He and Henry Cooper probably cared most about the sports fields. The old school only had a few indoor basketball courts, and the soccer fields had all been bulldozed to make room for new teaching buildings. Even though neither of them played soccer, they still found it frustrating.

In comparison, the facilities at this No. 4 High School were much more comfortable.

There was a soccer field, and even in such cold weather, there was a group of people playing on it.

Next to it were two outdoor basketball courts, and there was also a volleyball court.

“There’s an indoor one too, want to go in and take a look?” Henry Cooper nudged him with his elbow.

The gloomy mood that Brian Carter had felt for days was noticeably eased by this campus at No. 4 High. Compared to Li Baoguo’s home and the street where Li Baoguo lived, this spacious place made him feel as if he could finally breathe freely and comfortably.

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then exhaled and slapped Henry Cooper on the shoulder: “Let’s check it out.”

The indoor gym wasn’t very big, but it had courts for volleyball, badminton, and basketball, though they had to overlap in use.

There were people on both basketball courts, and when they saw someone come in, they all looked over.

Henry Cooper paused, but Brian Carter ignored the stares, shoved his hands in his pockets, and strolled over to sit on a few chairs by the court.

It had been a while since he’d played basketball, so he planned to just watch others play for fun.

After watching them for a bit, the people on the court went back to their game.

“Are they the school team training?” Henry Cooper asked as he sat down next to him.

“I don’t think so,” Brian Carter said. “Just amateurs.”

“Want to go up and play?” Henry Cooper grinned. “The two of us can team up.”

Brian Carter stretched his feet out in front of him and wiggled them—he was wearing casual shoes today.

“Hey,” Henry Cooper leaned back, resting his head on his arms, “who knows when we’ll get to play together again.”

“Don’t change your style, it doesn’t suit you,” Brian Carter said. Someone on the court made a beautiful three-pointer, and he called out, not too loudly, “Nice shot.”

The player glanced at him, smiled, and gave him a fist salute.

Even though he wasn’t playing, sitting on the sidelines with Henry Cooper watching others play gave him a brief moment of peace, cutting out all the annoying and restless feelings.

As long as he didn’t think about how, once Henry Cooper left tomorrow, he’d be back to his dull, gray life.

He was so absorbed in watching the game that he didn’t even notice when more people came into the gym, until the players on the court all stopped and looked toward the door with indescribable expressions. That’s when he snapped out of it.

“Looks like something’s about to happen,” Henry Cooper whispered excitedly beside him.

“What…” Brian Carter turned to look, stunned. “Something?”

One, two, three, four, five, six—six people had come in.

Brian Carter was so surprised he almost bit his own tongue.

No, it was—Good Bird Four, and behind them was the guy who’d charged him for water, and at the very back, wearing a baseball cap, was Eric Bennett, the cap hiding the flashy musical note on his head.

Brian Carter was a little impressed with his own facial memory—he’d been feverish and dizzy, but still managed to remember all these faces.

In a strange city, at a strange school, to run into six strangers he’d seen before all at once was truly a miracle.

Brian Carter figured he must have caught Henry Cooper’s mood, watching them walk over with the anticipation of a good show about to start.

Looked like they were here to play basketball—Eric Bennett was wearing sweatpants and basketball shoes, and one of them was carrying a ball.

“Da Fei?” someone on the court called out.

“Yeah.” Eric Bennett replied.

“What are you here for?” the person asked.

“To play basketball.” Eric Bennett said, his tone calm, not the least bit confrontational.

“…All of you playing?” the person hesitated, then asked.

“The old, weak, sick, and disabled won’t play,” Eric Bennett said, taking off his jacket. As he turned to toss it toward the chairs, he caught sight of Brian Carter sitting there and immediately choked on his own saliva, staring and coughing for quite a while.

Brian Carter wiped the “was hoping for a good show but it ended before it started, what a disappointment” look off his face. “What a coincidence.”

“Good morning,” Eric Bennett said.

“Are you together?” someone on the court asked.

“No,” Brian Carter replied.

Out of Eric Bennett’s group of six, three stayed to play basketball, while the other three came over and sat down next to Brian Carter and Henry Cooper.

The one who’d collected the money sat next to Brian Carter and reached out his hand. “I’m Jason Thompson.”

“Brian Carter,” Brian Carter slapped his hand, then pointed at Henry Cooper, “my buddy Henry Cooper.”

“All from No. 4 High?” Jason Thompson looked them over. “Haven’t seen you two before.”

“We are now,” Brian Carter didn’t want to explain too much. “Are you all from No. 4 High?”

The two people behind him both laughed. Maybe it wasn’t on purpose, but there was a habitual mockery in their voices. Jason Thompson glanced back at them. “Do we look like students?”

“Who knows,” Brian Carter was a bit annoyed, “I don’t have the habit of staring at people I meet.”

Jason Thompson’s expression darkened. He turned to look at the people on the court and didn’t say anything else to him.