"Grace, how about I just come pick you up? My house isn't far from yours, the driver can just take a little detour."

"Thanks, but I still prefer riding my bike. It's a good way to get some exercise too."

Seeing Brian Carter still following Grace Cooper, David Foster frowned slightly and said with a hint of mockery, "Brian Carter, what brings you to school so early today? The sun must be rising in the west."

Brian Carter smiled and replied, "Just got the time wrong, I guess."

Brian Carter's humorous answer brought a smile to Grace Cooper's face, which left both Brian Carter and David Foster momentarily stunned. But David Foster quickly ignored Brian Carter and started chatting with Grace Cooper.

Brian Carter felt quite annoyed. This was his first time walking and talking side by side with Grace Cooper, and now someone had come to mess it up. That guy was the class monitor, David Foster, who, true to his name, was tall and handsome. Although his grades were only average, his family was wealthy. Every day he came to school in a Toyota Camry, probably had the homeroom teacher in his pocket, and had managed to stay class monitor all along. This guy always played the role of the "flower guardian"—if anyone got too close to Grace Cooper, he'd find ways to drive them away, even secretly getting some local thugs to block those who didn't take the hint.

However, Grace Cooper's attitude toward David Foster was always the same as with other classmates—neither too close nor too distant, neither intimate nor aloof. So even though David Foster always bragged about his relationship with Grace Cooper, everyone knew he was just blowing smoke.

Watching David Foster animatedly talking to Grace Cooper, Grace Cooper didn't say much or show any special appreciation for David Foster, but she listened with a smile, leaving Brian Carter no chance to cut in. David Foster treated him with even more disdain, acting as if he were invisible, which made Brian Carter rather angry.

After all, he wasn't just an ordinary person anymore—he was a future super-rich man, a future playboy king. Yet, right after starting out, he was already being treated like this. Enough was enough! He glanced around, determined to play a trick on this arrogant guy no matter what.

Just then, a boy was dribbling a basketball while running in their direction. Brian Carter's mind sparked with an idea, and a mischievous grin appeared on his lips.

That boy loved basketball and dribbled his way to school every morning, never making a single mistake over nearly a kilometer. Once inside the school, he was even more uninhibited—running and dribbling, sometimes spinning or dribbling between his legs, attracting plenty of attention from both boys and girls.

But just as the boy was enjoying himself, he suddenly felt his hand come up empty—the ball that should have bounced back was gone. Looking around, he saw his basketball had stopped right at David Foster's feet. He quickly shouted, "Watch out!"

But it was too late. David Foster was turned toward Grace Cooper, not paying attention to his feet, and stepped right onto the basketball. The unexpected accident caught him completely off guard, and he lost his balance, falling flat on his back.

Grace Cooper was startled, instinctively raising her right hand to cover her mouth. But the books she was holding to her chest slipped to the ground, so she quickly bent down to pick them up, glancing over at David Foster.

Brian Carter hurried to squat down and help Grace Cooper pick up her books. When he handed them to her, his fingers brushed against the back of her hand. It was completely unintentional, but that accidental touch made Brian Carter feel as if he'd been electrified, his heart racing—this was Grace Cooper's hand, and today he had actually touched it.

By now, David Foster had already gotten up, panting. The fall had been pretty rough. The basketball's owner ran over to help him up, asking anxiously, "Are you okay?" He couldn't figure out how the ball, which he'd been dribbling just fine, had suddenly ended up at David Foster's feet.

At that moment, David Foster really wanted to beat the kid in front of him to a pulp. Falling flat on his face in front of Grace Cooper was a huge embarrassment. But the basketball player was bowing and apologizing profusely, so if David Foster made a big deal out of it, he'd just look petty.

Besides, he always tried to appear refined in front of Grace Cooper, so he had to swallow his anger and wave it off, saying, "Forget it, just be more careful next time. There are a lot of people at school, it's pretty dangerous."

"Yes, yes! Sorry about that." The basketball player gave an awkward laugh, quickly picked up his ball, and ran off.

Meanwhile, the real culprit, Brian Carter, was still lost in the wonderful feeling of touching Grace Cooper's delicate hand. Even when Grace Cooper seemed to ask David Foster with concern if he was okay, Brian Carter didn't care—he felt like he'd really scored today.

Chapter 6: Magic