"Damn, do you guys know? Today William straight up beat up a guy from Class 6 in the corner, his face was swollen, and I heard that guy has good grades, even won a scholarship a few years ago."
"The person you're talking about who got beaten up, isn't that Matthew from Class 6?"
"It's him, it's him."
"Let's not discuss this anymore, William is coming this way."
The young man wore his blue and white school uniform with a casual flair, the top button undone, his pitch-black eyes contrasting sharply with his cold white skin, making him seem unapproachable.
After he left, those people let out a sigh of relief, wondering how much of their conversation William had actually heard.
Daniel overheard most of the conversation and spoke up angrily, "Those people are gossiping without knowing anything. I think William should have beaten that animal to death. It's disgusting. He puts on a good student facade, but behind the scenes, he's not doing anything human."
He wished he could confront those ignorant people, throw Matthew's disgusting deeds in their faces, and show them who Matthew really is.
Hao Ming spoke up, "William, do you want to explain? Now everyone thinks that animal is the victim, that it was William who bullied him."
William heard this, looked at the two of them, and said, "Let them talk." Anyway, he's not a good person, and if this matter gets out, that girl might not be able to stay in school.
——
"Matthew, was your face really hit by William?" A boy looked at Matthew's swollen face and asked doubtfully.
Matthew thought of William's black eyes and words from yesterday, and he was still a bit scared, but then he thought, William definitely wouldn't tell anyone about this, so he could say whatever he wanted.
He touched his injury and pretended to be afraid, "Yes, I don't know how I offended William. I've never seen him before, let alone spoken to him. He suddenly beat me up, and my face still hurts."
Another chubby girl spoke up, "Damn, that's too much. He can't just pick on someone randomly, can he?"
Matthew said, "I don't know what I did to provoke him."
"Wow, your face is so badly hurt, do you need to go to the hospital to get it checked out?"
"Those injuries on your face look really painful."
"You are so unfortunate, Matthew."
He was surrounded by people, enjoying their sympathy as if it was his due.
When something happens, people tend to naturally side with the so-called weak, thinking they are the ones being bullied. Matthew is taking advantage of this mentality, but these people are really stupid, believing everything he says.
The news of William hitting someone spread to Class 17 through other classes.
However, most people in Class 17 know William quite well. William seems to care about nothing, but he is protective of his own. When someone first came to the class to provoke, the students were bullied.
The guy who always seemed to be sleeping in the back row picked up a stool and charged at those people, kicking over a group with one person, his expression cold: "Don't fucking come to Class 17 to provoke."
Although William always loves to sleep, since then, almost no one has come to Class 17 to provoke.
——————
At noon.
Matthew was talk endlessly the people around him about William's misdeeds, portraying William as a school bully who randomly bullies classmates.
William and Daniel had just finished buying lunch when they saw Matthew walking into the cafeteria.
Daniel felt like his eyes were polluted, seeing that filthy thing again.
Matthew met William's gaze, and the memory of the teenager pressing him to the ground and punching his face over and over yesterday came to his mind. He was in so much pain that he thought he was going to die, but the teenager showed no intention of letting him go.
"Matthew, is this the William who bullied you?" The boy next to Matthew whispered.
"Yes, it's him."
Matthew realized that they were in the cafeteria, in public, and William couldn't do anything to him. As he passed by William, he quietly said a derogatory phrase.
William glanced at him, slammed the plate in his hand onto Matthew's head, and in an instant, the sauce from the food flowed down from Matthew's head.
William grabbed his collar and said, "Shut up." Then he threw Matthew to the ground.
The incident from yesterday was already the talk of the town, and this sudden event attracted the attention of almost everyone in the cafeteria.
Everyone forgot about their meals, their gazes all focused on the group in an instant.
Gossip is probably something no one dislikes.
Daniel said, "Matthew, are you just asking for it? Didn't you get enough beating yesterday? Do you have to provoke us with a smart remark?"
Matthew retorted, "What did I say? Why are you hitting me for no reason?"
The boy next to him also spoke up, "This is school violence. You can't just hit someone for no reason, it's too much."
Even Hao Ming, who had a good temper, was speechless. He said to Matthew, "Hit someone for no reason? That's funny. William never hits 'people'. What goes around comes around, if you don't have shame, don't ask why others are doing this to you."
William squatted down, looking at the embarrassed Matthew, and whispered, "Keep jumping around, I promise you won't even be able to leave this school."
It wasn't until William left the cafeteria that everyone felt the pressure was gone.
The boy next to Matthew helped him up and said, "Matthew, they are just too bullying, why not tell a teacher?"
"No need." Matthew thought of the teenager's gaze just now, shrank his neck in fear, and said to the boy next to him, "I'll go back to the dorm to change my clothes, all my clothes are dirty."
"Do you need me to accompany you?"
"No."
After leaving the cafeteria, Daniel was so angry he felt like exploding, cursing, "Fucking idiot Matthew, did he not get enough beating yesterday? Today he still dares to provoke us, and even has the face to ask why we hit him. I'm dying of laughter."
William pursed his lips and didn't say anything.
After Daniel finished cursing, he was still not satisfied. He looked at William, who had a cold face, and said, "William, don't care about that idiot, he's not even human. If he's a good student, are there any bad students in the world?"
Speaking of good students, a person came to William's mind who spoke earnestly, like a primary school student. He said to Daniel, "I don't care."