"Ah! Skipping class?" David Thompson was startled. Skipping class might not be a big deal in college or vocational school, but for a middle school student, the severity of skipping class was already comparable to committing murder or arson.

Even the bad students in Class One had never skipped school.

"If you skip class and the teacher finds out... they'll call your parents. If my dad finds out..."

"Oh, our beloved class monitor is scared, huh?"

David Thompson was indeed scared. She was a fourteen-year-old girl, outstanding in both character and academics. For her, even being late was already a very, very wicked thing. But hearing Brian Carter's teasing tone made her angry, so she retorted stubbornly, "Hmph, who says I'm scared? I-I'm not scared at all. It's just skipping class with you, who's afraid of whom?"

As soon as she said this, David Thompson regretted it, but Brian Carter didn't give her a chance to speak again.

"Then it's settled. Since we're skipping class, class monitor, I'll take you somewhere fun." David Thompson was clever, but how could she outmatch Brian Carter, who looked fourteen on the outside but was a thirty-two-year-old uncle on the inside?

The journey was a bit dull. David Thompson felt uneasy and regretted her decision more and more. "Um..."

"Class monitor, are you scared and want to go back to school?"

"Of course... not," David Thompson's little face turned red.

"How about this, it's a bit boring on the way, so I'll ask you a simple question, class monitor. If one equals five, 2=9, 3=13, 4=17, then what does five equal?"

"Hmph, that's easy. Five equals twenty-one. The pattern is multiply by four and add one," David Thompson said.

"No, no, no, that's wrong. I'll give you another chance."

"How could it be wrong? Two times four plus one is nine, three times four plus one is thirteen, four times four plus one is seventeen, five times four plus one is twenty-one."

"Mm, that makes sense, but it's still wrong," Brian Carter said.

"How could it be? Then what's the answer?"

"The answer is, five equals one," Brian Carter said with a smile.

"Equals one?" David Thompson was stunned at first, not reacting, but then she quickly understood. If one equals five, then five naturally equals one.

"Hmph, that's a brain teaser, not a math problem."

"When did I say it was a math problem, class monitor?" Brian Carter said.

"Hmph," David Thompson snorted, turning her head, her ponytail facing Brian Carter.

"Don't be discouraged, class monitor. Paul Salas, a psychologist at Yale University in the US, once said that IQ only accounts for twenty percent of a person's success factors, while EQ accounts for about sixty percent." David Thompson gave Brian Carter a tissue ball and rolled her eyes.

"Class monitor, the night gave you black eyes, but you use them to roll your eyes. What a waste of talent."

David Thompson couldn't help but laugh, but then she straightened her face. "Xiao Si, I haven't seen you for a whole summer, and you've become so glib. You quizzed me, so now I'll quiz you."

"Do you know the HorseFlies effect?" David Thompson then spelled it out again, and looked at Brian Carter provocatively. "You don't know, do you?"

To be able to know the meaning of any word just by hearing it—not to mention middle schoolers, even high school or college students couldn't do that. Actually, David Thompson had seen this word in a book her parents were reading, and copied it down to ask her English teacher, but now she was using it to stump Brian Carter.

Brian Carter pursed his lips and smiled.

"What are you smiling at? You definitely don't know," David Thompson said.

"What if I do know?"

"If you know, if you know..." David Thompson tilted her head, unable to think of what to do.

"How about this, let's make a bet. If I can tell you the meaning of that English phrase, class monitor, you have to agree to one not-too-excessive request from me."

Not-too-excessive request—note the wording: not too excessive...

"Okay," David Thompson thought for a moment and agreed, certain that Brian Carter wouldn't be able to answer.

"HorseFlies effect, if translated into Chinese, is 马蝇效应. The meaning is very straightforward: even the laziest horse will become energetic if it's bitten by horseflies." Brian Carter smiled faintly. "The horseflies effect mainly means that leaders should know how to motivate their employees."

"What horse, what horseflies? Xiao Si, you must be making this up. I've never heard of it."

"Then class monitor, you can check the English dictionary or ask the teacher when you get back."

"There are lots of effects that use animals as metaphors, like Crab Syndrome, frog effect, Catfish Effect, and the most famous, Butterfly Effect."

"Class monitor, don't forget our bet just now."

"Hmph," David Thompson snorted stubbornly, while muttering to herself, When did Xiao Si become so knowledgeable? Of all those effects he just mentioned, she'd only heard of the Butterfly Effect.

"Xiao Si, where are you taking me?"

"Where? Of course, somewhere fun. Hurry up and follow me," said Brian Carter, running toward the morning sun with his backpack, and David Thompson followed behind. After running for about three minutes, Brian Carter finally stopped, but by then David Thompson was already out of breath.