A lustrous bracelet adorned her fair wrist, and the scent of soap wafted from her sleeve, faintly mingled with the fragrance of old-fashioned domestic skincare products—the kind women used over a decade ago—Brian Cooper took a gentle sniff—this was exactly how his grandmother used to smell.

“Was it called Pechoin? Yumeting? Or maybe that Yelaixiang snow cream?” Brian Cooper’s previously seamless train of thought was suddenly derailed.

“Poor thing,” Grandma Carter said. “Your mom says you’re a smart student. How old are you now?”

Brian Cooper was lost in thoughts of past and present, East and West, and was caught off guard by the question. His lips moved slightly, but he didn’t respond in time—his face flushed before he could react.

Just like that, he missed his chance to voice an opinion, and muddle-headedly let the adults decide his living arrangements for the foreseeable future.

After Brian Cooper and the others left, William Carter stormed into James Carter’s study, fuming.

William Carter: “Comrade James Carter, I’m telling you, I do not agree.”

James Carter silently pulled out his wallet and extracted a wad of bright red cash. “Take it and spend it. Stop bothering me.”

William Carter held his ground on principle. “Don’t try that with me. Do you think I can be bought? I wouldn’t care if you adopted a whole orphanage, but letting that... that Dou guy move in is out of the question!”

James Carter looked up at him. “What, you know him?”

William Carter: “...He’s the one I fought with the other day.”

James Carter raised his eyebrows slightly and replied coolly, “Well, that’s quite the fateful encounter.”

William Carter: “Mom!”

“William Carter, what’s the point of complaining now? When I asked you before, you agreed without a second thought, leaving me isolated and helpless in front of your grandma, with no choice but to give in.” James Carter sighed. “Oh, and now you’re backing out? Too late!”

William Carter: “But you never said you were bringing in someone like that!”

“Don’t argue with me,” James Carter said. “How many times have I told you? You have to keep your word to others and to yourself. That’s the basic principle of being a person. If you keep changing your mind every other day, what does that make you?”

William Carter: “Fine, I’m not a person, I have no shame, I’m a dog, okay? Woof woof woof!”

James Carter was momentarily stunned by her precious son’s shamelessness, but quickly regained her fighting spirit. “Telling me is useless. This was your grandma’s decision. Can you handle your grandma?”

William Carter: “……”

“If you can, go ahead. If you can get your grandma to change her mind, starting tomorrow, I’ll call you Dad.” Ms. James Carter spread her hands, shameless as well. “Otherwise, go cool off somewhere else. From now on, get along with your classmate and no more fighting—growing taller every day, aren’t you embarrassed!”

In front of their grandma, both William Carter and James Carter were always equally timid. They exchanged a glance, both angry but not daring to speak up.

And so, Brian Cooper packed a simple bag and moved into William Carter’s home.

That evening, to express his subtle protest, William Carter skipped dinner at home and went to the McDonald’s where Henry Clark was on shift.

“This is intolerable,” William Carter said.

Henry Clark knew William Carter was just venting and didn’t comment.

Whenever William Carter thought about having to see Brian Cooper at home all the time, it felt like a restless volcano was brewing inside him, ready to erupt. But in front of Henry Clark, he just couldn’t let it out—William Carter never took off his shoes to show his stinky feet in front of any girl except Yu Yiran, and likewise, he wasn’t used to cursing and swearing in front of Henry Clark.

It wasn’t that he saw Henry Clark as a girl, but he also couldn’t lump Henry Clark in with the likes of Wu Tao and the other rough guys.

William Carter always instinctively protected Henry Clark. Everyone who played basketball with them knew—even though Henry Clark was clumsy with the ball behind his glasses, he was the best at keeping an eye on William Carter. William Carter had picked up all sorts of collision techniques from hanging out with the school basketball team thugs, but he never used them on Henry Clark.

Unable to curse, William Carter irritably crushed his empty iced tea cup. “No wonder...”

He was about to say, “No wonder that Dou guy always looks like he needs a slap—turns out he’s been unwanted since he was a kid,” but caught himself just in time—this wasn’t something to say in front of Henry Clark, so he quickly swallowed the rest.

Henry Clark waited a while but didn’t hear the rest, so he asked, “No wonder what?”

William Carter sighed dramatically. “...No wonder my eyelid’s been twitching these past couple of days.”

After this awkward excuse, William Carter felt even more stifled and regretted coming to see Henry Clark—he might as well have gone to the internet café with the guys to play a round of CS.

That night, when William Carter got home, he saw Brian Cooper sitting with Grandma Carter in the living room. On the coffee table was Grandma Carter’s off-key radio, now disassembled into pieces. Brian Cooper was using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to clean the dust off the components inside.

Brian Cooper and William Carter exchanged a glance, both finding the other disagreeable, and simultaneously looked away with indifference.

Grandma muttered, “Out all night, not a shadow in sight, and doesn’t even say hello when he comes in—getting older and less considerate.”

William Carter pretended not to hear and asked, “What’s going on here?”

Grandma complained, “The radio’s not working, and I’ve been telling you all for ages, but no one’s fixed it for me.”