Brian Clark said carelessly, "No, I didn't share."

Then he added, "I just gave you the whole box directly, how can that be called sharing? That's just giving it away for free."

Samuel Grant rolled his eyes on the spot.

After he left, Laura Bennett finally put down his pen and lowered his voice, "It seems like it wasn't just once."

Brian Clark was taken aback, "Hm?"

"The first time was with the dirty bun, and you hadn't even gotten into a fight yet." Laura Bennett slowly organized his thoughts. "So I don't think you gave me food to bribe me, at least not that time. It was more out of some kind of guilty conscience."

Brian Clark looked a bit surprised, stared at him for a while, then clicked his tongue, "Your logic is pretty clear."

"I've always felt something was off." Laura Bennett started to tense up. "Was there something else that day?"

Brian Clark didn't say a word for a long time.

Not only did he stay silent, he also lowered his head, found a picture on his phone, and tossed it over.

"Here, see for yourself."

Laura Bennett was puzzled, "What is it?"

On the screen were two cats snuggled together, one was a big orange tabby, the other a creamy white. The orange tabby was half-closing its eyes while licking the cream-colored cat's fur, and the cream one was sprawled out on the ground like a comfy cat pancake.

Brian Clark only let him look for a moment before taking the phone back.

"Got it? This is a Chinese tradition."

Laura Bennett was confused, "What tradition?"

Brian Clark said slowly, "The tradition is, the big cat has always lived in the house, the second cat came later. To show acceptance and status, the big cat has to lick the second cat's fur. It's an instinct—even if the big cat doesn't usually lick other cats, the second cat is an exception."

Laura Bennett was silent for a few seconds. "Sounds kind of touching."

Brian Clark nodded, "Yeah, yeah."

Laura Bennett: "But what does this have to do with Chinese tradition?"

"Nothing at all," Brian Clark admitted honestly. "I just thought adding that would make it easier to fool you."

Laura Bennett: "……"

He still felt that Brian Clark must have tricked him somehow.

While absentmindedly pondering, Laura Bennett flipped through a dictionary, spending the whole afternoon matching up the Chinese and English names of the chemical elements. His first small goal was to be able to understand the names of chemical substances—so that when he saw "carbon dioxide," he'd know it was CO2.

At five o'clock, the bell rang for the end of class, and Brian Clark woke up right on time.

The first thing he did after waking up was ask Samuel Grant, "Where are we eating?"

"Yangchang Alley home-style kitchen, same as always."

Brian Clark grunted, "Who's going?"

"Dai You's not coming today, so just the three of us, and let's bring Laura Bennett along too."

"What is Yangchang Alley home-style kitchen?" Laura Bennett couldn't help but ask.

"Yangchang Alley is that pitch-black alley outside the west gate," Samuel Grant said as he stood up. "The home-style kitchen is a place run out of someone's house, just for students to eat. Basically, we have lunch in the cafeteria and dinner at the home-style kitchen every day."

A little after five, music played on campus. Some students headed to the cafeteria, others walked toward the west gate.

Samuel Grant said there were countless home-style kitchens outside the west gate, but the one they were going to was the best. The only downside was that it was a bit far—you had to walk through Yangchang Alley. But with a group of guys, there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Auntie said there's one non-spicy malatang left, just right for Laura Bennett." Samuel Grant texted the owner on the way. "But she didn't steam many buns, so the four of us will have to share three baskets, is that okay?"

"No problem," Brian Clark said coolly. "You can just not eat."

Samuel Grant rolled his eyes in the darkness, "That's called being generous with someone else's stuff."

Yangchang Alley really was a bit dark—narrow and winding, just like a sheep's intestine. After walking about three or four hundred meters, they couldn't hear any sounds from the school anymore. Only when they got to the innermost part of the alley did streetlights start to appear, the narrow path scattered with unswept dead leaves. The legendary apartment building was not far ahead.

Walking beside Laura Bennett, Brian Clark's steps suddenly slowed.

"What's wrong?" Samuel Grant glanced at him. "Still pretending to limp here?"

Brian Clark didn't answer, lowered his eyes to the ground, and walked more slowly and quietly.

Laura Bennett suddenly felt something was off. He instinctively turned to look behind them.

—There was nothing there.

"Something's not right, let's go back," Brian Clark suddenly said in a low voice.

The entrance to the apartment complex, lit by streetlights, was just over a hundred meters away. After walking all this way in the dark, he was now saying they should turn back.

Faye Young straightened up and rested his elbow on Samuel Grant's shoulder. "What's up?"

Brian Clark said quietly, "When we first entered Yangchang Alley, I think there was someone behind us. I didn't pay much attention at first, but that person kept speeding up to catch up with us. About two minutes ago, he turned around and went back, like..." He paused, "like he just wanted to confirm we were heading this way."

"What the hell?" Samuel Grant shivered. "Two minutes ago? Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Brian Clark considered, "I was thinking about how to split the buns."

Laura Bennett: "?"

Brian Clark's gaze fell on the entrance of the apartment building not far away. "At first I thought he might call someone to come from behind, but if we just go straight into the complex, we'll be fine. But—"

Before he could finish, a sudden sound of a kicked soda can echoed from the quiet, empty iron gate.

Laura Bennett looked up and saw three boys with streaked hair walk out from the other side of the gate. Their target was clear—they were staring straight at Brian Clark.