"Probably." Martin Bennett glanced at the wall clock and muttered, "It's almost 1 o'clock, let's go downstairs first."

The deliberately softened footsteps grew farther from the room, heading down the stairs.

William Bennett vaguely heard his dad say, "I have an early flight tomorrow, keep an eye on things."

Not until all the sounds downstairs had completely faded did William Bennett return to the desk. He swept the books aside and sat on the desktop, feet resting on the edge of the chair, the test paper spread across his bent knees. He buried his head in it for ten minutes, but his mind was a tangled mess with no clue where to start.

He lifted his head, leaning back slightly.

From this angle, he could see the half-open window of the next room. The light from a desk lamp shone through the curtains onto the glass. Judging by this, Edward Harris was definitely working on homework too.

I wonder if he's finished the physics problems...

He probably has. During evening study, he was working through test papers. If he hasn't finished by now, he doesn't deserve to be called a top student.

But what if he can't solve the last question either?

But the guy always gets full marks.

It was like there was a crab living in William Bennett's head, noisily arguing with him.

The test paper or his pride—he had to choose one.

The pen in William Bennett's hand spun rapidly for N rounds before he finally slapped it on the desk: I choose pride.

Five minutes later, the young master, with his shattered pride, stood in front of the next room's door. He raised his hand three times before finally, reluctantly, knocking.

"Who is it?" Edward Harris's voice sounded from inside, cold.

Even though he was "living under someone else's roof," this guy showed not a hint of caution or timidity. That "who" was asked so righteously, it almost sent William Bennett back to his own room. He shifted his left foot, then pulled it back, strategically pretending not to hear.

With no response, Edward Harris shuffled over in his slippers. The doorknob clicked, and the door opened halfway.

He clearly hadn't expected it to be William Bennett at the door and was momentarily stunned. Maybe he still remembered being dragged into the room earlier, because his expression was anything but friendly. He looked like he had a toothache, or some other pain.

"What kind of face is that?" William Bennett said.

"If you have something to say, say it." Edward Harris obviously didn't want to chat.

William Bennett opened his mouth, reached out, and said, "Give me back my pen."

Edward Harris stared at him expressionlessly for two seconds, then turned and went back into the room.

Seeing the doorway empty, William Bennett turned and smacked his own mouth.

Scared, huh, pretty boy? Just admit you're scared! He mocked himself furiously in his mind, but as soon as Edward Harris returned to the door, he instantly put on a lazy, indifferent look.

Edward Harris handed the pen over and asked, "Anything else?"

"That's it," William Bennett said.

Edward Harris nodded and, without another word, closed the door.

"......"

William Bennett stared at the pen for a few seconds, then slowly raised a middle finger at the door before rolling back to his room to continue wrestling with the physics test.

As a student who'd always had a smooth ride, he'd certainly made mistakes before, but this feeling of having no idea where to start was a first. Students like him all had the same problem: they couldn't sleep unless they'd logically filled in every blank on the test paper.

He tried several approaches, but each time he got halfway through and crossed it out. People who've done a lot of test papers develop this intuition—the right answer might not come to you, but you can spot the wrong ones at a glance.

William Bennett was stuck in a whirlpool of mistakes, scratching his head in frustration for twenty minutes before finally tossing his pen aside.

His attention had just been on the little ball, water droplets, and adhesive force. When he stood up, he vaguely heard movement outside the door—no idea what Edward Harris was up to.

Maybe he went for a walk after going crazy from all the problems?

William Bennett hesitated for a moment, then went over and turned the doorknob again.

As soon as the door opened, a wave of humid air hit him. William Bennett was caught off guard and then realized Edward Harris was just coming out of the bathroom across the hall. He'd changed into a loose gray T-shirt, his short black hair half-dry and combed back with his fingers—clearly just out of the shower.

He was holding a towel, shaking water out of his ear, and only then looked up at William Bennett, asking, "Anything else?"

William Bennett pivoted on his toes and headed straight for the stairs. "Going downstairs for some water. Go finish your shower."

He grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge, twisted off the cap, but found he couldn't drink it. So he slunk back upstairs and into his room.

William Bennett pressed the cold bottle to his forehead and lay on the desk for a while, until he was almost falling asleep. Finally, he convinced himself—it's clear they'll be sharing a room for a while, and things can't stay this awkward forever. Sooner or later, someone has to break the ice.

This physics problem was the perfect excuse.

William Bennett stood up for the third time, this time taking the test paper with him—might as well go all in.

He'd already prepared himself to knock on the next door, but as soon as he opened his own, he saw Edward Harris leaning against the wall. His left hand was casually toweling his hair, his right hand holding his phone, eyes down on the screen, as expressionless as ever.

"What are you doing at my door?" William Bennett was startled.

"Waiting for the rabbit," Edward Harris said, finally looking up from his phone.

William Bennett: "......"

If it weren't for his less-than-happy expression, William Bennett would have thought he was joking.

Edward Harris put his phone back in his pocket and asked, "You've been running in and out for ages—what do you actually want?"

William Bennett tossed the test paper behind his back, unable to come up with a word for a long time. In the end, he just said, "What's it to you?" and closed the door.

A man's pride is bigger than the sky.