“Mr. Harrison, don’t use the word ‘rob’, and you even added ‘again’—how unpleasant that sounds! It makes me seem like a bandit. I’m just an honest, upright student. This isn’t called robbing; I’m just taking back some of the interest he owed me from before.” William Thompson’s expression remained unconcerned, as if he had merely taken a grain of rice from an ant—utterly insignificant.

“You, you, you’re making me furious! I never thought you’d turn out like this. You’re nothing like you used to be. Even though Brian Clark did do some things to let you down in the past, it’s all over now. There’s no need for you to bully him like this. Do you realize how terrible the impact of your actions is?” The boy’s face was ashen, his voice trembling with anger. As the student council president of Huaming High School, he was responsible for students’ studies and ideological work. Now, a student was extorting a classmate in such a vile way—if word got out, the school’s reputation would be ruined. People would call Huaming High a school of hooligans. What about the teachers’ dignity? The school’s dignity? Even the students would feel utterly disgraced.

“William Thompson, you’ve gone too far. Committing robbery in broad daylight—this is a crime, you could go to jail.” A bespectacled girl with a scholarly appearance stood up and sternly rebuked William Thompson.

“That’s right, you need to apologize to Brian Clark and give the money back right away. You’re still a student—you can’t go down this bad path.” Another burly boy standing next to the student council president pointed at William Thompson and said.

“Go to the teacher yourself and write a self-criticism. Promise that nothing like this will ever happen again.” Another student spoke with an air of authority.

The student council had always played the role of justice—past, present, and future.

If it were an ordinary student, they would have long since been frightened into losing their composure by this collective denunciation, breaking down in tears and making a public self-criticism. Unfortunately, William Thompson was not that kind of person.

“Alright, alright, here we go again. First the denunciation, then the lecturing—so annoying! Can’t you come up with something new? And you think you can maintain world peace and uphold justice like this? Damn, you’re driving me crazy.” William Thompson looked completely indifferent and annoyed, as if surrounded by a swarm of buzzing, irritating flies.

“It’s all because of that bastard Brian Clark.” William Thompson couldn’t help but recall the past. How many times had he been ‘educated’ by the student council in this very formation?

The old William Thompson was a diligent and studious student, but much fatter than the others—in fact, he was basically a ball of flesh. Although he always ranked in the top three in his class, he was a total bookworm who only knew how to study. His high intelligence and top grades didn’t earn him any respect. Because of his somewhat timid—no, extremely timid—personality, which was common in many powerless, ordinary families, he was often bullied by classmates.

Being bullied was a daily occurrence for William Thompson, and the class bully Brian Clark was the typical figure who took pleasure in tormenting him. Every few days, he’d bring a few little thugs to surround William Thompson and other weak students, extorting and even beating them. Since the start of high school, Brian Clark had extorted at least five or six thousand yuan from William Thompson—a considerable sum for an ordinary family. All of it was money William Thompson had earned from part-time jobs. He didn’t dare tell his family, fearing even harsher retaliation. Not to mention, Brian Clark’s father was the city’s police chief, claiming he could wipe out someone’s whole family at will—whether that was bluff or truth, it intimidated plenty of students.

Not only did the classmates show no sympathy for William Thompson, they only mocked and shunned the weak, making him the only outcast in the class. He was constantly ordered around—cleaning, running errands to the school gate store for snacks, it all fell to William Thompson. Aside from his academic excellence, he was good for nothing. As a weakling, even his academic advantage wasn’t respected by others.

It seemed everyone could take out their frustrations by bullying this chubby class scapegoat, and William Thompson became the target of many delinquent students’ robberies. Bruised and battered every few days was the norm. The school wouldn’t intervene in these not-quite-serious acts of violence between students—there were too many cases to handle. At most, they’d give a little lecture and have the students write a self-criticism, and that was it. The homeroom teacher, in particular, didn’t want to air the class’s dirty laundry, always urging William Thompson to endure and endure, downplaying big problems and letting small ones slide, leaving William Thompson even more isolated and helpless.

From a young age, William Thompson’s parents taught him not to fight with others, that acting on impulse would only bring endless trouble to himself and others. He was told to endure, not to care about others’ opinions, and to live for himself.

Having set aside his personal dignity, William Thompson could only bury himself in his studies, proving he had at least one thing others couldn’t surpass. But even though his grades were always at the top, his classmates never acknowledged him. In their eyes, he was just a pushover anyone could bully—even a three-year-old could run up and punch him a couple of times.

Until one day, a new transfer student—a girl—arrived in the class. Her natural beauty stunned the entire school, teachers and students alike. Her delicate features carried an extraordinary, noble air that made many girls feel inferior by comparison.