David Reed spun his coffee bottle and frowned, saying, “There’s no homework or test papers assigned, so I can’t find an excuse to go to the office.”

The three of them suddenly looked at Laura Bennett at the same time.

Laura Bennett: “Hm?”

David Reed smiled innocently, just like his good buddy Brian Clark.

“Laura Bennett, you haven’t picked up your textbooks yet, right? After a whole day of exams, you still haven’t had a long talk with Jack Harris, have you?”

Samuel Grant slapped the table and stood up. “I knew you’d have to go to the office! I’ll show you the way!”

Laura Bennett: “I didn’t…”

David Reed cut him off: “As the class monitor, it’s my duty to accompany you.”

Faye Young pulled a long face. “Then… how about I go eat?”

“In your dreams!”

“……”

Actually, Laura Bennett had already been to the office that morning. Back then, people were coming and going outside, but now, strangely, there wasn’t a soul in the whole corridor.

The door was open. Brian Clark was standing by the window, the hem of his white shirt hanging loosely around his hips, making his waist look slim, but his figure was still tall and upright.

One hand was in his pocket, his head turned to look out the window, his expression cold and stern.

The guy with the long buzz cut was adding fuel to the fire, complaining to Jack Harris and trying to shift the blame. But Jack Harris’s sharp gaze stayed fixed on Brian Clark’s face. When they finished, she asked coldly, “I want to hear it from you. Were you the one who hit him?”

Brian Clark withdrew his gaze from the window and nodded. “I hit him.”

There was a silent arrogance and refusal to back down.

Jack Harris asked, “Why?”

Brian Clark smiled and glanced sideways at the other two. “They were an eyesore.”

The two of them immediately looked terrible, and Jack Harris, who didn’t know the full story, looked even worse. She slapped the table and shouted, “Speak human language! Drop that lawless attitude—I’m the one who’s spoiled you! Playing on your phone and camera at school is one thing, but now you even dare to skip a major exam like the class placement test? You don’t even take my science class seriously! And now you’re out fighting—are you too much for Class Four to handle? If you want to switch classes, just say so!”

When she scolded people, her voice was as loud as a bell, like she was pouring words into your ears by the ton. Even Laura Bennett could clearly hear every word.

The whole corridor echoed with her voice, and students passing by in the distance all turned around and left. No wonder there was no one nearby.

The atmosphere was a bit tense. Laura Bennett looked at the frowning, silent Brian Clark and suddenly felt a little nervous.

He already knew how crazy this guy could be—it wouldn’t be surprising if he started arguing with the grade director.

But after a moment of silence, Brian Clark relaxed his brow, lowered his eyes, and said quietly, “I still finished the science exam, teacher. I even used scratch paper for physics.”

Laura Bennett: “?”

Jack Harris looked numb. “So I should thank you for that?”

Brian Clark pressed his lips together, then after a while said softly, “No need. Physics is my favorite subject. No matter what I do, I’d never miss the physics exam. I have to live up to my teachers and parents, and even more to my own ideals. Please don’t worry.”

The two with the long hair looked absolutely stunned by this performance.

Jack Harris sneered, “So now your ideal is physics? Didn’t you tell Mr. Martin last week it was math?”

As she spoke, she pulled Brian Clark a couple steps further inside and closed the window that was letting in the cold air.

Samuel Grant, shivering behind Laura Bennett, whispered, “I’m about to laugh yue.”

Laura Bennett asked instinctively, “What does ‘yue’ mean?”

“It means to puke—it’s an onomatopoeia. When you throw up, doesn’t it always start with ‘yue—’?” Samuel Grant explained earnestly. “You’ve still got a lot to learn, returnee.”

He said it casually, but Laura Bennett nodded seriously.

Even though the sound was a bit gross, it was undeniably vivid and concise.

Chinese really is beautiful.

“Teacher, that’s not it.” George Walker suddenly spoke up, struggling to use his hoarse voice to speak Mandarin. “That ‘eyesore’ comment was Brian Clark’s sarcasm. It was originally what those two said to me.”

Jack Harris raised her eyebrows. “What did they say to you?”

George Walker had been calm before, but now, facing the teacher, he was a bit nervous, his voice trembling.

“They thought the way I talked was grating and wouldn’t let me speak. It started last week when we had extra lessons, and I couldn’t shake them off. Today, I accidentally spoke up in the bathroom and broke the rule, so they wanted to teach me a lesson, but this big shot from Class Four happened to walk in.”

Brian Clark, hearing this, turned his head and stared out the window, zoning out again.

“At first, I tried to persuade the big shot not to miss the exam, and he listened. But these two wouldn’t listen! They just started fighting. Am I lying? I wouldn’t dare. They even tried to sneak attack him from behind. If the big shot wasn’t as light as a swallow and full of heroic spirit, there’d be no science exam today—we’d be heading to the hospital instead. Tell me, can you blame him for fighting back? No way!”

The more he spoke, the more nervous he got, and the more he rambled, answering his own questions and launching into a one-man comedy routine.

Laura Bennett didn’t know much about traditional culture, but he quite liked crosstalk—the rhythm and sarcasm made it entertaining even if he couldn’t follow everything.

George Walker stopped, trembling as he explained, “Sorry, teacher, I tend to play the straight man for myself when I get nervous.”

Jack Harris frowned deeply. “What kind of habit is that? Change it!”

“Yes, teacher.”