When Xu Song rushed from the Tao family ancestral home to the teacher’s office, he happened to run into Cai Hong’s mother—she had just stepped into the office door a moment before.

She was an omega lady adorned head to toe in the latest season’s fashion. In her right hand, she carried a Hermès crocodile leather platinum bag, while her left hand glittered with a diamond ring and matching high-end jewelry. Despite having gained some weight in middle age, she still retained her charm, hinting at traces of her youthful beauty.

Inside the office, Yan Yi couldn’t help but discreetly roll her eyes. If she hadn’t known in advance that this was Cai Hong’s mother rushing to the school after a call from Feng Hui, she might have thought she had stumbled into a fashion show.

“Really, Auntie, was it necessary to dress so extravagantly just to come talk to your son’s school?” she thought to herself, watching as the woman burst into tears upon seeing Cai Hong, repeatedly stroking his face and asking, “My dear son, what happened to you?! Who did this to you?!”

“If you cared this much about your son, Auntie, why is your makeup so flawless?” Yan Yi silently mocked, feeling like rolling her eyes on the spot.

Feng Hui, feeling somewhat helpless, cleared her throat to signal Cai Hong’s mother to temporarily halt her unnecessary wailing.

“Now that both sets of parents are here, I can begin. The reason you’ve both come amidst your busy schedules is due to an incident where our two children got into a fight at school.”

“A fight? My son looks like this and you call it a fight?!” Cai Hong’s mother pointed accusingly at Tao Fengche, incredulous. “Then why does he look perfectly fine?!”

“That’s because your son has a sharp tongue but weak actions,” Yan Yi mentally retorted.

Feng Hui, feeling a bit impatient, knew she couldn’t easily provoke any parent at this school, so she tried to calm the situation. “When the incident happened, I was in my office grading papers. A student from the class came and informed me, and that’s how I found out.”

She gestured towards Yan Yi, indicating that she was the diligent student who had gone to report to the teacher. “Yan Yi, could you please explain the situation to both sets of parents? Don’t be afraid, just tell them what happened.”

Yan Yi had been waiting for Feng Hui to say this. She and the class president were both female omegas and got along well. The class president had often ranted to her after the first parents’ meeting, saying that Cai Hong’s eccentricity was entirely due to his indulgent mother. His mother’s temperament was no better than Cai Hong’s, and she advised Yan Yi to never accept Cai Hong’s advances.

Yan Yi feared that once Cai Hong’s mother arrived, she would give Tao Fengche a hard time. She also worried that Feng Hui might bring in an alpha student who disliked Tao Fengche to describe the situation, putting all the blame on him. So she took two periods off to insist on testifying in person.

Fortunately, her grades were good, and Feng Hui, eager to resolve the matter, tacitly allowed her to miss class.

“Uncle, Auntie, here’s what happened. During the break after the first period, I, Tao Fengche, and Wang Yuan were chatting. Cai Hong suddenly mocked Tao Fengche, saying his family was about to go bankrupt and that he probably wouldn’t have money to go abroad next semester. He even insulted Tao Fengche’s parents.”

“Tao Fengche was already very angry. Wang Yuan managed to calm him down, and I told Cai Hong to stop talking like that, but he didn’t listen. He said Tao Fengche was a coward who only dared to hide behind omegas and wouldn’t confront him directly…”

“Then they suddenly started fighting. It was chaotic, and I was scared, but I’m sure Cai Hong did fight back. It wasn’t a one-sided beating like you think.”

…if you could call flailing against a single hand fighting back.

Yan Yi’s account of what happened seemed fair and just, but it subtly hinted that Cai Hong brought this upon himself. Feng Hui was taken aback. When Yan Yi first came to the office to inform her, she had only mentioned that Cai Hong provoked Tao Fengche, leading to a sudden fight. Feng Hui hurriedly called security and rushed to the classroom, not expecting there was more to the story.

“Insulting parents? What did Cai Hong say?” Feng Hui frowned.

Sensing the situation was unfavorable, Cai Hong’s mother immediately interrupted, “No matter what he said, it doesn’t justify beating a child like this, does it?”

She knew her own child well; Cai Hong’s mouth would never utter anything good. But now, he was the one beaten black and blue, while Tao Fengche seemed unharmed. Comparing the two, the logic still sided with her. Even if the other party was the Tao family, there was no reason to deny accountability completely.

The most urgent matter was to make this omega shut up quickly.

She cast an angry and reproachful glance at Yan Yi. But who was Yan Yi? The only omega of the Yan family in this generation, with an alpha brother doting on her since childhood, she couldn’t be easily intimidated.

Yan Yi finished speaking without a stutter: “Actually… Cai Hong often likes to mock Tao Fengche, but Tao Fengche never takes it to heart. The classmates in the class can testify to this. But today, Cai Hong went too far. He somehow found out about Tao Fengche’s father’s will and said that the reason his father didn’t leave the main shares of the company to him but to someone else was because that person was his father’s illegitimate child or lover.”

