Sean Parker had long heard that big brothers from the underworld often targeted these underage-only internet cafes for protection fees, but he had never encountered it himself.

Until a man holding a stick swaggered in, kicking the door open.

In the heat of summer, the man wore only a Hawaiian floral shirt, his beer belly so big that he couldn't button it up, leaving most of it open. He looked sleazy, his face greasy.

The man in the floral shirt walked in, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, tapping the computer desks with his stick as he went: "I'm a bit short on cash lately, so be smart and hurry up."

Just give some money and it'll be fine—most people thought this way. When it was Sean Parker's turn and he was about to hand over the money, his hand was suddenly pressed down by someone.

Henry Howard stood up directly. He had finished his cola, and as he squeezed the can with a bit of force, the can caved in deeply: "Collecting what? What are you doing?"

Remembering this, Sean Parker wrote on the paper: Bro Henry is my idol.

In the last exam room.

Xavier Young didn't know how to respond for a long time. He wrote "You're an idiot" on the paper, then scribbled it out.

In the second half of the English exam, a few students in the back row were getting bolder with their little tricks, almost throwing answers at the invigilator's head. Thomas Thompson simply moved his chair to the back to supervise, sitting right next to Henry Howard.

Xavier Young folded up the note, but in the end, never found a good chance to pass it over.

Henry Howard didn't wait either. He lay down on the desk and soon fell asleep.

When the bell rang to collect the papers, the room became lively again.

Henry Howard was sound asleep. When it was time to collect the papers, Xavier Young called him twice, but he didn't respond, even turning away to bury his face in his arm.

""

Xavier Young casually helped him hand in his test paper, but before doing so, he scanned his answer sheet from top to bottom and found that Henry Howard would probably score about 35 points on this test.

The people nearby were taking advantage of the paper collection to quickly fill in a few more correct answers: "This one, c? What about this one, is it b?"

Xavier Young calmly changed a few of his own answers to the wrong ones.

The monthly exam only tested Chinese, Math, and English.

After the math exam in the afternoon, the entire second-year grade had two self-study periods, while the teachers went to grade the papers.

Luke Carter and the others planned to sneak off to the playground to play ball. Henry Howard didn't want to stay in the classroom either, so he got up and said, "I'm going too, let's go."

Logan Wright said, "You always just watch us play. Isn't your ankle still not healed?"

Henry Howard: "I'm too good. I'm afraid I'll hurt your confidence."

Luke Carter: "Bullshit."

Henry Howard added, "Really, I'm afraid I'll hurt you guys."

They chatted for a while and really were about to head to the basketball court.

Henry Howard took two steps out, then came back: "Old Young, coming or not?"

Xavier Young didn't even look up: "Take care."

"You agreed." Henry Howard went straight over to grab his hand.

Xavier Young felt it was baffling—he had refused so clearly, what was he agreeing to?

Henry Howard broke the phrase "take care" into two words and read them separately: "Go, okay."

Xavier Young: ""

They hadn't even reached the court when Director Jack stopped them. This man, nearly forty, opened the office window, stuck his head out, and shouted, "You on the basketball court, what are you doing—it's class time, what are you doing, Class 3, Grade 2, all of you get up here."

Director Jack's booming voice was extremely penetrating.

Wanda staggered with the ball in his arms: "Damn, so unlucky? Doesn't the mad dog have to grade papers? Isn't he a math teacher?"

The group stood in a line at the entrance of the office.

Director Jack asked, "Explain yourselves?"

Logan Wright, as the sports committee member, took responsibility and stepped forward: "We were practicing basketball. Our class has formed a basketball team—"

"Wait," Director Jack got even angrier after hearing the reason, "There's no competition, so why are you practicing for a basketball team?!"

Logan Wright was at a loss for words.

But Henry Howard was very calm and gave a four-character answer: "To strengthen our bodies?"

So, the whole Class 3, Grade 2 watched as the group who said they were going to play basketball ended up running laps under the blazing sun on the playground.

Quinn Shaw's seat was right by the window. She watched for a long time but couldn't figure out what was going on: "What are they doing?"

