After mentioning their shared alma mater, she seemed to become much more proactive in her words.

“Director Thompson from the Academic Affairs Office? He was our math teacher, really interesting. Oh right, I think he was your math teacher too, wasn’t he?” Eric Dawson smoothly picked up the topic.

Grace Bennett sent an emoji of someone nodding repeatedly: “Yeah, Old Thompson is really something else. Every class he’d brag for at least ten minutes, and every time he praised someone it was super embarrassing.”

“One time, I wanted to go home and watch the Dragon King vs. Martial Saint showdown, so I planned to finish the homework I’d left over during math class. I thought I was being really sneaky and that Old Thompson definitely hadn’t noticed. But right before class ended, a classmate next to me was talking and got scolded by Old Thompson. He said, ‘You guys, if you could all get perfect scores in math like Grace Bennett, then as long as you don’t disturb others in class, I wouldn’t care what you do—even having a baby would be fine. Look, Grace Bennett spent the whole class doing Chinese homework, did I say anything?’ I was so embarrassed, felt like my good student image was completely destroyed.”

“Exactly, exactly, that’s just how Old Thompson is. One time he was all proud, ready to show us a problem, but after working on it for more than half the class, he still couldn’t solve it. He was sweating bullets, and after checking for ages, he finally muttered that he’d copied the problem wrong…” Eric Dawson sent a laughing emoji. “Uh, the Dragon King vs. Martial Saint showdown? Which side were you rooting for?”

“Martial Saint” was one of the five highest individual titles in the country. In recent years, it had been monopolized by Qian Donglou of Shangqing Sect, so whenever Martial Saint was mentioned, it referred to him. He was also one of the two unrivaled martial artists in the country, along with Chris Brooks, and together they had claimed most of the major titles in recent years.

As for Chris Brooks’s “Dragon King,” that was another title—“King.” After defeating the nation’s top martial artists and earning this title, you weren’t simply called “King”—that was too plain. Instead, a new “King” title would be created based on your nickname or martial arts style, like Dragon King, Sword King, Lion King, Spear King, and so on.

“Of course the Dragon King!” Grace Bennett said firmly.

“Me too!” Eric Dawson replied happily. “Too bad, though—Longhu’s foundation is still a bit weaker than Shangqing Sect, so overall they’re always at a slight disadvantage.”

“Yeah, but I just like the Dragon King!” Grace Bennett used an emoji with hearts in her eyes.

The two of them chatted away excitedly, from the Dragon King’s rumors and gossip to which classmates in high school were dating whom, to which year there was an attempted rape case at night, and how the boys would walk the day-student girls home in groups…

Being from the same hometown, the same school, and sharing common interests made it impossible for the smile to leave Eric Dawson’s face. He felt like everything tonight was just wonderful.

Pa!

Suddenly, someone patted him on the shoulder. Startled, he quickly turned around to see Brian Carter with both hands in his pockets, grinning, “Not bad, Orange, self-taught, huh!”

“What do you mean, self-taught? What are you talking about?” Eric Dawson replied instinctively, trying to brush it off.

Brian Carter clicked his tongue, “Go look in the mirror yourself. The smile on your face, it’s basically got ‘springtime stirrings’ written all over it. Chatting with your goddess, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” Eric Dawson blushed and had to admit it.

Brian Carter took out his phone to check the time. “Alright, Orange, that’s enough chatting for now. You’ve got to stop while the conversation is still interesting, so you leave the best impression and make her look forward to talking to you next time.”

“No wonder you’re the expert…” Eric Dawson teased, then picked up his phone, feeling both convinced and reluctant, and sent a laughing emoji. “I still have homework to do, let’s chat later—gotta get ready for tomorrow morning’s martial arts class!”

Grace Bennett replied with a smiling emoji: “See you in martial arts class tomorrow~”

After exiting the chat, Eric Dawson browsed through his other messages, replied to the important ones, then logged out of QQ, put away his phone, and looked at Brian Carter: “Love guru, are you going to martial arts class tomorrow morning?”

The lively conversation came to an abrupt end, and he really did feel a sense of loss inside.

“Of course! Let them see how awesome this hidden master is!” Brian Carter had the same class schedule as Eric Dawson, so he didn’t hesitate.

“Tch, careful you don’t get beaten like a bear.” Eric Dawson joked, and the two of them laughed their way back to the dorm.

After everyone washed up and got into bed, Jack Miller, Peter Parker, and Michael Bolton were still chattering about the Friday mixer, imagining what the four girls on the other side would look and act like. Meanwhile, Eric Dawson took out his phone, savoring and rereading his chat with Grace Bennett, going over every word, silently reciting them again and again, his heart full of joy and peace. Every now and then, he’d chime in with the three hormone-fueled guys, chatting idly.

After lights out, the night deepened and the dorm grew quiet. Eric Dawson drifted off to sleep without realizing it, and had a bizarre dream—one filled with both excitement and fear.

Chapter 008 Martial Arts Class