William Carter was forced against the wall, his hands clutching his head. At this moment, he could no longer feel the pain in his body, because compared to the pain in his heart, it was nothing. He couldn't hear any sounds from the outside world; his ears were filled with a buzzing noise.

　　"That's enough! Stop hitting him." Sarah Thompson saw that it was about enough and stopped the others. He didn't want to go too far and cause real trouble. Grabbing William Carter's hair, Sarah Thompson patted his face and said, "Tomorrow, bring me ten yuan to school. If you don't, I'll get people to beat you up again, got it?"

　　William Carter's body leaned against the wall, his waist bent, head lowered, tears streaming down his cheeks and falling to the ground. Seeing William Carter remain silent, Sarah Thompson yanked his hair hard and said, "Damn it, I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me?"

　　William Carter numbly let out an "Ah!" Sarah Thompson nodded in satisfaction and left with the others. "What should we do next?" "Let's go play video games!" "That's boring, how about billiards?" "Screw you, do you even have money?" Sarah Thompson and the others joked and laughed as they walked out of the school.

　　At this moment, William Carter's body slowly slid down the wall, and he squatted on the ground, holding his head and sobbing bitterly. Now he felt that his life was utterly meaningless. What's the point of being good at studying? He still got bullied! Why? He punched his own head with his fist, hating himself for being too weak, hating himself for not fighting back, hating himself for not daring to tell his parents about being bullied at school.

　　After a long while, once he had calmed down a bit, William Carter stood up, straightened his wrinkled clothes, and walked out of the school. At this time, it started to rain outside, and William Carter wandered the streets. He was grateful that it rained at this moment, at least it could hide his tears from others. He just wanted to live an ordinary life—was that really so hard? Why could others go to school without worry, while he had to live in fear? If this was heaven's punishment for the weak, then at this moment he decided that he would become strong from now on. He would never be bullied by anyone again. On this day, as the rain fell outside, William Carter knew he would never forget it, because this was the beginning of a turning point in his life.

　　【Volume One: Youthful Passion】 Chapter 2

　　William Carter didn't know how long he had walked before finally returning home. When he opened the door, both his father and mother were there. Seeing the injuries on their son's face, they hurriedly asked, "Wen Dong, what happened to your face?"

　　William Carter's pride kept him from admitting he was beaten by others, so he mumbled, "It was raining outside, I slipped and fell."

　　His mother asked with concern, "Are you alright, Wen Dong? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

　　"Mom, I'm fine, just leave me alone!" William Carter went into his room and closed the door. He was in a mess emotionally and didn't want to see anyone.

　　William Carter's father knocked on his door and said, "Wen Dong, at least eat something before you go to your room!"

　　"Dad, I already ate outside." An impatient voice came from inside. William Carter's father turned to his wife and said, "I feel like the gap between us and our child is getting bigger and bigger. Now Wen Dong hardly ever talks to us about his own matters." "Yes, this child…"

　　After ten o'clock, William Carter heard his parents go to their room to sleep. He came out of his room, went to the bathroom to wash himself clean, then found the toolbox on the balcony and took a utility knife back to his room.

　　In his room, William Carter took off all his clothes and stood naked in front of the mirror, holding the utility knife in his hand. Staring at his reflection, William Carter spoke in a cold voice: "William Carter, remember this—from today on, no one can bully you again!"

　　He then pushed out the blade of the utility knife, stretched out his left hand, and slashed his palm. The sharp blade cut a wound more than three inches long, and blood gushed out instantly. William Carter clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. Looking at his twisted face in the mirror, he gritted his teeth and said, "William Carter, if you can't even endure this pain, how can you ever hope not to be bullied?" The pain in his palm stimulated every nerve, and he couldn't help but let out muffled groans.

　　Maybe it was too painful, or maybe he lost too much blood, but William Carter felt dizzy, though he still gripped the utility knife tightly. William Carter's parents heard strange noises from his room, like the sounds of someone ill. Not knowing what was happening, they opened William Carter's door, and both were shocked by what they saw. Blood was all over William Carter's hand and the floor, and he lay naked on the ground, making faint sounds.

　　William Carter's father quickly wrapped his son in a blanket and rushed out, with his mother following behind. The two of them ran to the hospital.

　　A week later, William Carter came to school as usual with his backpack, only his left hand was wrapped in white medical gauze.

　　Entering the classroom, he ignored the curious looks from his classmates and quietly sat at his seat. The classmates felt that William Carter, whom they hadn't seen for a week, seemed a bit different, but couldn't quite say how. It was just a strange feeling.

　　Looking at her deskmate, Nancy Clark asked with concern, "William Carter, I heard you were in the hospital these past few days. What kind of illness was so serious?"

　　"It's nothing." William Carter smiled slightly. "I just accidentally cut my hand."