David Bennett was determined to attend Dongsen University, but he wouldn’t tell anyone in advance. He replied, “No, I’ll talk about it after the exam.”

　　Scott Dalton: Oh. Do you want to study in our province or go elsewhere?

　　David Bennett: In the province, I guess. Usually, the scores required for local schools are a bit lower.

　　Scott Dalton: Which part of me do you think looks the best?

　　David Bennett stared at the question for a while, then wrote on the paper: legs.

　　Scott Dalton looked at the note, glanced down at her own chest, then stretched her legs, ending this paper conversation.

　　……

　　That afternoon, the sky was overcast, and by nightfall, a light rain began to fall.

　　At the school gate, David Bennett said, “Leave your bike at school and find a ride home.”

　　Scott Dalton gripped the handlebars and said, “No! I’ll go home by myself, you should go home too.”

　　David Bennett didn’t agree and insisted on taking Scott Dalton home.

　　Halfway there, the rain got heavier.

　　David Bennett took off his jacket and put it on Scott Dalton. The two of them rode their bike through the sheets of rain, both completely soaked.

　　“The rain is too heavy, let’s find somewhere to take shelter and wait until it eases up before we go. If we’re late, we’ll just say we were waiting out the rain.” David Bennett slowed down, waited for Scott Dalton to catch up, and shouted to her.

　　The raindrops made it almost impossible for Scott Dalton to keep her eyes open, so she just nodded hard at David Bennett. Not far ahead, David Bennett spotted a doorway where they could take shelter and led Scott Dalton inside.

　　He leaned the bike against the wall and, seeing how drenched Scott Dalton was, asked her to take off the jacket and give it to him so he could wring out the water.

　　Wearing wet clothes, the draft in the doorway felt especially cold. Scott Dalton shivered a little and suggested to David Bennett that they not wait any longer and just keep riding home.

　　Watching the cars with their headlights speeding through the rain, David Bennett rejected Scott Dalton’s suggestion: “The rain is too heavy, and it’s dark. You can’t see the road clearly, it’s too dangerous. Let’s wait a bit longer, we’ll go when it eases up.”

　　The two of them found a sheltered corner nearby, huddled together watching the rain outside.

　　Sensing that Scott Dalton could no longer control her shivering, David Bennett moved Scott Dalton behind him and stood outside to shield her from the wind.

　　After a while, David Bennett felt Scott Dalton getting closer and closer behind him, until she was pressed up against his back, her arms wrapped gently around his waist.

　　David Bennett forced himself to resist the urge to turn around and hug her.

　　He knew that if he did anything to Scott Dalton but couldn’t give her anything in return, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Chapter 0009: College Entrance Exam Room Assignment

　　The next day, Scott Dalton didn’t come to school. Her family called in to say she got sick from the rain the night before. Actually, after going home yesterday, David Bennett also had a bit of a fever, but after a night’s sleep, he was fine in the morning.

　　David Bennett didn’t see Scott Dalton again until seven days later.

　　These days, looking at Scott Dalton’s empty seat, David Bennett deeply regretted not insisting that Scott Dalton take a cab home that night. He knew Scott Dalton just wanted to spend more time with him, but why didn’t he insist?

　　Forget it, whatever happens, he’d think about it after the college entrance exam.

　　David Bennett’s study state was getting better and better. He vaguely felt that after so many days of adjustment, his soul and body had finally truly merged. And it seemed that being reborn had somehow enhanced his memory—not only was he doing exceptionally well at memorizing books and questions lately, but even memories from before his rebirth were vivid and crystal clear.

　　In recent days, Henry Jordan was spending less and less time reading and doing exercises, often reading the 2000 “Application Guide” he’d borrowed from somewhere, then going to the internet café with David Bennett. Henry Jordan went to look up information about colleges, while David Bennett checked if there was any reply from Xu Shangxiu on QQ. He tried several times, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea.

　　It didn’t matter. No matter what, in three months, they’d all meet at Dongsen University.

　　In June 2001, no one in David Bennett’s class had a cell phone yet, though a few had pagers. Once, at the internet café, a man sitting next to Henry Jordan asked a girl for her phone number on QQ, then immediately pulled out his cell phone and called her. After a few words, he told the girl, “This is my cell number, call me on this from now on.” As he said this, he exuded the aura of a successful man.

　　The man chatted a bit more, then logged off and left.

　　Then David Bennett noticed that Henry Jordan spent quite a while browsing cell phones online.

　　On the way back to school, Henry Jordan talked to David Bennett for the first time about life after starting college.

　　Henry Jordan asked David Bennett, “Have you ever been on a university campus?”

　　“Which university do you mean?”

　　“Any university, have you ever been?”

　　“Yes, I have!”

　　“How was it? I haven’t been yet!”

　　“Well, you can go to class, sleep, shower, eat. Other than a bit more freedom and less strict classes, it’s pretty much the same.”

　　“What else?”

　　“The buildings are taller, there are more people, and if the school is good, you’ll see girls from all over the country, with all kinds of accents.”

　　“Do the dorms have phones?”

　　“There are phone lines. You just need to buy a phone and plug it in, but you have to get a phone card with a password to use it.”

　　“How do you know?”

　　“My brother told me.”