He prayed that in the days to come, he could stay a bit farther away from this person, so as not to end up fighting one day if he couldn’t stand it anymore.

But not even five minutes after making this wish, he was pinned down by Director Carter right next to the real-life Bking. The reason was that it would be a bit tough to catch up at first, and the best way was to ask your deskmate if you had any questions.

Director Carter said, “Looking at the whole grade, I doubt you could find a more suitable deskmate than Edward Harris.”

As soon as he finished speaking, over forty pairs of eyes in the class shot suffocating looks their way.

William Bennett glanced dryly at the big-mouthed monkey, thinking, screw you.

Author’s note: Repeat after me, William Bennett is the uke.

I’m bouncing back out again.

I’ve always been a bit afraid of writing romance and slice-of-life scenes, so I’m starting a new story to break this bad habit. Hope it won’t turn out ugly~

Happy Qixi Festival, everyone~

Chapter 2: Blow

“Teacher, someone’s looking for you.” A girl called out to Director Carter, pointing outside the window.

The hand pressing down on William Bennett’s shoulder finally let go. Director Carter nodded at the person outside who was looking for him and said, “A meeting, right? I’ll be right there.”

He straightened up and pointed at the earphones William Bennett hadn’t taken off, saying, “By the way, today’s registration is an exception. Starting tomorrow, things like phones, earphones, PSPs shouldn’t appear in the classroom. If I catch you—hey—”

He tapped his index finger twice, then, faster than lightning, reached into the desk compartment of the boy in front.

“Shit!” The boy jumped up immediately, clutching his backpack so fast it was like he’d touched a live wire.

“Think covering it up will help? Second time already, Samuel Wright.” Director Carter raised his hand, shaking the freshly confiscated phone, and said to William Bennett, “See that? That’s a negative example. Also, where’s the discipline monitor?”

A girl in the first row poked her head out. “Here.”

“Playing with your phone, minus 3 civility points. Swearing, minus 1 point.”

“Okay.”

Director Carter had scored big, and left contentedly with his spoils.

William Bennett had witnessed the whole capture up close, looking a bit dazed. The boy named Samuel Wright looked at him, his gaze growing more and more resentful. After a few seconds, William Bennett finally reacted, silently took off his earphones, and stuffed them along with his phone into his backpack, so as not to provoke anyone.

Samuel Wright was still looking at him.

William Bennett thought for a moment, then politely offered, “My condolences.”

“Damn.” Samuel Wright couldn’t hold it in, wiping his face with a laugh-cry. “It’s fine, it’s not the first time. Anyway, they check for phones every so often. Who here hasn’t been caught before?”

“Oh.” William Bennett nodded, then wondered, “So why are you looking at me?”

Samuel Wright: “Just curious.”

William Bennett: “?”

“Before you came in, we were just talking about you. I even Baidu’d your old school. What could have been so bad at your age that you’d transfer to Jiangsu in your second year of high school?”

William Bennett gave a dry laugh and said, “Ask my dad.”

Samuel Wright rubbed his buzz cut, wanting to gossip a bit more, but the bell suddenly rang. The classmates who’d been slouching and chatting all sat up straight, and those who’d napped through the long break all looked up, stretching their arms and necks, pulling out a stack of worksheets from their desks.

When everyone returned to their seats and stopped crowding together, William Bennett’s sense of awkwardness became overwhelming—because in this class, everyone had single, individual desks! Only he had his desk pushed together with another, and a deskmate who slept like a corpse.

What the hell…

William Bennett had just taken out his new textbooks, holding his backpack awkwardly, not knowing whether to put it down or not. In his extreme embarrassment, he could only turn and glare at Edward Harris.

This suspected Bking of a deskmate might have spent the night out stealing; he didn’t even hear the bell. His propped-up arm covered most of his face, and only the lines of his jaw could be seen through the gap. The white crew-neck T-shirt outlined the curve of his hunched shoulders and back, rising and falling gently with his breathing.

Is he planning to sleep until school’s out? William Bennett thought.

The Samuel Wright in the seat in front suddenly remembered something, turned around, and quickly pushed Edward Harris, whispering, “Wake up, hey Brother Edward, it’s self-study.”

He pointed at Edward Harris and explained to William Bennett, “He asked me to wake him up for class, so he doesn’t oversleep.”

William Bennett raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. He’d thought this deskmate was just here to show off by sleeping all day and still getting perfect scores.

Samuel Wright called twice, and Edward Harris finally woke up.

He gave a low “mm,” his fingers curled a few times at the back of his head, black short hair poking out between his fingers. His thumb pressed against his index finger joint, making a soft “crack” sound, and only then did he lift his head. After sitting up straight, he rubbed his face again.

It was obvious how hard it was for him to wake up.

“Damn, what did you do last night to be this tired?” Samuel Wright couldn’t help but ask.

“Some stupid stuff.” Edward Harris clearly didn’t want to elaborate; besides sleepiness, his brows were full of annoyance. He fished a bottle of mineral water from his desk, the icy mist on the bottle melting a bit between his fingers. He unscrewed it and took a sip, and finally caught sight of William Bennett out of the corner of his eye.

He frowned and turned his head. Maybe it was because he’d just drunk cold water, but his voice and tone were both chilly: “Who are you, and what are you doing sitting here?”

Listen to this crap.