"Of course not! She’s my rightful eldest daughter!"
Ernesto Scott angrily cursed.
"Calm down, calm down..." His friend paused for a mont, hesitantly asking, "Really not, huh?"
Ernesto Scott was baffled and yelled, "I’ve even gotten a certificate with her mom, didn’t you know?!"
"How would I know that! I only t you ten years ago!" His friend, taken aback, was a bit bewildered, "Why didn’t you say it earlier? People in the circle have been spreading rumors that she’s your illegitimate daughter."
"How co I didn’t know?!"
Ernesto Scott stared wide-eyed.
Friend: "..." How should I know that you didn’t know?!
Taking a breath, his friend patiently said, "Since you brought Nora back, this kind of rumor has been circulating. Seeing that you didn’t clarify, we thought it was true and didn’t ask much... Wait, did you really get a certificate with her mom?"
"No kidding!"
"Then you better clarify!"
"How do I clarify?"
Ernesto Scott was anxiously pacing in circles.
His friend was speechless, "You’ll need to seriously think this over..."
"Who spread this news?" Ernesto Scott frowned tightly.
He didn’t understand those online narratives.
However, he wasn’t a fool. To stir up such an uproar, surely soone was fuelling it from behind the scenes, and the mastermind definitely harbors malice towards Nora.
"This is easy; you have money, just have soone investigate."
On this point, his friend was well-versed and didn’t see it as a challenge.
"Also, who had such poor judgnt to misunderstand my daughter and ..." Ernesto Scott grew increasingly irritated.
The photos must have been taken by soone present at First Affiliated High School at the ti.
Student, teacher, or parent.
Whoever it is maliciously fabricating rumors to tarnish his daughter, if it’s a student, expel them; if it’s a teacher, fire them; if it’s a parent... they should also be held accountable!
*
In the morning, six o’clock.
Cloudwater Haven.
Marcus Shaw awoke on ti.
The curtains were drawn, blocking out the light, leaving the room in darkness.
He turned on the bedside lamp, and hearing the sounds of soone rolling over, he saw Andrew Hughes sprawled out in an awkward sleeping position, with the blanket kicked to his feet, making him frown.
Leaning over, Marcus Shaw pulled the blanket over Andrew Hughes, tucking it in for him.
"Marcus Shaw."
Half-asleep, Andrew Hughes opened his eyes a slit, sleepily calling Marcus Shaw.
He lifted him onto the pillow. Marcus Shaw instructed, "Sleep for another half an hour."
"Okay."
Andrew Hughes obediently closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
Seeing him lying properly, Marcus Shaw got up, quickly freshened up, and then took an English vocabulary book to the study next door, where he studied for half an hour.
Until his phone vibrating woke him up.
[Chatterbox]: Are you awake?
[Chatterbox]: Are you awake?
[Chatterbox]: Are you awake?
...
Once again, a non-stop spamming ensued.
Marcus Shaw didn’t feel like dealing with him.
[Chatterbox]: I bet you’re awake.
[Chatterbox]: Probably studying vocabulary.
[Chatterbox]: Let give you a heads-up about sothing to prevent you from impulsively hitting soone at school.
Seeing the last sentence, Marcus Shaw halted his motion to block Oliver Scott.
[Marcus Shaw]: What is it?
[Chatterbox]: Soone posted photos online from the day sis and my dad attended the parent-teacher eting and concocted so rumors. There’s also so not-so-great gossip.
[Chatterbox]: Netizens are curious about who sis went to the eting for, so they connected it to you.
[Chatterbox]: [Link]
[Chatterbox]: Stay calm.
Seeing Oliver Scott’s ssage, Marcus Shaw’s expression soured, but upon clicking the link, he cald down instead.
It was all his "dirt."
Such as: skipping classes, fighting, being insolent, arrogant, provoking teachers, frequently having parents called in... and so on.
Netizens comnted—
[And still not expelled?]
[First Affiliated High School, how could a student like this have gotten in? Was it by clinging to Nora’s connections?]
[Nora herself didn’t get into college, right, only has a high school diploma.]
[Skipping classes and causing trouble, emmm, definitely a bad boy role model. Apparently, just like Nora, siblings indeed.]
[Must have connections? This scumbag should have been kicked out ages ago.]
...
Sarcasm and sneers.
