A few of them were just about to part ways when the short boy suddenly called out to Matthew Clark. He slung his arm over the blond boy’s shoulder and grinned,

“Brother Matthew, next time we go out to have fun, why don’t you come with us?”

Matthew Clark replied instantly, “Sure.”

“……” James Bennett, standing nearby, glanced at him.

“It’s settled then, bye!” The group of boys dispersed noisily.

Matthew Clark and James Bennett walked back to the apartment building together.

After walking a while, Matthew Clark was still lost in the moment and hadn’t snapped out of it. It wasn’t until they were almost at the door that he realized they hadn’t spoken a word the whole way.

…It felt like they were just carpooling home.

But James Bennett wasn’t the chatty type anyway.

Matthew Clark was just about to say something when James Bennett suddenly broke the silence, almost as if making small talk, “Uncle, you seem a lot more interested in my friends than in me?”

Matthew Clark took a second to react, then instantly fell silent.

No, it’s because you’re just one person, and they’re two.

He was just charmed by them.

He pressed his lips together: …Damn! How is he supposed to explain that?

Chapter 3: Group Dinner

Matthew Clark was silent for a few seconds, then finally reached out and patted James Bennett on the shoulder, saying softly, “It’s not your fault.”

James Bennett, “……”

The line sounded like something out of a melodramatic family drama, as if all that was missing was a torrential downpour. More importantly—

He glanced at him: and he didn’t even deny it.

James Bennett found it a bit funny and played along, “So where did I lose?”

Matthew Clark was very honest, “In numbers.”

“……”

James Bennett nodded, “So it was just being outnumbered.”

Matthew Clark glanced sideways, gaining a new understanding of the jock’s idiom skills. But seeing that James Bennett didn’t seem to mind at all, he even went along with the joke,

“If we’re counting by numbers, then Uncle, your favorite sport should be soccer.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the door.

Matthew Clark took out his key and unlocked the door with a click, “No, dragon boat racing.”

James Bennett, “………”

After dinner at home, James Bennett dutifully went to clear the table, while Matthew Clark returned to his own room.

He pulled out several event proposals he’d received today from his bag—

They included a few book signings, comic conventions, and themed doujin events, along with a list of proposed guests. Some of the authors were ones he really liked.

Matthew Clark felt secretly grateful:

It’s really great to be a manga editor.

Of course, he also had to thank the chief editor who planned the events.

Thinking this, he opened WeChat on his phone, picked a half-body photo from Evelyn Cooper’s Moments, and propped the screen up on his desk. He put his hands together and bowed devoutly.

Thank you.

Knock knock! Suddenly, there were two knocks at the door. “Uncle.”

Matthew Clark snapped back to reality, immediately stuffing the proposal into the drawer! Then he turned and answered,

“Come in.”

James Bennett pushed the door open, only to see the phone still propped up on the desk.

The chief editor’s half-body photo was smiling from the screen.

James Bennett: ………

Matthew Clark noticed out of the corner of his eye: …Holy crap!

Sunlight slanted in, and in the silence between the two, the presence of a third person was oddly strong.

James Bennett paused, “I just wanted to ask, do you need me to wipe the table?”

At this point, anything else felt a bit unnecessary. Matthew Clark stepped aside slightly, “…Thanks, please do.”

While he wiped the table, Matthew Clark stood to the side, head lowered, staring at the always-on photo. He noticed that when James Bennett picked up the phone, he even paused for a moment.

Maybe out of politeness, he nodded at the photo.

“……”

Matthew Clark looked away as if nothing had happened.

Ten kilometers away, Evelyn Cooper, who was driving, suddenly shivered.

-

The next day, James Bennett went off to training again.

Matthew Clark didn’t have to go to the office today, so he lounged in the study, leisurely catching up on the manga he’d missed.

“Lounged” was exactly right.

He was completely sunk into the sofa, both in posture and in spirit, feeling utterly content.

Halfway through, Charles Bennett called again.

“Matthew! My dear nephew—”

“He’s at training.” Matthew Clark flipped a page with a rustle, not even looking up.

“……” Charles Bennett, “I know. I mean my dear nephew left his training pass at home, and he messaged me to ask if you could send it by courier, cash on delivery is fine.”

Matthew Clark felt a little guilty: this image of a fool always looking for his nephew was too deeply ingrained—it was his own stereotype.

“Where’s the training pass?”

“On his desk in his room.” Charles Bennett added, “By the way, haven’t you two exchanged contact info?”

“……” Matthew Clark, “Forgot.”

Actually, it seemed like neither of them had thought of it.

The training pass was right there on the desk, easy to find. Matthew Clark quickly located it, hung up on Charles Bennett, and paused before calling a courier:

This pass must be pretty important, and a courier would take a while.

Since he had nothing to do today, he might as well check out the campus.

So he pocketed the pass and headed out.

It was close to F University from here, less than ten minutes by taxi. F University had an open campus, so Matthew Clark asked for directions at the gate and made his way to the training site.