Ethan Young stayed up all night to give Henry Howard a quick rundown of the key points for each subject. He was just about to sleep, his head barely touching the pillow, when the class group chat started buzzing again.

His phone rang several times on the bedside table.

[Henry Howard]: v一sh, class rep, what are you doing?

[v一sh]: I'm memorizing English vocabulary.

[Logan Wright]: Class rep, it's this late and you're still working hard?

[v一sh]: It's still early, isn't it? Do you guys really sleep this early? I can't fall asleep, and the more I study, the more awake I get.

[Logan Wright]: Alright, say no more. You're the real deal.

[Henry Howard]: No, what I mean is, why are you emailing me in the middle of the night?

Xavier Stone had no idea what was going on.

[v一sh]: What email?

[Henry Howard]: Study materials.

[v一sh]: ?

[Henry Howard]: What's with the question mark? Wasn't it you?

A mysterious set of study materials made the Class 3 group chat of Grade 11 go wild, as if they'd been injected with chicken blood. These people, wide awake in the middle of the night, let their imaginations run wild over the screenshot Henry Howard had posted.

[Luke Carter]: Could it be Old Wu?

[Quinn Shaw]: No way, Old Wu wouldn't need to use a side account. He could just send it directly.

[Luke Carter]: Then why not just ask? William Warren teacher

With the class rep and the math teacher ruled out, they couldn't think of anyone else in the class who would do this.

[Wanda]: So, could it be this kind of situation—

In the end, they came up with a story about a girl who had secretly had a crush on Henry Howard for years, loving him so much it hurt, silently watching over him.

[Quinn Shaw]: It must be like that. And from these materials, you can tell this girl has good grades and strong logic. For example, the explanation of this sample problem is very clear and organized.

[Wanda]: Exactly, all the love bottled up in her heart finally burst out on this night when thoughts run wild!

[Henry Howard]: Ah, is that so.

""Ethan Young lay in bed, one hand pressed to his forehead, not sure if he was cursing Henry Howard or himself, and squeezed out three words, "Idiot."

After being analyzed by Quinn Shaw and the others, this twisted and bizarre secret crush story actually sounded pretty convincing.

Ethan Young hadn't even finished organizing the materials; what he sent out today was just the basics. Although he was speechless at Class 3's overactive imagination, he still had to keep working.

The basic version's sample problems and key points were nowhere near enough; still far from the level needed for the college entrance exam.

The next day, after getting up, Ethan Young organized another set.

Based on the previous document, it was still the same sections, but this time he included some very typical trick questions, listing out all the different ways a single concept could be tested.

"Why are you always holed up in your room?" Near noon, Ms. Miller came up and knocked on the door. "Come down to eat."

After Ms. Miller called, Ethan Young kept typing and said, "Got it."

Grace Miller sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I see you really don't get it."

Ms. Miller nagged through the door for a while. Ethan Young finished saving the document, opened his email, and sent it to Henry Howard using the same penguin side account as yesterday.

[Sent successfully].

During lunch, Grace Miller wouldn't let go of the earlier topic: "What are you doing in your room?"

Ethan Young picked up a piece of rib and put it in Grace Miller's bowl, casually saying, "Studying."

"Yeah, right."

After giving Grace Miller the rib, Ethan Young picked up some greens for himself and didn't say anything else.

This kid was always like this—not really studying much, but always using studying as an excuse.

Saying things like he wouldn't come home on weekends, needed to stay at school to focus on revision, but then ended up second to last in the whole grade on the monthly exam. Who knows what he was actually revising.

As Grace Miller thought about it, she decided to let it go. If they kept talking about this, they wouldn't be able to eat in peace.

After Ethan Young finished eating and went back upstairs, he was about to log out of the penguin side account when he accidentally noticed a little red dot on the email icon.

Ethan Young clicked in—it was a new email.

The subject was six characters: 别爱我，没结果. (Don't love me, there's no future.)

Sender: Henry Howard.

""

The content of the email was even more ridiculous, all stuff like "I already have someone."

—My partner and I have a really good relationship.

