Jack coughed awkwardly. "I finished all the problems you wrote out, but I don't know if they're right or not. As for the rest... I can't do them."
He handed the exercises to Ethan, his movements quick and decisive.
Ethan took the problems Jack had answered, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He really didn't understand how Jack solved these problems, but damn if he hadn't actually gotten them right.
He picked up a red pen, drew circles on the scratch paper, and then slowly explained to Jack from the first question...
"Look, the key to this problem is understanding what it's asking first..." Ethan's voice was soft but particularly clear. His fingertips tapped on the question, then he broke it down step by step for Jack to follow.
At first.
Jack was still confused as he listened, but as Ethan explained, his brows gradually relaxed, and he occasionally asked questions, as if he'd finally started to get it.
Time flew by.
The sky outside the window was getting darker.
"It's already past six? Time flies!" Ashley glanced at her phone and said in surprise.
They'd studied in the library for nearly 5 hours.
"Pack up your stuff and let's head home!" Ethan stood up and said.
Everyone packed their things and prepared to leave.
In front of the city library.
Sarah tucked her long hair behind her ear and spoke first. "We're taking graduation photos tomorrow. Have you all thought about what you're going to wear?"
Ashley spun around in a circle, and the hem of her skirt lifted gently. "I've already decided! A fitted dress with a pair of small heels."
She rose up on her tiptoes as she spoke, as if already hearing the crisp sound of her heels clicking against the ground.
Jack scratched his head and put his elbow on Ethan's shoulder. "I haven't thought about it yet... I dunno!"
He tilted his head to look at Ethan, then his eyes lit up. "Let me just see what Ethan's gonna wear. I'll wear the same thing so I don't have to waste brain cells thinking about it."
Sarah dragged out her tone expectantly. "Ethan, what are you planning to wear?"
Ethan didn't hesitate and replied directly, "I'm gonna wear a suit!"
"Ooh—fancy!"
"Look at you! Putting on a suit and everything."
"You gonna have caviar in your left hand and breadsticks in your right, experiencing the collision of fine dining cultures?"
Jack smiled and teased.
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Then you better not wear one."
He paused, and a meaningful smile curved at the corners of his mouth. "You know why?"
"Why?"
All three of them looked over curiously.
"Because—" Ethan suddenly reached out and ruffled Jack's hair, saying with a grin, "From far away, you'd look like the Wolf of Wall Street..." He deliberately stretched out his tone, then chuckled under their expectant gazes. "But up close... you'd look like Wall Street after it got mauled by a wolf."
"Damn it."
Jack knew he'd been roasted again, so he just shut up.
Ashley laughed and patted Sarah on the shoulder, and the latter also turned her head and smiled.
Ethan turned to look at Sarah. "Sarah, what about you? What are you planning to wear?"
In truth, Ethan already knew what she was going to wear.
In his previous life, the image in his memory had been too stunning. Sarah had worn a dress with delicate lilac patterns embroidered on the hem.
She'd also worn a white jade hairpin in her hair, holding back half of her dark locks, styled with an elegant, classical charm.
Her beauty had been breathtaking, perfectly capturing the subtlety and grace.
In that moment.
She'd become the most captivating person in the entire school. The eyes of the whole campus had stopped for her. The cicadas had gone quiet, and the breeze had been gentle.
Of course, Ashley had been stunning too. Her white dress had glowed with a pearl-like luster in the sun, and the skirt had swayed lightly with her steps, as if she'd worn the freshness of the entire midsummer.
If Ethan had to score them, both would get 100 points.
But why had he thought Sarah had become the most attractive person in the entire school?
The reason was the difference in clothing styles.
Ashley's dress had touched the hearts of many boys and girls, but Sarah's dirndl had been a killer for everyone—men, women, young, and old. Not to mention in purple.
Even popular songs talked about how purple was the most enchanting color, and presumably everyone reading this would agree!
Ethan knew that Sarah really loved dirndl and traditional-style clothing.
He remembered that in his previous life, after his career had taken off, he'd gone to a specialty shop and spent a fortune to have a custom embroidered dirndl made for her.
It had been handmade, with exquisite stitching and delicate silk. Every detail had condensed the craftsman's hard work, and she'd been overjoyed the moment he'd given it to her.
It's just that he couldn't afford it right now.
"I want to wear a dirndl tomorrow." Sarah said softly, her eyes sparkling.
Sure enough, hearing her answer, Ethan had known it in his heart.
"Then let's take tons of group photos tomorrow!" Ashley clapped her hands excitedly, and the sleeves of her white dress swayed gently.
With that.
Everyone said their goodbyes one by one.
"See you tomorrow! Bye Ethan! Bye Jack!" Sarah and Ashley were heading in the same direction.
Jack and Ethan were going the same way.
Jack got on his bicycle and said, "Yo Ethan, when are you gonna buy your suit?"
He asked naturally—after all, to Jack, Ethan had almost no secrets. It was like he was completely transparent.
He basically knew everything Ethan had, even the colors of his underwear.
It was safe to say there were almost no secrets between them...
Ethan got on his bicycle, his long legs pedaling as the bike glided forward smoothly. "Let's eat first. We'll go shopping for clothes later!"
After saying that, he rode directly toward home.
"Hey!"
"Wait for me!"
Jack also hurriedly rode to catch up, the chain making a rapid clicking sound.
Ethan rode his bicycle home leisurely.
Pushed open the door.
The aroma of food hit him in the face.
Mom had already prepared dinner.
Sitting at the dining table and looking at the ordinary home-cooked meals on the table, they were more precious than any fancy restaurant food.
Every time he was at moments like these, he felt incredibly blessed.
This was home!
In a flash, memories of his past life came to mind.
In his previous life, he'd lived alone in an empty villa. Every day he'd had the same rotation of dinners or gone out drinking and networking. When he'd come home and loosened his tie, the loneliness had been indescribable...
"Ethan, you're back? Come eat." After saying that, Robert greeted him with a smile.
He stopped talking and just ate on his own.
"What did you get up to today, honey?" Linda asked while serving him food.
"What did I do! This morning I went to set up the stand with Jack, then at lunch..." Ethan gulped down a spoonful of egg drop soup.
Before Ethan finished speaking, Linda heard that her son had been setting up a stand, and immediately slammed her hand on the table.
Although she and Robert had agreed to ask in as relaxed a tone as possible—sometimes even just casually asking what the kid was doing—Ethan's casual, carefree attitude right now made Linda genuinely angry. She couldn't hold it in anymore.
"What do you mean you 'didn't do anything'? Then why were you setting up a stand? No reviewing? You went to set up a stand? Neither of you want to go to college, is that it? We don't want to pressure you, but are you just trying to worry us to death?"
"And Jack too! You two have only known how to play around since you were kids. No, I'm calling his mom later."
As she spoke, she got up to grab her phone.
There are 30 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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