Ethan Shaw was made a bit queasy by the weight-loss method he’d just heard about. “That weight-loss method of yours... let’s hear it first?”

William Thompson would never agree to that. He replied with a forced smile, “That’s easy enough. I just happen to be short on cash—give me ten silver coins to buy it... as if I couldn’t find out myself if you didn’t help me.”

He was indeed short on money, but not so much that he’d ignore the camaraderie between classmates. The truth was, his weight-loss method was a bit too painful—of course, it was absolutely effective.

If the pretty boy couldn’t endure the pain and blamed the method for not working, well, there’d be no reasoning with him.

Ten silver coins... The pretty boy was stunned for a moment, then frowned in distress. “We’re classmates, after all. Isn’t that price a bit unreasonable?”

William Thompson ignored him and continued eating.

“Fine, I’ll do it!” Ethan Shaw rolled his eyes and answered through gritted teeth, “I’ll go dig up the information.”

Chapter 9: Cheating for Privacy

“So fast?” William Thompson looked at Ethan Shaw in astonishment.

They’d just had breakfast, and it wasn’t even dinnertime yet, but the pretty boy had already gotten all the details on Qi Yongxin, filling three whole pages, and brought them to the library to hand over to the administrator.

“I, the dashing young pretty boy, always get things done this quickly,” Ethan Shaw replied proudly.

He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered his voice, “Hey, hey, just because I’m fast doesn’t mean I’m not thorough, got it?”

“Seems a bit half-baked to me,” William Thompson replied offhandedly as he flipped through the three pages.

“I really did get to the bottom of it,” Ethan Shaw said anxiously. “Listen, I’m at the level where I can earn ten silver coins a day. You can’t be jealous, and you can’t go back on your word... otherwise, we can’t be friends.”

He wasn’t wrong—the information was indeed very detailed. Three generations of Qi Yongxin’s ancestors, three generations on her mother’s side, all checked out clearly. Nothing remarkable about the family background; they were all ordinary people. The only exception was her mother’s brother-in-law, who worked as a craftsman in the Agricultural Department of Seven Illusions City.

Her uncle couldn’t get her into the main academy, so Qi Yongxin had actually gotten in on her own merit.

William Thompson had no intention of blaming him, but he wasn’t particularly satisfied with the result, even though the pretty boy had done a good job.

But there were no details about Qi Yongxin’s cultivation process, which was what he cared about most.

With those details, he could deduce her background. Now, with no information at all... how was he supposed to judge?

So he pointed this out directly: it’s not that I’m disrespecting you, it’s that the information you got isn’t up to standard.

Ethan Shaw was immediately annoyed and started shouting, “William, that kind of detail, unless you’re really close...”

“Hey, hey, this is the library,” William Thompson quickly dragged him outside.

Loud noise was strictly forbidden in the library, and as an examiner, he was responsible for maintaining order—how could he knowingly break the rules?

Even after being dragged out, Ethan Shaw insisted righteously: the information he’d gathered was thorough enough, even exceeding the requirements. If you don’t believe it, go ask anyone if it meets the five key points of intelligence.

As for the details of her cultivation process—unless you’re really close, who would tell you that?

But William Thompson had no intention of reasoning with him. “I never said you only had to find out this much. Think about it... would ordinary information be worth ten silver coins?”

Ethan Shaw ignored his logic and just shook his head. “William, saying that is just unreasonable. This is information on a main academy student, and a girl from Boling Main Academy at that... If it were an outsider, could they get this info for ten silver coins?”

He wasn’t wrong. Craftsmen were the backbone of government rule, and main academy students were apprentice craftsmen—so rare that every student’s information was highly confidential and not to be leaked casually.

It was only because they were both main academy students, on the same level, and senior and junior at the same academy, that he could get this much. If it were a total outsider trying to get information on a specific main academy student, ten silver coins might not be enough.

But William Thompson wouldn’t let him get away with this. “If I say it’s not up to standard, then it’s not. If you’re going to cut corners like this...”

He bared his teeth in a sinister grin. “Don’t blame me for adding a little something extra to your weight-loss method... Forgot to mention, it’s already extremely hard to endure.”

The pretty boy was stunned at that. His eyes went wide, his mouth hung open, and his look of shock made it seem like he’d never seen this person before.

He stared in disbelief for a long while before finally spitting out two words, “Holy crap!”

William Thompson smacked his lips, grinning maliciously while shaking his head in mock regret. “Just how much harder will the weight-loss method be with something extra added? Tsk tsk... I almost feel sorry for you. But maybe you’re tough and can handle it—who knows?”

“William, you’re the best,” Ethan Shaw said with a miserable face, cupping his hands in a plea. He really didn’t want his weight-loss journey to become the other’s tool for venting. He put on a thick skin and said, “I really can’t get any more info. She even warned me.”

Hmm? William Thompson raised his eyebrows at that, and the malicious smile instantly froze on his face. That sounded... a bit off, didn’t it?