Chapter 3 The Coward''s Worry

Leonard spent the entire day on edge.

The moment the school bell rang, he immediately grabbed his backpack from the drawer, packed a few textbooks and workbooks from his desk, and hurriedly ran out of the classroom.

"Why are you running so fast today?" William looked puzzled as he watched him run away.

The high school has evening self-study sessions, but Leonard never attends them.

Before the start of this semester, he discussed with his parents whether he should attend the evening sessions, but after some hesitation, Mr. and Mrs. DuPont decided not to let him go.

This made William quite envious.

In another corner of the classroom.

"Ah, today''s classes are finally over. Time to go home and eat." James stood up, stretched, and grabbed his empty backpack, ready to leave.

"Henry, let''s go."

Henry nodded, wrote down the last punctuation mark, put down his pen, closed his workbook, tidied up his desk, packed a few books into his backpack, and stood up, saying, "I''ll come over to your place for dinner tonight."

James glanced at him and teased, "Your parents aren''t coming back again?"

Henry''s parents are well-known entrepreneurs in Spark City, always busy and rarely at home. His older brother, who previously studied abroad, has now returned to help with the family business and is also very busy, so it''s often just Henry and a few housekeepers at home.

James asked him, "Anything you want to eat? I''ll let my mom know."

"No need, I''ll just eat whatever you guys are having." Henry shook his head.

If he wanted a fancy meal, he could go anywhere, but he just didn''t want to stay at home.

"Alright then."

"Goodbye, class president."

……

The two walked to the school gate, hearing greetings from many people along the way. Although James had seen this many times, he still wasn''t quite used to it.

"I say, has your popularity increased again this semester? Being the student council president really makes a difference, huh?" James teased, "The number of fanboys and fangirls is skyrocketing."

He could believe it if someone told him Henry was a celebrity.

The Scott family''s driver was already waiting outside. Seeing the two of them, he immediately came up to greet them.

"Mr. Scott, Henry is coming home with me today," James said.

"That''s perfect timing. A batch of seafood just arrived by air tonight, and the madam is planning to cook herself," the driver smiled.

"Wow, is there any Hairy Crab?" James''s eyes lit up as he got into the car, fastened his seatbelt, and excitedly asked the driver.

"I also want to eat sashimi."

"We have both, but sashimi can be a bit cold for the stomach in winter, so the madam probably won''t make it for you," the driver said, smiling through the rearview mirror.

"That''s boring," James leaned back into the seat.

Henry, looking out the window, added, "Then give all the Hairy Crab to me."

"What? I didn''t say Hairy Crab was boring. I''ll give you one at most," James grumbled, glancing out the window in the same direction.

"Hey, isn''t that our classmate? He doesn''t attend evening self-study either?"

James spotted Leonard walking on the street.

They were at the east gate, where there were fewer people and the road was wider, but most people took cars, so it was rare to see Leonard walking.

"Wow, he''s dressed really warmly, like a little penguin," James said, unzipping his jacket as soon as he got in the car, noticing Leonard''s down jacket, scarf, and earmuffs.

Henry said, "Ask him if he wants a ride. We can give him a lift."

James turned his head, "Huh?"

Leonard looked confused as he was called.

When he saw James, he couldn''t quite remember who he was until Henry showed half of his face.

Leonard''s eyes widened in surprise.

"No, no need. My house is very close. I can walk back," Leonard quickly shook his head and refused.

How could he run into the class president at the east gate? Doesn''t the class president usually go home through the south gate?

This isn''t a ride home; it''s probably a car to take him to some alley for immediate punishment.

The more Leonard looked at James''s smile, the more nervous and scared he became.

"It''s fine, it''s so cold outside, and there''s heating in the car. We''ll get you home in a few minutes," James said enthusiastically.

Actually, he didn''t know the name of the person in front of him, he just had a vague impression of his face, knowing that he was a classmate.

But to get Henry''s attention, to have Henry personally invite him into the car...

James was now very interested in him.

The driver also followed suit and persuaded him.

Leonard didn''t want to get in at all.

Henry put down his phone, met his gaze, and said, "Get in."

Although his tone wasn''t very stern, it was even gentle, Leonard still felt a strong sense of pressure.

Then Leonard got into the car.

As soon as he got in, he shrank into the corner, pressing tightly against the car door, trying to stay as far away from Henry as possible.

"Thank you."

"Hey, classmate, what''s your name again? I forgot for a moment."

James greeted him with a smile, not feeling flustered at all even though he had forgotten the other''s name.

Leonard looked up at him and said his name.

"Leonard."

"Your name sounds nice, just like mine."

"Where do you live? Tell Mr. Scott the address, we''ll take you home first."

Leonard cautiously looked up at him, "Just, just in the Riverstone Community ahead."

Leonard''s home wasn''t far, and it was even quicker by car.

James chatted with him all the way, and Leonard was forced to respond.

He wasn''t good at socializing, only answering when asked.

And Henry sat on the other side, resting his face on his hand, looking out the window, not joining their conversation.

This made Leonard even more nervous.

As soon as the car stopped, he quickly ran out, as if there were some monsters in the car.

Leonard returned home, finally feeling relieved.

It was still early, and he was the only one home. He put down his backpack, went to the kitchen to wash his hands, and cooked some rice.

