Ryan Bennett stood at the edge of the podium, holding the test paper, her mind going blank for a moment, completely at a loss for words.

　　With all eyes on her, she didn’t know what she was thinking, and finally blurted out, “I don’t really have much to say. If I have to say something, I can only say that everyone can learn from me.”

　　There was a brief silence from the audience.

　　Then someone took the lead and started clapping: “Awesome!”

　　When she got off the stage, Emily Brooks couldn’t help but say, “You’re amazing.”

　　Ryan Bennett already wanted to go back in time and strangle her past self from a few minutes ago: “I think my brain just got pinched by something.”

　　Emily Brooks: “Not at all, you looked really cool when you spoke just now. You’re really calm and collected.”

　　“……” Ryan Bennett couldn’t recall, “Just pretend you never saw me.”

　　Right now,

　　she really wanted

　　to open her chat with Brian Carter.

　　And then type a string of “ahhh” into the chat box.

　　But she couldn’t—no phones allowed in class.

　　She and Emily Brooks, surprisingly, became closer because of this embarrassing incident.

　　After class, Emily Brooks still hadn’t figured out the mistakes discussed earlier.

　　Ryan Bennett explained them to her.

　　Emily Brooks took back her test paper and said, “Thanks! Did you get tutoring over the break? Like, with a private tutor?”

　　Ryan Bennett thought of Brian Carter’s face, which didn’t look like someone who could afford a tutor: “Sort of…”

　　Emily Brooks: “Then your tutor must be really dedicated, since you’ve covered all these questions.”

　　“He’s not that great,” since Brian Carter wasn’t here, Ryan Bennett said whatever she wanted, “He’s ugly and has a bad temper.”

　　Emily Brooks: “Huh?”

　　“And he loves to show off.”

　　Ryan Bennett finished, “...Anyway, he’s nothing special. Mainly, I’m just naturally gifted.”

　　What no one knew was that, during the break, she secretly took out her phone.

　　Opened a chat with a certain someone.

　　Very seriously sent a kneeling emoji, and typed a few lines.

　　-[kneel]

　　-Super ultra handsome guy Brian Carter

　　-You’re awesome

　　-So glad to have you

　　-You. Are. My. Dad!!!

　　And the super ultra handsome guy on the other end replied coldly with five words.

　　-If you keep acting crazy, I’ll block you.

Chapter 5

　　High school life was a bit different from what Ryan Bennett had imagined.

　　On the surface, it didn’t seem to have changed much—still classes and exams.

　　But what really felt different to her was her classmates. Everyone seemed to start caring more about rumors and gossip, like “who’s dating who,” or “who went to the same school before and has a complicated relationship.”

　　The girl sitting in front of her would sneak off to the bathroom after class to touch up her lipstick, even though the color was so light it barely made a difference.

　　And then there was Emily Brooks beside her.

　　Always keeping up with school trends, chatting with her between classes, sharing everything from “there’s a super handsome guy in our grade who dominated the forum on the first day” all the way to “next week we’ll probably have a five-day military training.”

　　Ryan Bennett buried herself in homework. Emily Brooks changed topics so fast that she could only remember the last thing and replied absentmindedly, “We have military training next week?”

　　Emily Brooks: “Yeah, I thought we could avoid it, but in this heat, we still have to go out and roast for five days.”

　　The topic quickly moved on.

　　After finishing her homework, Ryan Bennett secretly opened her phone under the desk and sent Brian Carter a message: are you there are you there are you there

　　It was break time, and the reply came quickly.

　　Chi Dog: ?

　　Ryan Bennett immediately tattled: How could you be like this, playing on your phone at school? That’s a warning.

　　Chi Dog: You’re nuts

　　Ryan Bennett got to the point: Show me your class schedule

　　She quickly followed up: I want to see if your class has any overlapping periods with ours, like PE. Usually, several classes have PE together.

　　This time, Brian Carter didn’t argue. He took a photo and sent it over.

　　Chi Dog: [/photo]

　　Ryan Bennett’s words came true.

　　Class 1 and Class 7 really did have PE together.

　　And today, it just so happened to be the last period.

　　Before PE, Emily Brooks dragged her to the school convenience store to buy snacks: “...I’m starving.”

　　Ryan Bennett packed up her things: “Let’s go, I’ll check it out too.”

　　Emily Brooks was excited: “I heard the sushi rolls at the store are really good.”

　　The store was right next to the cafeteria.

　　Emily Brooks picked up a sushi roll and was about to pay, but when she checked her pocket: “I forgot my money.”

　　Ryan Bennett rummaged through her own pocket and only found two coins: “I... didn’t bring any either.”

　　“Forget it then,” Emily Brooks put the food back, sighing, “I’ll just go hungry for a period.”

　　Ryan Bennett thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Do you believe I can get you that sushi roll with just two yuan?”

　　Emily Brooks looked at her: “Is the store owner your relative?”

　　Ryan Bennett: “...No.”

　　Emily Brooks’s expression grew complicated: “Are you planning to buy on credit?”

　　Ryan Bennett: “Not that either.”

　　Emily Brooks’s expression got even more complicated: “Dine and dash? That’s not good.”

　　Ryan Bennett took the two coins from her pocket, grabbed the cheapest bottle of mineral water from the fridge, handed the coins to the store owner, and said, “Wait here, I’m going out to rob someone.”