The tall girl made a funny face and asked with a bright smile, “Do you remember now? Charles Smith!”

Mark Benson was so surprised that this silly face triggered long-buried memories. Little Mark couldn’t help but slap his thigh, a look of sudden realization appearing on his face as he shouted, “I remember now, Clown Smith!”

“You’re Clown Smith...”

The tall girl’s face darkened a bit. Mark Benson quickly read the situation and hurriedly changed the name: “Little Smith! I remember now, you’re Little Smith.”

Although Little Smith didn’t sound much better, it was at least an improvement over Clown Smith, and the tall girl’s expression finally softened a little.

The relationship between Charles Smith and Mark Benson is a long story—they were more than just acquaintances...

Their fathers were comrades-in-arms. Charles Smith’s father died in battle outside the territory, entrusting his only daughter to Mark Benson’s father, David Benson.

Mark Benson and Charles Smith, although there was no arranged engagement, could truly be called childhood friends.

Charles Smith grew up in the The Benson Family until the fourth grade of elementary school. Mark Benson messed up the Qianlong Army’s recruitment, but Charles Smith unexpectedly passed the special recruitment and left Boyang City.

At first, they kept in touch, often chatting online. But the frequency dropped from two or three times a week after they parted, to once every month or two in middle school, and only three times in total during high school—their contact grew less and less, and their relationship faded.

Mark Benson had long forgotten what Charles Smith looked like.

Little Mark had always been popular with girls since childhood, so he didn’t really care about a childhood friend who had lost contact.

When he occasionally thought of Charles Smith, he just felt that, even if fate brought them together again as adults, at most they’d have a meal together as old friends.

There really wouldn’t be any dramatic future.

Could the two of them possibly develop a romantic relationship?

How little must you think of Little Mark?

How could Mark Benson be this old and still single, never having dated?

Although he’d never really thought about this childhood friend, meeting an “old friend from childhood” in a distant place was still something to be happy about.

Mark Benson grinned and asked, “Weren’t you in the Qianlong Army? Why are you taking the graduation exam too?”

Charles Smith’s expression dimmed slightly, and she said in a low voice, “I was eliminated in my third year, but I got a sponsored training spot from the Jundu Group, so I stayed in Dijingsheng to study.”

Mark Benson couldn’t help but exclaim, “Why didn’t you tell our family?”

He blurted this out without thinking, but immediately understood and sighed, saying, “I get it! You’re right. With my old man’s temper, he’d definitely drag you back to Boyang City.”

Mark Benson’s father in this life, David Benson, could be summed up in three words—stubborn, tough, and pigheaded!

Once he made up his mind, he never allowed anyone to object.

That’s why, after retiring from the army and working in the Public Security Bureau for years, he was still just a third-level investigator, never promoted to senior investigator.

If David Benson found out that Charles Smith had been eliminated from the Qianlong Army, he would definitely make her return to Boyang City. But how could the education in Boyang City compare to Dijingsheng?

Charles Smith not telling the The Benson Family about this was a very wise move.

Mark Benson had been a journalist in his previous life, so he could easily understand this kind of thinking. He would never question Charles Smith about whether she cared about the relationship between the two families, or try to use feelings to tie down her future.

Charles Smith gave Mark Benson a grateful look. When she saw Mark Benson, she had hesitated about whether to come over and meet this “childhood friend.”

She was very worried that David Benson would suddenly show up and mess up her life.

Charles Smith had seen with her own eyes how David Benson forced Mark Benson to make many choices that didn’t seem very rational.

For example, when Little Mark was in middle school, David Benson forced his son to attend his own alma mater, but that school was terrible—almost everyone there was a delinquent.

And Mark Benson, who dreamed of going to the best university, how could he go to such a lousy school?

Another example: David Benson always believed he had the duty to take care of Charles Smith, and was convinced that Mark Benson was also responsible for looking after Charles Smith for life.

Chapter 14: Childhood Friends, Not Lovers

The stubborn David Benson once tried to matchmake the two kids, even threatening, “If Little Mark ever lets Charles Smith down, I’ll beat him to death.”

Charles Smith leaving the The Benson Family had a lot to do with this.

A little girl of about ten, whose father died on a foreign battlefield, whose mother disappeared shortly after she was born, and whose adoptive family always wanted her to be a “child bride”...

What Charles Smith felt was only fear, not warmth.

It was really thanks to Mark Benson’s street smarts from his previous life that he always found ways to perfectly brush off his old man.

Charles Smith perked up a little and said, “You shouldn’t always make Uncle Benson angry, either.”

Mark Benson immediately cried out in protest, arguing, “I’m always the one cleaning up your mess, okay? When have I ever made Old Benson angry? He forced me to break up with twelve girlfriends in kindergarten, and I never said a word, just endured the pain...”