My Classmate Is Far Too Cautious (Please Vote!)

My Classmate Is Far Too Cautious (Please Vote!)

Everyday Adventures passed by quickly.

In the blink of an eye, a whole semester had gone by.

Summer of 1990.

Adam had turned sixteen. Like most American teenagers, he could finally start learning to drive.

Interestingly, the United States had no East Country-style ID cards. A driver's license was basically equivalent to an ID card, making it rather comprehensive.

"Adam, do you really not need me to teach you? I'm a great driver."

His dad, Bob, muttered somewhat disappointedly.

"No need. I asked Emmett. He's a good driver too, and he has plenty of time. Might as well make use of him."

Adam politely declined.

Compared with Bob, he naturally preferred learning to drive with someone his own age.

In the United States, there were hardly any full-time driving instructors. Usually, people learned from acquaintances who already had licenses.

After familiarizing yourself with some driving basics, you could find an open area and get behind the wheel under an acquaintance's guidance. Driving forward, turning, reversing, going uphill, parking—none of it was actually that difficult.

Even Sheldon, who had a tremendous fear of driving and crashed spectacularly every time he used a simulator, had eventually gone and secretly gotten his license.

The key was having enough time to practice continuously. Fast learners could get the hang of it in half a day. The reason East Country driving schools took so long was because one instructor had to handle so many people, so students could only take turns getting in the car. Actual driving practice time was very limited and constantly interrupted, with most of the time spent waiting.

"All right."

Bob was helpless. He had wanted to show off his superb skills in front of his son.

Although Duncan's Home had four children now, Adam, the eldest, was undoubtedly the one he had invested the most affection in.

Unfortunately, ever since Adam had shed his former silly cuteness over the past two years, the father and son had grown somewhat distant. Many father-son activities, like fishing together or playing football together, had been canceled.

Now Adam did not even need him for something like learning to drive.

Naturally, Bob felt a little disappointed, but he understood that boys wanted to spend more time with their peers as they grew up. What he did not know was that Adam was no longer the same Adam.

The current Adam truly had no interest in fishing or football. And although the familiar, warm family atmosphere had allowed him to fit well into Duncan's Home, there was still a layer between them.

Beep beep beep!

"Sorry, Emmett's here."

Adam gave Bob an apologetic smile.

"Go on."

Bob collected himself and patted Adam on the shoulder. "Be careful."

"Don't worry."

Adam answered and quickly walked out the front door. He got into the passenger seat and said to Emmett, "Let's go. The sooner we practice, the sooner we're done."

"I really don't get it."

Emmett stepped on the gas and started rambling. "Why aren't you learning with Gretchen? Her car is so cool."

"Not safe."

Adam said lazily.

"..."

Emmett froze. After quite a while, he shot Adam a sidelong glance and spat, "Pah!"

"So you know it too. Then why ask?"

Adam teased.

"You shameless bastard!"

Countless images flashed through Emmett's mind. He looked heartbroken, but his expression clearly said, A real man should be like this. I could take his place.

"This is nothing. A true shameless bastard charges for everything."

Adam mocked inwardly, then joked aloud, "Don't you have Ivy too? Did you break up again?"

Ivy was Ted's best friend and, like Emmett, an African American. Unlike the skinny Emmett, Ivy was round and chubby in a rather comical way, and she had an inexplicable confidence in her own "beauty."

Emmett had a different opinion on that. Whenever he had to choose between Ivy and being single, his choice was never surprising, though he still felt somewhat disdainful inside.

That was why they had broken up and gotten back together several times.

"Don't mention Ivy to me! This time, we're completely done!"

Emmett angrily delivered the same old harsh words. Seeing that Adam did not react at all, he said unhappily, "You don't believe me?"

"I believe you."

Adam said he believed him. He also believed Wang Jingze.

"Hmph."

Emmett naturally knew Adam was brushing him off, but he truly lacked the confidence to prove himself. He could only dejectedly change the subject. "How come we haven't been seeing Juno much lately?"

Adam's gaze immediately sharpened.

Recently, Juno had been acting mysteriously and often skipped Fruit Hard Candy's group activities.

Emmett and Little Sheldon merely found it strange and complained about it, but Adam felt vaguely uneasy.

Ever since Juno had begun reading those thick medical textbooks, he had vaguely guessed what she was busy with.

Whether for the sake of friendship or Wisdom Points, it seemed he should try to persuade Juno otherwise.

But whenever he thought of Juno's deep gaze that seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts, as well as her terrifying views on the beginner's operation for the Sunflower Manual, Adam felt his balls ache and chose to play it safe.

I don't know, I don't understand, I don't want to...

Sometimes, ignorance was bliss!

All he wanted were the Wisdom Points Juno provided. Why worry about so much? If Juno really failed because of his butterfly effect and could no longer provide him with Wisdom Points, then that was fate.

Who told him he only had a trash system that provided no supernatural powers at all? A gentleman did not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

He was neither a hot-blooded, chuuni teenager nor lusting after Juno's body. As a complete weakling, standing by and watching was both the best choice and the final choice.

Besides, he did not believe that someone as cautious as Juno would fail because of his butterfly effect.

After all, in the Fruit Hard Candy movie from the original timeline, Hailey, whom Juno had become, had not actually made the photographer cultivate the Sunflower Manual.

It seemed she had merely used medical textbooks to put on a show and scare the photographer. But Adam knew Juno was not someone who only knew how to bluff. She truly had that ability.

During biology lab, Juno's skilled dissection techniques had even made the science teacher praise her with, "Just You Show." Adam simply did not believe Juno had never practiced in private.

This was a small town, and there were vast woods nearby. The United States had preserved its natural environment well, and there were countless animals in those woods.

There were too many perverts in American TV dramas who started out hunting and butchering animals. The most famous was naturally Hannibal Lecter.

At the end of the day, humans were animals too.

Everything Juno had revealed to the photographer—including her name, family information, hobbies, and so on—had all been carefully arranged by her beforehand. A year had already passed since she began reading medical textbooks, which meant she had prepared for at least a year. Someone so cautious it was frightening—why did he need to worry about her?

Beep beep!

"Hey, hey!"

Seeing that Adam seemed to be spacing out, Emmett honked the horn. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

Adam came back to himself, shook his head, and put Juno's matters aside. What mattered most now was learning to drive as soon as possible and getting his license.

"We're here."

Emmett drove into an open clearing, stopped the car, and got out. "This place will do."

"Okay, you're the instructor."

Adam got out, shrugged, switched seats with Emmett, and sat in the driver's seat.

Emmett sat in the passenger seat, repeated the driving basics, and then said, "You're a beginner, so start in first gear. Hey, hey, what are you doing?!"

Adam skillfully pressed the clutch and shifted into second gear, smiling as he said, "For people of a high level, we always start in second gear!"

Emmett: ...

P.S. Thanks to Noble Novice for the tip!