He Chao was actually quite happy: "Lao Xie, look, I actually got this question right."

Ethan Young thought to himself, I really don't want to look.

"Surprised, huh? I finished grading this stack of papers by Saturday," William Warren picked out a few pieces of chalk from the chalk box and continued, "Take a look at your own scores. Wanda, why are you closing your eyes? Even if you pretend not to see, you still only got eighty points. Look how happy Henry Howard is—there's happiness even in getting thirty points."

Wanda: ""

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

60. Chapter Sixty

Every time exam results come out, some are happy and some are sad. But after so many years of teaching, it's the first time William Warren has met someone like Henry Howard, who, despite having "worrying" grades, still manages to squeeze himself into the "happy" group by sheer force of will.

Truly impressive. A real talent.

So impressed that William Warren couldn't help himself—he tossed several pieces of chalk toward the back row, saying as he threw, "Henry Howard, your mental fortitude is so strong, I could count on my fingers for three more years and still not find someone who could beat you."

"You're too kind," Henry Howard said with a smile as he watched the chalk fly toward him, "just your average excellence."

"—You brat, you really think I'm complimenting you?"

One piece of chalk veered off and hit the corner of Ethan Young's desk with a "pop," then rolled to the floor.

Ethan Young had been worrying about how his boyfriend always got the same low scores, wondering if he'd really have to go drive an excavator in the future. Hearing this, he couldn't help but prop up his head and laugh: "Idiot."

"Alright," after the commotion, sensing the class was a bit more lively, William Warren clapped his hands to signal everyone to quiet down and began analyzing the test, "One exam result doesn't mean much. This set of questions wasn't actually that hard, so why was the average so low? I looked at where you all lost points—"

William Warren held the test paper and copied a question onto the blackboard, drawing a neat cube.

Ethan Young lowered his head and stuffed his math test, which had scored just over forty, into his desk. With nothing else to do, he lay down on the desk, planning to nap for a bit.

As soon as he lay down, his wrist was poked twice with a pen by his mentally strong deskmate.

Ethan Young's head moved slowly, resting on his arm, turning to look at him.

Henry Howard was lying down too, in almost the same position. The two of them just stared at each other in class for a few minutes.

Not a word was spoken, but as long as their eyes met, something deep inside slowly melted.

The boy sat with his back to the sunlight outside the window, looking relaxed, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

Ethan Young watched for a while, then couldn't help but reach out and zip up Henry Howard's half-open jacket all the way to the top: "Bro, who are you trying to seduce?"

"I wouldn't dare," Henry Howard looked down at Ethan Young's hand still on his clothes, surprised at how possessive the kid was, and smiled, "It's only for you to see."

This time, Class Three's average scores were the same as always—one of the lowest in the grade.

The only ones with standout scores were Xavier Stone and Quinn Shaw, but even their points didn't make much difference to the average.

The Chinese essay was an argumentative piece. At noon, the Chinese test papers had just been brought over from the teacher's office by the class rep, and everyone rushed over—not to see their own scores, but to ask, "—Where's Bro Henry's paper? Our source of happiness!"

Ethan Young had just woken up and looked up to see Henry Howard on the podium defending his test paper. The podium was a mess, with several papers on the floor, trampled a few times.

Then Logan Wright and Luke Carter each grabbed one of his arms and started dragging him out, shouting back, "Quick, brothers, search!"

Henry Howard didn't fight back and was dragged out of the classroom, standing at the door, half laughing, half crying: "This is too much, can't people show a little respect? What's so interesting about a zero-point essay?"

With an argumentative essay, even if you go completely off-topic, you can't ramble on like "my back view is especially handsome" anymore. But Henry Howard's whole essay had no connection between thesis and arguments, forcibly pieced together—a spectacle in itself.

The paper made the rounds and finally got back before class started. Wanda didn't dare hand it to Henry Howard, just tossed it onto Ethan Young's desk, laughing so hard his stomach hurt: "Amazing, really amazing, I've witnessed the legendary art of lying with your eyes wide open."

