Little Red Riding Hood Arrives (Please Vote!)

Little Red Riding Hood Arrives (Please Vote!)

Duncan's Home.

"Adam!"

Teddy froze for a moment. Catching the teasing look in Adam's eyes, she suddenly understood and gave an annoyed little cry.

"Okay, okay."

Adam raised his hands, knowing when to stop. "Teddy, we'll do it your way! I'll watch Charlie for two hours first, then you take over!"

This was the United States, after all. Although Adam was the eldest, the crooked roof made for crooked rafters; the pot shouldn't call the kettle black. He wasn't in a position to meddle too much in Teddy's budding romance.

"You get the living room! I get the basement!"

Teddy's eyes spun as she pushed her luck. Everyone knew the basement was the best place for a date!

"Don't get any ideas!"

Adam flatly refused. "You can only, uh, study in the living room. Otherwise, everyone can study together. Your choice?"

"The living room it is!"

Teddy pouted. She wasn't really rebellious by nature and had always been a good girl. She knew this wasn't something she could bargain over, and she was innocent enough that she didn't have any unspeakable thoughts.

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang!

"I'll get it, I'll get it!"

Teddy sprang up and ran over as she shouted. At the door, she didn't open it right away. Instead, she pulled a small mirror from her jeans, fixed her hair, adjusted her expression, and only then opened the door. Leaning against the frame, she gave the visitor her sweetest smile. "Hi, Spencer~"

"Hi, Teddy~"

The visitor was a tall, handsome guy with a backpack slung over his shoulders for show. But with Adam's sharp eye, he could tell at a glance that there wasn't a single book inside.

Heh. Nice try, kid.

"This is my brother Adam. This is my friend Spencer."

After Teddy gave them a brief introduction, she turned on Adam before he could say anything. "Adam, weren't you going to take Charlie to play? Go on, then. We still have studying to do!"

"What's the rush?"

Ignoring Teddy, Adam looked at Spencer, whose reserved smile made him seem like Adam's own copy, and asked, "Did you bring any books? Want me to lend you one?"

"..."

Spencer's smile stiffened. How was he supposed to answer that? Had he come here to read and study?

"You don't need to lend him anything!"

How could Teddy stand seeing her "boyfriend" embarrassed? She elbowed Adam, siding with an outsider, and urged, "We have books! Adam, hurry up and take Charlie downstairs!"

As she spoke, she shot Adam a threatening glare.

"As long as you know what you're doing. Charlie and I will be in the basement. Call us if you need anything."

Adam looked at Spencer, who stayed reserved and silent like Adam's own double, and said meaningfully, "We'll be able to hear you..."

"Heh-heh."

Spencer's mouth twitched. He gave a couple of dry laughs, and the warmth lurking in his eyes dropped several degrees at once. His whole body went stiff with discomfort.

Adam carried Charlie down to the basement. This was a classic feature of American country houses. Nearly every home had a basement, which could be used for storage, as a recreation room, or even as living space.

According to their mother Amy, people who stopped after three children were cowards; only those who kept having more were warriors. The Duncan family was undoubtedly a family of warriors, but that brought one problem: room assignments.

The first floor held the large living room and kitchen. There were three rooms on the second floor. Bob and Amy took the master bedroom, while the room next door went to Charlie, with a baby monitor inside.

This was the United States, where personal freedom was highly valued. There was no East Country habit of married couples sleeping with their child for years after giving birth. A pair of baby monitors was placed in the master bedroom and nursery respectively. It was a bit troublesome, but it did avoid many awkward situations.

For example, Sheldon Cooper, the friend Adam planned to make, had complete memories from the age of one or two. He also possessed photographic memory, to the point that he was afraid of hearing some of his parents' catchphrases, because they would remind him of memories he shouldn't be recalling...

The remaining room on the second floor had originally been shared by Adam and Gabe. But after Adam transmigrated, he didn't want to share a room with bratty Gabe, so he voluntarily moved into the basement.

The basement was large. Besides Adam's bed, it could also serve as a recreation room. It was stocked with all kinds of instruments for Adam's rock music, as well as a game console and television.

Teddy and Gabe had both wanted to live down here too, but Adam had suppressed them. He wasn't like the original host, a clueless pushover who got teased by his younger siblings despite being the eldest.

After failing to claim the basement, Teddy didn't want to live too close to their parents either, so she could only move into the attic room on the third floor.

"Charlie, be good. Big brother needs to study."

Adam set his little sister on the couch, gave her a toy to play with, then sat nearby and seriously began reading his textbooks.

People said American students had light workloads and embraced happy education, but that was only for the lower-class masses who had been abandoned. The children of the true elite studied even harder than students in East Country.

The number four was the nightmare of these elite high school students. To earn the highest possible GPA of 4.0, they practically had to drink four cups of coffee a day and sleep only four hours a night. That level of hard work absolutely surpassed East Country's high school students!

Adam wanted to avoid dying young and aspired to become a top surgeon. The first step was getting into a good university.

And taking that first step well was quite difficult, whether for the original host or for Adam now.

The original host PJ's knowledge base could be summed up in one sentence, something Teddy often said jokingly to nine-month-old Charlie: "You have a great chance of going to high school with your big brother~"

As for Adam himself, he had gone to college, but every East Country person knew that the college entrance exam was when one's knowledge reached its peak. Back then, you knew astronomy above and geography below; with math, physics, and chemistry in hand, you feared nothing in the world. After graduating from college, all you could get by with was one phrase: "Holy crap."

So Adam was a genuine academic failure now. He had to review everything from the beginning, and American courses differed from those in East Country, further increasing the difficulty of his studies.

After cramming for a full year, he had only barely caught up. High school was about to begin, and the four years of GPA would have an enormous impact on college applications. Adam had to strive for a 4.0 GPA.

And at a public high school with weak teaching resources, finding a genius classmate to study with would definitely be a huge help. This was also one of the important reasons Adam wanted to befriend Sheldon.

Casting aside these distracting thoughts, Adam truly immersed himself in his studies and declared: studying made him happy!

First-floor living room.

Teddy and Spencer sat on the couch, pressed close together, with an open book spread before them. Both their gazes flickered, and neither had any interest in what the book actually said. Whenever their eyes met, sparks seemed to fly.

"I'll go get a pencil!"

"I have one!"

After a long standoff, Teddy took the initiative and spoke their code phrase. Spencer immediately responded. The two turned away and lowered their heads, pretending to rummage through their respective backpacks.

Teddy took out lip balm and applied it while looking into her small mirror. Spencer pulled out breath freshener and sprayed it into his mouth.

"I think I left my pencil at school."

"Me too!"

As Spencer said this, he blew a breath toward Teddy. Teddy inhaled deeply, and the smile on her face grew even sweeter.

Ding-dong!

Just as the two were drawing closer and closer, the doorbell suddenly rang, startling them both.

"I'll get it!"

Teddy gave an apologetic smile, then stood and ran over in a huff. As she opened the door, she asked, "Who is it?"

"Is Adam Duncan here?"

Outside stood a girl their age, smiling brightly. "My name is Juno McGuff. I'm his classmate!"

"Hello."

Teddy looked over the girl in the red hoodie. Thinking of her older brother's womanizing ways, pity flashed through her eyes. Poor Little Red Riding Hood, coming right to the Big Bad Wolf's door...