The teenager, dressed in a smoky grey hoodie and the simplest school trousers, the autumn school trousers were blue-black with a thin white stripe on the outside, made his legs look incredibly long. Black hair, thin lips, and a superior nose bone, his pair of black eyes were filled with laughter.
He was holding a basketball, walking step by step towards Ellie.
Ellie watched him approach and then glanced back at Sarah who had already left.
William stopped in front of her, followed her gaze, and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Ellie shook her head, "Nothing." She handed the water in her hand to William and said, "Have some water."
William took the water from her and took a few sips, glancing at the two bottles she was still holding.
Daniel and Hao Ming also came out from inside.
Ellie handed the bag in her hand to the two of them.
Daniel was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Ellie."
Seeing William's gaze, he was unsure whether he should take the water Ellie offered.
"Take it," William spoke.
Under William's murderous gaze, Daniel took the two bottles of water and then hurriedly said, "We'll leave first, William."
William looked down at Ellie.
Ellie was a bit flustered by his sudden closeness and asked, "What's wrong?"
William just smiled, "I thought bringing water was a privilege for me from Little Teacher."
His implied meaning was that Little Teacher could bring water only for him in the future.
Ellie looked at him and said earnestly, "I bought it for them as an afterthought."
William thought about it, only his water was handed over by her personally, which made him feel a bit more comfortable.
Ellie was still holding his coat in her arms, took out a small pack of paper from the pocket, then took out a sheet and handed it to him, saying, "Wipe your sweat."
William took the paper from her and smiled, "Okay."
Aria trotted up to Ellie, looked at William, then at Ellie and said, "Ellie, we're going back first."
Ellie responded, "Okay."
William wiped his sweat and looked at Ellie, saying, "Let's go, let's go back to the class together."
"Mm-hmm."
William glanced at Ellie beside him and smiled silently.
...
On Wednesday at noon.
Daniel was chattering to William about what to eat for lunch.
Seeing the woman approaching, he realized who she was, and he stood in front of William, saying, "Ma'am, what can I help you with?"
Scarlett looked at the two boys next to William; neither of them looked like good students, more like street thugs with a hoodlum vibe, and then she heard Daniel's words.
She frowned, she was talking to her son, what was this kid blocking her for? Really uncultured.
She didn't know what kind of bad company he was keeping that turned him into what he is today.
"I'm here to see William, could you please step aside?" Even thinking this, Scarlett still wore a faint smile.
"Brother," Ashley saw William behind Daniel and rushed over to hug him.
William looked down at the boy who looked like a little radish, wearing a red sweater inside and a black little coat outside, bearing a strong resemblance to Scarlett.
He saw the boy beaming and about to pounce on him, instinctively dodged, then coldly said, "I'm not your brother, don't get so close to me."
Ashley stood there a bit aggrieved, unsure whether to move forward.
His brother didn't seem to like him.
Scarlett pulled Ashley and said to William, "William, I just brought my younger brother to see you, no other meaning. He heard he had an older brother and insisted on coming to see you, so I brought him. I also wanted to see you."
William looked down at her, "Haven't you seen me before?"
"I just haven't seen you in a long time, I missed you. You never come home, I'm worried."
William looked at her coldly.
Why he didn't go home, didn't she know?
Scarlett brought forward the thermos, saying to William, "I don't know what you like to eat. Ashley likes to drink chicken soup, I thought you might like it too, so I brought it for you, along with some stir-fried dishes."
William listened to her and found it somewhat laughable. He said, "I won't eat the food you brought, take it back. I've told you many times, don't disturb my life."
Ashley still wanted to hold William's hand and was blocked by Daniel.
He looked at the fierce boy in front of him and said, "I want to find my brother."
William coldly glanced at him, "I'm not your brother, don't bother me."
Ashley took a few steps back, lost his balance, fell to the ground, and then sat on the ground crying.
Daniel looked at Scarlett's gaze and said, "Ma'am, I didn't touch him, he fell on his own, it's not my fault."
He said, and was about to help Ashley up.
Scarlett got to Ashley before him, helped him up, squatted on the ground, wiped away Ashley's tears, and said, "Ashley don't cry, mom's here." After she finished, she gently rubbed Ashley's head.
William watched all this coldly.
Watching the two play out a mother-son affectionate scene.
He found it truly laughable.
Is this what it means, the crying child gets candy?
So the well-behaved one should be abandoned?
He still remembers Scarlett's words, she said she didn't want him, calling him a burden.
He watched Ashley snuggle in Scarlett's arms, getting ready to leave.
Scarlett stood up with Ashley in her arms, tried to pull William's sleeve, and was blocked by Hao Ming, although Hao Ming didn't know what was going on.
But he understood William.
William would never treat someone like this for no reason.
Scarlett said, "William, take the food and eat it. If it suits your taste, I'll bring it to you next time."
William looked at her and said coldly, "Are you deaf? I don't need the food you bring, nor do I need you to see me. Don't appear in front of me."
He finished speaking and walked straight into the school.
Daniel chased after him, "William, aren't you eating? William, don't go back."
William stopped and looked at him, "I don't feel like eating, you guys go ahead."
"But, William, you have a weak stomach, how can you not eat?"
William just shook his head slightly and left.
Scarlett was still outside with Ashley in her arms, watching William walk away, wanting to chase in, but was stopped by the security guard: "Excuse me, ma'am, parents are not allowed to enter the campus."
Scarlett looked at Daniel and said, "Could you please give this to William for me?"
Daniel was almost speechless, how could there be such a persistent person.
He said, "Ma'am, I beg you, can you stop disturbing William? He's doing really well now, he's happy, can you just leave him alone, please?"
Scarlett said, "I just want to see him."