So even Mary Foster herself didn’t know why she trusted what this boy in front of her said so much. From persuading her own father, to withdrawing money to accompany him to buy Mark Six lottery tickets, it was as if she were under a spell.

When it came to looks, there were plenty of boys at school who were more handsome than him chasing after her. As for family background, it was obvious without even looking that William Brooks’s family was just average.

If he had any advantage at all, it was that the way he thought reminded her of her own father. And another thing: the way he looked at her was different from other boys—he dared to meet her gaze.

Mary Foster was wealthy; everyone at school who knew her knew this. For a girl with a good family background, fashionable clothes, and a bright, proud demeanor to look at you, most of the inexperienced boys at school would immediately lower their heads or look away when their eyes met, or their gaze would flicker. How many had the confidence to meet her eyes?

The reason William Brooks dared was because he was someone who had been reborn. He knew very clearly that his future would not be bad. Of course, the main reason was that, after all, he was a greasy old man of thirty in his previous life—he’d seen the world, and his thick skin was not something a schoolboy could compare to.

Women are such strange creatures. Perhaps it was exactly this quality of William Brooks that piqued Mary Foster’s curiosity.

In fact, ever since entering the hotel, Mary Foster was far less calm inside than she appeared on her face, because this was her first time staying in the same room with a boy. It would be strange if she wasn’t nervous.

Earlier, she seemed to be playing a mobile game, but usually she could play a round for over ten minutes; just now, she was dying almost every minute. That was because she was nervous and distracted.

Knock, knock, knock!

The sound of knocking pulled William Brooks out of his thoughts, and Mary Foster immediately withdrew her gaze, her long lashes fluttering as she got up and walked toward the door.

“Manman, what made you think of betting on Mark Six? If your dad finds out, he’ll scold me to death.”

The door opened, and a hearty laugh rang out as a pot-bellied middle-aged man walked in.

“Uncle Smith, I’m just playing for fun once in a while. Just let me have a little excitement.”

A pure, innocent smile appeared on Mary Foster’s face. This Uncle Smith used to be her father’s business partner, but later her father stopped working with him because Uncle Smith had gone too far off track, and her father was afraid something would go wrong.

“All right, all right, Uncle will satisfy you. This time, I’ll let you have your fun.”

Sitting in the chair, William Brooks listened to the conversation at the door. For some reason, images of a bad uncle and a little loli popped into his mind, giving him goosebumps all over. He quickly shook off these unhealthy thoughts.

“Huh, and who is this?”

It was only after John Smith came in that he noticed William Brooks standing by the mahjong table. Mary Foster quickly introduced, “Uncle Smith, this is my classmate. He came with me this time.”

“A male classmate, huh? Not your boyfriend, is he?”

John Smith’s gaze shifted back and forth between William Brooks and Mary Foster, but strangely, a hint of shyness appeared on Mary Foster’s face, and she didn’t rush to explain their real relationship.

Since Mary Foster didn’t explain, it was even harder for William Brooks to explain. How could he? Say that he and Mary Foster were just ordinary classmates, and the reason he was here was because he borrowed money from Mary Foster to buy lottery tickets from you?

William Brooks wasn’t stupid. If he really told the truth, the other party would definitely let him place a bet, since Mary Foster was there and would pay out if he won. But the consequences that would follow were not something he could bear.

Just imagine—a student betting on a single number and hitting it. That’s not luck anymore; that’s absolute confidence. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come here.

At that point, this Boss Smith would definitely investigate him, maybe even suspect he knew some inside information about the lottery, and get people to target him. So, for his own safety, it was better not to explain.

A wonderful misunderstanding was thus born in John Smith’s mind.

“Manman, tell Uncle, what are you planning to bet on this time, and how much?”

John Smith casually sat down on a mahjong chair, took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, stuck one in his mouth, and smiled at William Brooks, asking, “Smoke?”

“Thank you, Uncle Smith.”

William Brooks didn’t stand on ceremony, took the cigarette, then pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit one for John Smith, then lit his own, his movements extremely practiced.

In fact, William Brooks also had cigarettes in his pocket. In his previous life, he had just learned to smoke this year. Back then, he’d go to the internet café all night, saw classmates smoking, and joined in. Gradually, he picked it up.

But with William Brooks’s financial situation, he naturally couldn’t afford good cigarettes. He couldn’t even buy a whole pack—he’d buy loose cigarettes from the shop at the school gate, Seven Wolves for five yuan a pack, fifty cents for two sticks. One after breakfast, and one after the second class.

“Yo, you’re pretty skilled. Looks like you’ve been smoking for a while.”

John Smith glanced at William Brooks. Whether someone was a seasoned smoker, you could tell first by whether their fingernails were yellow, and second by the area between their fingers. But at this point, William Brooks hadn’t been smoking long, so you couldn’t tell from his hands.