Because this is his allowance for the next two months.

Previously, his pocket money was one hundred yuan per month, and meals and such were all taken care of by the school.

But now, these two hundred yuan had to last for two months. That meant twenty-five yuan per week, which averaged out to just over three yuan a day...

"Only a little over three yuan to spend each day... I’ll have to be frugal." William Clark got up and walked toward his room.

He changed into his school uniform in his room. The blue-and-white uniform had a school badge pinned to the left chest—a simple design of a rooster standing alone, with the big characters 惠安 written underneath.

William Clark tidied up his backpack, changed into ordinary blue-and-white sneakers, and then hurried out the door.

He walked out of the neighborhood mixed in with the elderly men and women selling vegetables, and boarded an old bus at the stop by the gate.

After a bumpy ride of more than ten minutes, he squeezed his way out among a crowd of office workers, jumped off the bus, and dashed into the school, barely making it to the classroom as the bell rang.

Chapter 2

Most of the seats in the classroom were already taken. The teacher had just entered and was organizing the lesson plan at the podium.

William Clark quickly walked to his seat and sat down. He looked up at the podium.

The foreign language teacher was adjusting her black-rimmed glasses, slowly flipping open the lesson plan, her eyes occasionally drifting downward.

Any student who was noticed would unconsciously sit up straight, and William Clark was no exception.

But today, his mind kept circling back to what his sister had said earlier. He unconsciously clutched the only two hundred yuan in his pocket, feeling a bit down and heavy-hearted.

His grandfather had suddenly suffered a stroke, and the family had borrowed money everywhere, leaving their savings completely depleted. Even his sister, who was in college, had to work part-time to make ends meet.

Thinking about all this, he sighed softly.

"Fortunately, though it's tough, it's not unbearable."

Snapping back to reality, he suddenly remembered last night's nightmare. The dream had been so vivid...

Beep...

Soon, the class bell rang. William Clark refocused, took out his foreign language textbook from his bag, and began to study seriously.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, throughout the entire morning, his mind kept drifting to the nightmare, his grandfather's upcoming surgery, and the increasingly difficult atmosphere at home.

Class after class passed, until the last class was about to end.

"William Clark, are you okay?" The girl sitting in the front row knocked on William Clark's desk.

"I'm fine." William Clark replied calmly, looking up at her.

The girl had a slightly long, oval face, with long, narrow eyes that didn't look particularly attractive—almost like a stretched-out fox's face. Her figure, wrapped in the bulky school uniform, gave nothing away. The only distinctive feature was her very fair and tender skin.

Her name was Grace Sullivan, one of the few friends William Clark had in this temporary class. She often borrowed erasers and pencils from him.

"Really okay?" Grace Sullivan was a bit of a tomboy. She liked anime and didn't hang out with the other girls; most of her friends were boys.

"I'm fine." William Clark shook his head.

Grace Sullivan reached out and patted William Clark's shoulder.

"There's a gymnastics club activity later. You look so down today—let me show you something fun!"

"..." William Clark was a bit helpless.

"What’s with that look?! Aren’t you boys all into watching the gymnastics club for the boobs... ah!!" Before Grace Sullivan could finish, William Clark pinched the flesh on the back of her hand, making her yelp.

William Clark withdrew his hand expressionlessly.

This only friend of his had another quirk: she would occasionally blurt out some rather inappropriate words.

"William Clark, are you crazy! Take my Invincible Sacred Heart Palm—ahhh!" Grace Sullivan lunged at him, both hands reaching for William Clark's face.

Unfortunately, her combo was blocked perfectly by William Clark with his textbook.

She was just too easy to read—a simple-minded wild girl.

"I'm being nice and taking you to see some benefits! And this is how you treat me!?"

Grace Sullivan kept attacking, refusing to give up.

But William Clark blocked her every move effortlessly.

A few classmates nearby watched their scuffle and couldn't help but laugh.

The history teacher on the podium was used to this, glanced over, rubbed his bald head, and pretended not to see.

It was senior year, the last few months. Most teachers turned a blind eye, considering it the only benefit for the class after all their hard work.

Soon, the bell rang, its shrill sound making everyone's scalp tingle.

"Xiao Yan, want to go check out the new cassette at noon?" A girl on one side leaned over and whispered to Grace Sullivan.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? I just need one more to complete my Zhang En'ai collection. This time, I have to..."

The two girls huddled together, chattering away.

William Clark's gaze swept over the girl next to Grace Sullivan.

She wore the school uniform on top, but a pure white denim miniskirt on the bottom, her long, fair legs exposed, with the skirt barely covering half her thighs.

Even though she wore safety shorts, her long, white legs still drew plenty of attention from the boys around.

William Clark was no exception, but he had strong self-control and looked away after just a glance.