“William Thompson?!” The girl who had just come up to flirt with the handsome guy blurted out unconsciously.

“True!” That handsome guy suddenly burst out in English, even snapping his fingers with a flourish.

At first, the girl's face showed an expression of disgust and contempt, but it quickly turned to shock and daze, and then gradually a blush crept up her cheeks. She simply couldn't believe that William Thompson, without all that fat, could actually be such a handsome guy. Apart from a slight resemblance in face shape and expression, there was no obvious connection between the two. The huge contrast was so overwhelming that her vision went black and she fainted on the spot.

She wasn't the only girl who nearly rolled her eyes and passed out; quite a few others did too. As for the boys, after their initial surprise, most of them shot him looks filled with jealousy.

The bullied kid William Thompson, who hadn't been to school for nearly two months, was now sitting properly in his original seat—the very last row by the trash can, the worst seat in the class.

The most striking difference was that William Thompson had lost weight. He used to be a well-known chubby kid in the class and grade, but now he looked much slimmer.

The teacher came in, and upon seeing William Thompson, was momentarily stunned. Besides being surprised, he didn't say much. He didn't want to bring up William Thompson's past experiences—what's done is done, and it wasn't something a small figure like him could do anything about.

The teacher saw that William Thompson was now completely different from the chubby image in his mind. His body was solid, with some muscle definition showing. Without the fat, his face now had a unique handsomeness due to its sharpness. Many girls were clearly moved, stealing glances at him from time to time. The ugly duckling had turned into a swan. Without all that fat, William Thompson had actually become such a handsome guy. If it weren't for the faintly familiar face shape, one would really think he was someone else.

As usual, William Thompson remained silent, as if he belonged to a different world from the rest of the students, holding a book in his hands, no one knowing what he was reading.

“Hey, fatso, go buy me a Sprite!” Suddenly, a rather pretty girl habitually shouted at William Thompson. The moment she said it, she regretted it. William Thompson was different now—not fat at all. No one knew how much Han Xiuying's death had affected him.

“Hmph!” William Thompson didn't move at all, just let out a cold snort, his icy gaze sweeping over the girl who had just shouted at him.

None of the girls had ever been looked at with such a cold, emotionless stare before. Each of them turned pale with fright. There was no human feeling in his eyes, only a hint of wickedness, as if he were looking at corpses.

“Damn it, fatso, rebelling now, huh? Didn't you hear me tell you to buy Sprite? Itching for a beating again?” A burly boy, still thinking of William Thompson as the same pushover as before, took on the role of protector. Seeing William Thompson dare to act like this, he did what he always did—resort to violence. Although William Thompson rarely fought back before, he still couldn't escape being bullied.

As he spoke, the burly boy reached out to grab William Thompson, planning to drag him out of his seat and give him a good beating. He hadn't had a chance to practice in a while, and his fists were itching. Several other boys behind him were also eager to join in, while a few other students watched with the same old look of anticipation.

But before the burly boy's hand could touch William Thompson, it was tightly gripped by another hand. He looked in surprise—it was William Thompson, holding his fist in a vice-like grip. The immense strength coming from William Thompson's hand made it impossible for him to move, and his fist began to ache from the pressure.

William Thompson stared at him expressionlessly, his eyes full of mockery and disdain.

William Thompson would never allow the past to repeat itself. He was going to reclaim his dignity and let everyone know: he, William Thompson, was absolutely a real man.

The burly boy's face turned red from struggling, panting heavily, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free from William Thompson's grip.

William Thompson remained calm, holding the burly boy's fist as if nothing was happening. Two months of intense training had made him a completely different person. His strength was worlds apart from before, and compared to the burly boy in front of him, it was like an adult versus a baby.

William Thompson had gone from one extreme to another, and others would have to pay the price for it.

“Let... go... of me!” the burly boy squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, his face full of terror. He could feel his fingers were about to break, and he had no doubt that William Thompson could actually do it.

“Fine!” William Thompson said softly. He suddenly let go, and before the burly boy could react, William Thompson lashed out with a lightning-fast kick, mercilessly striking the boy in the stomach.

“Aah!” The burly boy clutched his stomach as he was kicked several meters away, knocking over a few chairs and, propelled by the force of William Thompson's kick, was sent flying out the back door of the classroom, crashing heavily into the wall at the end of the hallway.