William Clark secretly felt a headache. After more than ten years in his previous life, he just couldn't change the catchphrases he’d picked up online, and these things were obviously very novel to people nowadays. He glared at Brian Cooper and said, “Get lost!”

Brian Cooper squinted his small eyes, sizing up William Clark from head to toe. Suddenly, he turned to George Harris and said, “Hey, George, don’t you think this guy is acting different than usual? He suddenly got insanely good at games, just now he beat those guys from No. 2 High so bad they didn’t even have a comeback, and he keeps coming up with new words. Could he be possessed by a ghost or something?”

George Harris blinked and said, “Heh, didn’t you see Helen Carter was just sitting in your seat talking to him? This guy must be so happy he’s gone dumb.”

“See? He’s definitely possessed! Helen Carter used to always roll her eyes at him, but now she’s actually sitting in front of him and chatting. And… today he even came to school with Sarah Bennett. The way they acted together… tsk tsk…” Brian Cooper’s expression was downright sleazy.

“What? He actually came with Sarah Bennett… No way. Sarah Bennett barely even talks to guys at school, and so many people have been shot down by her. How could William have caught up to Sarah Bennett without a word?” George Harris shook his head repeatedly, refusing to believe a word Brian Cooper said.

“Damn, I thought I was seeing things too, so I hid in the alley up ahead and waited for them to come by for a closer look. It was definitely Sarah Bennett, no mistake. And she was chatting away with William, smiling the whole time—she looked even prettier than usual when she smiled.”

“You old ox! You were following me?” William Clark couldn’t help but get angry.

“Heh, I wasn’t following you, I was just worried you’d go astray, so I hid to pull you back if needed. Who knew it’d be Sarah Bennett? I couldn’t help you there. If it were me, I’d probably fall head over heels too.”

“Wow! William, you’re really not much of a bro. You caught up to Sarah Bennett and didn’t even tell us? I’m extremely disappointed in you!”

Even with sixteen more years of life experience, William Clark still had no way to deal with these two gossipmongers. He simply ignored them and picked up his book to read.

Seeing that William Clark wasn’t responding, the two of them lost interest. Just then, William Clark’s deskmate in front returned, so Brian Cooper went back to his own seat, finally giving William Clark some peace and quiet.

During evening self-study, William Clark only looked over Chinese and English. Even though it was a science class, when it came to math and physics, William Clark just didn’t know where to start, and there wasn’t enough time anyway, so he could only give up on them.

“Hey, what’s up with you today? Studying so hard?” When evening study ended, George Harris poked William Clark.

William Clark smiled and said, “Isn’t the midterm tomorrow? I have to at least take a look.”

George Harris looked William Clark up and down again and said, “I get it. Did you make some kind of deal with Sarah Bennett to get a certain rank this time? But don’t get your hopes up too high. I’ve always hovered around the hundredth place myself.”

William Clark put down his book, turned his head to glance at George Harris, and said slowly, “Do you really think a girl like Sarah Bennett would let me catch up to her?” In his mind, he pictured Sarah Bennett’s pure and shy, adorable face, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Well… I don’t believe it. Then why did you go to school with her?”

“Heh, we just happened to be going the same way.”

“Oh…” George Harris’s eyes kept scanning William Clark, then he shook his head and said, “William, are you really possessed? You’re really different from usual today.”

William Clark was startled and asked, “How am I different?”

“Lots of ways. First, the way you talk. You used to be… frivolous and impatient, but now you’re really steady, kind of like our teachers. And your eyes, your expression, they’re all really different. I’m starting to wonder if you’re really William Clark.”

“Oh, people always change. Maybe one day you’ll suddenly change too.”

“Yeah, right. Even if I did, I wouldn’t change as fast as you.”

“Have you seen ‘The Return of the Condor Heroes’? Yang Guo changed a lot from beginning to end. I’m like Yang Guo—I suddenly had a great awakening and from now on, I’ll be a great hero!” At the end, William Clark deliberately used a passionate, heroic tone.

“Damn! So that’s it, you’re such a poser.” George Harris was actually fooled by William Clark, and even picked up the new word “damn.”

After all, he was now thirty-three years old, so he really was very different from his seventeen-year-old self. It seemed that getting used to his current identity wasn’t going to be so easy after all.

Chapter 015: The Plagiarism Scandal