Chapter 39: Don’t Go

The ball hit the ground with a THUD, landing right on his ankle—the exact same spot they had just kicked him.

Paddy was so scared he plopped right down on the ground, his face drained of color.

The other children all fell silent, staring at him with wide eyes. After a moment, one of them suddenly burst out with a loud "WAAAH!" With one crying, the rest immediately joined in.

The class teacher for the middle-year group hurried over. The moment she saw Felix Ford, she felt a headache coming on.

"Felix Ford, you’re bullying the other children again." She helped Paddy up and asked with concern, "How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Seeing the teacher, Paddy acted as if his protector had arrived, his confidence immediately soaring. He pointed a chubby finger at Jean and tattled loudly, "Ms. Bell, Felix Ford kicked the ball at me! My foot really hurts now!"

Ms. Bell looked down and, sure enough, a bruise was forming.

She frowned, looking at Jean with displeasure. "Felix Ford, it’s only the first day of school, and you’re already fighting."

Jean looked at her and frowned too. Seeing Paddy making a face at him from behind her, he let out a contemptuous scoff, adjusted the strap of his backpack, and started walking in the direction she had just come from.

Seeing his reaction, Ms. Bell’s frown deepened.

"Ms. Bell, Felix Ford has no manners," Paddy immediately added, fanning the flames.

"Uh-huh," Ms. Bell answered distractedly. Deep down, she probably didn’t want to offend his family, so she didn’t press the issue. She just warned the group, "You know he has a bad temper. Just stay away from him so you don’t get hurt."

’But they weren’t scared at all.’

’There were a lot of them and only one of him; he couldn’t win. All they had to do was cry, and Felix Ford’s dad would have to give them money. And every time they got money, their parents would buy them tons of snacks.’

Paddy’s eyes shifted, but he kept these thoughts to himself. Instead, he put on an obedient act and nodded. "Okay, Ms. Bell. We’ll listen to you. We won’t play with him. Nobody likes playing with him. Felix Ford is a bad boy."

’He’s a wild brat with no mom, too.’

He silently added this in his head, smart enough not to say it out loud because he knew the teachers didn’t like to hear it.

The mere mention of the boy gave Ms. Bell a headache. "Okay, okay, let’s get to the classroom."

’I hope I can get rid of that little terror soon,’ she thought. ’I’ve never seen such a mischievous child.’

When Jean walked into the classroom, quite a few children were already seated. Seeing him enter, they all instantly went quiet, staring at him with hostile glares, their eyes full of rejection and disgust.

Taking in all their expressions, Jean scanned the room before knocking on the desk of the nearest child. "Where’s my seat?" he asked coldly.

Although they loathed him, they also seemed a little afraid of him. Hearing his question, they unhappily pointed to a spot in the corner.

All the desks in the classroom were set up for two students, but his was a single.

It sat all alone in the corner.

Jean’s expression darkened. Without a word, he walked over to the desk.

With every student he passed, the child in the seat would shrink away, trying their best to put as much distance as possible between them.

’Most popular?’ Jean narrowed his eyes. ’I never thought that on top of being sloppy, messy, having bad handwriting, and being a disobedient troublemaker, Felix Ford would also have a talent for self-delusion.’

"ACHOO—!" Felix suddenly sneezed so hard it knocked his mask crooked. He rubbed his nose and frowned, puzzled. ’What’s going on? It feels like someone’s talking bad about me.’

’That can’t be right. I’m so cute, so well-behaved, and so smart. Who would say bad things about me?’

He cupped his chin, perplexed. The other children in his class had all spent the previous year together in the younger group, so they already knew each other well. They quickly found their friends and gathered in small groups to talk.

Felix pouted disdainfully. ’I don’t want to talk to a bunch of little kids anyway,’ he thought. ’They’re all just annoying bullies.’

Just as he was thinking this, someone suddenly tugged his arm. He turned his head impatiently and saw a little girl with a round face, big eyes, and two little pigtails. She asked in a soft voice, "My name’s Annie. What’s your name?"

"Jean Vance," he said, his face stiff. ’I don’t like playing with girls. They’re all such crybabies.’

’No, that’s not right. The boys at this preschool are always crying, too, especially Paddy and his gang. They’re the ones who bully me, but they’re always the first to run to the teacher. And the teacher always takes their side. They’re all so annoying.’

At the mere thought of them, his whole expression soured. Even with the mask on, his annoyance was palpable. The little girl was slightly intimidated but also curious. "Why are you sad? Did someone bully you?"

She tugged his sleeve and said softly, "If someone bullies you, you can tell the teacher."

Felix froze for a moment, then scoffed. He brushed her hand away and shook his little fist. "Only cowards and tattletales run to the teacher! A man should use his own fists to do the fighting!"

’What’s the point of telling the teacher anyway?’ he thought. ’She won’t believe me. She’ll just make my dad come and pay them off.’

Annie seemed taken aback by his words. She stared at him for a long moment before saying hesitantly, "But bad boys hit people. And nobody wants to be friends with a bad boy."

He snorted. "I don’t need friends anyway."

Annie thought for a long time but couldn’t think of anything else to say. Seeing the teacher arrive, she ran back to her own seat.

Amanda Vance received a call from Holly Vance. For once, his voice held a hint of vulnerability. "Megan, could we get a meal together? Dad has something he wants to talk to you about."

Amanda Vance narrowed her eyes, raised an eyebrow at his words, and lightly tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

"The address," she said nonchalantly.

The man on the other end sounded thrilled and immediately rattled off an address. Amanda’s eyes darkened, and the mocking smirk on her lips widened.

’After all these years, he couldn’t even be bothered to pick a different place. Does he think I’m a complete idiot?’

Hanging up the phone, Amanda started the car and drove toward the restaurant.

It was peak rush hour, and traffic was backed up for miles. She wasn’t in any hurry, though, and just drove at a leisurely pace. Partway there, she got a call from Hayden Grant.

"Have you heard? The Vance Family’s stock has taken a huge dive these past few days. The situation doesn’t look good."

Amanda replied with a simple, "Mm-hmm."

Now it was Hayden Grant’s turn to be surprised. "Was this your doing?"

"No." She hadn’t planned on making a move against the Vance Family just yet. But regardless of who was behind it, she was more than happy to watch the family’s misfortune.

"Then how did you know?"

"Holly Vance called me," she said, then chuckled. "He was on his best behavior. Even offered to treat me to a meal, at The Flores Hotel, no less."

On the other end of the line, it sounded like he shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly across the floor. His voice jumped an octave. "What?! You can’t go!"

He was clearly walking, his voice thick with anger and anxiety. "Have you forgotten what happened five years ago? That’s the same way he tricked you last time!"