The house was very quiet. Leonard walked to the living room, turned on the TV, randomly played a program, and sat on the sofa, lost in thought again.

Today had passed peacefully.

Judging by the class president''s demeanor, it seemed he hadn''t discovered that the person outside the lab window that day was him.

But Leonard couldn''t be sure that Henry hadn''t seen him.

Even if he didn''t see clearly, he would be curious about who discovered him fighting, right? If someone discovered his secret, he would definitely want to find out who it was, right?

Either to threaten them, or...

Leonard shook his head, trying to shake off those bad thoughts.

He was so preoccupied with this matter that he didn''t even hear Dick and Holly Torres come home from work.

It wasn''t until they called out to him that he came back to his senses.

"Dad, Mom, you''re back."

"Leonard, why haven''t you taken off your scarf yet?" Dick noticed he was still in his outdoor attire and asked.

"The air conditioner isn''t on, aren''t you cold?"

Holly took off her scarf and coat, hung them on the coat rack in the corner, turned on the living room air conditioner, and sat down next to Leonard.

"We just came back from the market with Dad, bought some fresh ribs and fish, we''ll have rib soup and braised fish for dinner."

"Okay, I''ve already cooked the rice." Leonard nodded.

Mr. DuPont had already walked into the kitchen, starting to prepare the ingredients they had just bought.

"Didn''t I tell you not to worry about it? Why did you cook the rice again? Just rest when you get home. You''ve been studying all day at school, it must be tiring." Holly patted his head.

"It''s okay, Mom." Leonard smiled, "It''s just cooking rice."

"Mom, how''s your dance practice going?" Leonard changed the subject.

Holly''s dance troupe was currently rehearsing for a tour. As the lead dancer, Holly had a lot of training. After spring, they would go on a national tour. If the response was good, they might even tour abroad.

She had been very busy lately, and today was a rare early return.

Speaking of this, Holly laughed happily, took out her phone, and showed him the videos she had specially taken.

　　"Mom, you dance so well, and this dress is so beautiful."

　　"Right? I had it specially designed. I knew you would like it." Holly smiled, "We''ll see how it goes. If we have time, your dad can take you to see the performance. But the tour is scheduled for after spring, and I don''t know if you''ll be in school then. We were planning to have a show in Spark City, but it might not get approved."

　　Holly sighed at this point.

　　"It''s okay. If it''s on the weekend, I can ask Dad to take me to see it."

　　Holly was a bit reluctant, "It''s better not to travel far. It''s uncomfortable to sit in the car for long, and if it''s a distant city, you might get sick from all the traveling."

　　When Leonard was little, he would get sick every time they went back to their hometown and also when they returned.

　　In recent years, Leonard''s grandparents had moved to the city, so they hadn''t gone back to their hometown much.

　　But Holly still vividly remembered those times when Leonard got sick, and she was still not keen on letting Leonard travel far.

　　Leonard was very familiar with his mom''s cautiousness. He didn''t argue, but gently suggested, "We''ll see how it goes. If there''s a show in Spark City, I really want to see you dance, Mom."

　　"Dad wants to see it too, right?" Leonard called out loudly.

　　Dick, who was in the kitchen, quickly responded, "Of course! How could I miss the beautiful dance of the principal dancer?!"

　　"Alright, you two just know how to say nice things to make me happy. I''ll go help your dad with dinner. You have some fruit to fill your stomach, watch some TV, and rest. Do your homework after dinner, okay?" Holly instructed.

　　"Okay." Leonard nodded obediently.

　　But Leonard couldn''t eat any fruit; he was preoccupied with how to get through tomorrow.

　　Would the class president threaten him harshly? Or would he be beaten up like the person in the lab?

　　Although he didn''t think the class president would treat him that way.

The class president wasn''t that unreasonable and violent.

　　However, the scenes he had witnessed were too shocking, making him unsure whether to believe it or not.

　　At dinner, Leonard was still thinking about it.

　　"What''s wrong, Leonard? You look down."

　　Leonard looked up at them, then lowered his head to look at the white rice in his bowl.

　　Usually, he was very willing to share his troubles with his parents and was used to getting answers and support from them.

　　But today, he really couldn''t bring it up.

　　"What''s wrong? Tell us."

　　"Well, I just..." Leonard bit his chopsticks, hesitating.

　　"If you discover someone''s secret, and it''s not a good one, what should you do?"

　　Leonard spoke vaguely, and Mr. and Mrs. DuPont didn''t know what had happened. They exchanged a glance and decided not to ask too much for now.

　　"Leonard, if it''s someone else''s secret, they definitely don''t want others to know. If the secret is discovered, it''s a situation they don''t want to see. What you should do depends on their reaction," Holly said.

　　Dick continued, "Actually, no matter how they react, what we should do is keep the secret. Whether the secret is good or bad, since it''s a secret, we should let it remain a secret and not spread it around."

　　"Of course, we shouldn''t use it to threaten others either."

　　Leonard smiled bitterly in his heart. How could I dare to threaten him?

　　"Alright, let''s eat. The food gets cold quickly in winter."

　　Leonard nodded, temporarily putting aside the messy thoughts in his head, "Okay."

　　Anyway, today was safely over. Tomorrow''s worries can wait until tomorrow!