"It's not that. We're already nearing exams, so we need to use all the time we have to study!"Xander didn't even blink at that. "I can afford to lose a couple of minutes."As he spoke, he glanced at their surroundings. Seeming satisfied, he said, "It's pretty clean now. Let's head back."Victor was at a loss for words.Meanwhile, Grace seemed to have learned her lesson after being late to school the first time. She never turned up late afterward. In fact, she woke up half an hour before Victor every morning in the spirit of studying diligently.That day, Grace was dropped off at the school entrance in the morning by her driver.The moment she left the car, she saw her classmate, Magnus Titan.Magnus was a classic straight-A student. He was enthusiastic about his studies and eager to discuss academic issues with people like Grace.That's why Magnus immediately went over to her. "Did you finish the questions the math teacher gave us at the end of class yesterday, Grace? Can I
Grace was a girl of her word. Students in her grade finished classes before Xander's grade did. She went out to the school entrance to wait for him the instant the bell rang.Grace soon saw Victor, Caleb, and Xander cycling out. Victor waved hello to Grace first. "You're finally sensible enough to wait for your brothers before going home."Caleb said, "But the three of us have agreed to play games at the internet cafe before going back. Why don't you have the driver take you home first?"Grace's gaze landed on Xander, who stood behind them. "Who said I was waiting for you guys? Let's go, Xander!"Victor and Caleb shared a look of disbelief. "Wait. You were waiting for Xander, Gracie?"Grace hummed in assent. "I need to properly thank Xander for helping me out this morning. You two can leave first if there's nothing else."Victor turned to Xander and said warningly, "You promised to hang out with us at the internet cafe, Xander.""Yeah. We haven't finished our game yet!" Caleb ad
Grace nodded repeatedly and called the waiter so she could order two ice cream sets."Xander, try this! It's strawberry-flavored, and this is vanilla. This one's chocolate …"Xander held a spoon and took a bite as Grace watched him in anticipation. "How is it? Does it taste good?"Xander assented. "It's not bad."Grace was delighted. "I knew you would like it."Xander took another spoonful and ate it. "The flavor is very good. No wonder you like it so much.""Right? Not only does their ice cream taste good, they also have great advertising slogans."As she spoke, Grace found one of the ice cream boxes. There were a series of advertising slogans printed on it. "Among cars, it's the Rolls Royce, but ice cream has Häagen-Dazs."Oh, and this one: 'every moment with you is a moment with love. I'll care for you attentively at the most unexpected moments'."If you love her, buy her Häagen-Dazs."Xander was silent for a moment. Grace counted all the ice cream boxes in the set. Ther
Xander looked up and met Victor's eyes without trying to hide anything."Didn't she say that she was going to come over with the two of you?"Victor explained, "Her grades have dropped recently, so Grandpa arranged some tuition classes for her. That's why she can't come at the moment.""Oh, what kind of classes?""Mathematical olympiad classes."Xander remained silent. …The next day, Grace arrived at her mathematical olympiad class disinterestedly. "This is so hard. Can I just not come?"She had just finished speaking when she looked up to see Xander sitting in her seat. Grace rubbed her eyes and went up to him in disbelief. She asked, "Xander, what are you doing here?"Xander didn't even look up as he said, "I heard that you can get extra credit if you do the mathematical olympiad, so Mom signed up for me."Grace was amused at his plight. "I thought I was the only one who was suffering, but I didn't expect Aunt Hestia to do the same to you!""Yep, we're in the same boat."
Grace had just woken up, and when she saw Xander, she burst into tears."Xander! Am I about to die?"Xander hurriedly went up to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He comforted her, saying, "That's ridiculous. Why would you die?""But I bled so much … it's all over my pants and the bedsheets …"When Xander heard this, it was as if he had been shocked with electricity. He was stunned, and suddenly the tips of his ears reddened. In a small voice, he asked, "What did you say?"Grace started crying even more loudly. "Xander, what should I do? I don't want to die …"Xander put his hand over her mouth. "You won't die, silly. Listen to me and wait for me here."Grace immediately stopped crying and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Xander, where are you going?"Xander didn't explain anything. He just said, "Just be a good girl and wait for me here."Grace was confused, and right at this moment, the school doctor arrived belatedly. "I heard that you fainted. What happened?
Victor was about to call the family doctor, but Xander hurriedly took his phone and explained shortly. "Every girl has that special period that they'll experience. Let's not ask too much."Victor blinked. They had learned thoroughly about the bodies of males and females in biology class.Only then did he belatedly realize what Xander meant by "special period". He breathed out deeply. "You almost scared me to death. I thought something had happened! You make sure to take care of your body more in the future, okay? Don't keep making us worry!"Caleb cleared his throat to dispel the awkwardness. "As long as Gracie is okay, everything's fine!""But …" Caleb looked meaningfully at her and said, "Gracie, you still aren't fit enough. You need to train more.""I know."Caleb remembered something else and said, "I don't know who gave you the courage to sign up for the 800-meter race on sports day. You usually don't even exercise! You won't end up not even being able to run the whole thi
Soon after that, the race began. The 800-meter race was a long-distance running event, and Grace stayed in the top three the moment the gun was fired. When they reached the second round, her strength began faltering, and her speed gradually slowed. At that moment, Xander suddenly popped up from nowhere and began running with her outside the track. "Gracie, adjust your breathing and maintain your rhythm. Inhale with every three steps and exhale with three steps …"His words echoed in Grace's ears, and she began to instinctively adjust her movements and rhythm. She began to speed up slowly. In the final sprint, Grace crossed the finish line in third place. "Yay! I can't … I'm too tired." She panted. "Let me rest for a while.""I want to lie down." As she spoke, Grace's legs buckled, and she was about to collapse on the track. But in the next second, Xander grabbed her arm. "You just finished running, and you can't sit down straight away. I'll help you walk slowly. Sit d
It was the weekend. Xander rode his bike to Lewis Manor. When he saw Harold, he greeted him politely. "Mr. Lewis Senior!"Harold looked delighted to see Xander. "Xander, have you come to see Caleb and Victor? The two of them aren't home today. They left early this morning.""It's okay, Mr. Lewis Senior. I'm not here to see them! I'm here for Gracie."Harold smiled knowingly. "I see! Then, I'll get the housekeeper to call her downstairs."He called the housekeeper and said, "Go and tell Gracie that Xander is here. Tell her to hurry up and come downstairs.""It's okay, Mr. Lewis Senior. I'll wait for her here." Xander had just finished speaking when he heard the thumping of footsteps on the stairs. Soon, Grace ran into the living room. "Xander, you're here!"Xander murmured in assent and looked at Harold. "We'll get going now, Mr. Lewis Senior."Harold nodded. "Okay, off you go!"The moment they went out, Grace was filled with questions. "Xander, where are you taking me? Why ar