Daniel Grant's dark eyes followed the two as they walked away, his brows lightly furrowed, a look of puzzlement on his face.
He couldn't quite understand why Autumn James, with her aloof personality, would have friends…
Unable to come to a conclusion, he glanced at Anna Hawthorne, who was already seated properly in class.
A hint of softness appeared in his gaze.
Back then, if it hadn't been for Anna, he might have already…
Thinking this, his gaze shifted back to Autumn's retreating figure.
The softness in his eyes instantly turned cold and merciless, like a sharp sword capable of piercing anyone in front of him.
He stared for a few seconds. Only when she disappeared around the corner did Daniel finally stride toward the senior-year academic building.
Autumn James cheerfully returned to Science Class A.
She just made it in time for the next class.
Coincidentally, it was the class taught by the Dean.
The Dean had long known about Autumn's transfer and fully approved of it.
So, throughout the class, the Dean's gaze remained filled with satisfaction and delight.
This left the students of Science Class A, who usually were nervous in the Dean's class, pleasantly surprised.
Everyone also knew that it was because of Autumn, and they felt even happier that she had come to their class.
Most thrilled, perhaps, was the math representative.
After all, Autumn had consistently dominated the top spot in math back in the Chinese class, causing him to quietly compete with her, yet always falling short.
Now, with her in their class, there was no need to compete, and he could even ask her for help with tricky problems.
The math representative, a little flushed, kept glancing at Autumn.
Why hadn't anyone told him she looked like this?
She probably didn't know about their secret competitions back then, right?
Luke Warren sat at his desk, twirling a pen, his gaze fixed on Autumn.
A smirk tugged at his lips as he silently looked forward to lunch with her later.
The morning flew by quickly.
Finally, it was lunchtime.
Autumn waved at Luke, signaling him to come along.
He lazily followed her to the cafeteria.
Upon arriving, he was surprised to see that the "two-person lunch" had turned into a group outing.
Luke's expression remained impassive as he stared at the five people trailing behind Autumn.
Speechless, he let out a small chuckle.
Autumn, a bit sheepish, cleared her throat.
"Well, everyone helped me out, so since I'm treating, let's all eat together."
Luke still said nothing, but Summer Lin was delighted.
"Luke, come on, sit with us!"
In their class, Luke was something of an enigma.
Outside of class, no one really knew what he did.
He was rebellious, yet polite, sometimes teasing, sometimes apologetic when he overstepped.
In short, he was full of contradictions.
Summer had wanted to get to know him, but he never sought out classmates, usually aloof.
Today, however, he had voluntarily helped Autumn.
Exactly as she had hoped — Autumn was undeniably likable!
After everyone got their meals, they all sat together.
They ate and chatted.
Autumn was reserved, and Luke wasn't very talkative either, leaving Summer and the others to carry the conversation.
"By the way, Autumn, the school sports meet registration is coming up. Are you going to sign up for anything?"
"I remember the rule is each person can participate in up to three events, and each class needs a participant for each event. If it's not filled, they'll have to draw lots," Summer said, frowning.
Science Class A didn't have many girls, and the rule meant almost all of them had to participate, leaving only a few without athletic talent.
It was quite a dilemma.
Autumn lightly nodded.
"Yes, I'll sign up. We'll see which events later."
Summer's ears practically tingled — it was music to her ears.
"That's great! I was worried we wouldn't have enough people!"
Luke paused mid-bite, glancing at Autumn with a smirk.
"With your little frame? You won't stand out."
Autumn smiled, suppressing her irritation, and quietly replied:
"Buzz off."
Everyone laughed at Luke's defeat.
He just smirked slightly, lowering his head to continue eating, though the faint curve of his lips betrayed his amusement.
The atmosphere at the table was warm and easygoing.
Meanwhile, Ethan James and his group were eating not far away, but their gazes constantly fell on Autumn and her group.
Seeing them laugh and chat, Ethan felt an inexplicable unease.
This wasn't how it should be. Autumn should be with them, smiling like this — she should be on their side.
He lowered his head, eating without taste.
William Moore also ate with them today, but his expression was grim.
He hadn't expected the Yun City No.1 High School cafeteria to be so expensive.
A meal of one meat and one vegetable cost twelve yuan.
Previously, Autumn would pay, and he'd just sit and eat — never spending a dime.
She had always shared meals with them after evening tutoring at the James household.
But now, after transferring to Science Class A, she didn't eat with them, and even treated a bunch of new acquaintances herself.
What on earth was going on in Autumn's head?
Ethan and William's eyes were glued to her table.
Anna, noticing this, felt uneasy.
She hadn't expected Autumn's transfer would attract the seniors' attention like this.
Clearing her throat, she spoke in a slightly envious tone:
"I didn't expect Autumn, just after transferring, to make so many friends. She's so lucky."
"But it looks like she's paying for all of them. Isn't that too much? Aren't they just taking advantage of her?"
"Does Autumn have to please them like this?"
Anna's words sounded like she was defending Autumn.
Both Ethan and William's gazes remained fixed on that table.