Chapter 117

Morning

"..."

The boy stood at the entrance of the classroom.

After a moment of hesitation,

He walked into the classroom.

The once noisy classroom suddenly became much quieter.

"Why is he here..."

"Didn't they say he dropped out of school?"·

"Shh..."

Whispers from below could be heard intermittently.

He remained silent, lowered his head, and walked towards the back row through the middle aisle.

When he reached the empty seat, he placed his backpack down.

"..."

The class monitor sitting next to him remained silent.

After glancing at him, she stood the textbooks upright, partially covering her face.

...

He seemed oblivious to the staring eyes around him. He stood next to his seat and turned his head.

Looking around, as if searching for something.

His gaze swept across, paused for a while, and then stopped at the back row near the window.

"..."

Jocelyn York was taken aback for a moment.

She straightened her back nervously.

"..."

After a pause of about two seconds,

He turned his head again and slowly sat down.

...

"Luo Jia, Luo Jia!"

As soon as class ended, the girl sitting next to her pulled her sleeve.

"What is it?"

"Was the transfer student just looking at you?"

"Huh?"

She hesitated for a moment.

"Maybe... I guess..."

"Huh?! How did you provoke him?"

The girl looked at her in surprise.

"I didn't provoke him..."

"Then why was he staring at you?"

"Did he?"

"Definitely! Let me tell you, he'll definitely come and tell you not to leave after school!"

The girl covered her mouth and whispered.

"What are you talking about..."

She smiled dismissively and turned her head.

She looked at William Wei, who was sleeping on the desk.

After a while, she stood up again.

"Where are you going?"

The girl looked up at her nervously.

"I'm going to the bathroom..."

She chuckled and walked forward.

As she passed by him, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

He wasn't wearing the school uniform. He was still wearing the long-sleeved hoodie he wore when she met him yesterday, tattered with some scrape marks.

"..."

After taking two steps, she stopped.

Standing in place,

After a moment, she turned around and walked towards his seat.

When she reached his seat, she lowered her head and said to him, who was sleeping on the desk:

"So you still came after all~"

"Luo Jia!"

The girl sitting next to her almost exclaimed, but half a second later, she hurriedly covered her mouth.

The classmates around also turned their attention to this side.

"It's none of your business."

He didn't lift his head and spoke softly with his head on the desk.

"What are you planning to do, sleep in the classroom all day?"

"..."

He remained silent, tilting his head slightly, revealing one eye.

"So what?"

"It's nothing~ I'm just curious..."

She said, poking her chin with her finger.

"Who was the one who said he wouldn't come to school yesterday?"

"..."

He was speechless, clenching his fist.

After a while, he spoke softly:

"It's not because of you that I came..."

...

"Um, I didn't say it was because of me..."

"Shut up!"

He became anxious and slammed the table, lifting his head.

Only then did he realize the surrounding gazes, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Hesitating, he looked to the side...

"Luo Jia, just forget about him~"

At this moment, a boy sitting on the desk suddenly spoke.

"That's right, there's nothing to say to someone like him~"

The other boy next to him sneered and said the same.

...

The once quiet atmosphere suddenly became tense.

People below started to discuss.

"..."

William Wei remained silent, looking at the desk without saying a word.

...

"This kind of person?"

There wasn't much change on Jocelyn York's face.

She turned her head and stared fixedly at the boy.

"It seems like you still don't know anything~"

The boy laughed and shook his head.

"Forget it, let's not talk about it..."

The boy next to him whispered, nudging him with his elbow.

"Why can't we talk about it? Some people have the nerve to come to school and not let others talk about it~"

"..."

William Wei's hand finally trembled slightly.

Silent, he still didn't turn around.

"I heard this guy's mom..."

The boy said, with a slight smirk on his face.

"She became a mistress for someone else~"

"!"

"Is it true?!"

"What does mistress mean..."

"It means..."

"Eh!? Like what they show on TV?"

Although they were only in second grade, most people knew this word.

The classroom immediately erupted in noise.

...

As expected,

It turned out to be like this again.

The flicker of hope was extinguished...

This kind of thing should have been expected long ago...

...

...

"Is that so?"

Her voice, cutting through the noisy crowd, reached his ears.

"Always do what you believe is right, that's the kind of woman my mom is, you know~"

She lifted her head.

At this moment, what she wanted to do

Was what she believed was the "right thing"...

"So what? What does that have to do with William Wei?"

"Oh? Jocelyn York, are you trying to speak up for him?"

The boy looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh"

Her answer came without hesitation.

"..."

William Wei widened his eyes, looking at his tightly clenched hands.

He didn't dare to lift his head to look at her.

"Hehe, Jocelyn York~ Didn't your teacher ever teach you what shame is? How can the son of that kind of woman be any good?"

The boy said confidently, his nose held high.

"Is that so?"

She said, with an expressionless face, just looking at the boy.

"Based on your logic, you're such a jerk, does that mean your dad is also a big jerk?"

"You!!"

The boy was at a loss for words, pointing at her but not knowing how to retort.

Laughter immediately broke out below.

...

"Heh, you'll regret this"

The boy clicked his tongue and, after saying that, plopped back into his seat.

"..."

