Bab 12: 12. Best Friends
Taken aback by his unexpected question,
Alan stood petrified in place for a moment before muttering, What do you mean? Sir, you
should talk to him instead, Aiden said lightly.
Mr. Harvey's face fell. In all the years he had been a teacher in Bayside District, he had
never before encountered such a ridiculous situation from his students. He held up the
stack of papers that Aiden had given him and said coldly, Using only the knowledge from
the senior year's math textbook, there is just one way to solve this problem.
But the answer Aiden gave me included a total of five methods, three of which are only
taught to senior year students, while the other two are only taught at university. All the
students in the classroom gasped in disbelief, as though their eyes were about to pop
out of their sockets. They knew Aiden was good at French, but who knew he would be so
good at math as well? To think they had shunned and ridiculed such a talented student.
As Aiden's classmates lowered their heads in shame, Mr. Harvey continued, Alan, I didn't
want to take this matter too far originally, just to teach both of you a lesson. However,
Letting out a heavy sigh, Mr. Harvey looked at Alan and announced, I hereby declare that
Alan's qualification to participate in the competition has been revoked. How is this
possible? I don't buy it.
Alan shook his head crazily. Tell me Aiden, why did you borrow Blake's math textbook
even though you had the ability to solve the problem? Aiden scratched his nose and said
nonchalantly, don't get me wrong, I just like to use math textbooks to keep my coffee
warm. Alan fell back onto his chair and kept shaking his head, obviously hit hard by this
response.
His neighbor quietly shifted slightly, keeping his distance from Alan. In the end, Aiden
was victorious. From then on, no one in the class dared to look at him with even a hint of
contempt anymore.
On the other hand, not only did Alan fail to get revenge on Aiden, his reputation was
shattered. Aiden thought to himself, he should have learned his lesson now, right? The
morning passed quietly, lesson by lesson. During the 10-minute breaks between classes,
however, Aiden's desk would always end up becoming the most crowded place.
Both male and female students gathered around his desk to ask him questions and get
to know him, attracted like ants to the scent of sugar. Occasionally, teachers and
students from other classes would pass by the classroom and be taken aback by the
unexpected scene, suspecting that some kind of celebrity or genius had joined junior
year. Aiden, at a loss whether to laugh or cry, patiently answered each of his classmates'
questions.
Some of the girls brushed against him as they asked their questions, and although he
enjoyed these feelings, Aiden flinched and felt a shiver down his spine as he noticed the
jealousy in Viola's eyes. As for Alan, Mr. Harvey seemed to have dragged him into the
office to teach him a lesson. On his return, he disappeared immediately from the
classroom, without a trace.
As the bell for the lunch break rang, the students of Otis High School proceeded to enjoy
their precious hour of rest. In an alley beside the school, two figures, one tall and skinny,
the other short and chubby, stood waiting. When they saw Aiden coming out of the
school gate, they rushed over and wrapped their arms around his shoulders, jostling him
amicably.
Yo, where have you disappeared for the past few days? What happened to our promise
to spend the rest of our high school years playing games in the arcade? Stop messing
around, I have business to discuss with you guys. Aiden, not knowing whether to laugh
or cry, broke away from the two.
The tall guy wearing
glasses, Jacob Clements, was a veteran technician who loved to mess with electronics.
The short, chubby guy's name was Zack Spinner. He had only two hobbies in life, eating
treats and playing electronic games. The three were best buddies who had grown up
together.
However, having gone to different high schools, they rarely got the chance to meet up
with one another. Sharing a mutual love of video games, they had vowed to play games
with each other in the arcade throughout their three years in high school. After much
planning, they agreed to meet up in their midday lunch break.
Having ditched his friends for the past few days, Aiden could not blame them for holding
a grudge. Let's go, he said. I'll treat you guys with lunch as an apology, then I have to
talk to you guys.
Jacob and Zack looked at each other in confusion. Aiden was from an average family. He didn't treat them to meals except on special occasions.
Had pigs started to fly? Astonished, they walked to a nearby restaurant and ordered
lunch. When the food arrived, Jacob and Zack began devouring it like two hungry wolves.
After two mouthfuls of burger, Aiden frowned, disappointed.
Since improving his cooking skills, he had become more picky about the food he ate. Like
a judge in a cooking competition, he began criticizing the meat, saying that it was not
cooked for long enough, that its color was too dark, and that it was too greasy. If he had
cooked it, it would taste much better.
Ding! Eating food, cooking ability, plus one. Aiden put down his glass and said to his two
gluttonous friends with a serious tone. I won't be able to hang out much with you guys
now.
You should take a moment to reflect on your lives too, and begin taking your studies
more seriously. The two of them looked dumbfounded, as if they did not recognize the
person sitting opposite them. Then they asked, Do you have a fever today? Is your brain
working fine? Oh, stop it.
Aiden let out a heavy sigh and said, I wouldn't expect you to value my ambition. You're
crazy! The two of them rolled their eyes at Aiden and continued munching their food,
thinking that he was just joking around. They really did not know that Aiden had changed
and was not kidding around.
But they never saw Aiden again during their lunch break. What could he be up to? After
Aiden had sent away his two best friends, he walked back alone to the school library. Just
as he had said, he intended to use his free time to flick through the books in the library
to improve his various abilities.
Although Otis High School was less than 10 years old, its board members were all rich
and influential people. Using their wealth and influence, not only had Otis managed to
poach a large number of excellent teachers from other schools, but they had spent a
huge sum of money to construct this library, considered the best in the district. It was
said to contain more than 200,000 books, covering subjects from science to fine arts.
Covering the first floor, it was very spacious and the bluestone tiles outside created a
solemn and serene atmosphere. In front of the large glass door to the library, an
identification scanner allowed students and teachers from the school to enter and leave
whenever they wished. After swiping his card, Aiden walked into the library, his head
held high.
Although he had been there before, he was still astonished by the vast number of books
stacked in never-ending rows. Rows after rows of bookshelves were arranged neatly in a
truly impressive sight. Aiden trembled with excitement as he thought, one day, I will flip
Status Power Mingguan
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Power 
-- Power
stone