Other students also said they didn't know, guessing, "Warming up?"

Director Jack didn't leave. He stood in the shade, counting laps for the kids: "Aren't you passionate about exercise and strengthening your bodies? Run. If you don't finish fifteen laps, don't come back to class."

The weather was hot and dry. Only the wind stirred up by running and the sweat slowly trickling down from their temples.

"Fifteen laps. If you're a man, run fifteen laps," Henry Howard said as he ran. "Old Young, can you do it?"

Xavier Young couldn't be bothered to answer him.

Henry Howard got more and more into it, running ahead, then running backwards to face him: "Wanna bet? Who finishes fifteen laps first?"

"Aren't you bored."

"Do you dare?"

""

Director Jack said fifteen laps, but he didn't really make things hard for them. After watching them run three laps, he left, basically allowing them to return to class.

The playground had been baking under the sun all day, and the smell of plastic was strong.

As soon as Director Jack left, Luke Carter and Wanda supported each other as they walked away: "Let's go, let's go, this is killing me."

Except for the sports committee member who was happy even running, only Henry Howard and Xavier Young were still running.

"Are those two crazy?" Wanda sat by the flag-raising platform, watching the two chase each other, a bit confused. "Are they really going to run fifteen laps?"

Luke Carter was parched and thought maybe they didn't know the mad dog had left. He shouted loudly twice, but no one responded, so he gave up: "Maybe they really do want to strengthen their bodies. Let's go buy some water."

Running, lap after lap, can get a bit addictive.

Dripping sweat, relentless steps. Empty your mind, think about nothing. If you want to vent, just run harder, keep pushing forward.

Even though you're tired—so tired your breathing is rapid, so tired you taste blood in your throat.

Xavier Young ran until the end, his back soaked, the hem of his shirt catching the wind.

Only one thought remained in his mind—break through, keep running. His whole body was burning.

Thirteen.

Fourteen.

Fifteen laps.

The two of them crossed the finish line at the same time.

Henry Howard sprinted a few more steps before stopping.

He stood there for a long time, casually grabbing his shirt to wipe his sweat. For a moment, his waistline and abs were exposed, sweat running down his neck. After wiping his face, he raised his hand, as if to high-five Xavier Young, his voice hoarse: "Awesome, pretty impressive."

Xavier Young was bent over, breathing hard, his ears buzzing, barely able to hear Henry Howard's voice.

Henry Howard was tired too. He lay down on the playground, looking up at the vast sky.

He didn't know why, maybe because his mind had just been emptied, but after settling down, strange images kept flashing before his eyes.

"Henry Howard, just focus on reviewing. The high school entrance exam is coming up. I have another set of practice papers here. Finish them and bring them to me, I'll explain them to you. With your grades, is there any high school in City A you can't get into?"

Henry Howard scratched his head, not wanting to think about it anymore, and couldn't help but curse: "Damn."

Xavier Young rested for a while, then sat down beside him, hands on the ground, nudging him with his foot: "Hey."

Henry Howard took a while to answer: "What?"

Xavier Young: "If I call you an idiot, would you answer?"

Henry Howard didn't know why he suddenly said that: "You're the idiot."

"That's why," Xavier Young also lay down, and after such intense exercise, both their voices were a bit hoarse. Lying close together, he seemed to catch a whiff of laundry detergent mixed with sweat from Henry Howard, "Don't ask others, ask yourself."

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

31. Chapter Thirty-One

After Xavier Young finished speaking, Henry Howard didn't say anything for a long time.

Just when he thought the topic was over, Henry Howard suddenly said, "I think, you know, I'm really handsome."

The two of them lay side by side on the playground, both a bit wild in their posture. Exhausted as they were, they didn't care about their image anymore. Henry Howard spread his arms out in a star shape, realizing his body was even hotter than the ground.

Xavier Young didn't have the energy to mock him. He had always admired this guy's thick skin. He moved his leg, wanting to kick him, but didn't manage to, because Henry Howard suddenly pushed himself up to sit.