She blinked and added some context: “Actually, everyone knows that Tao Fengche’s father never remarried because he deeply loved his mother, and his father passed away just a week ago. Tao Fengche only returned to school today…”

Yan Yi didn’t continue, but it was enough.

Xu Song and Feng Hui’s faces turned dark and even Cai Hong’s mother’s previously arrogant expression changed.

Xu Song was angry and heartbroken; Feng Hui was shocked that the truth was like this, reflecting on her previous actions of calling the parents, which seemed to constantly poke at Tao Fengche’s unhealed wounds, making her feel ashamed. As for Cai Hong’s mother…

She never expected Cai Hong to say such things. Now that Tao Zhixing had passed, the Tao family had a new, unknown head, and although many were discussing the downfall of the Tao family, the saying “a starved camel is still bigger than a horse” held true. No one dared to bring this matter to light.

Moreover, no one could be sure of the relationship between “Sui Yuesheng” and Tao Fengche. It was a risky time to speak carelessly, yet who would have thought Cai Hong would dare to insult the deceased?!

Even though she felt for her son, she could only swallow her anger: “This matter is indeed Cai Hong’s fault, but he is still…”

She had decided to muddle through by emphasizing how badly Cai Hong was beaten to gain sympathy, but Cai Hong was uncooperative.

Being beaten by Tao Fengche was already humiliating enough, and now, when his mother finally came to support him, she still said he was wrong? He had his teeth knocked out by Tao Fengche, and he was still wrong?!

Cai Hong immediately shouted: “What did I do wrong? Mom, didn’t you just say a few days ago that who knows if Tao Fengche’s father really died of a sudden brain hemorrhage, maybe he was fooling around outside and died of a stroke!”

“Cai Hong!” Feng Hui couldn’t listen anymore and quickly scolded him.

Yan Yi was so disgusted by Cai Hong that she turned her head away, unwilling to look at him. On the other side, Xu Song, who had been standing by Tao Fengche’s side, also had a grim expression.

He slowly asked, “Is that true?”

Cai Hong’s mother’s face instantly turned pale. She never expected Cai Hong to be foolish enough to bring private matters to the table and even drag her down with him. Even if the Tao family was in decline, they were not a family they could afford to provoke, let alone…

In a fit of rage, she slapped Cai Hong hard, using so much force that her hand hurt from the recoil, showing no concern for motherly affection: “Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting? Apologize to Tao Fengche immediately!”

At this point, pursuing the matter of Tao Fengche hitting Cai Hong was no longer important; getting Cai Hong to apologize and seek the Tao family’s forgiveness was the priority.

While she was smiling apologetically at the Tao family, Cai Hong couldn’t understand his mother’s intentions. He felt extremely wronged, covering his face with his hands, full of disbelief: “Mom?! You actually hit me?!”

Cai Hong was an alpha, and his mother had never spoken harshly to him, let alone hit him. Today, she did so because of Tao Fengche!

The next second, another slap, just as hard, landed: “Apologize!”

Since saying “I have no family left” to Feng Hui, Tao Fengche had suddenly calmed down. He watched the farce before him with cold eyes, raising his hand to stop Xu Song from speaking. Only after Cai Hong received a third slap did he leisurely speak: “Actually, what Cai Hong said wasn’t wrong;I indeed have lost both my parents, and sometimes my actions are not quite appropriate.”

His words sounded like he was about to apologize. Feng Hui didn’t understand why he suddenly softened but couldn’t help but feel relieved, though her subconscious kept reminding her that things might not be so simple.

Sure enough, Tao Fengche’s next words took a sharp turn: “But I see some people… even with parents, they seem worse off than me without any parents, don’t they?”

He turned his head to Xu Song: “But then again, his father, whether present or absent, makes no difference, right, Uncle Xu?”

“Yes, young master,” Xu Song bowed his head, hiding the amusement in his eyes.

The young master had truly grown up, able to fight back without needing him to intervene.

The scandal in Cai Hong’s family was never a secret. His mother was a typical omega, relying on others to live. Her parents carefully chose a good alpha husband for her from a prestigious school, but once her parents passed away, the alpha immediately showed his true colors, revealing that the previous affection was all false, and kept numerous lovers outside, rarely coming home.

Tao Fengche’s remark was a figurative slap to both Cai Hong and his mother.

Xu Song remained unmoved, Cai Hong’s eyes turned red, Feng Hui looked troubled, and Yan Yi clapped internally for Tao Fengche’s subtle but sharp rebuke.

Cai Hong’s mother’s face was pale as she was forced to swallow her pride and apologize, looking entirely different from her previously arrogant demeanor.

If not for being in the teacher’s office, Yan Yi would have taken out some snacks to enjoy the show.