"Twelve inches shorter means doing twelve math problems, right?" Vivian smiled gently at Ethan.
"..."
Ethan hesitated, quickly pushed the book into Vivian's hands, coughed lightly, and changed the subject: "Hey, if you're having trouble reaching the book, why didn't you ask me for help?"
"If I asked for help, would you help me??" Vivian held the book, looking up at him suspiciously.
"No." Ethan answered instinctively.
"That's it." Vivian rolled her eyes at him, "Even if I asked you for help, you wouldn't, so why bother asking?"
"..."
Ethan was at a loss for words, and after a pause, he hesitantly replied, "But I did help you get it."
"That's because I didn't ask for help, so you insisted on helping me." Vivian looked at Ethan's handsome face and suddenly beamed, "You're almost eighteen and still so rebellious. I thought only junior high boys were rebellious."
Ethan listened to her words, slightly furrowed his brows, vaguely feeling there was more to her words.
"Did you finish your math homework?" Vivian quickly changed the topic before he could figure out her previous remark.
"Not yet."
At the mention of math homework, Ethan instantly deflated like a punctured ball, saying, "Feels kind of tough."
"What's tough about it? Didn't we go over those formulas last week?" Vivian said as she walked to the desk and sat down. She was about to go over them again when a melodic phone ringtone suddenly came from the adjacent bedroom.
Ethan paused, glanced at Vivian, and said, "Hold on, I'll get the phone."
With that, he rushed to the adjacent bedroom like a gust of wind.
His phone was on the large bed in the middle of the room. Ethan walked to the bed, picked up his phone, glanced at the screen flashing the name "Liam Shaw," furrowed his brows, pressed the answer button, and said, "Hey, what's up?"
"Ethan, Ethan, open the door for me! I'm right outside your house!!" Liam's excited voice came through the phone:
"My parents went shopping this afternoon and gave me special permission to go out for a while. I thought it over carefully, and even though you have a junior high kid at your place, as the saying goes, 'brothers share joys and sorrows.' How could I let you suffer alone from the kid's antics?"
"You're at my house door??" Ethan heard him, his eyebrows involuntarily furrowing tighter. He glanced at the study room, hesitated for a moment, and replied, "Wait a minute, I'll come and open it for you."
"Alright, Ethan, I'll be waiting!" With his affirmative response, Liam hung up.
Holding his phone, Ethan stood in the bedroom, thought for two seconds, then turned and walked towards the study room.
"You finished your call? So we're... hey, hey?? What are you doing?" Vivian saw Ethan walk into the study room, ready to continue explaining the problems.