“Today you gave Ethan Foster the answers to yesterday’s exercises—I heard about it… If you want to earn others’ respect, there’s no need to do it this way…” Glancing at Eric Bennett, Olivia Harris saw that her words hadn’t hurt him, and only then did she speak with relief, “Your grades are a bit below the admission line for No. 3 Middle School, but if you keep up this momentum in your studies, I believe you can definitely catch up.”

Eric Bennett was speechless. So Olivia Harris had heard about his incident with Ethan Foster this morning, checking answers, and thought he was deliberately showing off. After all, a 93% accuracy rate—even for her, Olivia Harris, that was nearly impossible. She might have a high accuracy rate, but she had done that set of exercises herself last night, and even she couldn’t have finished all those problems between dinner and bedtime. For Eric Bennett to do it? That was pure fantasy.

“Mm, I got it.” Eric Bennett grinned at Olivia Harris.

Olivia Harris was taken aback. Once again, she saw a unique quality in Eric Bennett’s eyes and demeanor, as if there was another soul living deep inside him. His smile was brilliant and clear, making her involuntarily turn her head away, wondering what was wrong with herself—why she suddenly recalled this boy’s presence around her life over the past three years while he was copying exercises, and felt a reluctant attachment to the school and everything here. And now, why did her heart suddenly skip a beat?

Seeing those bright eyes, remembering the Little Olivia from eleven years ago, and sensing the kindness beneath her usually cold exterior, Eric Bennett realized how hard it was to accept that she would fall victim to a crime of passion ten years later.

Since he had come back, it meant he couldn’t just live this life in vain—he had to change fate’s arrangement!

Eric Bennett made a silent resolution.

When the two of them walked out of the school side by side, their junior high homeroom teacher Ms. Parker was at the gate talking with a school leader. Little Parker had just graduated from a teachers’ college, with less than three years of teaching experience. It was said he’d been transferred through several schools before finally coming to No. 3 Middle School. He ended up as the homeroom teacher for Eric Bennett’s class, teaching English. He was quick-tempered, and had disciplined a few troublemakers in the class, which led those students, even after becoming delinquents in society, to still feel a deep respect for Ms. Parker when they remembered him.

In his memory, Ms. Parker taught one more junior high class after this, and later became famous for his strict methods. By 2009, he was already the principal of a middle school in Xiahai City, his career flourishing.

Seeing the two of them walking out of the school together, Little Parker was momentarily stunned, and even Little Olivia felt uneasy. After all, with graduation approaching, she and Eric Bennett were strolling out of the school after class, which might easily lead their teachers to certain assumptions. But now, there was no way to explain.

They could only nod and greet Little Parker, not interrupting his conversation with the vice principal.

But as they finally left the school gate, Eric Bennett clearly saw Little Parker give him a thumbs-up. This teacher, usually so strict he was almost a tyrant, now looked every bit as mischievous as those sleazy colleagues Eric Bennett would have eleven years later.

And the shock in Ms. Parker’s heart was something Eric Bennett could never know.

His precious class monitor Olivia Harris—how had he never noticed before? So it turned out she and the unremarkable Eric Bennett were actually a pair behind the scenes!

At the fork where their routes diverged, back then there were no high-tech things like pedestrian crossing lights. Eric Bennett crossed the street with Olivia Harris, then waved goodbye.

“Well, see you next semester.”

Olivia Harris was stunned. Her first thought was, how could she and Eric Bennett meet again at No. 1 High School?

Then, seeing the clarity in Eric Bennett’s eyes and his pure smile, Olivia Harris just pouted slightly and nodded.

“Mm.”

Olivia Harris felt a bit sad. She knew the naive Eric Bennett still didn’t understand that she wouldn’t be at No. 3 Middle School next year. They would be separated by the watershed of high school, each heading down a different path in life.

Chapter 10: The Spirited Banquet (Part 1)

A day later, at Zhuxuanju.

It was also the first day of vacation before the high school entrance exam.

Zhuxuanju was, in those days, the place where Eric Bennett’s extended family gathered most often. Of course, it wasn’t his own parents who organized these gatherings. Back then, Eric Bennett’s father and mother were still ordinary workers, and his mother’s workplace was facing layoffs, causing a lot of anxiety. For a mid-to-high-end restaurant like Zhuxuanju, there was no way they could afford to host the whole family.

The host was his eldest uncle, David Palmer, the most powerful and respected head of the extended family, who worked at the city’s Construction Bureau as the director of the Planning Office. He was the only civil servant in the whole family, let alone a director, so his core status in the family was unshakable.

His younger uncle, Samuel Palmer, was a minor shareholder in the “Century Club” karaoke nightclub in Xiahai City at the time, but didn’t have the political acumen of the eldest uncle.