William Thompson asked himself and felt that he shouldn't bear any responsibility in this matter, so he readily went with them.

The investigation didn't end until midnight. By the time William Thompson returned to the dormitory, Gavin Howard and Ethan Shaw were already asleep. As for the local student Brian Faulkner, he hadn't come back to the dorm.

The next day, before the other two had gotten up, William Thompson was already awake and went out alone for morning exercise.

He had become the odd one out in dorm 303—not only did he go to bed late and get up early, but he was also very self-disciplined about exercising.

After entering the main academy, the coursework became much more flexible. In William Thompson's Chen class, there was even a general studies instructor, Jason Brooks, who was in charge of their daily life and studies. On the third day after registration, he held a class meeting.

There were no class monitors or similar positions in the main academy, but Instructor Brooks still appointed three students to assist him in managing daily life, cultivation, and discipline.

Of course, these three only held the title and had no real authority.

Interestingly, Gavin Howard from room 303 was assigned to help manage discipline.

Ethan Shaw didn't care about this at all. Instead, he muttered under his breath, "I mean, only three girls? That's way too few, isn't it?"

The number of students in each class at Boling Main Academy was always fixed at thirty-six. In Chen class, the girls made up only one-twelfth of the class, which was really too few.

William Thompson smiled and replied quietly, "Then you’ll have to take the initiative. If that doesn’t work, you’ll just have to go poach from other classes."

"And you have the nerve to tease me?" Ethan Shaw shot him a look, annoyed. "You’re always hanging around outside the girls’ dorm. Do you know people are already saying you’re a pervert... You’re seriously ruining the reputation of our 303."

"I just passed by a few times," William Thompson grinned, showing his white teeth. "And none of the senior girls said anything about me."

Of course, he couldn't explain his real reason for going near the girls’ dorm.

"Let’s be serious, I’m talking here," Jason Brooks noticed the commotion below, clapped his hands twice, and raised his voice. "Is there anyone from a difficult family background who wants to apply for a cultivation subsidy?"

"Instructor, me," William Thompson quickly raised his hand. "I’d also like to apply for a tuition reduction."

Have you no shame? Several classmates couldn’t help but secretly complain. The cultivation subsidy was an interest-free loan from the academy; students who succeeded in their studies would have to pay it back in the future. But a tuition reduction meant you really didn’t have to pay anything.

The tuition fees at the main academy were a heavy burden for most families, but the main academy students cared a lot about saving face—even applying for a tuition reduction was seen as disgraceful.

If you don’t have money, why are you even at the main academy? Idle gossip could even force someone to drop out.

Right in front of everyone, William Thompson just said it outright, which was rather shameless—at the very least, shouldn’t you talk to Instructor Brooks privately?

"William Thompson, I know you!" Jason Brooks glanced at him and nodded slightly. "We’ll talk about your situation later."

There were actually five students in the class who signed up for the cultivation subsidy. What surprised William Thompson was that Ethan Shaw also applied—how could that guy possibly be short of money?

Instructor Brooks wrote down the names, said a few more words, then announced the end of the meeting. He nodded in a certain direction, "You, come with me."

William Thompson stood up and followed without hesitation, ignoring the strange looks from those around him.

Jason Brooks walked a while before speaking, "I know your situation—an orphan, and your entrance scores in our Chen class are among the best... But actually, the tuition reduction policy is now just an empty promise."

William Thompson fell silent for a moment, then after a few more steps, asked, "Why?"

"You don’t need to ask," Jason Brooks shook his head and answered bluntly, "Some things are not for you to know."

Not for me to know? William Thompson was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "Is it because some students who got tuition reductions were mocked and ended up doing something bad?"

"That’s exactly it," Jason Brooks sighed. "It’s happened more than once—students who got tuition reductions couldn’t stand the ridicule and tried to kill their classmates... This kind of thing doesn’t happen in the advanced or intermediate academies."

At this point, he looked at him in surprise. "You... how did you know?"

How did I know? William Thompson smiled to himself. I even know there was a guy in the main academy named Ma Jiajue.

"Looks like you’ve heard something," Instructor Brooks was actually a bit puzzled. He knew almost everything about William Thompson's background and didn’t think this orphan could have access to such secret information.

Maybe it was just a coincidence. He straightened his face. "I don’t care where you heard it, but I don’t want to hear anyone say the news came from you."

"Would I get anything out of spreading this?" William Thompson replied indifferently. However, he finally understood why the guy collecting tuition a few days ago had that expression. "But I am a bit puzzled—if the policy can’t be implemented, why not just cancel it?"

Jason Brooks glanced at him again. "That’s also something you’re not supposed to know... Actually, I don’t know either."