He just moved here, and indeed overlooked the convenience store at the entrance of the neighborhood. He explained, "What I wanted to eat, that store just happened to sell out." "What delicious food makes it worth crossing the street to buy?" Tanya asked with a smile. Julian calmly took a random piece of bread from the bag. "This, it tastes pretty good." Tanya nodded, "Then I’ll try it next time." Julian smiled, "Since we ran into each other, why not find a place to eat before heading back? After all, we live in the same neighborhood and the same building." Tanya was a bit surprised: "You live in the same building too? What a coincidence!" Julian kept his composure: "Yes, I left in a hurry in the morning, didn’t have time to tell you." Considering she’d have to work overtime at home, Tanya wasn’t keen on cooking and was about to agree to find a place to eat with Julian. Just then, her phone in her bag rang. "Sorry, I need to take this call." Tanya took out her phone, and the caller ID showed it was Joy’s homeroom teacher, Ms. Underwood. She felt a tinge of unease and quickly answered, "Hello, Ms. Underwood." "Joy’s mother, I’ve called Joy’s father but no one answered, so I had to call you," Ms. Underwood said seriously, "Can you please come over now?" Tanya grew tense, "Is something wrong with Joy?" "Joy is quite alright..." Ms. Underwood, standing outside the hallway, glanced through the window at the office, where two little boys, beaten black and blue, and their furious parents were present. She rubbed her temples in frustration and continued, "But, the other two kids aren’t doing so well." Tanya guessed it was a conflict involving Joy and other kids, and she said quickly, "I’ll be right there!" She put down the phone and explained to Julian, "My daughter had some issue at school, I need to go over now. I’ll be on my way." Julian: "Let me give you a ride. My car’s just by the roadside. It’s difficult to get a cab during rush hour." Tanya nodded: "Thank you, that would help." So, she got into the passenger seat of Julian’s car and gave him the school’s address. Seeing her worried face, Julian silently increased the car’s speed. Soon, the car arrived at the school gate. Tanya opened the car door and hurriedly walked into the school. Julian followed closely behind her. At this time, most other children had been picked up from the school, leaving the campus empty. Tanya saw the driver responsible for picking up Joy and Caden, just beneath the office building. "Ma’am," the driver called out. Tanya didn’t have time to correct the form of address, she asked urgently, "Where are Joy and Caden?" "Missy is on the third floor, in Ms. Underwood’s office. Young Master and their genius class are in the Redstone Building on the other end, today there’s a lecture by a famous scholar, which will end in ten minutes," the driver said helplessly, "I’m just a driver, it’s not appropriate for me to intervene in Missy’s affairs. I rang Sir several times but he didn’t answer." "..." Such irresponsibility, what right does he have to be the father of the two children?! Tanya suppressed her anger and proceeded upstairs. As she reached the third floor, she heard a sharp female voice. "What’s wrong with this little girl? How did your parents educate you? At such a young age, you dare to beat up classmates at school; when you grow up, are you planning to commit murder and arson?!" Another woman’s disdainful and harsh voice followed. "A morally corrupt child like you is just a bad seed! If I were your mother, I would’ve aborted you when I was pregnant!" Joy shouted in anger, "I’m not a bad seed, and you are not my mom, my mom didn’t abort me! Brother said, our mom became a vegetable to give birth to us!" The woman sneered coldly, "So you were born without a mother to raise you, no wonder you have no manners or qualities!" "You...!" Joy, being small, couldn’t find words to argue back. She just stared angrily at the two heavily made-up women in front of her, clenching her small fists tightly. "What? You dare to hit adults too?" One of the parents said, seeing that Ms. Underwood wasn’t around, she suddenly rushed up to Joy, "Today, I’ll discipline you on behalf of your mom!" "If you dare to lay a hand on my daughter, no one is leaving through this door today!" A cold, angry voice suddenly echoed. Joy, originally scared and shrunk her neck, at hearing this, turned to see Tanya walking in, her nose tingled, almost breaking into tears. Tanya reached out her hand to her. Joy hesitated for a second, then ran over to her and hid in her embrace. The two parents exchanged a glance, scrutinizing Tanya with unfriendly eyes. "Are you Joy Hawthorne’s mom?" "Yes," Tanya also saw the two little boys sitting next to them, about Joy’s age, obviously beaten up and not lightly either. "Your daughter beat our children , if you don’t give us an explanation today, I’ll tell you, this won’t end well!" Ms. Underwood hurried back from the restroom. Seeing Tanya protecting Joy, she instantly guessed her identity. "Joy’s mom, you finally came." Tanya, protecting Joy in one arm, looked at Ms. Underwood, "Teacher, what’s going on here? Our Joy wouldn’t hit people without a reason." Joy couldn’t help but sneak a look at her, unable to describe what she felt inside, she only hugged Tanya’s arm tighter. Before Ms. Underwood could speak, the two mothers dragged their beaten sons over and cried out for justice. "You dare say this little bastard doesn’t hit people? Look what she did to my son!" "Exactly! If anything happens to my son, I swear this won’t end peacefully with your Hawthorne family! Just because the Hawthorne family is powerful doesn’t mean you can bully us! Neither of our families is so easily bullied!" Every student enrolled here comes from a family with some background. Though maybe not as influential as the Hawthorne family, they wouldn’t swallow their anger either. As soon as the word ’bastard’ came out, Tanya covered her daughter’s ears with her hand. "We’re all mothers here, there’s no need to attack my