Autumn quietly sat down beside William Moore.
She took off her school jacket and draped it over her head, letting darkness swallow her vision as she prepared to nap.
Her mind drifted hazily to what had happened in the cafeteria earlier — the argument with Ethan and the others replayed like static.
The more she thought about it, the more bitter she felt, her brows unconsciously knitting together.
Before sleep pulled her under completely, one last thought flickered across her mind—
She needed to move out within the next 2 days. The farther away from them, the better.
She didn't notice that under William Moore's thick glasses, his eyes were quietly fixed on her, burning with an unreadable intensity...
The first class that afternoon was White Miller's.
Autumn woke up just as the bell rang, rubbing her eyes when White walked in with a stack of test papers.
The moment his gaze landed on her sitting next to William Moore, a rare smile flickered across his face — finally, another bright student.
Still… maybe that seat arrangement needed changing.
White cleared his throat, raising his voice.
"Before we start class, I'd like to introduce our new student—"
Before he could finish, a voice from the back interrupted,
"No need! We already know her!"
"She's the new beauty!"
"Class flower! Class flower!"
Someone started the chant, and soon the whole class joined in, laughing and cheering until the room buzzed with energy.
White couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.
"You kids—don't scare off the best student I've managed to bring into this class!"
"You only see how pretty she is, but what you don't know is—Miss Autumn James's grades leave all of you in the dust! If you don't start studying, even the farms won't want you!"
Laughter rippled through the room.
"Alright, let's switch up the seating a bit."
The room instantly went quiet.
Everyone's eyes locked on White Miller, hopeful that they might end up sitting next to Autumn.
White chuckled to himself. He expected her to be popular, but not this popular.
He cleared his throat again. "Summer Lin and Autumn James will sit together. Liam Carter, switch seats and pair with Daniel Chen."
Since Daniel was still out competing, his desk was empty — a perfect arrangement.
Disappointed groans filled the room, but Summer nearly bounced in her seat, two dimples bright on her cheeks as she helped Autumn move her books over.
Throughout it all, William Moore never once lifted his head.
By the time the afternoon passed and the dismissal bell rang, Autumn packed her bag, slung it over one shoulder, and stood to leave.
She had to go home and start packing.
"Hey, Autumn!" Summer called, hurrying after her. "Let's go buy the new physics, chemistry, and biology textbooks together!"
Autumn paused mid-step, glancing back at her.
If Summer hadn't mentioned it, she might've forgotten about the textbooks entirely.
Seeing Summer's bright, hopeful eyes, Autumn smiled softly. "Sure. Thanks."
Summer's smile widened, her dimples deepening adorably. "Wait for me! I'll be quick!"
Autumn chuckled at her frantic movements. "No rush."
Summer nodded but somehow started moving even faster.
When she finally caught up, she grinned. "Let's go, Autumn!"
The two walked out of the building together.
At the intersection, Summer tugged Autumn toward the bus stop.
Autumn didn't move.
Summer blinked. "Come on, the bus is about to leave."
Autumn's gaze shifted toward a black Mercedes parked not far away, hazard lights flashing.
"My family's car is over there. It'll take us to the bookstore. Come."
Summer's jaw dropped. "Wait—was that Mercedes from the other morning yours?!"
Her eyes widened. "Then… you know Ethan James?!"
Thanks to Ethan, their cafeteria spat had become quite the campus drama.
Everyone knew the siblings didn't get along.
Hearing his name, Autumn's expression barely changed. She only found Summer's reaction odd — she clearly knew of Ethan too.
Probably because of the same physics teacher, Autumn guessed.
"Yeah, kind of," she said lightly. "Come on, we can't park here for long."
Summer gaped, speechless.
Ethan James — the so-called all-rounder, the "king" of the science stream — top 10 in every subject, though his attitude left much to be desired.
Still, she thought, Autumn was nothing like him. Autumn was… kind.
Reassuring herself with that thought, she followed Autumn into the car.
"Uncle Warren, let's stop by the Xinhua Bookstore first," Autumn said.
Uncle Warren met her eyes in the rearview mirror, smiling. "Of course, Miss. Haven't seen you bring a friend in a while."
Summer smiled shyly, sneaking a glance at Autumn.
Hehe… she was Autumn's friend now.
Soon they arrived at the bookstore.
The Xinhua Bookstore was massive — three full floors.
The first was newspapers and magazines, the second housed textbooks and study guides, and the third was filled with novels.
They went straight to the second floor.
After picking out the required textbooks, they headed toward the supplementary section.
"Summer?"
A calm, pleasant voice called out, carrying a note of surprise.
Summer turned around, eyes widening. "Peter? When did you get back? Is your competition over?"
Peter Gu smiled gently. "Yesterday. I got back to Cloud City this morning."
"You here for textbooks? And this is…?"
His gaze landed on Autumn, recognition flickering behind his eyes.
Summer quickly took Autumn's hand. "This is my classmate — and my friend — Autumn James."
"This is my cousin, Peter Gu. He's a senior in the science department."
Autumn blinked in mild surprise.
Peter Gu — Summer's cousin?
If she remembered correctly, in her past life, Peter had been a business prodigy, building a powerful company from nothing.
But what was strange was that Peter's company had constantly clashed with Ethan's family business — rivals till the end.
Even when she died, she still hadn't figured out why.
As she stared at Peter's calm, elegant face, she couldn't help but drift into thought.
Summer froze. Was Autumn… daydreaming? Or straight-up swooning?
Peter noticed too — he raised his hand, half-covering a chuckle.
"Miss James, do you have something on your mind? You've been looking at me quite intently," he teased lightly, his tone warm and just playful enough not to be rude.