Henry Howard put away the clothes hanging on the chair, then patted the back of the chair and said, "Sit."

There was only one chair in the dorm. Henry Howard sat on the bed, legs bent, leaning right against the corner of the desk, so the two of them could barely squeeze together to look at the test paper.

"Wait a sec, let me find a pen." After saying this, Henry Howard stepped off the bed in his slippers with his long legs.

Ethan Young spread the test paper on the desk. By the weak light of the desk lamp, he saw a stack of brand-new textbooks at the corner of the desk, probably untouched since they were handed out. Next to the textbooks was a tin box full of candy, all lollipops.

This habit.

Ethan Young turned his head and happened to see Henry Howard's phone, which he had just placed on the desk corner. The screen was still lit.

Six big characters stood out on the screen.

A Complete Guide to Folk Exorcism.

Henry Howard searched for a while and finally found two pens. Ethan Young took one, though he really didn't know, given Henry Howard's English level and his own "current level," what use the two of them holding pens would be.

As if they could actually solve the problems.

"Which question should we start with?" Henry Howard bit off the pen cap and held it in his mouth as he asked.

Ethan Young: "You pick."

Henry Howard circled a multiple-choice question, with the air of an emperor choosing a concubine: "This one."

Ethan Young had no opinion, but Henry Howard stared at that question for a long time, lost in thought.

Ethan Young remembered how this guy performed in English class: "Give up, next question?"

Henry Howard couldn't hear the sarcasm at all and agreed cheerfully: "I think that's fine, let's move on."

Ethan Young: ""

Henry Howard gave up so quickly that they didn't even touch their pens, and before they knew it, they had turned the page.

"Let's do the reading questions," Henry Howard said. "These are easy, trust me, as long as you have a bit of language sense, you can guess the answers."

The confidence in Henry Howard's tone almost seemed to leap out and slap Ethan Young in the face.

"You have language sense?"

Henry Howard said, "I do. If three are short and one is long, pick the longest one—that kind of language sense."

In the end, even Henry Howard felt this way of answering was too careless—of course, maybe he was worried they'd finish the test too quickly and he'd have to spend the long night with his Complete Guide to Folk Exorcism, so he suggested they do the questions properly.

"Let's try to understand the test maker's intention," Henry Howard opened Baidu Translate and started translating word by word, "Let's get the meaning first."

They divided the work, each translating a paragraph.

Ethan Young recognized all those English words even if he read them backwards, but now he had to pretend. He started to wonder if the person next to him was just plain dumb, or if his own act wasn't convincing enough.

Is this what the world of bad students is really like?

Ethan Young turned to glance at Henry Howard, who was sitting on the bed, occasionally biting the pen cap, looking completely unserious.

"This person is writing to his friend from America about Chinese culture and characteristics," Henry Howard translated, "The Great Wall, a symbolic building of China, he wants him to see the Great Wall if he comes to China."

""

Even reading from the translation, Henry Howard could make it sound illogical.

Ethan Young got a little distracted, holding his pen, and suddenly remembered the day he first entered the Cooper Family house.

Jack Cooper immediately smashed something, turned and went upstairs without a word, Gregory Cooper followed right after, and the father and son talked in the study for a long time. Then Jack Cooper came down reluctantly, and the four of them had an extremely awkward lunch.

Gregory Cooper was indeed very good to Grace Miller, and he believed the two of them truly liked each other.

But that was his love for Grace Miller.

It didn't mean Ethan Young could get a share.

"Jack Cooper is a strong-willed kid, always wants to do better than others." When Gregory Cooper talked to Ethan Young, his expression was both proud and worried. "Especially after his mother passed away, he's never really gotten over it."

He said this very tactfully, and Ethan Young wasn't stupid—the meaning was obvious.

On the wedding day, Grace Miller was very happy. Ever since Jack Young left them with a pile of debt, they'd spent the last ten years hiding and struggling to make a living. Ethan Young had never seen her smile like that.

Grace Miller stood in front of the full-length mirror in her wedding dress, a little embarrassed: "Do I look okay in this?"