Ethan Young glanced at it and thought at least it was better than last time's "back view" essay: "You've improved, bro."

Henry Howard asked, "Really?"

Holding a gel pen, Ethan Young gave a simple review: "Setting aside the content, at least you know you're supposed to write an argumentative essay."

The first two paragraphs were actually okay, though he had no idea how they related to the thesis. Ethan Young was about to give some encouragement, but then he read further and suddenly saw the line, 'Henry Howardsky once said'.

Ethan Young was silent for a moment, then folded the paper and handed it back to Henry Howard: "Fake. Take it and get lost. Zero points well deserved."

""

On Monday, almost every class was spent going over the test. By the last period, everyone was already dazed and dreamy, so much so that when the dismissal bell rang, no one even realized it was time to go.

It was Henry Howard who stood up and shouted, "Lao Xie, let's go eat," which finally woke everyone up. They slowly packed up and left: "Sigh, time to go home and face the double whammy."

Luke Carter lamented, "Suddenly I realize how great it is to live in the dorms—you get four more days of life."

Ethan Young stood up and said, "You'd better spend your time figuring out which crematorium is the best."

Luke Carter: ""

Henry Howard and Ethan Young slipped out to eat. When they got to the school gate, they found the nearby restaurants had come up with new strategies. Especially in front of Zhuangyuan Lou, there was a bright red banner fluttering in the wind: Warm congratulations to No. 2 High School students on their midterm results! 20% off everything! Welcome new and old customers!

"They really don't understand the students at all," Henry Howard shook his head. "Did you see how Haozi was dragging his feet packing up? He'd rather stay and do evening self-study with us."

"I saw, acting all dramatic," Ethan Young said. "He still hasn't left?"

Henry Howard took out his phone as he spoke: "Probably not, he's probably still in the classroom picking out a crematorium. I'll take a picture and send it to him."

Luke Carter finally mustered up the courage to leave the classroom, only to receive this photo and nearly break down. These two big shots—one cold, one mischievous—were clearly out to make his life difficult.

Wanda, on the other hand, seized the moment, pressed the voice button, and shouted, "—Bro Henry, bring me a milk tea!"

The school gate was crowded with parents picking up their kids, car horns blaring everywhere. The environment was so noisy, and Wanda's words so unclear, that Henry Howard had to listen twice to figure it out: "What tea?"

Ethan Young didn't hear, but could guess: "Milk tea, probably."

Just like Ethan Young never imagined he'd one day be eating at Jinbang Restaurant, he also never thought he'd be standing in line at the Fudan milk tea shop.

"Boyfriend, let's make a deal," Ethan Young stood next to Henry Howard, surrounded by a group of girls who kept sneaking glances at them, "You buy here, I'll go ahead."

Henry Howard held the order slip in one hand and grabbed Ethan Young's wrist with the other, pulling him back: "Have you no conscience? You'd really leave?"

Ethan Young had really planned to leave, but then the group of girls behind them started to stir. The one in the middle was pushed forward by the others—a pretty girl, blushing, took two steps toward them and stopped right in front: "Um."

Ethan Young raised an eyebrow and stayed put.

The girl stared straight at Henry Howard as she spoke. When he looked back, she shyly averted her eyes, her intentions obvious.

Ethan Young thought, good thing Henry Howard lives in the dorms, otherwise he'd be out here causing trouble all the time.

Before Ethan Young could even finish imagining the scenario, he heard Henry Howard say apologetically to the girl, "Sorry, no cutting in line."

""

The area went quiet for several minutes—you could hear a pin drop.

The line had reached their number, and the girl was standing in front of them, her stiff back blocking the pickup counter.

In this strange, silent atmosphere, only the milk tea shop worker called out, "Number 18, one signature milk tea."

Henry Howard naturally handed over his ticket: "Here."

If Sean Parker were here, he'd definitely bring up the "not scanning the code" story again—awkwardness all over again.