However, after all, he was an old fox. After taking a few deep breaths, David Harris quickly regained his composure and said calmly to William Carter, “There is no such rule in the academy, but wearing the academy uniform is a tradition here. Since today is your first day, I won’t punish you. But remember, the academy is not your own backyard. If you’re just a sharp-tongued child without real talent and learning, you won’t pass the monthly assessments, and you’ll end up being expelled all the same.”

“This old fox is pretty good at keeping his cool, but compared to Master, he’s still worlds apart. Looks like I’ll have to watch out for his tricks in the future.” William Carter thought to himself, but on the surface, he replied sincerely, “I will heed your teachings, sir. I will study hard and will not let you down.”

“Go take your seat,” David Harris said with a wave of his hand.

William Carter bowed again. The two foxes, one old and one young, exchanged glances—David Harris’s eyes full of disdain, while William Carter’s remained calm as water. William Carter ignored all the eye rolls from Emily Bennett and walked straight to the back row.

The lecture hall, which had quieted down earlier due to William Carter’s sharp questioning, became noisy again after David Harris spoke.

“Isn’t the teacher backing down? By saying that, isn’t he admitting that what William Carter said earlier was right?” a horse-faced student whispered, looking incredulous.

The burly student beside him scoffed, “What do you know? The teacher is just giving the dean some face. That kid is just glib. If he can’t pass the monthly assessment, just wait and see him get expelled.”

“Heh, isn’t what he said exactly what the teacher used to teach? Only a fool wouldn’t notice.” At this moment, a cold-faced student sitting behind them, with an ebony hairpin in his hair, sneered.

The two who had spoken earlier both changed expressions, and the burly student’s face turned red. But when he turned and saw that cold, stern face, he deflated, lowered his head to look at his book, and clenched his fists, not daring to say another word.

William Carter happened to walk past the three of them and, hearing the cold-faced scholar’s words, immediately felt a sense of kinship. He looked over and saw a man with a jade-like face and sharp features. Though he too wore the blue and white academy uniform, he had an extraordinary air about him. Only his expression was a bit cold, keeping others at a distance.

William Carter was no ordinary person. If it weren’t for that old fox still watching from behind, he would have sat down and had a good chat about life and ideals with this cold-faced scholar.

William Carter gave the cold-faced scholar a big smile and even raised his eyebrows, as if greeting an old friend.

The cold-faced scholar was taken aback, clearly not used to William Carter’s behavior. He forced a slight smile in return, though it looked rather stiff. The student sitting next to him, seeing the slight upward curve of his lips, had a strange look on his face, and his gaze toward William Carter grew even more complicated.

“White House, that was a bit much,” said a handsome scholar sitting to the right of the cold-faced one, with a white jade hairpin in his hair. His voice was somewhat soft and delicate.

“Too much? Olivia Harris, are you as foolish as they are? Or are you still suffering after being rejected by a woman?” The cold-faced scholar White House sneered, glancing sideways at the handsome scholar.

“You!” The handsome scholar, called Olivia Harris, shot to his feet, his somewhat delicate face flushing red.

“All right, quiet down!” At that moment, David Harris slapped his ruler on the table and said sternly.

David Harris was never gentle with his ruler, and the lecture hall immediately fell silent. Olivia Harris sat back down angrily, his gaze cold as he swept it over William Carter and White House.

William Carter, who had been ready to watch the drama unfold, couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. He glanced sympathetically at Olivia Harris, then at White House, thinking that this cold-faced scholar really suited his taste. A cold face paired with a sharp tongue—how interesting.

As the hall quieted down, William Carter quickly made his way to the back row, where a chubby student sitting in the last row waved at him excitedly.

William Carter recognized this chubby student as the one he’d seen before, now sitting in the very last row. No one sat to his left, right, or in front, making him look even larger and more conspicuous.

“Looks like this guy is either being ostracized, or he’s not simple at all. Judging by the jade pendant at his waist, it must be worth quite a bit—he’s probably not short on money.” William Carter thought to himself. He had a good impression of the chubby student and sat down with a smile to his left.

The chubby student was quite large, easily over two hundred pounds. Sitting with his legs apart, he looked like a mountain of flesh, his round face beaming with a simple, honest smile that reminded William Carter of the fat white cat he’d kept at the temple years ago.

Since David Harris had just called for silence, neither of them dared to make trouble, so after exchanging a smile, they sat up straight and pretended to listen attentively.

Once everyone was quiet, David Harris began the lecture. The subject of “Rites” was one of the most important in the academy, and the students’ words and actions were all guided by the principle of propriety. As the one in charge of this subject, David Harris was second only to the dean, Charles Bennett, and held great prestige among the students, with many proud disciples under his tutelage.