The companion pretended to be picking out items at the convenience store, but kept sneaking glances over there: "I have a friend in his class, and I heard that... when he first started high school, he got into a fight with a senior and actually made the senior cry. Usually, he's either sleeping or skipping class altogether, and he has a terrible temper! Someone just looked at him a bit too long in the cafeteria, and he dumped his whole tray of food on that person. Oh, and I think he even hit a teacher... In short, he's a total troublemaker!"

So scary?

The girl listened in a daze, and was just about to say maybe we shouldn't get milk tea after all, when the boy in the distance suddenly made a move.

Maybe he didn't control his strength, but the blade sank into the back of his hand, instantly leaving a fine, beaded cut that started to bleed.

The girl gasped! Before she could react, she saw Grace Bennett toss the knife aside, press a tissue to the wound with a frown, then lift his eyes—looking over in their direction.

When she looked up, the girl finally got a clear look at Grace Bennett's face—she'd seen him at the flag-raising ceremony before, but never this clearly.

Grace Bennett had long, narrow eyes, with a tiny mole at the corner of his right eye, and another one lower down on his cheek. His eyelids were thin, and his face was marked with injuries. When he looked over like that, the girl felt a chill run through her—

It's over.

He's going to throw milk tea on me.

But soon, she realized something was off.

Grace Bennett didn't seem... to be looking at them?

The girl froze for two seconds, then turned around, only to find that there was another boy standing behind them.

The boy was very tall, standing out in the crowd like a straight pine tree. He carried his bag over one shoulder, his school uniform neat and spotless, barely a wrinkle in sight.

She even caught a faint scent of soap.

At that moment, his gaze, just like theirs earlier, was fixed on the milk tea shop.

The girl widened her eyes slightly—she didn't know Grace Bennett, but this one she remembered well.

After all, every time there was a big exam and seats were assigned by grades, this guy was always in the very first seat of Class One.

Grace Bennett had already noticed someone nearby staring at him.

He just hadn't expected that when he looked over, the other person would still meet his gaze openly and expressionlessly. A few seconds later, maybe noticing the injuries on his face, the boy even seemed to frown in disgust.

That made Grace Bennett inexplicably angry.

After a moment, confirming that the guy really was blatantly sizing him up, Grace Bennett put away the small knife, pointed to the seat next to him, and said to the guy, "If you like watching so much, why don't you come sit closer?"

Chapter 2

At that moment, students were coming and going all around. They didn't dare stop for fear of getting dragged in, but couldn't help wanting to watch the drama.

Some students who had guessed on a few test questions automatically ran Grace Bennett's words through their minds as a reading comprehension exercise, and concluded it basically meant, "Look one more time and see if I don't gouge your eyes out."

The two girls caught in the middle exchanged a glance and immediately decided to run.

But before they could, the boy behind them moved first.

He raised his hand, hooked his thumb under his backpack strap, and, under the surprised and nervous gazes of the crowd, calmly walked toward Grace Bennett.

Grace Bennett stared at him expressionlessly, and when he saw him coming, slowly got to his feet—

"School's over and you're not going home? What are you all doing here?!"

A booming voice interrupted the meeting.

Grace Bennett's eyelid twitched, and he tilted his head to glance behind the boy. Before he saw the person, he saw a shiny bald spot.

"..." The tension he'd just built up instantly vanished, and he lazily sat back down.

The newcomer clearly recognized the voice too, and stopped in his tracks.

A slightly short and chubby middle-aged man carrying a dark blue briefcase walked over from the school gate. As he walked, he glared at the students watching the commotion, and in the blink of an eye, the crowd scattered.

The man was the school's discipline director. When he saw who was causing the disturbance, his eyebrows shot up: "Grace Bennett? You again! School hasn't even started yet—what are you doing here?"

Grace Bennett glanced at the milk tea shop, then looked at him: "Does the school own this shop?"

"..." The discipline director was speechless for two seconds, then, seeing his face clearly, glared again. "And what's with your face? Gotten into another fight, haven't you?"

"I fell."

"Don't try to fool me. Where could you fall and end up like that?"

Grace Bennett thought for a moment: "Not far. Want me to show you?"

The discipline director took a deep breath.

After such a long break and a good New Year, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have Grace Bennett make his chest hurt with anger.

"Just you wait. When school starts tomorrow, I'll talk to your homeroom teacher."

He pointed at Grace Bennett as he spoke, then turned to look at the other student standing beside him.

For a moment, Grace Bennett felt like he was watching a Sichuan opera face change.

"Brian, heading home?" The discipline director smiled kindly.

Grace Bennett saw that the classmate with the annoying face finally looked away from him, lowered his eyes, and replied flatly, "Yeah."

The discipline director patted his shoulder: "Wait a bit, I happen to need something from you. Come back to school with me for a moment."