—Classmate, even though I don't know who you are, I hope you understand, there's no way anything could happen between us.

—Do you get what I mean?

Looks like Quinn Shaw and the others' words from yesterday really got through to him, word for word.

Ethan Young sat in front of the computer, staring at the rejection letter for a long time, not sure how to react.

"Fuck," Ethan Young moved his fingers, closed the page, and muttered to himself, "I'm your partner."

Usually, Henry Howard annoyed Ethan Young so much he wanted to block him, but this weekend he was actually quiet for once.

After lunch, Ethan Young accompanied Ms. Miller for a walk in the nearby park. They didn't have much to talk about, so he just casually mentioned some things about his class, which made Ms. Miller quite happy.

When Henry Howard called again, it was already past one in the afternoon.

"I held back for a long time before calling," Henry Howard's side was a bit noisy, sounded like he was outside, "I was afraid you weren't up yet."

Ethan Young had just entered his room, leaning against the door, and said, "What do you think I am, some kind of creature that needs to sleep until now?"

"A pig?"

"You're the pig."

"Alright," Henry Howard said, "I'm a pig."

They chatted for a while. Ethan Young vaguely heard someone on Henry Howard's side say, "Sixty-eight yuan, cash or Alipay?"

Henry Howard was holding his phone and couldn't scan the code, so while searching his pockets he said, "Cash, and give me a bag, please. Thanks."

Ethan Young waited until he finished paying before asking, "You're outside?"

"Yeah," Henry Howard was standing in a bookstore, with two copies of "Complete High School Textbook Solutions" on the counter. He'd spent half the day carefully picking out after-class workbooks for his boyfriend, and mumbled, "Just out buying something."

Ethan Young thought Henry Howard was probably buying snacks at a convenience store or something. There weren't many students staying at school over the weekend, and the cafeteria only opened a small window for them, with few dishes that couldn't compare to home-cooked food.

Those who stayed at school either went out to eat or bought instant noodles and snacks to get by.

The clerk gave him change, quickly packed the books, and handed them over.

Henry Howard carried the plastic bag out the door, looked down at the red string on his wrist, and asked Ethan Young, "Are you still wearing your bracelet?"

Ethan Young looked down too—the red string was still on his wrist, the red bean with the letter z engraved on it resting right on his knuckle. "Yeah, why?"

"No reason, just asking."

Even though they weren't together at the moment, it was strange—following the red string, it suddenly felt like they were very close.

It even felt like they were breathing the same air.

The two-day weekend passed quickly, and in a blink it was Monday again.

On the bus back to school, Ethan Young checked the time—it was exactly when the "Serve the Country with Loyalty" wake-up bell rang. Thinking of that, he remembered Manager Jensen's never-ending motivational broadcasts every morning, and the wails echoing through the dorm building.

Ethan Young thought for a moment and called Henry Howard.

"Are you awake?"

"How could I sleep?" Henry Howard had just been woken up by the broadcast, his voice hoarse. He sat up and asked, "Are you on the bus? What time will you get here?"

When Ethan Young left, Ms. Miller had stuffed a can of milk into his hand, reminding him over and over to drink it on the bus for nutrition. The milk was warm. He bit the straw and said, "Half an hour."

Ethan Young's voice was a bit muffled, the ending soft and weak.

Henry Howard asked, "What are you eating?"

Ethan Young: "Drinking milk."

""

Somehow those two words sounded weird, so Ethan Young added, "Milk."

Henry Howard on the other end cursed, "Shit."

Ethan Young: "Are you sick?"

Henry Howard: "Is morning wood a sickness?"

Guys often have certain physiological reactions in the morning, and Henry Howard couldn't help but imagine the kid obediently drinking milk, torturing himself.

When Ethan Young got to the classroom, Henry Howard wasn't there yet.

Wanda and the others had arrived early, gathered together copying homework. They didn't dare leave any questions blank, so even if they didn't know how to do them, they'd copy a few steps. When they saw Ethan Young come in, they looked up and greeted him, "Yu-ge, you're early. Where's {Bro Henry}?"