When he arrived at the entrance of his own alley, he saw a man and a woman entangled in the shadows. At first, he didn’t pay much attention, but the motorcycle nearby made him think of something. Looking closely, he realized the woman was his younger sister Edward Bolton. William Bolton immediately flared up: “What are you two doing?”

The two of them were startled. Although Edward Bolton looked down on this brother, she still felt guilty. She pushed away Blake Harris, who was trying to pull her into his arms, lowered her head, and hurried off.

Blake Harris grinned cheekily at William Bolton: “Yo, isn’t this William? What are you yelling about? It’s late at night, you’re scaring people.”

William Bolton stepped up and pointed at Blake Harris’s nose: “What were you just doing?”

“Nothing, just having a little heart-to-heart with your sister.”

William Bolton nodded, then suddenly punched the guy in the face. Blake Harris hadn’t expected him to actually throw a punch, and was caught off guard, stumbling from the blow.

“You’ve got some nerve!” Blake Harris charged forward, trying to fight William Bolton.

William Bolton lifted his foot and kicked Blake Harris in the lower abdomen, sending him flying. When it came to fighting, he never held back—he’d had expert guidance and professional training, and in the past, he could easily take on ten at once.

Edward Bolton was his sister. No matter how she treated him, he couldn’t stand by while she mixed with this kind of trash.

Blake Harris never expected the usually timid William Bolton to be so ruthless. Caught completely off guard, he hadn’t even gotten up before William Bolton rushed over, twisted his arm, and pressed his knee against the guy’s neck: “Are you blind? You dare touch my sister? I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Ow… William Bolton… you’re looking for trouble… ow…”

William Bolton slapped him hard across the face: “Trouble your ass! Bastard, if you dare touch my sister, I’ll take out your whole family.”

“William Bolton! Are you crazy? Let go! Let go!”

Edward Bolton rushed over and actually tried to pull William Bolton’s arm, wanting to drag him up. When that didn’t work, she reached for his hair. The little brat was actually siding with an outsider. William Bolton backhanded her with a slap. There was no way her frail body could withstand his blow—she saw stars and landed on her butt, completely stunned. In her memory, her brother had always been a timid loser. What was going on today?

William Bolton pointed at Edward Bolton: “Get home right now. This is none of your business. And remember, call me ‘brother’!”

Edward Bolton sat there dazed, rubbing the side of her face that had gone numb from the slap. Just then, someone came over to help her up. Looking up, she saw it was their mother, who had just returned. Only then did she burst into tears: “Mom, William Bolton hit me…” Before she could finish, she got slapped again. Samuel Clark looked at her coldly: “You deserved it!”

Blake Harris, unable to bear the pain, started begging: “William bro… bro… please, let me go. I didn’t even touch your sister… I swear on my whole family… I’ll never go near her again, okay? Ow… my arm’s about to break…”

Only then did William Bolton let go of Blake Harris.

Blake Harris scrambled up from the ground, grabbed a steel pipe from beside the motorcycle, and charged at William Bolton.

William Bolton had already anticipated Blake Harris’s counterattack. He spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending Blake Harris flying. Blake Harris crashed into the motorcycle and tumbled to the ground with a clatter.

William Bolton picked up the steel pipe from the ground and made as if to smash it down. Blake Harris was so scared he hugged his head and sobbed.

William Bolton looked meaningfully at the tearful Edward Bolton: “Take a good look. The tough guy in your heart is actually just an idiot!”

Ding!

A text message arrived. William Bolton’s reputation points +500. Who would have thought beating someone up would earn reputation points faster than signing a contract? Looks like he should stretch his muscles more often.

Young Master Bolton looked at the onlookers with a proud expression.

Ding!

Reputation points +33. William Bolton easily earned a wave of reputation points from the thirty-three onlookers.

This guy is so good at fighting. I’d better be careful when talking to him in the future.

Damn, what a badass! I used to bully him in middle school. Hope he doesn’t come after me for payback.

He chased after me a few years ago, and I called him a toad wanting to eat swan meat. Now that he’s so tough, will he try to force himself on me? That’s kind of scary. I don’t have any money, so I guess he’ll just have to rob me of my looks.

…

After Edward Bolton got home, she didn’t dare make a scene. As she tearfully prepared to return to her room, William Bolton called out to her: “Little Edward, stay. I have something to discuss with you all.”

Edward Bolton stopped in her tracks.

Samuel Clark felt like something was off with her son today, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Then again, maybe nothing was wrong. As the only man in the family now, he was supposed to be like this. A man should have some backbone—he mustn’t end up like that deadbeat father of his.

William Bolton could tell Edward Bolton was still resistant to him, which was normal for someone her age. He told them about signing a contract with Gefeng Morning News today.

Samuel Clark didn’t show any particular reaction after hearing this, just asked softly, “Is it a permanent position?” That’s what adults care about most. In their eyes, unless it’s a formal position, any other job is just fooling around.

William Bolton shook his head: “There’s no such thing as a permanent position. Besides, I’m starting as a trainee reporter. It’ll take time to become official.”

“That’s fine. It’s still better than lazing around at home, waiting to die.”