Mad Dog: "Old Thompson, you came at just the right time, I need to talk to you."

Thomas Thompson put his water cup on the podium and followed Manager Jensen out.

"Have you noticed Mad Dog keeps coming to our class lately?" News is meant to be shared, so Wanda said while working on math problems, "Our Old Thompson and Mad Dog are best buddies. The kind that are so close they could wear the same pair of pants."

Henry Howard had books spread out on his desk, his hand sneaking into the drawer to play on his phone.

Although usually no teacher dared to mess with them, Mad Dog was the exception. The older the ginger, the spicier it gets, and Manager Jensen was the spiciest of them all. When it came to disciplining people, even they couldn't handle it, always feeling like he could start a fight with students at any moment, totally fearless. It always seemed like he was a real badass back in his youth.

So every time Mad Dog came to inspect, no matter how unwilling they were, they would still pretend to behave like everyone else.

Ethan Young tossed a pen over to remind him, "Mad Dog."

"Cover for me," Henry Howard said without looking up, "I'm at a critical stage in this level, can't get distracted. Love you."

"Take back those last three words."

"?"

"It sounds gross."

After tossing the pen, Ethan Young realized it was his only one, so he reached over to pick it back up.

He accidentally caught a glimpse of Henry Howard's phone screen.

In Ethan Young's memory, his deskmate had put aside the dress-up game for a long time. Just a few days ago, he had dragged him to play "Men's Romance"—a sniper game.

Probably the dress-up game was like a tornado, no longer popular among the girls.

Manager Jensen chatted with Old Thompson for a while and then went to inspect the classes downstairs. Henry Howard immediately took out his phone and played openly.

On the screen was a cartoon girl, long hair, floral dress, blushing cheeks, standing under a tree, making a wish.

Then the screen gradually darkened, and a few lines of subtitles slowly appeared.

"Tomorrow is the day of my date with him"

"Will he come?"

"Will he like the sakura cakes I made for him by hand?"

Ethan Young: ""

Wanda kept saying he needed to study for the monthly exam and that he was going to amaze everyone, telling everyone not to bother him. But halfway through his problems, he got bored, chewing on his pen and looking around, finally setting his gaze on the last row, where he saw two heads close together.

Henry Howard rested his hand on the back of Ethan Young's neck, his five fingers slightly curled, half-intentionally pulling him closer.

The two of them were huddled together, talking about who knows what.

"Why won't he go on a date with me?" Henry Howard was about to lose it. "Damn bastard, he clearly promised to come yesterday, and the affection bar was maxed out."

Ethan Young looked at the girl on the screen, crying sadly in the rain, not sure how to react.

There were a few icons in the lower right corner of the screen, one of which had a little red dot. Ethan Young asked, "Did he just text you?"

Henry Howard said, "The domineering CEO said something came up at his company and he might be late, then there were three reply options."

Ethan Young caught on to something, "Which one did you pick?"

Henry Howard: "Of course I scolded him for being late."

""

"Are you crazy," Ethan Young said, getting a headache, "Who the hell would want to date you like that?"

"If he won't come to the date just because of that, what kind of man is he, and he calls himself a CEO," Henry Howard complained, but still pushed the phone toward Ethan Young, "So what do I do now, damn bastard's affection bar for little cutie is negative now."

Ethan Young tapped the screen twice, following the game's plot, "Apologize to the damn bastard."

Henry Howard: ""

"Apologize," Ethan Young pushed the phone back, "Do you still want the damn bastard's love or not?"

"Fuck me."

Henry Howard hesitated for a long time, but finally swallowed his pride and tapped the "Sorry about today" option.

Henry Howard added, "Kelly Miller that girl, if she ever dares to find a boyfriend like this, I'll beat him to death, not a chance, what are girls thinking these days."

The weekend was coming again.

Except for those who lived far away and found it inconvenient, most boarders packed up to go home on Fridays. Especially the parents, always worried their kids weren't eating well at school, urging them to come home as soon as the weekend arrived.

Ethan Young got a call from Grace Miller right after evening self-study ended: "Are you coming home this weekend?"

