After leaving Teacher Ying's office, I headed straight back to my classroom.

"What did the teacher say?" Som, seeing Hin sit down next to her, asked.

"Nothing much, the usual," I replied.

    Som looked at me, 'The usual?? If he's not bragging about himself, then it must be nothing,' she thought to herself.

    We sat through classes until the day ended.

    In the evening,

    Ton and I went to basketball practice, with Som and Ploy watching us.

    "Why does he keep shooting for the three-point shot?" Som, looking into the court, saw Hin shooting three-pointers whenever he got the ball, missing every time.

    "You still don't know he's special?" Ploy, sitting next to her, said.

    "Why do you think so?" Som turned to look at Ploy.

    Ploy smiled before explaining, "Ton once told me they weren't very close initially, not until that day they went through together," Ploy spoke with a tone of respect.

    "How so??" Som was more curious. "What could Ton possibly need his help for? He's just dragging Ton down. I heard he chose to play here instead of at a nationally renowned basketball school," Som remarked.

    Ton was not only academically brilliant and sports-talented but also handsome. Ploy was very lucky to have him as a boyfriend, unlike her. Som looked at Hin.

    "He's special," Ploy declared.

    "Special, like ordinary?" Som asked skeptically.

    "Look at him. Even if he misses several shots, he keeps trying. No matter what his teammates or others say, he keeps moving forward. That's his nature. Ton accepted him because of his perseverance, a spirit that never knows defeat," Ploy said, taking a sip from her glass.

    Som, hearing this, inquiring, "How did they meet?" Som asked.

    She and Ploy had been friends since childhood, unlike Hin and Ton who seemed worlds apart.

    "Through a fight," Ploy revealed.

    "They helped each other out, right?" Som said.

    "No, he came to Ton's aid against ten," Ploy continued.

    "Huh??" Som looked at Ploy incredulously. "He was brave enough?"

    Ploy smiled and narrated, "Ton was getting beaten badly. He couldn't handle ten by himself. One of them was about to hit him with a large wooden stick when Hin stepped in with a metal pipe in hand." Ploy said.

    "And then what happened?" Som, hearing that, felt she needed to reassess Hin.

    "No matter how skilled, one can't fight ten alone. Luckily, the police arrived just in time, and unfortunately, they ignored Ton lying in a pool of blood, focusing on chasing the culprits," Ploy said as if she were there.

    "He carried an unconscious Ton to the nearest hospital, which was 5 km away. His body was severely injured too; I heard his leg was nearly broken," Ploy looked at Hin as if she owed him a debt of gratitude.

    Som was shocked, then asked, "Why didn't he call an ambulance?" She said curiously.

    Ploy smiled, laughing before answering, "He had a very crazy reason that we couldn't possibly think of: he had no money on him, and his phone was broken. Hehe," she said while laughing.

    Som looked at Hin, who was still practicing shooting.

    "He's special. Give him a chance. Teach him, help him. I believe he'll be great in the future. We just need to support them," Ploy said, looking at Ton with a deep gaze.

    Som, looking at Hin and then back at Ploy, saw that look in her eyes. She felt moved by Ploy's profound support for Ton. Ploy truly loved Ton with all her heart, supporting him with all her might. Som wondered if there would ever be someone, she'd feel compelled to wholeheartedly support.

    'Give him a chance?' Som looked at Hin. 'He's special,' Ploy's words echoed in her head.

    'Okay, let's see,' Som seemed to have made some decision.

    They watched us finish practice.

    "Hin," Som called out. Hin, who was leaving the court, turned to her. "Yes?" he greeted.

    Som, hearing that, said, "How did your exam go?" She asked.

    "Just like always," Hin replied. He wasn't lying; 'just like always' meant him in the future always acing first place in exams. But for Som, it was phrase "As bad as always" or anything similar.

    Som, upon hearing that, replied, "I'll give you tutoring, interested?" Som said.

    Hin heard that, then smiled, shaking his head. "It'd be a hassle for you. I'm way beyond help," These words could be taken two ways—honest yet misleading.

    "I'll treat you to lunch if you let me teach you," Som said, thinking, 'I expected you to refuse. Let me heal the wounds I've caused.' She was referring to Hin, who was less friendly towards her than before.

    Before he confessed to her.

    Hearing this, Hin pondered deeply. [Sir, this is an excellent opportunity. Considering your family's financial situation, there's only a 10% chance of enjoying a decent lunch,] Yo calculated precisely.

    I wasn't sure if it used its brain or intuition.

    The feeling of wanting its master to find a partner.

    [Damn, everything's delicious here,] I had to admit, the food in this era was exceptionally tasty.

    "Alright, I agree," Hin said.

    "Then let's start tomorrow evening." Before basketball practice, we had an hour. School ended at 3 P.M., and basketball club started at 4 P.M.

This was the time she said she would teach him.

I wasn't sure, once it started, who would end up teaching whom.

    ...

    After returning from school, I quickly took a shower and dressed before getting some programming done.

    "Hin!" Chat yelled out.

    "Yes?" I stood up and went to the front of the shop.

    There, I saw two men standing at the counter; one of them was holding a computer, and the other looked familiar.

    "Hin, this is the customer you fixed the computer for that day," Ah, he was the first customer.

    "Hello, how can I help you?" I greeted them.

    "The thing is my friend wants you to upgrade his computer. He couldn't resist after seeing mine," the first customer explained.

    "Sure, I would like to have the type that could play this game." He showed me a game on his phone, along with the minimum device specifications.

    "Okay, what's your budget?" I opened the way for negotiation.

    "Not much," the friend of the first customer said.

    "Alright, let me take a look," I powered on the computer to inspect it.

    "Hmm, here and there... Okay, I'll reinstall Windows for you," I announced, completing the job in two hours.

    "All done," I said, handing back the machine.

    "Thank you," the friend of the first customer paid the service fee and left.

    "My son is really talented," Chat brought his son a drink.

    I took it and drank.

    "Aren't we closing the shop, dad?" I asked as it was almost 9 P.M. now.

    "Of course, we have to close," Chat was about to close the shop, but someone stopped him.

    "Could I still get my laptop fixed?" the man asked. I was about to refuse, but my dad intervened.

    "Please come in," Chat said.

    The customer came in with his laptop. "My friend recommended your shop, said it's excellent," he said.

    'Great, when will I ever get back to my programming?' I thought but proceeded to help him.