Chapter 38: The Most Popular Kid?

No matter how much he wished it wouldn’t, time marched on, and September 1st finally arrived.

Felix Ford had only found out yesterday that not only did he have to go to school, but he would be attending Sunshine Kindergarten—the very same school he had been at before!

He instantly started to panic. ’What do I do, what do I do? If I go there and Dad is waiting for me, won’t I be a sitting duck?’

’Pah! I’m not a turtle.’

The point was that it would be way too easy for his dad to catch him there. But it was impossible to tell his mom he wanted to transfer now.

He sat on the toilet, cupping his little face in his hands. His brow was furrowed in concentration, but he couldn’t come up with a plan.

KNOCK KNOCK—Amanda Vance knocked on the door from outside. "Jean, are you done?"

’Why is he taking so long in there?’

Felix Ford’s face turned red as he strained. "Almost done, almost done! Mom, just give me another minute, I’ll be right out!"

"Alright."

A little while later, he was finally done. He wiped his butt, flushed the toilet, and stepped onto a small stool to wash his hands. A faint odor still lingered in the air, and he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind. His eyes lit up, and he quickly dried his hands before running out.

Amanda Vance was sitting downstairs waiting for him. Hearing the commotion from above, she looked up and paused, confused. "Are you not feeling well? Why are you wearing a mask?"

"I’m fine." A muffled voice came from under the mask. He gave two deliberate coughs and said, "Mom, I think I caught a cold from the air conditioning yesterday. I can’t get the other kids sick, so it’s better if I wear a mask."

"A cold?" Amanda Vance touched his forehead. "Then let’s go to the doctor and get it checked out."

"No, no!" ’I’ll be exposed for sure if we go.’ Felix Ford waved his hands frantically, then realized he was overreacting. He quickly put on a pained expression and said, "The medicine is too bitter."

It was true that Jean hated taking medicine. Every time, it took ages to coax him into it.

Amanda Vance sighed helplessly. "Alright then, we won’t go for now. But if you feel sick at all, you tell Mommy right away. If I’m not around, tell your teacher first. Got it?"

"Mhm, got it."

She studied him for a moment. He really didn’t look sick at all, and a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. However, it was getting late, so she didn’t dwell on it and drove him to school.

He was a transfer student, so once they arrived, they filled out some paperwork. He waved goodbye to Amanda Vance, and a teacher came over to lead him inside.

He sneakily sized up the teacher. He recognized her—it was Ms. Young, the head teacher of Class 8. He’d seen her when he passed by her classroom before, but he didn’t know if she’d ever noticed him.

He had been in Class 1, and the two classrooms were pretty far apart. But when he remembered his "reputation" at this school, he felt a pang of anxiety. ’There probably isn’t a single teacher here who doesn’t know me, is there?’

At that thought, he yanked his mask up higher, covering most of his face and leaving only his eyes visible. They were round, big, and bright—the eyes of a very clever child.

Ms. Young couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times. Noticing the mask, she asked, curious, "Jean Vance, why are you wearing a mask? Aren’t you hot?"

Felix Ford used the same excuse. "I’m not hot. I have a cold."

"Oh, I see." Ms. Young said with concern, "Do you need to take some medicine then?"

"No, thank you. I already took some this morning."

"Okay, that’s good."

Sensing he wasn’t very talkative, Ms. Young didn’t press the matter.

At that same moment, a black Rolls-Royce pulled to a stop in front of Sunshine Kindergarten.

Jean Vance put his tablet into his backpack and started to get out of the car.

But upon seeing someone, he suddenly ducked back inside.

Amanda Vance watched Felix Ford walk inside, then took a quick tour of the school grounds. She nodded in satisfaction. ’As expected of Aethelburg’s finest kindergarten. The facilities are excellent, and the teachers seem highly professional. Jean shouldn’t have any problems here, right?’

Recalling her son’s past behavior in kindergarten gave her a bit of a headache. ’I just hope he behaves himself here.’

Seeing it was getting late, she headed for the exit. Just as she reached the gate, her phone rang. As she looked down to answer it, she caught sight of a familiar figure in her peripheral vision. When she looked up, she only saw a car door shutting.

She didn’t recognize the license plate.

’Must have been my imagination.’

She looked away and slowly walked off.

Jean Vance watched her get into her car before letting out a small sigh of relief.

Samuel Ford watched him, his eyes narrowing slightly. He followed the boy’s gaze and saw only the back of a woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but before he could place her, he heard the boy say, "You don’t need to pick me up after school. Just have the driver come."

He stared at the boy for a moment. He wasn’t throwing a tantrum; he was just calmly informing him not to come. That strange feeling surfaced again. But then, thinking of the DNA report at home, Samuel pushed aside his jumbled thoughts and gave a faint, "Alright."

Only after Samuel agreed did Jean Vance get out of the car.

’So, that kid, Felix Ford, attends school here too. If this man comes to pick me up every day, it’s very likely they’ll run into each other.’

’However, this is also a good opportunity to switch us back.’

Lost in thought, Jean Vance walked inside.

It was the first day of school, and with so many new children, the place was chaotic.

So, the first problem Jean Vance faced was finding his classroom.

He stood there, wondering which way to go, when a soccer ball suddenly rolled over and hit him on the ankle. It hurt.

He looked up at the children who had kicked the ball. A few of them were clustered together, and they stared back at him without a trace of fear. The chubby boy in the lead, Paddy, even made a face at him and shouted arrogantly, "Felix Ford! Aren’t you so tough? Go on, call your daddy to come stick up for you!"

As soon as he finished, the other children burst into laughter, and taunts followed.

"All you ever do is tattle, Felix Ford!"

"Well, what can you do? He’s got a super-rich daddy."

"So what if he’s rich? He still doesn’t have a mom. He’s just an unwanted stray."

"Yeah, a stray!"

"..."

A child’s tender voice, when laced with such malice, is not cute at all. In fact, it is all the more chilling.

Jean Vance looked at them, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

’The cutest and most popular kid in Sunshine Kindergarten?’

’Hah.’

Seeing that he wasn’t raising his fists to fight and was actually smiling, Paddy suddenly shivered for some reason. He had a feeling that today’s "Felix Ford" was a little scary. But he quickly shook the thought away.

’No way,’ he thought. ’Felix Ford is just a wimp who doesn’t even tattle when he’s bullied.’

’Besides, even if he does tattle, his dad will just throw a bunch of money at the school.’

’If he dares to hit us, we’ll just cry. And if the teacher calls our parents, our families might even get a huge pile of cash out of it.’

Who says kids don’t know anything? They’re experts at reading a situation.

With that thought, Paddy’s bravado returned. He shouted, "Felix Ford, what are you laughing at? Are you stupid or something?"

Jean Vance gave him a careless glance, idly tapping the ball with the toe of his shoe. "I’m not the stupid one here," he said lightly.

The moment he finished speaking, he kicked the ball with sudden force, sending it flying.

Paddy and his friends’ eyes widened in terror.