Most were directed at Marcus Shaw.
These petty critiques couldn’t even match a tenth of Nora’s verbal barbs. Marcus Shaw browsed through them without even a furrow of the brow.
[Chatterbox]: Are you okay?
[Marcus Shaw]: Have you ever been scolded by sis?
[Chatterbox]: ???
Unscathed by Nora’s retorts, Oliver Scott enjoyed special privileges without realizing it, and wholeheartedly cautioned Marcus Shaw.
[Chatterbox]: During the morning study session, a lot of classmates were talking about it.
[Chatterbox]: They all want to speak up for you.
[Chatterbox]: The greatest improvent in academic performance in the school’s history [thumbs up][thumbs up]
[Chatterbox]: Stay calm.
[Marcus Shaw]: I am calm.
[Chatterbox]: ???
[Chatterbox]: Are you still the one who snapped at the teacher?
Marcus Shaw didn’t respond.
Anyone who’s endured Nora’s sharp-tongued attacks would feel these online criticisms were toothless.
Moreover—
Judging from Oliver Scott’s Weibo post, the main target of netizens was him, and it had nothing to do with Nora.
Why care about attacks directed at him?
Marcus Shaw put down his phone, tried to morize so more vocabulary, but a thought about Oliver Scott’s words crossed his mind—
Parent-teacher eting?
After a brief thought, he picked up the phone again to ssage Oliver Scott.
[Marcus Shaw]: Who posted the photos?
Not sure how student elites have so much ti for their phones, as soon as Marcus Shaw sent the ssage, Oliver Scott replied instantly.
[Chatterbox]: It’s a small Weibo account, not sure who.
[Chatterbox]: At that ti, it should have been when the parent-teacher eting ended, not many students around, likely a teacher or parent.
[Chatterbox]: If it’s students or teachers, still within the school, could find out. If it’s a parent, then it’s tricky.
Whoever it might be, it doesn’t matter.
Using pictures from the parent-teacher eting day to spread rumors, results in the situation indirectly caused by him.
If they bring it straight to him, ignoring it is not in his nature.
[Marcus Shaw]: Do you have the Weibo link?
[Chatterbox]: Yes, I do.
[Chatterbox]: Why?
[Marcus Shaw]: Send it to .
[Chatterbox]: What for?
[Chatterbox]: In your pri, don’t beco a troll.
[Chatterbox]: Besides, with your language skills, you only know "um" and "oh," not qualified for such a demanding task.
"..."
Marcus Shaw didn’t respond to him.
Getting up, Marcus Shaw took a trip back to the bedroom, and not wanting to disturb Andrew Hughes, he grabbed his laptop bag directly and brought it to the study.
Opening the laptop bag, he took out the laptop inside, placed it on the desk, and powered it on.
...
Ten minutes later.
After packaging all the materials, he anonymously sent them to the principal’s email.
Marcus Shaw closed the browser.
"Marcus Shaw."
At the study door, Andrew Hughes’s voice called out.
Sealing up the laptop, tossing it into the bag, Marcus Shaw glanced towards the door, "What is it?"
Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Andrew Hughes struggled against a yawn, asking, "Are you making breakfast?"
"Yes."
Normally at Cloudwater Haven, if Nora explicitly stated she couldn’t get up, or if she wasn’t there, Marcus Shaw wouldn’t make breakfast, to save ti.
But, if Nora wanted breakfast, he would usually make it.
Just that there’s limited ti, and he couldn’t make all those extravagant dishes next door with Jack Carter and Butler Loxley, at most just so noodles or a simple fried rice.
"Then make it taste better," Andrew Hughes lowered his hand, earnestly stating, "I boastfully told Nora yesterday that last night’s noodles weren’t up to your usual standard."
Marcus Shaw: "..."
So what made you boast about this tiny bit of culinary skill?
Ignoring Andrew Hughes’s comnt, Marcus Shaw walked outside without saying a word.
Andrew Hughes blocked his way.
Marcus Shaw sidestepped him.
Andrew Hughes hugged his leg.
Marcus Shaw had no choice but to stop.
"What now?" Marcus Shaw asked, feeling exasperated.
Looking up, Andrew Hughes insisted seriously, "Make it taste better."
"...Got it."
Marcus Shaw agreed through gritted teeth.
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