate with a straight face, “I paid for it.”

Henry Howard added, “Your deskmate here, the legendary pay-to-win player.”

Ethan Young: “”

Henry Howard: “I’m so strong now, I even scare myself.”

Ethan Young said mockingly, “Soft little cutie, you really surprise me.”

“I paid fair and square. Is paying shameful?” As soon as Henry Howard finished, the two boys in front couldn’t help but shake with laughter.

Their seats were close, so whenever Ethan Young and Henry Howard chatted, they could hear everything clearly.

After two weeks of listening in, sometimes they really couldn’t stop laughing, but they were afraid of laughing too loudly and drawing the boss’s attention, so they had to hold it in.

Over time, the two of them actually started to think that the school bully wasn’t at all like the rumors—he was actually kind of cute.

When the school bully slept in class, he’d also ask his deskmate to keep an eye out for the teacher, though Young the Bully usually ignored Henry the Bully. Every time Henry Howard got called on by the teacher to stand up or got sent to stand in the hallway, he always had a hundred reasons to drag Ethan Young down with him.

After being dragged down a few times, Ethan Young finally started to take Henry Howard’s unreasonable requests seriously. When a teacher walked by, he’d roll up his book and smack Henry Howard on the head: “Get up.”

As he spoke, Henry Howard opened Penguin and posted a status to show off his achievements: [/picture][/cool].

After posting, he suddenly thought of something and reached over to tap on Ethan Young’s desk: “Add me as a friend?”

Ethan Young declined: “I don’t want the words ‘soft little cutie’ showing up in my friends list.”

“”

Henry Howard choked: “Who told you ‘soft little cutie’ is my account?”

“That’s my little sister,” Henry Howard continued, “You really misunderstand me. I always thought, with my tall and mighty image, I wouldn’t need to explain things like this.”

Henry Howard had a younger sister who just started middle school.

The girl was obsessed with dress-up games, but her family only let her use her phone for an hour a day, and on school days from Monday to Friday, she couldn’t even touch it. She said she was super envious of her good friend Sweet Pudding’s level and points, and in her class, whoever had the highest level in the dress-up game was the most adored classmate.

Ethan Young felt a headache coming on.

Henry Howard said, “I think this girl is lying to me.”

Henry Howard’s Penguin username was just his real name—surprisingly proper.

After accepting the friend request, Ethan Young didn’t bother to add a note, just tossed him into a random group to let him sit there.

But Henry Howard, that weirdo, even though he was sitting right next to him, still sent him a message: Are you gg or?

“Are you an idiot?” Ethan Young said, resisting the urge to block him.

Henry Howard smiled and put his phone away: “You have to be polite when surfing online, that’s how everyone greets each other.”

“Quiet down—” During the break, Chelsea Shaw came into the class. It was too noisy in the hallway, so she had to raise her voice, “I have something to do next period, so Mr. Wayne will cover for me. I won’t be at school this afternoon either. If anything comes up, find the class committee, and the committee will report to me tomorrow. Class monitor, remember to keep order, got it?”

[Anonymous a]: Something again?

[Anonymous b]: Honestly, if she’s always getting someone to cover her class, she should at least tell them about our progress. Every class is so awkward.

[Anonymous c]: Did something happen in Ms. Shaw’s family recently?

Chelsea Shaw’s family was doing just fine. Since the start of the semester, she’d been preparing to change jobs.

Their class was the worst-performing in the academic track, and the situation was special. The school had assigned the class to Chelsea Shaw because they trusted her abilities, but Chelsea Shaw stubbornly believed the school was setting her up.

As an “excellent teacher” about to go teach at a top school, she naturally looked down on this class and barely put any effort into it. The students weren’t blind, and their complaints about Chelsea Shaw grew by the day.

The phone in the desk vibrated twice. Henry Howard looked down at his phone.

Two messages.

One: Bro Chao, Vincent Smith has been getting close to Chelsea Shaw these days, be careful.

Another: Chelsea Shaw won’t be able to transfer to Experimental High until she deals with your issue. Everyone’s saying her teaching skills aren’t up to par, and even her relative can’t protect her. Looks like she’s going to use the incident where you hit Walter Smith as leverage.

That morning, as soon as the last class ended, Sean Parker slipped in through the back door, wanting to ask Henry Howard to go to the cafeteria together. But when he came in and saw Henry Howard’s seat empty, he turned to ask Ethan Young sitting nearby, “Hey bro, where’s Chao?”

“Him?” Ethan Young said, “Skipped class.”

Sean Parker looked at Ethan Young expectantly, signaling him to go on: “Hmm?”

Ethan Young sat at his desk, planning to wait until the crowd thinned before heading to the cafeteria. He was in the middle of a rhythm game. With the sound off, not hearing the music didn’t seem to affect him at all—his fingers tapped the screen at lightning speed.

Sean Parker thought, Of course I know he skipped class, but where did he go?

After finishing his game, Ethan Young noticed Sean Parker was still standing there.

“You want to know where Henry Howard went?” Ethan Young realized, then added, “How should I know? Not my problem.”

“So cold.”

“So heartless.”

“Like a killer with no emotions.”

“”

Sean Parker searched from the bathroom to the rooftop, and finally found Henry Howard in the boys’ dormitory. After a long rant, he concluded, “Your deskmate is really heartless.”

After he finished, he noticed Henry Howard didn’t react.

When he closed the dorm door and turned around, he saw Chao sitting on a chair, one long leg bent with his foot on the edge of the seat, several buttons undone on his school uniform collar, looking wild as hell.

Sean Parker said, “Wild boy?”

“Wild my ass. Whether my deskmate is heartless or not is none of your business.” Henry Howard had slept through two classes and just gotten out of bed. He scratched his hair and asked, “What are you here for?”

“To eat with you! If I go with you, I don’t have to wait in line,” Sean Parker said. “It feels amazing when classmates let you cut in line.”

Henry Howard was clearly in a bad mood. After scratching his hair, he let his hand drop, then after a while reached for the box of candy on the desk.

“Have one of these,” Sean Parker pushed the box of lollipops away, then pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket and shoved them into Henry Howard’s hand. “It’s fine to smoke once in a while. Quitting takes time.”

Henry Howard held the cardboard box for a moment, then tossed the cigarettes back. Sean Parker caught them quickly: “Wow, nice throw. Really not smoking?”

Henry Howard said, “Not smoking.”

“Didn’t expect you to be such a principled guy, Chao.”

“I’ve always had principles, okay?” Henry Howard picked a lollipop, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth. “Don’t tempt me, it’s useless.”

After catching the cigarettes, Sean Parker picked one out for himself.

He lowered his head, lit the cigarette with a click, took a drag, and after a moment of silence said, “I got that message too—Vincent Smith, that bastard, I really can’t stand him. As soon as he heard Lily Morgan was transferring this semester, he started acting cocky, even wants to mess with you. He’s got a death wish.”

Henry Howard sucked on his candy and said nothing.