child ." Tanya looked at the two well-dressed, furious young women, "Ladies, let’s discuss this calmly. If Joy is indeed at fault, as her mother, I will surely take full responsibility." Ms. Underwood hurriedly tried to mediate, "Yes, yes, let’s all just talk it out, Mrs. Tian and Mrs. Joel!" Mrs. Tian said impatiently, "What’s there to talk about? The surveillance caught it all. That brat of a girl rushed up and pinned my son Tian and his good friend Joel to the ground and started hitting them! It’s just so violent!" Tanya looked over at Ms. Underwood, seeking confirmation from her. Ms. Underwood then pulled up the surveillance footage for Tanya to review. From the footage, Tian and Joel were near the back door, seemingly waiting for someone. Suddenly, Joy charged out from behind, kicked Tian’s backpack, and Joel, seeing this, tried to fight back. Joy nimbly dodged and then landed two punches... Julian Poole had followed Tanya in, but in such a situation, his presence was awkward, especially with two mothers involved, so he refrained from intervening. Julian Poole stepped forward and saw Joy’s moves in the surveillance. Though inexperienced, it was clear she had training; moreover, the little girl was quite talented. Her face was small, but her chubby fists packed a punch. Taking on two at once and not losing ground. Tanya quickly realized that Caden must have secretly taught Joy. After all, Caden’s inheritance training included combat skills to be started from a young age. After watching the footage, Tanya squatted down to meet Joy at eye level. She asked sternly, "Joy, why did you hit those two kids?" Joy suddenly shouted angrily, "They deserved it! Who told them to bully someone first!" Mrs. Joel shot back harshly, "Don’t try to play the victim here! My son is the sweetest!" Tanya squatted down, placing her hands on Joy’s shoulders, "Joy, you tell Mom. Who did they bully?" "..." Joy pursed her little lips, unwilling to speak, "I can’t say." Mrs. Tian immediately shouted seeing this, "This little brat not only hits but lies too! I bet she lies all the time at home as well!" Joy twisted the hem of her clothes uneasily with her little hands, her big, dark eyes staring at Tanya, tears silently welling up. Indeed, she had told this woman many lies before, even falsely accusing her of stealing her aunt’s bracelet... She probably wouldn’t believe her now. At this moment, Joy fully realized how painful it was to be wronged. Teardrops as big as beans rolled down. "Sorry..." she whispered an apology. The sight of her daughter’s tears, as if they landed directly on Tanya’s heart, softened it entirely. She knew what Joy was apologizing for. She had been waiting for this... Tanya pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, gently stroking the back of Joy’s head, whispering, "Joy, you tell Mom. Did you lie this time?" "Okay." Tanya released her daughter, gently wiped the tears from her face, saying softly, "Mom believes you. If you don’t want to say, there must be a reason, and Mom won’t push you." Joy hesitated for a moment, then cried even harder, suddenly hugging Tanya’s arm. Mrs. Tian and Mrs. Joel were not satisfied. "What good is your belief? Our sons were beaten , and you need to give us a satisfactory explanation!" Tanya stood up and shielded Joy behind her, bowing down ninety degrees to the two mothers to apologize. "I’m sorry, regardless of the reason, Joy was wrong to hit your children, and I failed as her mother. I apologize to you both." Behind her, Joy was stunned, and then tugged on Tanya’s hand with all her might, her face flushed from holding back, trying to pull her up. "Mom, don’t apologize!" She finally called her mom for the first time. Tanya’s heart trembled fiercely. Mrs. Tian sneered, "A simple sorry isn’t enough. If you’re truly sincere, get on your knees and apologize, then we’ll discuss compensation!" Joy, in a panic, shed tears. She spread her arms and stood in front of Tanya. "No! I won’t allow you to kneel and apologize!" Ms. Underwood frowned too, but she couldn’t afford to offend any of these parents! And there was solid evidence that Joy had hit someone. Julian Poole, who had been quiet, could no longer bear it and finally spoke up, "Aren’t you going too far?" "And who are you? I remember President Hawthorne doesn’t look like you?" Mrs. Tian squinted her eyes, glancing maliciously between Julian Poole and Tanya, letting out a piercing laugh, "Oh my, Joy’s mom, you do have quite the charm, and guts too, daring to openly bring an outside man to your daughter’s school." "You!" Julian Poole was furious, for the first time, wanting to lay hands on a woman. "Julian, wait for me outside." Tanya said softly. Right now, resolving her daughter’s issue was most important. At this critical moment, a small figure appeared at the office door, timidly saying, "It’s not Joy’s fault..." Everyone turned to the door to see a thin little girl standing there, looking timid, speaking softly, and not daring to meet anyone’s eyes. Due to her slenderness, her eyes appeared unusually large, yet she resembled a frightened little animal, full of insecurity. As if any slight movement could scare her. Tanya immediately recognized her as the little girl she saw leaving when dropping Joy off at school. Ms. Underwood exclaimed in surprise, "Abby?" Abby slowly walked in. "Teacher, Joy hit them to protect me." Abby hung her head, extending her trembling finger to point at Tian and Joel, "They made me do their homework and took my pocket money. Joy protected me, she’s really nice. She took my protection money and has been looking out for me ever since..." Tanya was initially proud of her daughter but felt her pride shatter upon hearing the words "protection money." She couldn’t believe it. The source of thɪs content is 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱 "Joy, you took protection money?" Joy looked a little embarrassed, "At home, I’m not allowed to eat spicy snacks, so I just asked her to bring me a little pack every day, since it’s on her way..."