Brian Carter really didn’t do it.

　　“Didn’t have one,” he said.

　　“Didn’t have one?”

　　“A first birthday banquet,” Brian Carter said indifferently, “That year, the family business was too busy.”

　　Ryan Bennett recalled Brian Carter’s mom’s somewhat cold, strong-willed face. She’d heard from Grace Bennett long ago that Brian Carter’s mom went back to work right after giving birth. For a career woman like her, not having a first birthday banquet was hardly surprising.

　　After a moment, Ryan Bennett said, “So you really didn’t grab anything.”

　　“…?”

　　She continued, enunciating each word: “No wonder now, you’re, well, not much of a person.”

　　-

　　After Brian Carter came back, Ryan Bennett’s homework finally had a solution.

　　Starting from the day after Brian Carter returned.

　　Ryan Bennett would always bring her homework and run over to Brian Carter’s house.

　　“Mom,” Ryan Bennett said hurriedly as she rushed out that day, “I’m going to Brian Carter’s place, I might not be back for lunch, don’t wait for me.”

　　Sometimes Grace Bennett would have a bit of an opinion: “You’re a big girl now, don’t keep running to other people’s houses like when you were little.”

　　Ryan Bennett: “It’s fine, in Brian Carter’s eyes, I’m not even a girl. If I can barely count as a primate of the family Hominidae, that’s already pretty good.”

　　But besides Grace Bennett, there was someone else who had a bit of an opinion about her.

　　Ryan Bennett knocked on Brian Carter’s door with her homework in hand. As soon as Brian Carter saw her, he wanted to close the door.

　　Ryan Bennett hugged her homework, freed up one hand, pressed it against the door, and tried to squeeze in through the crack: “I’m here to do homework.”

　　Brian Carter spoke to her in a “what’s wrong with you” tone: “Do you have some disease where you can’t do homework unless you’re at my house?”

　　Ryan Bennett said, “The questions are a bit hard…”

　　Brian Carter: “Changing places probably won’t help, maybe you need to change your brain.”

　　Ryan Bennett kept squeezing in: “Just treat it as your good deed for the day.”

　　The door, which had been pushed and pulled back and forth, suddenly stopped moving after she said this.

　　Brian Carter’s hand rested on the doorknob, but he didn’t keep pushing.

　　So the half-open door seemed to get stuck.

　　Through the crack, you could just see half of Brian Carter’s face.

　　Ryan Bennett saw the messy hair hanging in front of his eyes, his sharp jawline, and the sudden hint of a smile.

　　He always gave off a sense of distance; even when he smiled, that cold, arrogant air never really went away.

　　“Sorry.”

　　“I never do good deeds,” Brian Carter said with a fake smile, “because I’m not much of a person.”

　　Ryan Bennett: “……”

　　Ryan Bennett suspected he was just taking the chance to get back at her.

　　That day, didn’t she just!

　　Casually! Say one sentence!

　　Was it really necessary!

　　A few seconds later.

　　She watched as the door to Brian Carter’s house closed right in front of her.

　　Ryan Bennett squatted at Brian Carter’s door with her homework, refusing to leave.

　　While squatting, she pulled out her phone to message Brian Carter.

　　-Let me in orz

　　-The wind outside is so strong

　　-I’m so cold

　　Half a minute later.

　　Brian Carter replied, and reminded her:

　　-You’re in the hallway.

　　-I mean my heart, it’s drafty.

　　-……

　　Inside the door.

　　Brian Carter leaned his back against the door, separated from her by just that one door. Seeing this message, he muttered “idiot” under his breath.

　　Then his fingers paused on the screen, and he typed a few words: Just open the door and come in yourself.

　　He hadn’t hit send yet.

　　When he heard a new sound outside the door.

　　It was the neighbor’s door opening.

　　Across the hall lived an elderly couple. They must have been heading out to take out the trash. Everyone had lived here for years and knew each other well. When the old man saw Ryan Bennett, he greeted her: “Little Bennett, here to see Brian Carter again? Why are you squatting at the door?”

　　“Grandpa Wang.”

　　Ryan Bennett raised her voice, deliberately speaking for the person inside to hear: “I’m here to ask about some questions. This summer, I haven’t dared slack off for a moment, I do practice problems every day, my heart is set on studying. The reason I’m squatting at the door is because—Brian Carter is too stingy, he’s afraid I’ll get smarter than him and surpass him in grades, so he won’t teach me, he’s left me—” outside the door.

　　But the words “outside the door” never made it out.

　　With a “click.”

　　The door opened.

　　Ryan Bennett felt a force behind her, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her straight inside.

　　As Brian Carter pulled her in, he said, “Bring your homework and get in here.”

　　That August, the cicadas’ song continued in full force from the beginning of the month to the end.

　　Ryan Bennett’s memories of that summer were the cold air from Brian Carter’s AC, the fizzy lemon soda bubbling on the table, and the stack of homework that got thinner and thinner as she worked through it.

　　Brian Carter would play games next to her while she did her homework, looking like he was just asking for a beating.

　　He was as careless as ever when gaming, his fingers tapping randomly on the screen. Sometimes when Ryan Bennett glanced over, she’d often see the eye-catching “Pentakill” notification.

　　Brian Carter’s desk was very spacious.

　　Most of the time, he’d be sleeping at the other end of the desk.

　　One hand hanging off the edge, the other behind his neck, looking just like a student in the back row of class not paying attention.