Wanda poked his head into the room and looked around: “Where’s Ethan Bro?”

Henry Howard clicked his tongue and pushed his head back in: “Don’t snoop around, he’s taking a shower. If you’ve got something to say, say it quick.”

“So… are you interested in joining us for a man’s adventure?”

Wanda and the others were bored of playing cards and too excited to sleep. They remembered searching the area in the car earlier and found there was a park nearby. Rumor had it, there was a famous wishing fountain in the park.

Logan Wright picked up the thread: “Yeah, yeah, the reviews say it’s really effective. We’re planning to go try it out.”

Henry Howard: “Where do you guys get all these dreamy little girl thoughts from?”

Logan Wright wanted to say more, but just then he saw Ethan Young coming out of the bathroom.

Ethan Young was only wearing a black T-shirt, his whole demeanor cold, the corners of his eyes a little red, as if he’d just cried, but maybe not: “What wishing fountain?”

The news about sneaking into the wishing fountain at night spread like wildfire, and within ten minutes the whole class knew.

More and more people gathered in the hallway. Ethan Young simply sat down on the hallway carpet, realizing that in the end, no one really cared about the wishing fountain—the real point was the thrill of breaking the rules together, sneaking out at night to do something.

“Let’s plan our route.”

“Take the elevator down, then split into groups of three.”

“Attention, there’s surveillance in the lobby, but there’s nothing we can do about that, we’ll just have to let the cameras record our crimes!”

“……”

Quinn Shaw was the first to throw a punch: “Ratty, is there something wrong with your brain? What kind of dumbass plan is this?”

It was close to midnight, the night deep and dark.

The park really wasn’t far, just across the street. But the area with the wishing fountain was closed to the public after hours, so they had to climb over the fence and sneak in.

The sound of cicadas was everywhere.

A dozen or so people crept around like thieves. Ethan Young felt embarrassed and even put on a mask.

“It’s pitch black, who’s going to see your face,” Henry Howard laughed, reaching out to hook the strap hanging from his ear, “Kid, you sure carry a lot of baggage.”

The so-called wishing fountain was just a small pool, with a thick layer of coins covering the bottom.

Luke Carter was especially devout, almost kneeling down: “Bless us all to get high scores on the college entrance exam.”

Logan Wright: “I hope Ratty’s wish comes true.”

Wanda: “Count me in.”

Ethan Young happened to touch a small stone by his hand, picked it up and tossed it into the pool, making a few ripples, and couldn’t help laughing: “Count you in?”

Henry Howard noticed Logan Wright had been carrying a bag the whole time, so he reached out and tapped it: “What’s that?”

“Some small fireworks I bought at the temple fair,” Logan Wright was determined to go all out with the dreamy girl vibe, “It makes it feel more ceremonial…”

The others immediately swarmed over: “Fireworks?”

Ethan Young took a few steps back and sat on the steps not far away, watching them figure out how to light the fireworks.

Henry Howard walked over and sat down beside him.

After a while, Ethan Young heard Henry Howard call his name: “Ethan Young.”

Henry Howard fumbled in his pocket for a bit, then finally pulled something out and handed it to him.

It was a letter.

By the faint light of the streetlamp, Ethan Young could just make out a few bold words on the envelope: For my little one.

Ethan Young held the corner of the envelope, stunned for a moment.

There wasn’t any long speech inside, just a couple of lines.

—Let’s go together. To somewhere farther away.

“Once it’s lit, everyone back up fast.”

“I’ll count down, three, two, one, light it!”

“Wait, why does this firework look kind of off to me…”

Then came a huge bang.

Ethan Young’s eardrums ached from the deafening firecracker: “……”

“What the hell is this!”

Luke Carter was the last to run, a bit slow, and felt a fierce shock hit his butt: “Victor Wright, explain this, is this a firework? You lied to me, this is clearly a giant firecracker!”

The explosion was earth-shattering, the whole park seemed to shake.

They hadn’t even had time to clean up the “aftermath” when the park manager came rushing over, flashlight beam sweeping from far to near around the wishing fountain: “—Who’s there, what are you doing, stop right there, don’t run!”

Chaos broke out, and the whole class three crew ran for their lives, still remembering to shout their sincerest apologies as they ran: “Sorry!”

What kept echoing in Ethan Young’s mind was that line: ‘somewhere farther away’.

Before he could react, someone grabbed his wrist, and then he heard Henry Howard shout: “Old Young, run—”

The steps weren’t high, so the two of them just jumped down.

For a moment, their feet were off the ground.

Facing the rushing wind, the scattered starlight, and the endless stretch of light on both sides of the street, extending outward, all the way to the edge of the sky.

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113. Extra 1

C City, Tsinghua Medical School.

Near midnight, a few lights were still on in the building. The once empty hallway gradually filled with footsteps, as two girls whispered to each other: “…Let’s go, I’m so sleepy, still have to write a report when I get back.”

“Okay, I’ll go change my clothes.”

The other girl stopped halfway: “Hey—is that the central air conditioning for our medical school?” The cooling kind.

As they spoke, they slowed down, and through a window, they tried to sneak a look inside. They didn’t dare make a sound, afraid of disturbing the people in the lab.

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114. Extra 2

The term “selling insurance” had long been the butt of jokes among class three.

It all started with Ethan Young: “You’re filling this in?”

“Carefully selected, very impressive.”

Henry Howard came back to school dressed casually, just wearing slippers, and after filling out his application in the computer room, he said, “I’ve left my signature for you all, just wait till I’m famous in history—”

Famous in history, yeah right.

Ethan Young couldn’t take it anymore and cut in: “Very impressive. Selling insurance, a booming sunrise industry.”

“……”

Even so, Ethan Young couldn’t help but keep looking at the applications the two of them filled out, glancing at his own, then at Henry Howard’s.

Who knows what he was looking for.

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115. Extra 3