At this moment, this refreshingly pure girl had one foot on the sidewalk and the other on the pedal of her bicycle, her lips slightly parted as she looked around for any sign of David Foster.

From time to time, classmates would pass by and invite her to walk together, but she would just smile and continue waiting.

David Foster rather enjoyed this feeling of being waited for.

So he slowly pushed his old, rattling bicycle out of the campus, watching from afar the short-haired girl, looking at her face, at her hair, feeling an indescribable sense of contentment.

“So slow.” Emily Sullivan pouted slightly, a beautiful wrinkle forming on the bridge of her nose.

“Yeah.” David Foster smiled a bit sheepishly, scratching his head, saying to himself, “I like this girl.”

It was as if this was an order— from this moment on, David Foster liked Emily Sullivan. That day, the sycamore leaves at the county high school gate swayed gently, the sky was a deep blue, and people on the street walked along in peace.

When it comes to feelings, sometimes it really is just that simple.

※※※

On the table at the The Sullivan Family today were four dishes and a soup. Mr. Sullivan was actively responding to the unit’s campaign. Although the neighborhood committee director—let’s just call her Mrs. Parker from now on—insisted that David Foster wasn’t a guest and shouldn’t be treated according to the Party’s reception standards, Mr. Sullivan was upright and managed the household well, firmly resisting Mrs. Parker’s soft-spoken protests.

The four dishes were braised small crucian carp, stir-fried baby bok choy, potato stewed with beef, and stir-fried string beans. The soup was a fragrant, golden daylily and egg soup. David Foster ate happily while watching Mr. Sullivan and Mrs. Parker bicker at the table, and somewhere in his heart, he felt especially warm… Only Emily Sullivan seemed distracted, absentmindedly poking at her rice with her chopsticks, her gaze drifting to David Foster again and again.

David Foster felt a bit awkward. Seeing his discomfort, Emily Sullivan only stared at him more intently, as if playing some amusing game.

After dinner, as he had done on previous visits, David Foster went to Emily Sullivan’s room. Actually, “room” wasn’t quite accurate, since Emily lived on the balcony of her parents’ bedroom.

David Foster sat on a small stool by her bed, gazing at Emily’s clean, delicate face, grinning foolishly.

Emily Sullivan spat at him playfully, then suddenly asked, “When’s your birthday?”

David Foster was taken aback and replied, “April fifteenth.”

A hint of defiance flashed across Emily Sullivan’s face as she muttered, “You’re actually older than me again.”

David Foster had sharp hearing and smiled, “Then you can just treat me as your little sister.”

“Tch!” Emily pretended to be annoyed and teased, “Be your stinky beggar little sister.” Then, seeing David Foster suddenly go quiet, she thought she’d touched a sore spot and quickly lowered her head, mumbling, “Just kidding, you’re not that petty, are you?”

But David Foster was suddenly reminded of that night in the junkyard with the little thug, wondering if there would be any aftereffects. He wasn’t bothered by what this girl said, and her question snapped him out of his thoughts. He quickly reassured her, “What are you thinking? How could I be mad about that? Besides… I really am a scavenger.” As he spoke, he made a funny face.

Emily burst out laughing, “I’ve never seen a scavenger as happy as you.”

David Foster said, “It’s all work anyway, got to support myself, so why not be happy about it?”

Emily stared into his eyes for a long moment before softly asking, “What do you plan to do in the future? Which university do you want to attend?”

David Foster was puzzled, thinking this little girl was being nosy, and casually replied, “Not really sure, but with my grades, I could probably get into a second-tier university.” Seeing the slight disappointment in Emily’s eyes, he smiled, “You’re the student council publicity officer, always in the top five. We probably won’t be in the same class in college.”

Emily furrowed her brows, looked straight at him, and suddenly said, “Can you stop always hiding things from me?”

David Foster was startled for some reason, forcing a smile, “What have I ever hidden from you?”

“Your abilities.” Emily Sullivan looked at him with a full smile, speaking very seriously, “William Foster, how long do you plan to keep hiding from the world?”

David Foster waved his hand in an exaggerated gesture like in a stage play, laughing, “You might as well call me ‘monster genius’.” After a pause, he added, “Besides, how am I a genius now? I skipped a grade in elementary school only because I was dumb, listened to the teachers too much, and the other kids wouldn’t play with me, so I had more time to study and naturally did better.”

“Liar!” Emily Sullivan said, exasperated, pulling a stack of papers from her bag and tossing them to David Foster.

David Foster took them and saw they were his exam results from the past two years of high school. He flipped through them carefully, seeing that his grades were only average, nothing remarkable, which put his mind at ease. He smiled, “What? Are you, the top student, actually jealous of my lousy grades?”

Emily Sullivan’s cheeks flushed, her clear eyes fixed on him as she said, “Of course I’m jealous.”

David Foster was stunned, then gave a dry laugh, “Did you eat too much tonight or something?”

Emily Sullivan grinned mischievously, her eyelashes fluttering twice, and giggled, “You don’t have to hide it from me. I’ve already found out.”