Chapter 95: You’re Dumb, Not Your Fault

After dealing with Miss Lynch, Rocco’s chattering seemed trivial. So, while Jean found him long-winded, he didn’t say much, simply leaning back in his seat to rest with his eyes closed. Not a single word Rocco said registered.

"Drink some water," Jean said casually as he was about to get out of the car.

Rocco was stunned for a moment. Seeing Jean’s cold expression, he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for his own throat. All that effort, wasted again.

Sigh.

’He’s so young, yet so temperamental. He’s impossible to please.’

Unaware of Rocco’s thoughts, Jean headed inside. As he approached the classroom for Class Eight, he spotted a kid wearing a face mask, furtively peeking inside. The boy wouldn’t say a word to anyone who approached him.

As Jean walked over, he heard Annie asking the boy, "Why are you wearing a mask? Do you have a cold? Or are you feeling sick? You look really familiar to me."

Felix Ford disguised his voice, saying, "You’ve got the wrong person."

His words only confused Annie more. She scratched her head. "But your voice sounds a little familiar, too."

’Idiot.’

Seeing that Felix was about to speak again, Jean stepped forward and grabbed him by the back of his collar.

Suddenly grabbed, Felix yelped. But when he saw who had caught him, he immediately swallowed his words.

"He’s here to see me," Jean said to Annie. After a moment’s thought, he added, "He’s one of my fans. He wants my autograph."

’What’s a "fan"?’ Felix was annoyed by his nonsense. ’I don’t admire him, I only admire Mom!’

But to his surprise, Annie cupped her face and gasped, "Wow!" Her eyes sparkled. "Jean, you already have fans? That’s so cool! Is he a fan of your gaming?"

He was the best gamer. All the kids in class loved having him carry them in games now.

"Yeah," Jean nodded, not wanting to elaborate. He started dragging Felix away. "I’m just going to have a quick word with him. If the teacher comes and asks where I am, could you let them know? I’ll be right back."

"Okay."

He led him to a deserted corner, a secluded spot where no one would notice them.

Jean finally let go, lifting his chin slightly. "Talk."

Felix took off his mask. "Now are you going to tell me what’s wrong with Miss Lynch?"

Jean had told him to think about her, and he had. The more he thought, the more he felt that she really was good to him. She played with him, cooked him delicious food, and always covered for him.

’How could someone as nice as Miss Lynch be a bad person?’

Jean didn’t answer. "You tell me what you thought about first."

Seeing that Jean was insistent, Felix had no choice but to share what he’d come up with.

As Jean listened, his expression grew darker. When Felix finished, Jean sneered, crossing his arms and looking at him with a hint of contempt. "Letting you play past your bedtime and messing up your sleep schedule, giving you candy when you were teething so you got a toothache, and constantly hinting that your father would marry another woman, have other children, and stop loving you—this is what you call ’good’?"

Felix had known since they first met that Jean was just like their father—a brilliant genius who looked down on ordinary people. To Jean, he was probably just a little idiot. But this was the first time he’d faced such arrogant mockery from him. The barrage of questions was too much to handle. He opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t think of a single comeback.

He was momentarily stunned. ’Could it be... he’s right? Is there really something wrong with Miss Lynch?’

His lips quivered. He asked, crestfallen, "So what did you find that was off?"

All of his earlier self-righteousness was gone, replaced by a gnawing insecurity. He was starting to really believe he was stupid.

Jean recounted what had happened yesterday.

This wasn’t the first time, actually. She’d often said things like that in front of Felix, but he’d never thought much of it. Now, after hearing what Jean said, it all seemed very wrong in hindsight.

"Every time she ’consoled’ you, did your opinion of your father ever improve?"

’No.’

’In fact, I’d resent him even more.’

Felix didn’t say anything, but the hands at his sides clenched into fists. He had really been deceived.

And for five years straight!

After a long moment, he snuck a glance at Jean and whispered, "I’m pretty stupid, aren’t I?"

He didn’t even dare to look at Jean’s face after saying it, immediately dropping his head.

Jean was about to say yes, but then he saw Felix with his head hung low, looking utterly dejected and filled with regret. Staring at the face that was identical to his own, he just couldn’t bring himself to agree.

He looked away and pursed his lips. "A little, maybe. But you’re still young, and she raised you. It’s hard to see things clearly when you’re in the middle of it. It’s not a big deal that you didn’t see through her. Besides, you’re not me. I can’t hold you to my standards. That would be unfair."

Felix grimaced. All his guilt and self-recrimination vanished. Looking at Jean’s nonchalant expression, his hands started to itch with the urge to punch him. That kind of "comfort" was more painful than being stabbed.

"Hmph! Don’t think I can’t tell you’re calling me an idiot. I’m smart, you know! Don’t get so smug."

Jean lifted his gaze and looked him up and down, then let out a dismissive "Oh," making his disdain for Felix’s words perfectly clear.

Now Felix was truly furious—even more furious than when he’d learned the nanny who raised him might be a bad person. He puffed out his cheeks. Knowing he couldn’t win an argument against Jean, he changed the subject. "So what’s your plan for Miss Lynch?"

"Cast a long line to catch a big fish."

"Huh?" Felix was baffled. ’Weren’t we talking about Miss Lynch? Why are we going fishing now?’

’Miss Lynch works for the Ford Family. If things go bad for the Fords, there’s no benefit for her. Her main job is to take care of Felix, and kids are hard enough to handle. If she makes his temper worse, he’ll throw tantrums and make her job even harder. Yet, she still chose to do this. Obviously, someone is behind her, making her do it.’

’She’s easy to deal with. The main thing is to find out who’s behind her.’

’That’s the person who really matters.’

But Jean didn’t share any of this with Felix. While Felix might act like a little tyrant at home whom no one dared to cross, it was only because he was backed by Samuel Ford’s authority. This protection had fostered his bad temper but left him naive and utterly lacking in cunning. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to notice something was wrong for so long.

"You don’t have to do anything. Just stick with Mom for now. And if you remember anything else, make sure to tell me."

"Oh."

Jean glanced at him again. "And stop pestering Mom to tell you bedtime stories every night. She works hard all day and gets tired. You’re five years old now. It’s time you learned to sleep on your own."

With that, he gave Felix another look-over before turning to leave.

Felix watched his retreating back and scratched his head. ’Why do his words sound so strange? His tone was so sour.’

’He must be jealous.’

’But wait, how did he know Mom tells me bedtime stories?’

’The moment the question popped into his head, he realized what had happened. Mom must have mistaken me for him.’

’Hmph. I bet he wouldn’t have the heart to refuse her.’

’A genius who still needs his mom to tell him bedtime stories so he can sleep. That doesn’t sound cool at all.’

’How does he have the nerve to look down on me? Hmph!’