Originally, I wanted to wait until Edward Clark came to the little park again to ask, but for such a tattered book, what if Edward Clark just tossed it away? After all, when faced with an abandoned child, all Edward Coldblood Clark could think about was eating.

So Eric Bennett turned around and went to the affiliated high school.

Edward Clark was sitting at the edge of the sports field, in front of him were several classes having PE.

He had been on the field since noon, walking and sitting around. By now, more students were gathering around him, so he planned to head back to the classroom or the dorm.

When he picked up the book beside him and was about to leave, he stopped.

Someone was climbing over the wall from the stands on the other side of the field.

The ones who liked to climb over the wall here were always those from Class 1, Grade 11 (Liberal Arts), led by Samuel Grant. It seemed that if they didn’t climb over a few times a month, they weren’t real students of the affiliated high school.

But today, the person climbing over wasn’t a student from the affiliated high school.

It was... Eric Bennett?

Edward Clark pushed up his glasses, wanting to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

But a second later, he was sure he hadn’t made a mistake.

After landing, Eric Bennett said a couple of words to a girl sitting on the stands, and then the girl pointed in his direction.

Then Eric Bennett came barreling over, as if he’d finally tracked down his nemesis after years of searching for revenge.

This speed made Edward Clark stand up warily.

“Don’t go!” Eric Bennett shouted at him from more than ten meters away, pointing, “Edward Clark!”

“...I’m not going.” Edward Clark replied.

Maybe his voice wasn’t loud enough, because Eric Bennett didn’t hear and kept shouting in a string: “Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go... I need to talk to you...”

“You even know where to climb over the wall?” Edward Clark waited until he ran up before asking.

“There’s no school you can’t climb over,” Eric Bennett panted, “and no school you can’t get into.”

“What do you want with me?” Edward Clark asked.

“The day you found the kid, did you see a book?” Eric Bennett asked.

“The Mystery of Palmistry?” Edward Clark was a bit surprised. He had planned to go to the little park over the weekend to see if he could run into Eric Bennett, but he hadn’t expected this guy to climb over the wall into the school just for this book.

This answer made Eric Bennett instantly relax, not even wanting to talk anymore. He cupped his hands to Edward Clark, then sat down on the stone bench next to him and let out a long breath.

“That’s all you came for?” Edward Clark asked.

“Yeah, just for that,” Eric Bennett said cheerfully. “When did you get it?”

“I picked it up,” Edward Clark corrected him.

“When did you pick it up?” Eric Bennett asked again.

“When you were excitedly running toward the police officer,” Edward Clark said.

“...It fell then? I didn’t even notice,” Eric Bennett held out his hand. “Give it to me, I haven’t slept well these past two nights.”

“It’s in the dorm,” Edward Clark said. “I’ll go get it for you.”

“I’ll go with you, so you don’t have to run back again,” Eric Bennett said.

“Aren’t you going to have to climb back out later?” Edward Clark pointed at the wall.

“I’ll just swagger out the front gate later,” Eric Bennett glanced over there and followed behind Edward Clark. “I actually wanted to come in through the main entrance, but your security guard is so unreasonable—he’ll let people out but not in.”

“Good thing I was on the field. If I’d been in the classroom, you probably would’ve been kicked out before you even found out where I was,” Edward Clark glanced back at him.

“No way,” Eric Bennett waved his hand. “I asked a student who just came out at the gate. He said you’re either on the field or in the cafeteria.”

“Oh.” Edward Clark smiled.

“Top student,” Eric Bennett said.

Edward Clark raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Eric Bennett raised an eyebrow too. “That’s what your classmates said—top student. If he’s not on the field, he’s in the cafeteria. Their exact words.”

“Pretty much. I don’t like staying in the classroom,” Edward Clark said. “Child prodigy.”

Eric Bennett suddenly stopped, his voice even faltering: “...You read my book?”

“I did. You didn’t write that I couldn’t read it,” Edward Clark said. “You only wrote not to lend it, not to steal it, and to return it if found...”

“Enough.” Eric Bennett sighed.

“Is it that you,” Edward Clark suddenly took a step back and whispered in his ear, “don’t like being called a prodigy?”

Chapter 6

Eric Bennett didn’t say anything, his heart skipped a beat.

Usually, he was the one who could see through strangers at a glance, feeling that little “jump” in their hearts. But today, he was suddenly seen through by a stranger in one look... Strictly speaking, Edward Clark counted as a stranger...

Yes.

But how did you know?

...You’ve made me lose face!

“I saw there were rubbed marks above the words ‘child prodigy’,” Edward Clark said.

“No, that’s just me realizing how arrogant and reckless I was when I was younger,” Eric Bennett didn’t admit it.

“Oh.” Edward Clark smiled and didn’t press further, just turned and kept walking with him.

From the style of the smile at the corner of his mouth, Eric Bennett could tell that Edward Clark didn’t believe his denial, and in fact, his denial probably only made Edward Clark more certain of the answer.

“You’ve kept this book for ten years, haven’t you?” Edward Clark asked as they walked.

“Yeah,” Eric Bennett replied, “planning to make it a family heirloom.”