On the other hand, sometimes Grace Miller would call Ethan Young and find that her son's dorm was much livelier than before.

Often, after just a few words, she would hear her own son, both annoyed and indulgent, quietly say, "Stop messing around," or "Can you get lost?"

Grace Miller paused, unable to hold back her curiosity, and asked, "Who is it?"

"A roommate, my deskmate, he's moved in for a while now," Ethan Young raised his hand to rub his brow, a bit of a headache, and seeing that Mrs. Miller still didn't get it, added, "—the one who used to always be at the bottom of the grade."

Only then did Grace Miller recall a bit.

Henry Howard finished hanging up the laundry and walked back from the balcony.

Henry Howard wasn't shy at all. He opened his mouth as if to call out, and when he heard Ethan Young say 'Mom', he almost called out too, but a pinch at his waist made him change it to, "Hello, Auntie."

Grace Miller chatted a bit with this 'roommate' from afar.

The boy's voice was bright and articulate, easy to like.

Ethan Young: "Mom."

Grace Miller was having such a good time talking with Henry Howard that she started to dislike her own son: "Let Henry Howard take the phone, I'll chat with him for a while, you go back to your homework."

Ethan Young: ""

Henry Howard stood behind Ethan Young, one hand on his shoulder. Hearing this, he simply took the phone and said in a low voice, "Don't be upset, back in the day, your bro was famous in ten villages as a friend of women."

"Tsk."

Ethan Young ignored him.

His emotional intelligence dropped to negative numbers in front of his peers.

He could only find a sense of presence among women.

Grace Miller was glad to find someone around Ethan Young's age to chat with: "Ethan Young doesn't have the best temper. If he ever offends you, don't put up with his attitude, I know all about it."

Henry Howard glanced at him, smiled, and said, "Yeah, his temper is a bit bad."

Grace Miller: "Right, I wonder who he takes after."

It wasn't hot enough yet to turn on the air conditioner, so Ethan Young got up to open the window.

The wind blew in through the crack, cooling his head a lot.

"Enough," Ethan Young snatched the phone back and said, "Are you done yet?"

Before hanging up, Grace Miller nagged a bit more: "When are your finals? Soon, right? Even though you did well last time, don't get cocky."

Counting on her fingers, the finals really weren't far off.

It was said that this time the finals would be even more formal than the midterms. The four-school joint exam was nothing compared to this—very likely, all the schools in A City would take the same mock test.

Early in the morning, accompanied by the sound of the fan spinning in the broadcast room, Manager Jensen added fuel to the fire in the summer heat: "Students, the final exams are coming. Are you ready? Competition is cruel. If you don't work hard, you'll be eliminated. You must give it your all! Fight! Burn like the sun!"

The dorm building was filled with wails: "Thank you so much."

"In this damn weather, I could spontaneously combust without moving."

Ethan Young had a headache.

After lying in bed for a while, he planned to get up and wash, but halfway there, someone still lying in bed reached out and pulled him back.

"Sleep a bit more," Henry Howard said hoarsely without opening his eyes, "Don't move around."

The mad dog's broadcast spread from the dorm building all the way to the teaching building.

"After the last exam, there will be big changes in the seating arrangement this time. And to the two students who fought their way out of the last exam room—keep up that drive, create miracles, nothing is impossible!"

Yet the two students who fought their way out of the last exam room were still wrestling in bed.

At first, Ethan Young just wanted to push the guy away, but Henry Howard wouldn't let go. After some back and forth, things took a different turn.

Henry Howard's chest was half exposed, his eyes dark and unreadable, his clothes slipping down in this position, and from Ethan Young's angle, he could clearly see the faint outline of abs hidden under the shirt.

"I told you not to move."

"Then stop pressing against me."

""

Henry Howard caught his breath before finally pushing himself off his boyfriend.

No. 2 High took this final exam very seriously.

The summer heat was stifling, and the banners hanging on the food street outside the school were baking hot under the sun, the golden letters shining.

The slogans were always the same. The shop owners had bought all the exam banners in bulk, and every year they'd hang them up for a while.

—Get good grades!

—Celebrate finals, 20% off everything!

Under the oppressive exam atmosphere, when the day finally came, everyone quietly arranged their seats and went to their assigned exam rooms to meet their fate.

The whole process of moving seats was very quiet and disciplined.

Ethan Young flipped through his old mistakes as a form of review, which took less than five minutes in total.

The broadcast played the exam instructions twice.

"Hello everyone, before I go, I'd like to read my will," Luke Carter had his exam supplies ready, stood at the podium, and said weakly, "If I die, my max-level mage account in 'Genesis' will go unconditionally to my good brother Wanda."

Wanda: "Haozi, what you said is so dumb, but I'm actually a little touched?"

Luke Carter continued mournfully, "My No. 24 jersey, my faith—I'll leave it to my good brother Victor Wright."

Logan Wright stood up and saluted the podium, getting really into it: "I'll take good care of it!"

"What about me and Old Young?"

Henry Howard watched for a while, amused by the group, and called out, "Aren't we brothers?"

Luke Carter's previously weak voice instantly shot up eight octaves, and he exploded: "You, number 2 seat in the first exam room, have no right to inherit my legacy! And the one next to you! Neither of you have inheritance rights!"

Henry Howard: ""

Ethan Young: ""

It wasn't just Luke Carter whose emotions were running high—everyone in the first exam room felt like this test was a dream.

Their first exam room—fixed members, never cheating, always treating every exam with solemnity and devotion—now sat nervously awaiting the arrival of two school bullies.

The first exam room was already full, except for the first two seats in the front row.

The others looked at those two empty seats, whispering, "Is it really them?"

"My hands are shaking."

"Attention, examinees, there are five minutes left before the exam starts. Please return to your exam rooms."

As soon as the broadcast ended, all conversation abruptly stopped.

Grade 11, Class 1.

Ethan Young walked in front, stopped at the door, and glanced at the classroom sign.

—Then reached out and pushed open the door to the first exam room.

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

107. Chapter 107

The atmosphere in the first exam room was worlds apart from the gathering place of underachievers.

No one was huddled together strategizing about cheating, and no one was selling answers. There were only a bunch of top students racing against the clock, heads buried in their books—squeezing in two more English words even if there was only one second left.

The moment Ethan Young pushed open the door, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

Henry Howard followed behind.

He looked completely laid-back, a black gel pen carelessly stuffed in his uniform pocket, nothing like someone about to take an exam.

He hadn't even reached the classroom door when, leaning against the window, he greeted the unfamiliar students inside, "Hello, friends."

No one in the room dared to respond, except for Xavier Stone—the class rep from Class 3, sitting in the first row, sixth seat. His grades weren't exactly top, but very steady, always in the top ten.

Xavier Stone frowned and looked up from his English vocabulary booklet: "Henry Howard, please be quiet."

Henry Howard made an "okay" gesture.

Ethan Young wasn't one for words. He reached back, grabbed Henry Howard's sleeve, and pulled the idiot behind him forward.

"The exam is about to begin. Please put away any items unrelated to the test—"

The broadcast urged them several times.

Ethan Young had just pulled out his chair, which made a slight scraping sound on the floor. Before he could sit down, he noticed the girl next to him shudder.

"Am I that scary?"

The proctor hadn't arrived yet. Ethan Young leaned back and asked in a low voice, "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Henry Howard followed Ethan Young's gaze and also saw the girl in the next group whose hands wouldn't stop shaking—not just her hands, she didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Henry Howard thought, how could he be scary? My little one is so cute.