Grace Sawyer finally breathed a sigh of relief, rolled over, swung her legs back and forth, and began to hum a tune happily. She looked at the darkening sky outside, still thinking about what had just happened.

　　Going back a bit—

　　Henry Bennett raised his hand and pinched her cheek.

　　"……"

　　"?"

　　Grace Sawyer immediately sat up.

　　Did that man just pinch her face?

　 He did, right?

　 How could he pinch her face?

　 It was their first meeting!!! How! Could! He! Pinch her face!

　 Pinching was one thing.

　 But! Why! Did he have to get so close!

　 And... and! He even called her little Grace Sawyer...

　 Forget it.

　 Grace Sawyer calmed herself down, pretended not to care, and emphasized, "Forget it."

　 Just take it as him helping her out, and reluctantly let him take advantage.

　 Her gaze swept over and happened to land on the mirror on her desk.

　 She met her own eyes in the mirror and noticed how red her face was.

　 Grace Sawyer's composure instantly collapsed.

　 ?

　 You! Why! Are! You! Showing that look! Like you! Were the one! Taken advantage of!!!!

　 Thirteen years of life, and this was the first time she’d ever felt this way.

　 Grace Sawyer flopped back onto the bed, helplessly wrapped herself in the blanket, and felt the air inside grow thinner and thinner.

　 Then, she listened to the sound of her heartbeat growing louder and louder.

　 -

　 The next morning.

　 After washing up, Grace Sawyer walked out to the living room to find David Sawyer and Emma Reed already sitting at the dining table having breakfast. Since she’d already found someone to help, she pretended nothing had happened and didn’t mention the parent-teacher issue to them.

　 She sat down at the table.

Emma Reed served a bowl of lean pork congee for Grace Sawyer.

Just woken up, she didn’t feel like talking at all.

The house was quiet.

Grace Sawyer sipped her congee slowly, suddenly remembering Henry Bennett's reaction yesterday. She let out a breath and quietly asked, "Dad, am I a bit short?"

David Sawyer looked at her and asked, "Did someone say that to you?"

Grace Sawyer nodded, pushing the blame onto Ethan Sawyer as always: "Brother said it."

Emma Reed: "Don’t listen to your brother."

Grace Sawyer poked the bottom of her bowl with her spoon. "But all my classmates are only twelve, and they’re all taller than me. Julia Harper is already 1.6 meters tall."

David Sawyer comforted her, "You’re still young, you’ll grow taller."

"You’re both tall, so why can’t I grow taller? When I take the bus, people even give me their seat, thinking I’m an elementary school student." Grace Sawyer was especially downcast, and asked gloomily, "Was brother 1.5 meters tall when he was thirteen?"

Emma Reed hesitated and said, "Your brother is a boy, so…"

David Sawyer suddenly interrupted her and answered Grace Sawyer's question: "No."

"……"

"He wasn’t that tall." David Sawyer said calmly, "Dad doesn’t really remember, but I vaguely recall. At that time, your brother wasn’t even 1.4 meters."

"……"

Author’s note: Ethan Sawyer: To make my little sister happy, I’m not even allowed to be 1.4 meters tall.

Chapter 4 Sneaking

Grace Sawyer's appetite suddenly improved. Hugging her bowl, she gulped down the congee. She refused David Sawyer's offer to drive her to school, put on her backpack, and, as usual, took the bus to school by herself.

As she neared the bus stop, Grace Sawyer lowered her head and struggled to fish out her student bus card from her backpack.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the convenience store nearby. She hesitated, then walked in.

This convenience store wasn’t very big, and the fridge with drinks was placed right at the entrance. Grace Sawyer stared at the row with milk, eyes unblinking, lost in thought.

Seeing her stand there for quite a while, the cashier couldn’t help but ask, "Little one, are you here to buy milk?"

Normally, Grace Sawyer wouldn’t bother to argue. But at this moment, she inexplicably turned around and pointed at her school uniform: "I’m in middle school, don’t call me that."

Without waiting for a response, Grace Sawyer continued, "I’m not buying, just looking."

After saying that, she said goodbye, left the store, and happened to catch a crowded bus. Grace Sawyer hurried on, squeezed in with the crowd, and found a spot to stand.

The bus jolted violently.

Because of the inertia, Grace Sawyer was unsteady, had to stand on tiptoe to hold the strap, and it was quite a struggle. With a sudden brake, she lost control and fell forward, her heart skipping a beat. The next second, someone grabbed her backpack and pulled her back.

Complaints erupted all around.

Grace Sawyer stretched out her hand and barely managed to grab a distant handrail.

In that moment, she glanced back and happened to meet Charles Foster's eyes.

The boy was about 1.7 meters tall, a head taller than her. His features hadn’t fully matured yet, giving him a gentle and youthful look, with a deliberately composed expression of maturity on his face: "Are you okay?"

Grace Sawyer nodded, but didn’t respond.

Charles Foster gave up his spot for her: "You stand here."

He was tall enough to reach the strap, and Grace Sawyer didn’t stand on ceremony, just said, "Thank you."

Silence.

After a while, Charles Foster finally managed to say, "I heard from Julia Harper that you got called in for a parent meeting, is that true?"

Grace Sawyer looked at him, a bit annoyed: "Why does she tell you everything?"