The incident quickly alarmed the principal of Yinshan Academy. When she arrived at the scene and learned the truth, she was instantly furious.
"Teacher Li, how could there be such a malicious student in your class?" The principal frowned at Li Chunhua.
At this moment, Li Chunhua was filled with regret. He never expected so many students would fabricate false testimonies, making the situation far more difficult to resolve.
"Parent, on behalf of the school, I sincerely apologize. This was all just a misunderstanding," the principal said, clearly eager to avoid escalating the matter as she spoke politely to Ye Shuang.
As a long-established institution, Yinshan Academy's reputation was paramount. With the rise of short-form video platforms, news could spread rapidly, and she didn’t want this incident to affect next year’s enrollment quotas.
"You casually slandered my child. If this had happened to someone else, imagine the suffering they’d endure," Ye Shuang said coolly. "I expect the school to give me a satisfactory resolution."
"Of course! Absolutely. Why don’t you take your child home first? I’ll give you a proper answer by tonight," the principal assured him immediately.
Ye Shuang accepted the offer but then turned to Wu Ya, who was still pale-faced on the floor, and smiled. "I don’t mind dragging this out. After all, I’m just an unemployed drifter. But if anyone touches my kid, I’ll gladly drag you to jail with me."
Wu Ya felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss, her fear skyrocketing. She never expected Bai Yuyou’s family to have such a terrifying, unreasonable thug who would slap her without hesitation.
Wu Ya didn’t dare call the police—after Ye Shuang’s intimidation, she was convinced that if she did, she’d be the one ending up behind bars.
After all, she had been the one who falsely accused Bai Yuyou in the first place.
She had initially hoped to escalate the situation and humiliate Bai Yuyou further, but now, she was the one left in disgrace.
"Oh, by the way, who made you fall earlier?" Ye Shuang suddenly asked, as if remembering something, and glanced at Bai Yuyou beside him.
"Pushed," Bai Yuyou answered softly, pointing at the biology teacher.
The biology teacher’s face instantly drained of color. Already ashamed for wrongly accusing the girl, he now stammered awkwardly, "It—it was a misunderstanding..."
He was terrified of Ye Shuang. If the man decided to slap him, regardless of the outcome, the humiliation alone would be unbearable.
"A misunderstanding? Next time, I’ll ‘misunderstand’ shoving your kid into a ditch, how about that?" Ye Shuang said flatly. "I believe your child just started kindergarten, right?"
The biology teacher froze, his face turning deathly pale. How did this man know?!
How did he know about his child in kindergarten?
He wasn’t even married! The child was secretly born with his cousin!
A wave of inexplicable fear surged through him. He felt completely exposed before Ye Shuang, as if the man had somehow uncovered all his secrets in mere moments.
Slap!
To everyone’s shock, the biology teacher suddenly slapped himself across the face, then bowed deeply to Bai Yuyou. "I’m sorry, student! It was my fault for jumping to conclusions without verifying the truth!"
Bai Yuyou watched blankly before instinctively looking at Ye Shuang, who gave her a slight nod.
She mirrored the gesture, though she didn’t fully understand. But if Ye Shuang approved, then this must be the right thing to do.
"Let’s go. No school today—we’re going home," Ye Shuang said, gently ruffling the girl’s hair.
Bai Yuyou lifted her delicate face, and upon hearing she could spend the day with Ye Shuang, she nodded eagerly, like a little chick pecking at grains.
With that, Ye Shuang led Bai Yuyou out of the office and straight out of the school, under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
To show goodwill, the principal and a few teachers followed them outside, offering more apologies, while curious students trailed behind, eager to witness the drama.
"Enough with the pleasantries. Just make sure the school handles this properly," Ye Shuang said as he started his sports car and motioned for Bai Yuyou to get in.
Though not extravagantly expensive, the car was far beyond what an average family could afford. The teachers exchanged glances, silently reassessing the situation.
The biology teacher, in particular, sighed in relief—thank goodness he hadn’t stubbornly resisted that man.
Ye Shuang drove off, Bai Yuyou sitting quietly in the passenger seat.
As they merged into traffic, she suddenly spoke in a soft voice, "I’m sorry..."
"Hmm? What for?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Your face… does it hurt?" Bai Yuyou’s gaze lingered on the scratch marks left by Wu Ya’s nails.
"It’s nothing," Ye Shuang chuckled dismissively.
"I won’t do it again," she murmured.
"You didn’t do anything wrong," Ye Shuang reassured her with a smile. "Like I said, if you can’t handle something, leave it to me."
"Most of the time, these things aren’t your fault. You shouldn’t have to endure them."
"Just keep moving forward bravely. You deserve a better life."
Bai Yuyou stared at his profile, recalling how Ye Shuang had shielded her like an unshakable mountain, bearing the brunt of everything in her stead.
"The Ye Shuang just now… wasn’t like Ye Shuang," she suddenly remarked.
"What do you mean?"
"That Ye Shuang… was a little scary," she admitted.
Ye Shuang couldn’t help but laugh, lightly flicking her forehead.
"Silly girl."
Bai Yuyou covered her head with both hands, looking utterly innocent.
"I acted that way to intimidate those bullies. People like that only understand force—if you keep tolerating their nonsense, they’ll just push harder."
"Remember, letting others walk all over you until you snap is the dumbest approach. Sometimes, throwing the first punch is the most effective. And once word gets around that you’ve got someone tough backing you up, future troubles will be fewer."
Ye Shuang continued, "As long as you’re in the right, no one has the right to blame you."
Bai Yuyou nodded thoughtfully. "So… if I’m right, I can use my fists?"
"Silly girl, we live in a civilized society. No need for fists," Ye Shuang flicked her forehead again.
She blinked her beautiful eyes, wincing slightly as she shrank back.
"Most of the time, reasoning works better."
"Using violence is the lowest form of problem-solving," Ye Shuang lectured.
"But..."
Ye Shuang already knew what she wanted to say. He grinned. "But you should still know when to use your fists. Even if it’s the lowest form..."
"It sure feels good."