-

Grace Sawyer’s biggest annoyance with Lucas Brooks was that every time he called her parents, he always said exactly the same thing. Grace Sawyer had heard it so many times that she felt she could recite it backwards. Looking at it this way, Lucas Brooks really did resemble the “broken record” they’d just mentioned.

She felt bored and wanted to yawn, her thoughts gradually drifting away.

Suddenly, she noticed that the atmosphere next door was actually quite harmonious, unlike her side, where all she could hear was Lucas Brooks constantly complaining.

Grace Sawyer listened carefully.

Mr. Bolton suddenly laughed: “Charles is just a kid with poor grades, but everything else about him is pretty good. This time, it’s not because he did something wrong that I called you in. Yesterday, he suddenly burst into the office, shouting that he wanted to call his parents over, and he gave me quite a scare.”

“……”

As soon as these words were spoken, Charles Foster immediately looked at Grace Sawyer.

Their eyes met.

—Silence.

He hadn’t expected her to hear that. Charles Foster’s expression changed, looking utterly embarrassed, as if he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Grace Sawyer was clearly baffled, silently tapping her temples twice with her finger.

She wordlessly asked: Are you a little off in the head?

Who would ever volunteer to have their parents called in?

Charles Foster tried to act calm, mouthing, “I’ll explain another day,” then looked away.

As he turned his head, Grace Sawyer happened to notice that Charles Foster’s sister glanced over at her, but wasn’t actually looking at her.

Grace Sawyer followed her gaze.

Sure enough, she was looking at Henry Bennett.

At first, she thought it was just a coincidence. But later, Grace Sawyer saw her glance over several more times.

She didn’t know if it was unintentional or for some other reason.

Grace Sawyer lowered her eyes, slowly clenched her fist, then quietly shifted her position to block the woman’s line of sight.

-

The conversation lasted about forty minutes.

After finishing his complaints, Lucas Brooks took a sip of water. “That’s about it. Honestly, I don’t really want to keep bothering you to come over, but Grace Sawyer really gives me a headache. When I ask her to answer questions, she asks if I don’t know the answer, says I’m calling on her to teach me, and even jokes that I shouldn’t steal her job. It distracts the other kids from class.”

Henry Bennett paused, then glanced sideways at Grace Sawyer: “Is that true?”

Grace Sawyer immediately lowered her head, pretending to reflect.

Lucas Brooks nodded. “I’ve talked to your mother several times before, and I know it’s taken up a lot of your time, but it’s all for her own good. Grace Sawyer is very smart—if she studies hard, she’ll definitely get into No. 1 High School. Please keep an eye on her when you get home.”

“Alright,” Henry Bennett said. “I’ll make sure to discipline her when we get home.”

The two of them left the office.

Things had gone more smoothly than expected. Lucas Brooks hadn’t suspected a thing, and the weight on Grace Sawyer’s chest was finally lifted. She looked at Henry Bennett, her expression a bit warmer: “Thank you, brother.”

Henry Bennett gave a soft “mm”: “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah.” Grace Sawyer blinked. Since he’d helped her out, her tone was a bit more ingratiating. “What else would we do?”

“Well,” Henry Bennett paused, then reminded her slowly, “I haven’t started disciplining you yet.”

“……”

That was like a bucket of cold water dumped over Grace Sawyer’s head. Her happiness was instantly cut in half, and she reluctantly muttered, “You’re going to nag me too?”

“Let’s go.” Henry Bennett didn’t answer directly. “I’ll walk you home.”

Since he didn’t reply, Grace Sawyer assumed he was just joking. She was about to relax when Henry Bennett added, “I’ll nag you on the way.”

Grace Sawyer: “……”

The two of them walked side by side toward the school gate.

He actually gave her some time to recover and didn’t bring up the matter again while they were still on campus. Grace Sawyer nervously clutched her backpack strap and couldn’t help but say, “My brother helps me talk to the teacher, so after that, I never get scolded again.”

Henry Bennett: “Really?”

Grace Sawyer: “Of course it’s true!”

Henry Bennett stared at her, as if trying to judge whether she was telling the truth, then took out his phone from his pocket. “Let me check.”

“……”

“Wait!” Grace Sawyer jumped in alarm, bouncing up to grab his phone. “If you ask, my brother will find out! If he knows, it’s like the whole world knows! Then you came here for nothing today!”

“Well, as your brother, I have to check.” Henry Bennett teased her, raising and lowering his hand so she couldn’t reach the phone. “I came all this way—if I still get tricked by you, wouldn’t that be pitiful?”

At that moment, a female voice interrupted their interaction from behind. The voice was soft and almost inaudible, with obvious nervousness: “H-hi!”

The two of them instinctively turned around.

It was Charles Foster’s sister. She was standing there alone; Charles Foster was nowhere to be seen.

The woman wasn’t very tall, with a slender figure. Her features were delicate and pretty, and her cheeks were flushed. She looked at Henry Bennett, nervously pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Could I have your contact information?”

The atmosphere instantly became a bit awkward.