Chapter 3

When these two met, it was like watching two mortal enemies clash—totally incompatible with each other.

One mocked the other for being a sissy for collecting dolls, while the other laughed at him for being so clueless he couldn’t even solve the last question.

"Can you guys keep it down for a minute?" I said, digging into my pocket in frustration. "Hey, where are my cigarettes?"

Oh no! I forgot I’m Charles now—I’m still a student and can’t smoke!

"Just kidding! I mean... where's my pen?"

"Really?" James Whitetaker stared at me with unfathomable eyes.

I scratched my head and left this troubled place quickly, "Well... I'll go out and look for it."

Arnord Strong followed me out,

"Have you been under a lot of pressure from studying recently?"

"Not... not so bad."

He took out a pen from his pocket and smiled shyly, "This is for you, don't smoke."

Arnord Strong's smile was warm and dazzling in the sunlight,

When he took the pen, our fingertips touched each other, and a strange tingling feeling came up.

"Then I'll leave first, I really can't stand your neighbor brother."

Arnold gave my shoulder a gentle pat, his hand almost brushing against my ear.

Wow, up close, he’s... pretty handsome.

Wait, what? Gross! I’m straight! Why am I reacting like this?

I shook off the distracting thoughts and headed back to the room, ready to tackle another difficult challenge.

But as soon as I stepped through the door, I found myself pinned against the wall.

"What did he give you?"

James Whitaker’s eyes narrowed, a threatening glint in them.

I handed him the pen. "Here, it’s all yours."

Could it be that the two of them were just pretending to be at odds, while secretly being a happy-go-lucky duo?

"I will definitely not snatch it from you, Brother James."

"That's good to know."

James Whitaker scrutinized me from head to toe with a wicked grin, as if he were assessing something. Then, without warning, he pulled me into an embrace, pinched my chin, and kissed me.