Originally, the family had long made arrangements for the children’s ‘friendships’. To prevent an overly powerful family background from making it impossible for the next generation to make real friends, the elders would often arrange for an orphan of clean background to grow up alongside them.

Solitary Carter also had such a friend. However, he didn’t seem to care much for that guy. The reason, Leon Thompson only found out later, was something Carter secretly told him after getting drunk: “That guy is very smart. He’s known since childhood what his ‘role’ is and what he should do! So he would never offend me. That’s nothing like a friend at all—more like… a servant raised from childhood. Too bad he’s not a ‘girl’…”

Leon Thompson always thought that last complaint was the real pain in Carter’s heart, but after sobering up, Carter firmly denied ever saying those words.

So, the young Carter didn’t have a real close friend, until he met Leon Thompson by the school’s sports field…

“Why don’t you go play?” After school, Leon Thompson found Carter by the field and was curious. His friend had always been interested in soccer, but he’d never seen him actually play.

“My ‘leg’ was broken two years ago from playing soccer! And it was a serious injury! My family never let me touch soccer again.” Carter sighed, seeming a bit regretful, but quickly smiled and said, “If they won’t let me play, then so be it. Actually, I’m pretty good at basketball too.”

Leon Thompson could only respond with a deadpan look. “Two years ago? Before we met?”

“Yeah! I’d just recovered when I met you!” As soon as this was mentioned, Carter’s ‘spirit’ became even more excited. “When I came back, I heard from classmates that there was a guy who played soccer terribly, yet insisted on wearing a number 10 jersey like a star, and during the class match he got played so badly he couldn’t even find the ‘goal’…”

The deadpan lines on Leon Thompson’s face grew thicker. “So you greeted me back then just to make fun of me!”

“I just wanted to see what the so-called ‘once-in-a-millennium soccer idiot’ was like!” Carter didn’t seem to realize what he was saying, still looking excited.

Meanwhile, Leon Thompson was so exasperated he didn’t know what to say, just wondering to himself how he ever became good friends with this guy.

Time flew by, and their youth passed in a flash. The two boys fought their battles with books to better themselves.

During this period, Leon Thompson would occasionally show off his almost prophetic foresight in front of Carter, finally getting a taste of what it felt like to be the protagonist!

Maybe he should be grateful that Carter wasn’t a mad scientist, or he’d have been captured and dissected for research long ago. Luckily, he only ever showed his ‘talent’ in front of Carter, avoiding being studied by other scientists.

After the “Danish Fairy Tale” incident in ’92, Carter became even more convinced by Leon Thompson’s predictions, and this trust only grew stronger over time, especially with Leon Thompson’s occasional mysterious acts.

It even got to the point where, when Leon Thompson casually said, “You should buy some high-tech stocks,” without specifying any particular targets, Carter picked out a few suitable stocks through his family and bought in heavily.

In the end, these stocks didn’t bring in much money, but for Leon Thompson, a 30% cut still netted him a small profit—if only his parents hadn’t withheld the money in the bank on the grounds that he was still a minor and couldn’t freely control large sums.

After that, the two of them faced something every young person must go through on the road to growing up—parting ways.

“You know, I’m just the second son of the family. While I don’t worry about pocket money, I don’t have the right to freely use large sums of money—that’s my brother’s privilege. So, I’ll work hard to earn money during this time, and try to make enough. Then, it’ll be your time to show your strength!” On the day they parted, Carter said this to a completely confused Leon Thompson in the airport hall.

“I hope you’ll also work toward our shared goal. When the time is right, I’ll come find you! I promise!” With that, and without any further explanation, he left the still-bewildered Leon Thompson behind, head held high, striding inside.

“Did he drink today?” Leon Thompson stared at the disappearing figure, puzzled. He didn’t feel too sentimental about the farewell—after all, it wasn’t life and death, so why get all emotional? It’s not like they’d never see each other again. “But what the hell is that so-called shared goal? Why don’t I remember anything about it?”

No matter how hard Leon Thompson tried, he couldn’t solve his own ‘confusion’, and this perplexing question was soon tossed aside. He was about to face a very important moment in his life—choosing his future path by picking a suitable university.