"Why did you get in trouble with Baldy Brooks again?" As soon as the bell rang, Julia Harper scooted over to her seat. "Don’t you know he loves calling parents for no reason? It’s only halfway through the month and your mom’s already been here twice."

Grace Sawyer stuffed the notebook on her desk into her backpack and yanked the zipper shut. "I don’t even know what I did to upset him."

Julia Harper widened her eyes. "You don’t know?"

Grace Sawyer looked annoyed, muttering, "Didn’t I answer the question?"

"Wasn’t your answer just asking for a beating?" Julia Harper burst out laughing. "You even said, ‘Well, I can’t steal your job.’ Forget him, even I want to hit you."

Grace Sawyer grunted, "Then you’re just like him—completely unreasonable."

"Hey, seriously," Julia Harper said, "why don’t you pay attention in class? And you always get caught."

"Don’t you think Baldy’s voice is hypnotic?" Grace Sawyer slung her backpack on and yawned. "If I actually listened and didn’t find something to do, I’d definitely fall asleep."

"…"

She had a point.

Julia Harper was about to say more when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a few boys standing at the school gate. She changed the subject: "By the way, are you going to the bookstore?"

Grace Sawyer glanced at her. "For what?"

Julia Harper explained, "Charles Foster invited you, and a few guys from Class Six. We’re all going together."

Grace Sawyer asked again, "For what?"

"They said," Julia Harper thought for a moment, "to buy Queen Xiong?"

"…"

What the heck is Queen Xiong?

Grace Sawyer was silent for a few seconds. "Wang Houxiong?"

Julia Harper: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, are you coming?"

Grace Sawyer: "No."

"Why not?" Julia Harper nudged her shoulder, teasing, "Charles Foster is pretty handsome, you know."

The two of them walked out of the classroom side by side.

Hearing this, Grace Sawyer’s expression was hard to describe. "You should get your eyes checked at the hospital."

Julia Harper protested, "What’s wrong with my eyes? I’m not the only one who thinks he’s good-looking! Lots of people do."

Grace Sawyer nodded and suggested again, "Then you all can go together as a group."

"…"

After that, Grace Sawyer took out her phone from her backpack. She opened the text message window, hesitated, and sent a message to Ethan Sawyer: [Brother, you haven’t been home in so long. When are you coming back? Can you come home tomorrow? I really miss you TAT]

Julia Harper didn’t notice what she was doing and said disappointedly, "You’re really not going?"

"Nope."

"They’re all waiting at the school gate…"

"If you want to go, just go." Grace Sawyer said absentmindedly. "I’m not in the mood today."

Julia Harper: "Ah, is it because of the parent-calling thing? So what are you going to do? How about having your dad come this time?"

Grace Sawyer shook her head. "Neither of them are coming."

"Huh? Why not?"

Grace Sawyer was still staring at her phone, waiting for Ethan Sawyer’s reply. "I’m not telling them."

Julia Harper reminded her, "But if your parents don’t come, Baldy Brooks will call them himself."

"It’s fine."

She hadn’t finished saying, "I’ll ask my brother to come."

Just then, a text came in.

Ethan Sawyer: [?]

Ethan Sawyer: [Nope.]

"…"

-

At the school gate.

Julia Harper said goodbye to her, then walked over to Charles Foster and his group.

Charles Foster’s expression cooled as he stared at Grace Sawyer’s back, asking even though he knew the answer, "Grace Sawyer’s not coming?"

Julia Harper nodded. "She got scolded by the teacher and is in a bad mood."

Charles Foster’s brow twitched. "Got her parents called again?"

Julia Harper: "Yeah."

"…"

She’s almost caught up to his record.

Where’s the dignity of a delinquent now!!!!!!

Charles Foster stood there for two seconds, then suddenly turned and started walking back toward the school.

Another boy, William Clark, quickly called after him, "Hey! Where are you going? Aren’t we buying Wang Houxiong?"

Hearing this, Charles Foster turned back and smacked William Clark on the forehead. "I told you to read more books."

William Clark reflexively covered his head. "?"

"It’s Queen Xiong, you idiot."

"…"

On the other side.

Grace Sawyer kept texting Ethan Sawyer—furiously accusing him of being heartless, completely ignoring his thirteen-year-old sister who still couldn’t take care of herself, abandoning her just to go to college and leaving her to fend for herself.

She waited a while.

Ethan Sawyer didn’t reply.

She waited a bit longer.

The heartless Ethan Sawyer still didn’t reply.

Grace Sawyer finally gave up, got on the bus home, and started thinking about how to explain to her parents that this was the third time this month she’d been called in by the teacher.

So what should she say?

Should she say she was so outstanding that the teacher got jealous and called her parents?

Or maybe that something she said in class made the teacher misunderstand and feel threatened in his career?

Or maybe it was just too hot, the teacher was too bored, and wanted to invite her parents over for tea…

Grace Sawyer scratched her head in frustration.

None of those sounded convincing.

She looked up and realized she’d already reached her stop.