At the very start of the semester, there weren’t many interesting things happening on campus, so it was no wonder that the picture of himself drooling in his sleep kept trending.

And, as expected, his identity had been exposed.

That wasn’t surprising.

Even though universities nowadays have tens of thousands of students, which isn’t a small number, the campus network is something every student logs into. It has class schedules to download, college announcements, local news, and other interesting stuff.

In other words, Henry Clark’s classmates were also regulars on the campus network. With so much attention on this news, it would actually be strange if no one recognized him.

There were more than twenty students just in his class, not to mention those he knew from joint lectures with other classes. Expecting all these people to keep his secret was nothing short of a fantasy.

Life was getting unbearable. Henry Clark held his forehead, already imagining the complicated and curious looks he’d get when he went to class.

Life is always full of twists and turns. The more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.

“Beep beep...”

The notification sound from his chat app rang in his ears. Henry Clark clicked in and saw that the class group chat was blowing up with messages.

What could his classmates be chatting about so happily? Someone kept @-ing “Green Apple Fragrance”—that’s right, Henry Clark had chosen such a literary username.

If so many people had @-ed him before, Henry Clark would have been more curious than anything. Now, though, he was both embarrassed and angry. He didn’t even need to guess what these troublemakers were talking about...

It was just going to annoy him, so he planned to close the chat app. But as he was about to, his hand subconsciously clicked it open.

He hated his own itchy fingers. The chat window appeared before his eyes.

“Bro, get ready to kneel.”

“My man Hao, you’re awesome...”

“Respect +1”

“Respect +2”

“Respect +3”

“Latest news, warm congratulations to our classmate Henry Clark for squeezing out the top student and making it onto the campus celebrity list, throwing flowers, congrats...” Someone with the ID “Well-Informed News Is Me” jumped in to stir things up.

That username wasn’t random—this guy was the most active and gossipy in the class, with a hobby of digging up rumors. Of course, if there was a new college announcement or interesting local news, he was always the one to ask.

Actually, this classmate was a good person—respectful to elders, caring to the young, and motivated. But he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, so he was often left out.

But this time, he’d brought everyone a piece of delightful news, so the group became even more lively. Even a few long-time lurkers popped up.

“Throwing flowers isn’t enough, you have to send a red envelope to make it count.”

“Yeah, and it has to be a big one.”

“@Green Apple Fragrance, send a red envelope, send a red envelope.”

“Waiting for the red envelope.”

“Bro, my breakfast money depends on you.”

...

Henry Clark silently closed the chat app and set the group notifications to mute. Otherwise, he was afraid these shameless guys would drive him crazy.

But just then—

Ding dong.

A new text message popped up.

Henry Clark couldn’t help but get angry, his courage rising.

There’s a limit to everything. It was one thing to roast him in the group, but now they were chasing him into real life with a text message bombardment? That was too much.

If I don’t show my power, do you really think I’m Hello Kitty?

But when he opened the message and saw the sender, he was stunned.

The class monitor!

Henry Clark’s class monitor, William Carter, was the classic top-student type—usually serious, mature beyond his years. The downside was that he was a bit old-fashioned for his age, but the upside was that he never joked around, and certainly never teased others for fun like those guys did.

Chapter 5: Treating a Dead Horse as if It Were Alive

Henry Clark actually appreciated this, so he immediately replied: “What’s up?”

“Class dinner tonight, 6 p.m., Joyful Food Stall. Are you coming?”

The monitor’s reply was concise, and seeing this message, Henry Clark wasn’t surprised.

Compared to a decade ago, today’s college students are much better off. High spending isn’t possible, but going out for a meal together now and then has become an essential experience.

And having a get-together at the start of the semester was a tradition in Henry Clark’s class.

It was always organized and announced by the monitor, usually by @-ing everyone in the group. But since some people were often offline, William Carter would also send out a group text.

“Not going!”

Henry Clark wasn’t trying to be rude, but with all the attention on him right now, he didn’t want to give those guys a chance to gawk.

“Understood.”

The monitor replied instantly, showing great understanding. Henry Clark felt a bit grateful, but then the next message—“My condolences”—left him wondering what that was supposed to mean.

So that’s the trick. Looks like William Carter isn’t so old-fashioned after all—beneath that stern exterior, he’s got a hidden talent for mischief.

...

If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. If it’s trouble, you can’t avoid it. Who would have thought that in the end, Someone Clark still ended up going to the class dinner.

Instead of running away, it’s better to face it head-on. It’s just a bit of teasing—who hasn’t been through it... Actually, Henry Clark really hadn’t, so when faced with his classmates’ enthusiasm, he quickly caved.