Everyone in the car turned around in unison, their eyes drawn to Teacher Boheng, whom they respected or admired.
Simoya and Hesta frowned at the same time. The driver promptly stopped the car and waited for Boheng to catch up.
Hesta tried to maintain her earlier smile—what if Boheng suddenly regretted it now... But he did not seem to have any reason to.
"...What is it?"
"Nothing." He gripped the car door and climbed in within a few steps. "Thank you!"
Boheng kept his voice at the same volume as before. He looked somewhat excited—perhaps from his recent sprint, or perhaps because he truly felt a different kind of emotion rising from the depths of his heart.
Hesta chuckled. "You're welcome."
Boheng did not seem satisfied with a simple farewell. He told the driver, "Drive on. I'll see you off a little farther," then naturally sat down beside Hesta. At this parting moment, he suddenly had so much he wanted to say to her. These words swirled in his chest, and though the feeling lasted only an instant, it ignited all his passion, leaving him eager to hear Hesta's response at once—
About the Pious Youth Front, about Anuruddha, about the livelihoods of so many impoverished people in District 12... He suddenly regretted not holding Hesta back for a longer conversation last night. Instead, he had brooded over Aji getting there first and missed the chance for a late-night talk.
Was this not fate's arrangement? Just when he had been trapped in the same position for so long and longed for change, an old friend from his youth had suddenly appeared and immediately shown him her trust—was this not fate's promise that he would rise smoothly in the future?
She had not appeared out of nowhere... Boheng thought. There were