"No Instagram?"
Ellie was taken aback for a moment, then she said, "I have."
William handed her his phone, watched her enter her number, took it back, and searched for her.
He tapped on the friend request and then put away his phone.
"Earlier..." Ellie asked halfway through, hesitating to continue.
William smiled and said, "Don't you think I was bullying people just now?" He had heard too many comments about him bullying others.
"I don't think so, they had a lot of people too," Ellie said, and then added, "It's their inability to fight back."
William was amused by her words and said, "He used to bully a boy at school, always threatening him to give him money. Later, he promised me he wouldn't bully him anymore."
"That was too much today, calling so many people to fight you," Ellie said with a serious expression.
Seeing Ellie's earnest face, William thought she was really innocent. He glanced at the book in her hand and said, "Went to the bookstore?"
"Yes, I came back when the bookstore closed," Ellie replied.
Ellie was holding the book in her arms, and when they were close to her home, she said to him, "I'm almost home, thank you for walking me."
"You're welcome."
William watched the slender figure leave.
Good students really love to say thank you.
On the way home, William realized the pain in his back was intense.
He pushed the door open and saw a woman sitting downstairs, dressed in a white dress, with delicate features, chestnut curls, and almond-shaped eyes, wearing an orange-tinted lipstick, talking to Philip across from her.
Philip, in a suit and silver-rimmed glasses, his usually cold face was smiling, his eyes seemingly glued to the woman in front of him.
At a glance, William knew who this woman was.
It was Scarlett, who had abandoned him.
"William," Scarlett heard the door open and stood up happily, looking at the child she hadn't seen in ten years.
William looked at her coldly without speaking.
"William has grown so tall," Scarlett approached him and said excitedly, "I'm your mom, I've really missed you all these years."
"I don't have a mom."
After William said this, Scarlett was stunned.
"How dare you speak to your mother like that?" Philip looked at William and scolded.
William sneered, "From the day she said she didn't want me, I've assumed I don't have a mom. I'm a person, not an object that you can take or throw away whenever you want."
He finished speaking and glanced at Scarlett, "If you missed me, you could have come to find me years ago, or at least called me. Were you afraid that bringing me along would be like dragging an oil bottle, affecting your chance to remarry?"
Scarlett's tears fell, and she grabbed William's arm, saying, "William, it was mom's fault, mom was too selfish. Please forgive mom, can you forgive me? I really have no other intentions, I just wanted to see you."
"Have you seen it now?" William finished speaking, pushed the door open, and was about to leave.
Philip grabbed him from behind and said, "Who said you can leave?"
William looked at Philip's hand on his arm and said, "Let go of me."
Philip raised his hand to slap William but was stopped by Scarlett.
Scarlett looked at the band-aid on his neck and said, "What happened to your neck? William, did you get into a fight?"
"None of your business," William shook off Philip's hand and left.
"Young master, young master, where are you going?"
William ignored the voices behind him and walked away directly.
The streetlights outside were on, with sparse stars hanging in the dark night sky.
William sat alone by the roadside, watching the traffic and people coming and going, realizing a bit late that his back was hurting intensely.
He stood up, hailed a car, and prepared to go to the hospital.
On the other side.
Philip watched Scarlett cry, his heart aching, patting her back to comfort her, "Don't cry, he's not sensible, don't blame him."
Scarlett cried and said, "I know I was wrong at the time, I'm sorry for him, but so many years have passed, I really miss him, I just wanted to see him, and he actually hates me so much."
William unlocked his phone and saw the Instagram friend approval notification, as well as a voice message from Daniel.
He clicked to listen to Daniel's voice message.
Daniel asked if he had gotten home.
William replied with a "Hmm."
Daniel called immediately.
William looked at the flashing phone and answered.
"William, William, did you send Ellie home?"
William said, "I walked her part of the way."
Daniel chuckled and suddenly heard the noise in the background on William's side, "William, why does it sound like you're on the street? Haven't you gone home?"
William said, "I came out."
"Is William not going home tonight? Stay up all night at the internet cafe? Send a location, I'll come find you."
William said, "No need," and hung up the phone.
On the other end, Daniel looked at his phone, a bit confused. He hadn't said anything wrong, had he? Could it be that William had something on his mind?
William walked into a pharmacy and said, "What medicine should I apply for a back collision?"
The doctor asked, "What did you collide with?"
"A steel pipe."
"..."
The doctor was silent for a moment, probably understanding what he meant, and then took two boxes of medicine from the shelf, saying, "This is the medicine for internal use, for treating bruises and injuries. I'll also give you a bottle of medicinal liquor. Remember to apply it."
William made a sound of agreement, paid, and left with the bag.
Daniel felt more and more that something was wrong and called again.
"What for?"
"William, are you in a bad mood?"
William was silent for a moment and said, "No."
"William, give me your address, I'll come find you."
"William."
"William."
"..."
William, unable to bear the noise, sent a location.
Daniel arrived quickly. He looked at William sitting by the roadside and said, "William, I'm here."
William glanced at Daniel running towards him in shorts and flip-flops and didn't speak.
Daniel noticed the medicine bag in his hand and said, "William, are you sick? Or are you feeling unwell? Is it a stomachache?" Daniel fired off several questions in a row.
William replied indifferently, "For bruises and injuries."
Daniel remembered the steel pipe and said, "William, wasn't it that bastard Yellow Hair who snuck up on you with a steel pipe?"
William made a sound of agreement and didn't say anything more, his face looking very cold.