Ring... ring... ring...
The sound of the alarm clock at six in the morning rings incessantly, Claude Young hastily reaches out to stop the alarm clock, yawns deeply, and then leaves the warmth of his bed. Today is the start of the week, close to the final exams, so Claude Young stayed up very late studying.
The sound of a long yawn still echoes in the room, and outside the door, the hurried voice of Mr. Young, Claude's father, calls out: "You lazy bum, what time do you think it is to still be sprawled out in bed, get up quickly, go wash your face and have breakfast, I still have to go to work!"
"Yes, I know!"
Hearing his father's voice, Claude quickly jumps out of bed, rushes to the toilet, then Mrs. Young, Claude's mother, shouts loudly: "What's with you two dragging your feet, breakfast is all ready, hurry up and eat before it gets cold!"
Mr. Young's voice: "Dear, what did you cook for the two of us today?"
"Shrimp noodle soup with egg!"
Mrs. Young's curt reply, followed by Mr. Young's grumbling voice: "Dear, it's been shrimp noodles all week, can't we have something different for a change?"
"Yes!"
Again, that blunt voice from Mrs. Young. Before Mr. Young could rejoice, he hears Mrs. Young calmly reply: "Egg shrimp noodles! Will you two eat it?"
"We will!"
Mr. Young's defeated voice responds. Then, hearing Mrs. Young's snorting as she goes into the kitchen. By this time, Claude has also finished his personal hygiene, hurriedly puts on his school clothes, and scurries to sit down at the dining table. As soon as Mr. Young sees Claude, he glares: "You little rascal! Is it because of your dawdling that your mother has been feeding me shrimp noodles all week?!"
Claude, eating his shrimp noodles, looks up slightly annoyed upon hearing this. He immediately sees a glare as sharp as bullets directed at him: "Am I wrong to look! Eat up quickly!"
Thump!
A sound so vivid it seems to travel centimeter by centimeter to Claude's ears. Claude can't help but cover his head with his hand and rub it.
"Dad, why did you hit me!"
"Your sight annoys me, so why can't I hit you? Eat up quickly, you little devil!"
Claude seems a bit aggrieved, he can only try to finish his bowl of noodles, then follows his father out. As they get on the bike, Mr. Young hands Claude the Twent dollar.
"You little devil, this is the money I secretly saved from your mom for smoking! Use it to find something nutritious to eat at school! Your mom has been tightening the budget lately, that's all I have left! Try hard in your studies and exams, you hear?"
Claude feels a sting in the corner of his eyes...
Thump!
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get on the bike, I'm late for work now!"
Rubbing his head and feeling disgruntled, Claude climbs onto his father's old motorbike, quickly stuffing the Twent dollar into his pocket.
Upon arriving at school, while his classmates are still frolicking outside the gate, he silently takes out his books to review for the exam and do some additional exercises in class. Just then, there's a slight rustling sound outside the window. Claude slightly lifts his head to look outside, but sees no one there. He bends down again to continue his exercises. But after writing a few words, that sound once again rings in his ear.
Claude looked up again, almost screaming in fear. Fortunately, he managed to calm down, his face slightly annoyed.
"Hey, don't you guys have anything better to do than to skulk around here trying to scare me? Do you think you can just approach me because I'm handsome?"
A girl in a school uniform stood outside the window, her eyes wide as she looked at him, seemingly familiar with his grandiose manner of speaking, only smiling and saying: "Do you want to go out and play? I just found this place, it's really cool!"
Claude, still pretending to be diligently taking notes, slightly lifted his head, feigning indifference: "Exams are coming, shouldn't you be studying instead of playing? I'm not going, you go by yourself!"
"Really, you're not going? You'll regret it!"
"Psh, what's with the mysterious act? You planning to trick handsome Claude here? Dream on!"
"Hehe, really not going? Then I'll go ask someone else to come with me!"
"…"