The departing David Thompson couldn't help but sigh—youth is truly wonderful!

Chapter 2 Old Grudges of the Brooks Family

“Dave, wait for me!”

Just as David Thompson stepped out of the school gate into the setting sun, someone called out to stop him. Turning around, he saw it was his junior high classmate Warren Wade, who lived in the same neighborhood.

The two of them lived in the same neighborhood and had gone to junior high together. Although they weren’t in the same class in high school, their classes were close—Warren Wade was in the class right next to David Thompson’s.

Seeing Warren Wade, David Thompson’s eyes narrowed into slits as he grinned and said, “Chairman, long time no see!”

“Get out of here! We just had lunch together in the cafeteria at noon—how is that a long time?”

Warren Wade didn’t mind David Thompson calling him by his nickname. After all, his own nickname sounded way cooler than David Thompson’s.

“Heh heh!”

David Thompson just chuckled and didn’t explain. To him, it really had been a long time since he’d seen Warren Wade.

In his previous life, after his parents passed away and the old house was sold, David Thompson avoided going back to the neighborhood where he’d grown up, afraid of triggering sad memories. Naturally, he never had the chance to see Warren Wade again.

Of course, Warren Wade had no idea what David Thompson was thinking. Catching his breath, he slung an arm over David Thompson’s shoulder and laughed, “Come on, why are you in such a hurry to go home? Your parents aren’t back yet anyway. Let’s hit the internet café for a few rounds—I got wrecked yesterday.”

Back then, the school was a bit different from how it would be later—there was no requirement for students to attend evening self-study.

Generally, students who lived in town didn’t have to go back to school for self-study, as long as their parents agreed. The teachers wouldn’t object.

Neither David Thompson nor Warren Wade were top students, so of course they didn’t choose to suffer through extra classes at school. That left them with plenty of free time in the evenings.

As for what Warren Wade meant, David Thompson understood. Online games weren’t as plentiful as they would be in the future; the most popular ones now were Legend and CS.

Warren Wade and David Thompson played CS. Usually, David Thompson’s parents came home late, and so did Warren Wade’s. With nothing else to do, the two liked to go to the internet café to get their fix.

If David Thompson were still the same as before, he’d definitely have agreed today. But now, he wasn’t in the mood to play with Warren Wade.

He thumped Warren Wade on the chest and laughed, “Not going. The college entrance exam is coming up—I’m not in the mood for games. You should behave yourself for a few months too. If you don’t do well on the exam, your parents won’t let you off easy.”

“Tch! Dave, when did you get so timid? What’s there to be afraid of with the college entrance exam? We’re from No. 1 High School—even with our eyes closed, we could get into a university.”

Warren Wade was full of swagger, acting like the college entrance exam was nothing, which made David Thompson burst out laughing.

“Yeah, right! Watch out for your parents’ tag-team beatdown!” David Thompson scoffed at Warren Wade’s bravado. No. 1 High School was good, but not that good.

After all, it was just a No. 1 High School in a small inland county. Getting into university wasn’t as easy as it would be a few years later.

His own class was an honors class, so the university admission rate was naturally high.

But Warren Wade was in a regular class, so getting into university wasn’t so easy. As he recalled, in his previous life, Warren Wade only managed to get into a junior college, and his parents nearly beat him to death.

But there was no need to say more. After years of experience in society, David Thompson knew not to overdo it. He wasn’t Warren Wade’s parent, after all—no need to be annoying.

Seeing that David Thompson wasn’t going, Warren Wade’s urge to go to the internet café for revenge faded a bit. After thinking for a moment, he grinned mischievously, “Fine, let’s skip the internet café today. How about we go ambush Hannah Quinn?”

Looking at Warren Wade’s eager expression, David Thompson was exasperated. The name Hannah Quinn was etched into his memory—he would never forget it.

To remember someone so deeply—especially a woman—it’s usually either deep love or deep hatred.

As for Hannah Quinn, it was definitely the latter. She was David Thompson’s lifelong humiliation; even up until his rebirth, he hadn’t been able to forget her.

Of course, whether there was a bit of the former mixed in, no one could say for sure.

Anyway, everyone remembers a pretty girl. Even though he hadn’t seen Hannah Quinn in over a decade, David Thompson still couldn’t forget her charming face.

He wasn’t interested in going online, but if he could catch Hannah Quinn and give her a spanking, David Thompson had no objections.

Thinking back, in his thirty years of life, there weren’t many women who left a mark on his heart, but Hannah Quinn was one of them. Sometimes, late at night, he’d find himself thinking of her.

Of course, a reserved man would only think about it and never say it out loud. After graduating from college, he never dared contact Hannah Quinn again.

Whether it was inferiority or introversion, in his previous life, Hannah Quinn went straight from undergrad to grad school, then stayed on to teach at a top university in China. With such an obvious gap, David Thompson knew he could never hope for her.

Without another word, before Warren Wade could say anything, David Thompson dragged him along as they ran, saying, “Let’s hurry! We missed her the last few times—this time we can’t let her get away!”

...

In a small alley on the south side of No. 1 High School, this was the route Hannah Quinn always took to go home.

David Thompson’s eyes were sharp as he glared fiercely at the girl in front of him.

Hannah Quinn—her name suited her. Her parents must have known she’d grow up beautiful when they named her.

The little girl was so delicate and pretty that anyone would want to scoop her up and spoil her.

But don’t be fooled by her looks. In David Thompson’s eyes, this girl was a sly little fox.