This kind of feeling has an incredibly strong impact on some 18- or 19-year-old girls. This was probably the first time in Scott Dalton’s life that she felt a desire to actively approach the opposite sex. She was a bit at a loss, but the brave streak in her character made her do something she’d never done before—take the initiative to switch seats.

　　It was the final days of senior year, and the class had become much more tolerant.

　　Almost any behavior could be explained as a way to release the pressure of the college entrance exam. As long as it wasn’t out of line, the teachers wouldn’t look too deeply into it. If contact between boys and girls could help ease the pre-exam anxiety, then as long as both sides were willing, sitting together and the like was not out of the question. Besides, there were only about 20 days left—how far could a relationship even go at this point?

　　One day at lunch, Henry Jordan asked David Bennett about Scott Dalton.

　　High schoolers are still pretty innocent; as long as they feel close, there aren’t that many taboo topics.

　　David Bennett skillfully deflected the question and even gave Henry Jordan a bit of a compliment: “Actually, Scott Dalton wanted to ask you, but you always look so serious that she didn’t dare. Then she saw me always coming to you with questions, so she came to me. Honestly, I don’t really get some of them either. A few of the questions I’ve asked you these past couple of days were actually from her.”

　　Henry Jordan vaguely felt something was off about this, but he still enjoyed David Bennett’s explanation.

　　The first class in the afternoon was politics. David Bennett, following his own review plan, was busy with his own work. His deskmate, Dylan Gordon, suddenly nudged him with his elbow. When David Bennett looked up, Dylan Gordon glanced over at Scott Dalton.

　　David Bennett took a look, then looked back at Dylan Gordon in confusion. Dylan Gordon made a helpless face and gestured in front of his chest.

　　David Bennett looked again and realized that Scott Dalton had taken off her jacket. Underneath was a white shirt, and under the white shirt… a black bra.

　　Obviously, the boys in the back row noticed this too. Some of the boys who were just coasting along in school started whispering to each other, their eyes focusing on Scott Dalton’s back like searchlights spotting an enemy.

　　To these boys, who knew nothing about women, Scott Dalton’s black bra was even more alluring than Teacher Qian’s black stockings on the podium.

　　Sitting diagonally behind Scott Dalton, David Bennett could see from the changes in her profile that she was feeling awkward.

　　In fact, David Bennett felt a bit sentimental. In his eyes, his classmates’ behavior was full of the flavor of youth—everything was new, and they could even feel shy under someone else’s gaze. Many of these simple, primitive traits would disappear from their faces and their lives in a few years, turning them into people even they wouldn’t recognize.

　　Before evening self-study started, Scott Dalton came to David Bennett and told him to wait for her at the school gate after class. Then she went back to her seat.

　　……

　　The last days of high school, in some kids’ eyes, felt like a long trek through the desert—monotonous, anxious, and hopeless. For others, it was the first real social stratification in their lives, where some people were destined to fall behind. But in David Bennett’s eyes, the time that once seemed sufficient now felt like an hourglass speeding up—the more he got into the role, the more he realized how much he still lacked, and it even made him a little anxious.

　　At this moment, Scott Dalton approached David Bennett.

　　Like a curious little animal, driven by instinct, drawn by male charm. Although in his eyes, Scott Dalton was more of a little girl than a peer, the attention from the opposite sex still gave David Bennett a considerable boost of encouragement and strength.

　　At first, when Scott Dalton came to sit with him, David Bennett would get a little distracted. Later, smelling the fragrance on the young girl, as if enveloped by a strange force field, he became calm and focused, working with great efficiency.

　　Since she had taken the initiative to ask him out, for the sake of both reason and protecting the girl’s dignity, David Bennett had no reason to stand her up.

　　He waited at the school gate with his bike for quite a while. Most of the students had already left when Scott Dalton came out, pushing her bike.

　　Stopping in front of David Bennett, Scott Dalton handed him a small tin box and said, “This is your reward. Now take me home.”

　　After handing him the box, Scott Dalton got on her bike and turned right at the school gate.

　　Putting the tin box away, David Bennett got on his bike and chased after Scott Dalton.

Chapter 0008: Side by Side in the Summer Rain at Dusk

　　He got home a bit later than usual, but his parents didn’t ask anything.

　　His mom brought over two freshly fried eggs, told him to go to bed early, and then went back to her room.

　　David Bennett sat at his desk, took out the small tin box, and only then noticed it was heart-shaped, with chocolates inside.

　　This hadn’t happened in his previous life.

　　In the last few dozen days before the college entrance exam in his previous life, David Bennett could barely remember anything. Even if he wasn’t completely muddleheaded, he was probably still confused, but one thing was certain—there was definitely no such thing as Scott Dalton.

　　He put the tin box in the corner of his desk and continued studying.

　　David Bennett was a “night owl”—ever since he was a child, he was always most alert at night.

　　When he got tired of studying, he would go out into the yard, take a few deep breaths of fresh air, then look up at the star-filled sky for a while.

　　To these stars, 2001 and 2014 were just a blink of an eye, maybe not even that. But to David Bennett, it was the most beautiful and precious time of his life.