He had been hearing this name on and off for almost a year, from once every two or three months to nearly every day now—he was really starting to get used to it. It had to be said that Martin Bennett was a master at controlling the pace; there was nothing to fault. So much so that even when William Bennett wanted to lose his temper, he couldn’t find a suitable entry point.

Last month, Martin Bennett said he would be twice as busy in the second half of the year and wouldn’t be able to stay at home for more than a few days. He also said something had happened on Owen Harris’s side, so her place was no longer livable. That’s why he wanted Owen Harris to move in—so she’d have a place to stay and could help look after William Bennett.

In truth, the “looking after” was just for show; there were already housekeepers for cleaning and cooking. The so-called “incident” might not even be real—it was just an excuse, a way to break the ice. Once they actually lived together, would she ever leave?

This matter was called a discussion, but before William Bennett could even nod in agreement, new items had already started appearing at home. Everything was being prepared to welcome that woman—oh, and her son.

Whether or not tonight’s dinner happened, there was only one outcome.

Still not hearing a response from William Bennett, Martin Bennett called his name again on the phone.

Just then, Director Carter, who looked like a big-mouthed monkey, happened to walk in. William Bennett paused for a moment and hung up the call.

After all, it was the first day for new students to report in, so Director of Political Education Director Carter could still maintain a basic air of kindness. “Calling home? It’s fine, no need to hang up in a hurry. It’s only right to let them know.”

William Bennett turned his head, a youthful smile on his face. “Thank you, teacher. I was just about done talking anyway.”

Director Carter pointed at him and nodded to the teachers behind him. He had just said downstairs that this new transfer student, despite having a face that could cause trouble among the girls, was clearly a well-behaved student who wouldn’t step out of line.

“Come, have a seat.” Director Carter pointed at a small stack of newly moved-in books. “These are the textbooks you’ll theoretically need this semester. You can take a look.”

What did he mean by “theoretically”?

William Bennett didn’t quite get it at first. He picked up the chemistry book on top and flipped through a couple of pages. The content seemed to connect well enough with what he’d studied before—more or less the same. It shouldn’t be a problem to keep up.

“I’ve looked at your previous records—you’ve transferred schools several times?” Director Carter asked.

William Bennett nodded. “Yeah, a few times.” Basically, he’d been following Martin Bennett around.

He attended elementary school in Jiangsu, transferred twice between seventh and tenth grade, and this was the third time. Thanks to these experiences, he didn’t have much attachment to any place and never stayed long anywhere.

“I’ve also seen your transcripts. You’re an excellent student—almost always in the top three of your grade. You definitely have the ability. It’s just that the course sequence and pace might be a little different between the schools.” Director Carter gestured with his fingers, showing a gap of less than a centimeter, and reassured him, “Transferring schools always comes with these little issues. Just put in a bit of effort and you’ll catch up. Don’t worry.”

William Bennett had always had smooth sailing academically and had never really been intimidated by anyone. There was no way he’d be afraid now. But he couldn’t come off as too arrogant, so he tucked away his pride. “I was mentally prepared before coming. I’ll do my best to keep up.”

Director Carter looked even kinder. “Did you have any subject streaming in tenth grade?”

William Bennett replied, “No, but the school tried a semester of the rotating class system.”

“Oh.” Director Carter nodded. “Actually, we use the rotating class system too, just with a special twist.”

William Bennett was a bit confused. “Special? How so?”

“The A class you’re about to join is the advanced science class for eleventh grade. We rotate every half semester. You know there are two big exams each term, midterm and final, right? After each exam, the bottom three students move to B class, and the top three from B class move up. That’s our version of the rotating class system.”

William Bennett: “……”

In short, other schools rotate classes by course selection; here, it’s more like a game of musical chairs.

After scaring the kid enough, Director Carter finally decided to act like a decent person.

He led William Bennett through the flower corridor toward the Mingli Building. As they passed an honor wall, William Bennett couldn’t help glancing a few more times, because the wall of expressionless “ID photos” really looked like a wanted list.

This school’s sense of aesthetics is something else, he thought.

But Director Carter stood on tiptoe and spread his arms like a peacock, saying proudly, “There aren’t too many competitions in tenth grade, but we still did very well. Most of the people on this wall will be your classmates—you can get to know them in advance.”

William Bennett was face-blind and had no interest in recognizing classmates ahead of time, but he did remember one person.

First, this person appeared way too many times, single-handedly turning the honor wall into a matching game. Second, his surname was Jiang, and his name was Edward Harris.

The second point was the real issue.

William Bennett figured that if he were emperor, he’d definitely be a lousy one—loved to punish everyone for one person’s mistake. Petty? So be it. Lately, he just couldn’t stand anyone with the surname Jiang.

For the thousandth time, Director Carter admired the wall, but suddenly his face fell. He leaned in close to Edward Harris’s photo, wiped it twice, and snapped, “Who’s been doodling hearts on the honor wall? No discipline at all!”

William Bennett chimed in helpfully, “And it’s not just one person.”

The school photographer had a wild style, but the people in the photos still had a certain quality. In Director Carter’s words, they could cause trouble for girls anywhere. But William Bennett thought that this kind of cool, aloof guy was almost certainly a Bking.