Everyday life passes by quickly.
In the blink of an eye, another sester ended.
The sumr of 1990.
Adam turned 16, and like most Arican teenagers, he could finally start learning to drive.
Interestingly, the United States doesn't have a national ID card like so countries. A driver's license serves as an ID, making it quite significant.
"Adam, are you sure you don't want
to teach you? I'm really good at it," Adam's dad, Bob, grumbled in disappointnt.
"No need. I've already arranged it with Emtt. He's a good driver and has plenty of free ti—it'd be a waste not to use it," Adam politely declined.
Compared to Bob, Adam naturally preferred learning with a peer.
In the United States, there are hardly any professional driving instructors. Typically, soone with a driver's license teaches you instead. You first familiarize yourself with the basics, find an empty lot, and under the guidance of soone experienced, you directly practice driving: moving forward, turning, reversing, uphill starts, and parking. It's actually pretty straightforward.
Even soone like Sheldon, who had an intense fear of driving and often crashed catastrophically in simulators, eventually managed to get his driver's license in secret.
The key is consistent practice. So people get the hang of it in half a day. Driving schools in other countries take much longer because a single instructor has to train many students, who take turns driving. Actual practice ti is minimal and often interrupted by long waits.
"Alright then," Bob relented, a bit disappointed. He had been hoping to show off his excellent driving skills to his son.
Although the Duncan family now had four children, the one Bob had invested the most emotion in was undoubtedly Adam, the eldest.
Unfortunately, ever since Adam outgrew his clumsy and adorable phase in the past two years, the father-son relationship had grown distant. Activities like fishing or playing football together had all been canceled.
Now even learning to drive didn't require him.
Bob naturally felt a little dejected. However, he understood that as boys grow older, they prefer spending ti with their peers. What he didn't know was that Adam wasn't the sa Adam anymore.
The current Adam had no interest in fishing or football. While he had seamlessly integrated into the warm atmosphere of the Duncan household, there was still an underlying sense of detachnt.
**Beep beep beep!**
"Sorry, Emtt's here," Adam said with an apologetic smile toward Bob.
"Go ahead," Bob replied, collecting himself and patting Adam on the shoulder. "Stay safe."
"Don't worry," Adam reassured him with a smile, quickly leaving the house.
He hopped into the passenger seat and said to Emtt, "Let's go. The sooner we practice, the sooner we're done."
"I really don't get it," Emtt said, stepping on the gas. "Why didn't you ask Gretchen to teach you? Her car's way cooler."
"Not safe," Adam replied calmly.
"…"
Emtt froze, then rolled his eyes and muttered a curse. "Tch."
"So you *do* understand. Why ask, then?" Adam teased.
"You shaless jerk!" Emtt muttered. His expression showed frustration but also a hint of envy, as though he were thinking, *A man ought to live like this—I could do it better than him.*
"This is nothing," Adam thought to himself, amused. "A truly shaless man would charge for everything."
Out loud, he joked, "Don't you have Ivy? Or did you break up again?"
Ivy, Adam's younger sister Ted's best friend, was also an African-Arican like Emtt. Unlike Emtt's slim build, Ivy was round and cheerful, with an inexplicable confidence in her 'beauty.'
Emtt had mixed feelings about this. He preferred being single over dating Ivy, but part of him still resented the situation.
Thus, their on-and-off relationship had beco a running gag.
"Don't bring up Ivy! This ti, it's really over between us!" Emtt declared, repeating his usual dramatic lines. When Adam didn't react, he snapped, "Don't believe ?"
"I believe you," Adam replied nonchalantly. He believed it about as much as he believed in empty promises.
"Hmph," Emtt snorted. He knew Adam was being dismissive but couldn't refute it. Frustrated, he changed the subject. "Why haven't I seen Juno around lately?"
Adam's expression imdiately grew serious.
Recently, Juno had been acting mysteriously, often skipping group activities with the Candy Hearts gang.
While Emtt and Sheldon simply found it strange and annoying, Adam felt a bit uneasy.
Ever since Juno started poring over thick dical textbooks, Adam had an inkling of what she was up to.
Out of both friendship and a sense of self-preservation, he knew he should probably talk her out of it. But every ti he thought of Juno's deep, knowing gaze and her chilling ideas about surgeries inspired by *The Sunflower Manual,* his courage wavered.
Sotis ignorance is bliss.
All he really wanted were the intelligence points Juno provided. Why overthink it? If Juno's plans failed because of the butterfly effect caused by his arrival in this world, then so be it. That would just be fate.
After all, he only had a garbage system that didn't grant any extraordinary powers. As a self-preserving coward, staying out of it was both the best and only option.
Besides, Adam doubted soone as ticulous as Juno would fail because of him.
In the original tiline of the *Candy Hearts* movie, Juno's counterpart, Hailey, didn't actually make the photographer undergo the surgery. It seed like she only used the dical books to scare him. But Adam knew better—Juno wasn't bluffing. She was fully capable.
Her biology teacher had once praised her dissection skills as "phenonal." There was no way she had gotten that good without practice. In a small town surrounded by forests full of wildlife, she'd had plenty of opportunities.
After all, many infamous serial killers started by hunting animals. The most famous example? Mads Mikkelsen's Hannibal Lecter.
At the end of the day, humans are animals too.
Every bit of information Juno had revealed to the photographer—her na, family details, hobbies—had all been carefully preditated. She'd been preparing for at least a year. Soone as frighteningly reliable as her didn't need his help.
**Beep beep!**
"Hey! Hey!" Emtt honked the horn, snapping Adam out of his thoughts. "What are you zoning out about?"
"Nothing," Adam said, shaking his head to clear his mind. For now, the most important thing was to focus on learning to drive and getting his license.
"We're here," Emtt said as he pulled into an open field and parked. He got out of the car and said, "Let's practice here."
"Okay, you're the coach," Adam replied with a shrug. He switched seats with Emtt and climbed into the driver's seat.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Emtt went over the basics again before saying, "You're a beginner. Start in first gear—hey, hey! What are you doing?!"
Adam smoothly stepped on the clutch and shifted straight into second gear. "People with high levels always start in second gear," he said with a grin.
Emtt: "…"
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