Ethan Young stood in the hallway, surrounded by darkness, with the sounds of Henry Howard and Wanda horsing around behind him, desks and chairs clattering for some unknown reason.

"Bro Henry, want to join our basketball team? We're awesome."

"I can brag about that, but if you guys come brag to me, that's a bit much. This morning Luke Carter's crazy moves, I didn't even want to comment."

"Didn't you say he was awesome!"

"You can't tell if I was being serious?"

Ethan Young curled his lips into a smile and replied, "This weekend, not sure if I'll go back, we'll see."

Grace Miller held the receiver, sighing softly before saying, "How many weeks has it been since you came home?"

Ethan Young made up a reason that would make any parent happy: "The monthly exam is coming up, I need to focus on studying."

This semester, Ethan Young had been doing pretty well, not causing any trouble. With a new teacher, the new Mr. Thompson also said Ethan Young was disciplined and doing fine, so she shouldn't worry.

With that reason, Ms. Miller really had nothing to say.

"Then study hard," Grace Miller said, "Come home after the exam, tell me what you want to eat, I'll make it for you. The food at school can't compare to home."

Ethan Young replied with a few "mm"s, chatted a bit, then hung up.

Henry Howard had already packed up, laughing as he patted Ethan Young's head from behind—actually, more like ruffled it: "Kid, not going home this weekend?"

Ethan Young looked tough, but his hair was especially soft. Henry Howard couldn't help ruffling it a couple more times.

"Limp," Ethan Young called him, "You give an inch and take a mile, huh?"

Just as Ethan Young was about to throw a punch, Henry Howard dodged to the side: "Calm down. Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth."

Wanda was in a hurry to go back and collect his laundry, so he left first.

When Ethan Young and Henry Howard walked out of the teaching building side by side, after a long while, Henry Howard finally said, "I'm not going home this weekend either."

The streetlights stretched their shadows long.

"Why stay at school," Ethan Young said, "Want to try out some folk ghost-expelling rituals?"

Henry Howard was stunned at first, then wanted to say something, but in the end didn't, not adding any more drama for himself. He raised his hand to scratch his head and suddenly laughed, "Yeah, I want to try it."

After walking a bit further, Ethan Young suddenly asked, "Kelly Howard, that's your sister's name?"

"That brat," Henry Howard stared at the streetlight and said those five words, then fell silent for a while before saying, "Should I brag about how pretty my sister is, just like me? Actually, I don't know, haven't seen her in years. She should be pretty, right? They say girls change a lot as they grow up. She was so ugly as a kid, fat as a ball."

Henry Howard sounded casual, but Ethan Young could tell something was off, though it wasn't his place to ask.

Henry Howard didn't care, just laid it all out, simple and calm: "Divorced. She lives with my mom."

"It's a nice name."

Henry Howard turned his head, "What?"

Ethan Young said, "Your sister's name."

"What about me?" Henry Howard asked again, "Shouldn't you compliment me too at a time like this?"

Ethan Young walked into the dorm building, not really wanting to deal with him: "You? Get lost."

Wanda didn't go home for the weekend either. His reason was the same as Ethan Young's—"I need to focus on studying"—but it was obviously much more believable coming from him.

"I'm serious, my mom's cooking is too good, and there's a computer at home, and the computer is too much fun." Wanda lay on his desk, pouring out his troubles to Luke Carter, "As soon as I get home, it's like being on winter or summer break, I can't control myself. How can I waste my life on studying?"

Luke Carter nudged him with his elbow, signaling him to shut up.

Wanda propped himself up and looked around, then lay back down: "What? There's no teacher, and even if there was, I'm not afraid."

There was no teacher, but there was the great and terrifying class monitor of Class 3, Grade 2.

Xavier Stone was famous in the grade. He was the teachers' favorite and a weirdo in the eyes of his classmates.

On the first day of school, when Xavier Stone introduced himself, he said, "I hope we can all work hard together, strive, and make progress." His desk was covered in sticky notes, memorizing formulas, words, and sentence patterns.