Gregory Cooper hugged her from behind: "Beautiful."

That day, Ethan Young hid in the bathroom and smoked a cigarette.

"She really is beautiful, but I don't know how she ended up with old Zhong. This woman is not simple."

"If you ask me, the kid she brought with her is the one who's not simple." Another voice said, "If he was just average, it'd be fine, but if he's got talent, who knows what he'll think."

"Doesn't look like it, does he?"

"Cooper Family is a big family business. Even if he doesn't have any ideas now, he might in the future. Like the Harper Family, didn't their stepson act all innocent, but in the end, he made a fuss and tried to fight for the company?"

"Harper Family?"

"You guys don't know? Just recently, he roped in a few shareholders—"

"So the answer to this question is definitely b!"

Henry Howard confidently checked the answer, the circle he drew looked like a pile of crap. After circling, he flicked Ethan Young's forehead with a bent finger: "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Ethan Young snapped back, looked down at the circle.

Henry Howard had spent almost half an hour on Baidu Translate and still picked the wrong answer.

------------

24. Chapter Twenty-Four

"Yo, Jie-ge!"

Wanda had just finished packing up early in the morning, ready to head to the cafeteria for breakfast, when he turned and saw Sean Parker coming up the stairs with buns and soy milk in hand. He waved and greeted him.

He'd met Sean Parker in the exam room—they'd cheated and compared answers together. Though they didn't keep in touch much, every time they met there was a strange sense of familiarity.

Sean Parker was about to turn up to the third floor, but stopped when he heard the greeting: "Hey, Mr. Know-it-all."

"What brings you to the dorm building?" Wanda walked over. "Looking for Bro Henry?"

Sean Parker swung the things in his hand, almost wanting to spin them around: "Yeah."

Wanda remembered Henry Howard skipping class that morning, and the teachers' angry faces, and understood: "Bro Henry asked you to wake him up? Chronic oversleeper, huh."

"Mr. Know-it-all, what kind of person do you think Bro Henry is?" Sean Parker said. "Does he look like the type who'd ask someone to wake him up just to avoid skipping class? You're thinking too highly of him."

Wanda: "I was being naive."

Sean Parker added, "That new teacher in your class is pretty nice."

"Teacher Tang?"

"Yeah, the one surnamed Tang."

Class 3, Grade 2 had gone through a teacher change, and when they wrote that petition, it caused a stir in the whole grade, almost like a heroic uprising. Wanda smiled, "Old Tang is a good guy."

Sean Parker: "He's awesome, never seen anyone like him."

Thomas Thompson not only called Henry Howard over for a long, boring talk, but also wanted to get to know Henry Howard's soul, and in the end called Sean Parker over too.

It was the first time Sean Parker had been called to the office by a teacher from another class. He drank two cups of hot tea and sat there a bit at a loss: "Teacher, I'm from Class 8, Grade 2."

Thomas Thompson said kindly, "I know you're from Class 8."

"I really like my class. We're harmonious and friendly, teachers and students help each other, and I'm happy. I have no plans to transfer." Sean Parker felt the teacher's gaze was strange, as if he wanted to poach him.

But Thomas Thompson just wanted him to help out their class's Henry Howard.

"I've looked into it, you and our class's Henry Howard get along well. I think he really wants to come to class, but he can't beat the bed and lacks self-discipline. If it's convenient, could you invite him to class in the morning? Thank you."

""

Sean Parker was a bit confused, but still said, 'Sure, sure, I will.'

Then Thomas Thompson said, "I know you young people have a rich nightlife. I'm also curious what you all are into these days. Do you know what game Henry Howard is playing lately?"

"What game is Bro Henry playing lately?" Wanda asked.

"It's a bit embarrassing to say," Sean Parker stopped swinging the plastic bag, looking complicated, "Miracle Nikki."

Wanda: "Huh?"

As they chatted, they walked upstairs together. Wanda didn't even know why he was following along, but when he came to his senses, he and Sean Parker were already standing at Henry Howard's dorm room door.