She remained silent, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She turned her head and glanced at William Wei, who had not said a word since the beginning.

He didn't seem angry, even somewhat numb, still staring at his own hands.

...

"What are you all doing? What are you all doing like this? Can't you hear the bell for class starting?"

At this moment, the teacher walked into the classroom.

Using the textbook to pat the podium, she shouted.

"..."

She sighed lightly and walked back to her seat, pacing.

"Oh"

Just as she sat down, she remembered something.

"What's wrong again?"

The girl next to her turned to look at her.

"I forgot to go to the restroom..."

"You..."

You were too caught up in the argument and forgot about it...

...

...

The evening sun shone through the protective net on the side of the court, casting light on the basketball court.

A breeze blew, stirring up clouds of dust.

He held the basketball, watching the basketball team training on the adjacent court from afar.

Several days had passed since that incident in the classroom...

No one mentioned it again after that day.

This time, he had once again "luckily" stayed behind...

But is this enough...

"..."

He lowered his head, dribbled the ball twice, and then lifted it over his head and shot.

The basketball swished through the net.

"Nice shot!"

Applause came from the sidelines.

He looked towards the direction of the applause.

...

It's her again...

"..."

Why is it you again?

He wanted to say that

But this time, he didn't say it out loud...

After a moment, he picked up the ball again and repeated the shooting motion from before.

"So you can play basketball too~"

Jocelyn York walked over, hands behind her back.

"Is it not allowed?"

"No, it's just that you look like someone who plays basketball regularly~"

"You know basketball...?"

He turned his head to look at her with a suspicious expression.

In his impression, there were very few girls who were interested in basketball.

"Of course~ I can tell from your moves, they resemble Jordan's a bit~"

"These are Kobe's moves..."

"Huh? Who's Kobe..."

She suddenly paused and muttered to herself in a low voice.

"A fake fan..."

"Haha, got caught~"

She scratched her cheek and squinted her eyes, smiling.

"..."

He was dazed, looking at her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..."

He quickly regained his composure and grabbed the basketball again.

"About that day..."

He turned his back to her and took two steps forward.

After a moment of hesitation, he spoke softly.

"Thank you."

"..."

She was stunned for a moment.

"Oh..."

This person actually knows how to say thank you, which is unexpected to her...

"Besides, that guy was too rude~ I just wanted to teach him a lesson~"

"But..."

He interrupted her words and turned around to look at her.

"Everything he said was true."

"William Wei..."

She fell silent, her mouth slightly open, not knowing what to say.

"William Wei..."

He looked at the basketball in his hand and smiled self-mockingly.

"What an annoying name..."

"Huh?"

"..."

He wiped away the barely noticeable smile on his face and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"I have my mother's surname."

The woman he mentioned should be his mother.

"Is that so..."

"That woman made an unforgivable mistake, she had an affair behind my father's back."

His expression was calm as he spoke in a soft voice.

"..."

"After my father found out, he divorced her in anger..."

"What about your father?"

She took a step forward, placed her hand on her chest, and looked at him.

"I don't know, I heard he left this city."

...

"I have been tormented by rumors because of that woman, subjected to insults, pointed at, but I never had the courage to refute... I was forced to change schools several times because of that."

He spoke these words to someone else for the first time with a weak voice.

His voice became lower and deeper.

"When I grow up, one day..."

He said, turning his head to look at her.

The hatred in his pupils was evident.

"I will get rid of this disgusting name."

...

Silence for a moment.

...

"William Wei."

She spoke, calling his name.

Was this person intentional?

He gritted his teeth, and in his black pupils, the anger that had recently subsided flared up again.

He clenched his fist and raised his head.

...

"Do you want to come to my house?"

She suddenly spoke, with a smile on her face and her eyes narrowed.

"What...?"

"Come to my house and play~"

She walked over, hands behind her back, to where he was.

Looking up at William Wei, who was slightly taller than her.

"..."

He was stunned.

What is this person thinking?

Why can she still smile like that after hearing the truth he revealed?

...

He didn't even have time to change out of his sports shorts

Before he knew it, Jocelyn York had pulled him to the door of her house without saying a word.

What is this person thinking?

...

"..."

He looked up, dumbfounded.

How many people could possibly live in such a big house...

"So big... Are you rich?"

"Big?"

She tilted her head, completely oblivious, and looked at him.

"Tsk..."

Damn rich people...

...

...

"Daddy, I'm back!"

She opened the door and shouted inside.

"Jia'er is back? Oh, this is your frie-"

Yunkun opened the door and suddenly froze.

"..."

A man, a man?

Jocelyn York rarely brought friends home, let alone a boy...

"This is my dad."

"Oh... Hello, I'm her classmate."

"Huh? What did you say?"

Yunkun stared at the boy in front of him, feeling uncomfortable.

"I said... I'm her classmate."

"What's that? Your last words?"

"Huh?"

William Wei looked baffled and raised his head.

"Dad, why are you saying such random things? Don't block the doorway! It's annoying!"

"Oh, oh..."

Yunkun hesitated and moved aside.

She turned around and waved at him.

"Come in!"

"Oh..."

...

He felt like a little animal that had accidentally wandered into the human territory, cautiously looking around.

To a girl's home...

For him, this was the first time.