"It was you who said you didn't need it, not me refusing to buy it for you."
Autumn James made sure to confirm this with Ethan James once more.
Ethan didn't respond. He was furious inside.Yes, he had said he didn't need it—but couldn't she have spoiled him a little anyway?!
She used to fuss over him constantly, afraid he'd skip meals and get sick!
Ethan's sleep schedule had always been irregular, and he often skipped meals. Over time, his bad habits had left him with chronic stomach problems.
He was also the youngest among them, having started school a year early, which was how he ended up in the same class as Autumn.
Autumn used to feel bad for him, always looking after him with care, bringing him breakfast every morning.
And Ethan—he had simply taken all of that for granted, treating her help like it was his right.
But now everything was different!Why wasn't she spoiling him anymore?!
Frustration welled up in his chest, his eyes reddening at the corners as his breathing turned uneven.
Anna Hawthorne noticed and hesitated for a moment before stepping forward carefully.
"What do you want to eat? I can go get it for you," she offered in a small, cautious voice.
Ethan was already irritated beyond reason. Even looking at Anna now annoyed him.
He kicked the desk beside him in frustration.
"Fine, go then," he muttered coldly before storming out of the classroom, ignoring Anna completely.
Just as he was leaving, he nearly ran into their English teacher coming in.
The teacher, Ms. Carter, had a head of perfectly styled waves and wore the latest designer outfit, carrying an LV tote bag with her lesson materials inside.
Seeing Ethan's angry expression and hurried stride, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
This kid was practically a legend—rarely even showed up for class, and when he did, he usually just slept through it. What on earth could have made him this mad?
Though he had a temper, he was still her favorite student—mostly because, well, he was handsome.
"Ethan, where are you going?" she asked.
Ethan didn't answer. He just kept walking, his pace quick and heavy.
Ms. Carter arched an eyebrow but didn't push further.
She strolled into the classroom, placed her things on the podium, and pulled out her textbook.
"Ms. Carter looks extra pretty today!"
One of the boys called out from the back, drawing laughter and teasing from others.
She rolled her eyes, though the corners of her lips lifted slightly. "Enough, class time now! You boys really need to find a better outlet for all that energy. Go play basketball if you're bored—and if you're free after class, you can even teach me a few moves."
After adjusting her mic, she slowly pulled out a few documents from her bag, her gaze landing directly on Autumn James.
"Some of you think transferring classes will magically improve your grades," she said casually, voice laced with a hint of mockery. "But English isn't something you can master overnight. Stay calm, study hard, and don't get ahead of yourselves."
Her tone made it obvious who she was referring to.
The class turned to look at Autumn with amused curiosity.
After what had happened recently, everyone knew she'd applied to transfer into the advanced science class.
But even with all the stares, Autumn didn't react. She kept her head down, quietly reading a Chinese novel in its original text.
Ms. Carter found her calm attitude irritating and rolled her eyes.
Then, as if remembering something, she spoke again. "Autumn, Ms. Lin wants to see you in the office."
Autumn looked up. "Right now?"
"Yes, right now. Go on."
Ms. Lin, their geography teacher and homeroom advisor, was probably calling about the class transfer.
Without overthinking, Autumn stood and left the room.
Even after she walked out, she could still hear Ms. Carter and the boys laughing and joking behind her.
When she reached the office, she stood respectfully before Ms. Lin.
"Teacher, you asked for me?"
Ms. Lin nodded. "Yes. There are two comprehensive science test papers here. You can either choose one to complete, or both if you want to try."
"These teachers are from the advanced science class. They'll be grading your papers. You can trust both the difficulty level and fairness of the assessment."
Autumn understood immediately—this was her placement test.
She nodded politely to the teachers and took a quick glance at the papers.
She could tell Ms. Lin meant for her to start with the easier one first, and only attempt the harder one later if she wanted a challenge.
But Autumn, a former top student from Q University—even though she'd studied literature before and majored in Chinese language—had spent plenty of time helping her classmates in the robotics lab.
To do that, she'd forced herself to study advanced physics on her own, borrowing a university-level physics textbook just to understand how robotic systems worked.
It hadn't been only for them—she genuinely loved robotics herself.
Unfortunately, her major didn't allow her to officially pursue that field, so all she could do was help behind the scenes—organizing data, managing their projects, and supporting them however she could.
Meanwhile, Anna only had to act cute and things would magically fall into her lap.
Thinking of that, Autumn couldn't help the hint of irony in her smile.
She picked up the harder test without hesitation, pulled a pen from her pocket, and began to write.
Among physics, chemistry, and biology, physics was the subject she handled most easily, followed by biology, then chemistry.
The physics teacher watching her furrowed his brow slightly.
Time ticked by.The blank space on her paper grew smaller and smaller.
By the time the bell rang for the end of class—45 minutes later—Autumn put down her pen, having finished the entire paper.
Normally, students were given 150 minutes to complete one test paper.
She had finished in only 45 minutes.
The teachers exchanged looks, sighing quietly.
Young people these days—too impatient.
Ms. Lin, a bit worried, asked gently, "Are you sure you're done? Do you want to check your answers again?"
Autumn heard the concern behind her words and shook her head calmly.
Ms. Lin sighed and handed the paper to the grading teachers. "Please take a look when you can."
The physics teacher, a little annoyed, took it first.
He'd seen her the entire time—barely pausing, answering each question almost instantly.
This very test had been part of their recent monthly exam and was notoriously difficult, designed by their own school specifically to challenge students in the advanced class.
Even their class representative, usually one of the top scorers, had only managed to get 90 out of 100.
Clearly, this new transfer student didn't know what she was getting herself into.
Still, out of respect for Ms. Lin, the physics teacher held his temper.
"I'll grade it first," he said curtly. "I've got something after this."
The others nodded in agreement.
He began marking the paper.
The handwriting was neat and crisp.
He glanced at Autumn, who sat quietly with her head down, absentmindedly fidgeting with her fingers—completely unconcerned about the result.
His disapproval deepened.
With that kind of attitude, she couldn't possibly take anything seriously.
Suppressing his irritation, he uncapped his red pen and began to grade carefully.