"Ahahahaha!!"

The whole classroom was filled with laughter. Everyone was sprawled over their desks, laughing without restraint. Some were pounding on the desks, beating their chests and stomping their feet. "As expected of 'Loser Brian Ford', ahaha!!" someone shouted.

"Ow! My stomach..."

"I'm crying, Brian Ford, you're amazing!"

The entire teaching building was shaking. Dean, who was sitting in his office drinking tea, suddenly perked up, as if he sensed something. He sprang up from his chair like a spring, grabbed the notebook on his desk, and rushed out: "Hmm, that kid Brian Ford is clowning around again!"

Emily Carter had no idea what was happening. She stuck her head out, leaned around the English teacher, and looked at the blackboard. With just one glance, she was almost so angry she fainted.

On the blackboard, in front of Brian Ford, there were five circles drawn, and they were drawn with different colored chalks. What made it even funnier was that the five circles were arranged three on top and two below, tightly together, looking exactly like the Olympic rings...

She weakly covered her face.

"Uh, teacher, actually I think since the Beijing Olympics even have mascots now, we should keep up with the times. Teacher, don't you think my five circles have a similar spirit to the Five Element Warriors of the Beijing Olympics?" Brian Ford was still explaining.

"Fi... Five Element Warriors..." The English teacher was already stammering.

The laughter in the classroom became even more hysterical. Some people were already standing up, laughing and waving their arms and legs. Emily Carter wished she could rush up, drag this embarrassing guy down, throw him straight into the toilet, close the lid, and flush him to another world.

"Whoosh!" The classroom door was suddenly flung open, and the laughter screeched to a halt.

Dean appeared in front of the English teacher, who was now speechless, like a future warrior saving the earth in a crisis: "Brian Ford!!"

A cold glint flashed across Dean's glasses.

"Huh?" Brian Ford finally turned around, his mouth wide open, staring blankly at the suddenly appearing Dean.

※※※

After school at noon, a notice of criticism, written in black and white, appeared outside the cafeteria, which was now the most crowded place in the school.

Notice of Criticism:

First-year, Class 3 student Brian Ford, disregarded classroom discipline and talked during class. He did something extremely inappropriate in class, seriously hurting the feelings of the teacher. It has now been decided to issue a public criticism throughout the school. We hope this student will recognize his mistake, correct it, and not repeat the same error.

Political and Educational Affairs Office

2005.11.15

A huge crowd gathered, as if they were looking at a poster for a celebrity concert.

"Hey! It's that Brian Ford again?"

"What happened this time? Huh?! Seriously hurt the teacher's feelings... Oh wow, this is complicated..."

"Don't overthink it, here's what really happened. The English teacher Zhang Baolu called him up to do a dictation, and said if he couldn't write a word, just draw a circle. Then he..."

The crowd erupted in laughter.

"I really think I made the right choice coming to this school after hearing that ad. You get to see this kind of show all the time!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"By the way, how many times have we seen Brian Ford's name on the bulletin board outside the cafeteria now?"

"Who knows..."

"Brian Ford is a legend at our school! Unprecedented! Never to be repeated!"

While everyone outside was gossiping, the main character of this incident was inside the cafeteria, eating lunch with Emily Carter as if nothing had happened.

Emily Carter looked at the crowd outside the door and completely lost her appetite. She spun her spoon in her hand like a pen, then said to Brian Ford, "I can't believe you can still eat. You're the laughingstock of the whole school now!"

"So what?" Brian Ford replied, his mouth full of shredded pork, mumbling. "Let them laugh, I'll eat."

Emily Carter sighed helplessly. She had nothing more to say about this childhood friend of hers. The boy in front of her really had no talent—bad at studying, bad at sports, tone-deaf when singing, even drew the sun as a steamed bun... The most infuriating thing was that someone so untalented had no self-awareness at all and always liked to show off. Because of this, in less than three months at this school, he had already caused countless jokes and become the talk of the school. And what happened in English class today was just the tip of the iceberg.

As Emily Carter was sighing to herself, someone came over, carrying a tray, and sat down next to Brian Ford without any hesitation.

"Hey, Brian Ford, look! Look!" He nudged Brian Ford, who was busy eating.

"Huh, David Clark, when did you get here?" Emily Carter stared at the boy sitting next to Brian Ford.

"Just now, just now. Hehe." David Clark gave Emily Carter a perfunctory smile, then quickly turned his head toward the window, just like Brian Ford.

Outside, a girl happened to walk past the window.

"So pretty, Olivia Smith... No wonder she's the acknowledged school beauty." David Clark wiped the drool from his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, even her name sounds so nice..." Brian Ford smacked his lips beside him.