Ryan's expression was priceless, "Are you really not from the Johnson family of Texas?"
"That's right," William retorted dismissively.
"Then why the hell are you being so arrogant with me?" Ryan sneered, "You're poor, right? I bought the stuff for you, now pay up! One hundred thousand dollars! If you can't cough up the money, this issue won't be over today!"
"I don't have any money," William laughed, "If I did, I certainly wouldn't have had Lila buy these for me."
Wait, what?
The crowd in the dorm room was dumbstruck by his words.
His logic was flawless!
But if you don't even have the money to buy daily necessities, why are you being so cocky?
Is this the rhythm of eating soft rice?
"Do you think you're funny, or are you so handsome that my sister is going crazy for you?" Ryan asked through gritted teeth.
"Both, I guess," William mumbled.
Damn it!
Ryan felt a tightness in his chest. If he continued talking with this guy, he might just die of anger.
"Get him!"
Ryan was done talking. A punch would solve the problem more directly. After uttering these two simple and clear words, he turned around, not interested in watching William get beaten up.
Thomas, the president of the Taekwondo club who stood behind Ryan, smirked. Now was his time to shine.
Thomas clenched his fists, making a cracking sound, and slowly approached William.
William also stood up, "Are you going to fight?"
"Hey, pretty boy! Think you're so good-looking? I'll beat you up so bad!" Thomas, standing half a head taller than William, seemed to have an overwhelming presence.
The three other roommates turned their heads away in fear, not daring to witness this bloody scene.
William stood face-to-face with Thomas. As Thomas lifted his massive fist, William landed a punch on his nose.
"Ah!"
With that punch from William, Thomas's nose was immediately broken, blood gushing out. The nose is an extremely sensitive and fragile area. The intense pain made Thomas scream, tears streaming down his face.
William's punch seemed to have found its rhythm. After all, he too was trying hard to adapt to society.
This was a university, where in ancient times it would have been just a bunch of students without any fighting ability.
Disputes among students should be resolved through verbal arguments, but now it was down to physical confrontation. William didn't want to beat the guy across from him too badly, a light punch wouldn't cause serious injury or death.
The strength was just right.
It also helped William find his rhythm.
"Thomas, don't hit him too hard, aim for the face," Ryan said nonchalantly, assuming the earlier scream had come from William.
"I..." Thomas, both hands clutching his bleeding nose, had lost all interest in fighting William.
Ryan turned his head and was stunned once again.
What the hell was going on?
With Thomas's height, physique, and training, how could he be bloodied in the time it took Ryan to turn around?
Ryan's face darkened, "Damn it! Everyone, get him! Just make sure he's still breathing! I'll take responsibility if anything happens."
The boys' dormitory wasn't spacious, and there were beds on both sides. Even if everyone was ordered to join in, not all could engage at once.
One student lunged at William.
William's fist found another nose.
Yet another one charged at him.
Still, it was the nose...
In less than two minutes, the dorm was filled with screams of pain, everyone clutching their noses with blood everywhere. To an outsider, it could have been mistaken for a murder scene.
William turned and walked to the bathroom behind his bedroom, turned on the faucet, and washed his hands before slowly approaching Ryan.
Ryan felt a bit dumbfounded. When William had turned his back earlier, he should have slipped out of the dorm. What was he still doing standing around?
Seeing William approach, he quickly covered his nose.
This guy's skills were insane!
Over a dozen people, all with broken noses. It sounded easy to talk about, but doing it was a different matter entirely.
William smiled affably at Ryan, "I'm stepping out for a bit. You better clean up the blood, or I'll be causing trouble for you."
Ryan felt a chill run down his spine. Could this guy be the legendary expert descending from the mountain, a son-in-law entering the house through the back door?
William didn't pay any mind to his thoughts, opening the dormitory door.
The third-floor corridor was still crowded with people. When William came out, all eyes were on him.
But no one knew he was the one Ryan was after.
Since Ryan and his group had gone inside, and this guy was coming out, he must have been allowed to by Ryan.
William closed the door behind him, then under the watchful eyes of everyone, walked down the stairs.
Seeing William emerge unscathed, Lila finally let out a sigh of relief.
Once William left the dormitory building, Lila came up to him, "I wasn't really comfortable entering the men's dorm, so I had my brother buy the things for you. Are you satisfied with them?"
"Quite satisfied." William nodded, "Your brother is helping me clean up the dorm. Could you accompany me for a bit longer? I have some questions I'd like to ask."
Ryan was helping him clean up the dorm?
When she heard that, even Lila found it somewhat unbelievable. When had that brat ever been so sensible?
"Sure, whatever you need to ask, just ask." Lila still didn't know who William really was, but since her grandfather had instructed her, she would do her best.
As they walked side by side across the campus, William was always looking around, his attention not really on Lila.
"The question I want to ask may sound unbelievable to you, so don't be surprised. I just came out of the mountains, so there's a lot I haven't seen before." William began, then asked earnestly, "I noticed a lot of people holding a glowing object in their hands, their fingers constantly tapping on it. What is that?"
... Lila couldn't help but stop in her tracks, turning to stare at William.
Did he just say he came from the mountains?
Buddy, if you said you came from Mars, some might believe that too.
"That's called a smartphone. It's used to communicate, make calls. Look," Lila said, taking out her own phone, unlocking it with her fingerprint, "You can also play games, watch videos, listen to music on it..."
As Lila explained the uses of a smartphone, she found it hard to believe what William was saying and suspected he was possibly making it up.
A new strategy to woo girls?
William listened attentively. After all, there were no smartphones in the era before he went into deep sleep. The small device had so many functions; it felt like he had opened a door to a new world.