Volume One, Chapter Five: Truly a Little Ungrateful Soul

Among the four great families of the capital, the Fu family stands at the pinnacle. Fu Shiyue genuinely had no idea which dark, obscure corner the Wang family had crawled out of.

His eyes were cold and chilling, and his thin lips curled into a mocking sneer. "Did they make their fortune selling scrap metal?"

The mother of the Wang boy turned bright red instantly; it was clear he had hit the mark. Feeling humiliated, she began to shriek, "Call the police! I'm not settling this privately. You assaulted someone, so you must go to jail!"

"Call the police?" Fu Shiyue gave a light scoff. "The police are already here."

"The police are here? Where?" The academic counselor craned his neck to look.

Wang's mother was dismissive. "Hmph, bluffing. I've seen plenty of your kind!"

Fu Shiyue looked at her with playful malice. "Are you really unaware of what your son has been doing out there? He has already been taken away by the police."

"What did you say? Don't try to scare me!"

She didn't believe him, but out of fear for her precious son's safety, she immediately made a phone call to confirm.

A moment later, she collapsed onto the sofa, limp. Her son, Wang Mingcheng, was already under investigation for suspected involvement in prostitution, gambling, and drugs.

"This is impossible! My son could never do such things!" She glared viciously at Fu Shiyue. "This must be your doing! You hit someone and now you're trying to shift the blame! Just you wait, I won't let you get away with this!"

To flaunt the Wang family’s influence and teach Fu Shiyue a lesson, she called her husband right there on the spot. "Hey, honey, our son has been falsely accused. You need to pull strings and get him out immediately."

"You foolish woman, who have you provoked out there? Every investor working with our firm pulled their funding this morning!"

Upon hearing this, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She cast a fearful, bewildered glance at Fu Shiyue and stepped aside, covering her phone. "What... what is going on?"

"The Bureau of Justice is investigating us! Get back here and explain yourself! If the company goes bankrupt, I’m divorcing you, and you won't get a single penny!"

Her face turned deathly pale. Ignoring everyone else in the office, she grabbed her bag and fled.

The counselor, seeing her rush off, was left confused. She had arrived with such aggressive momentum; why leave before the matter was resolved? He looked at the man in the office and cleared his throat. "And who are you to Lu Miao?"

"Her guardian," the voice replied coldly.

A guardian? The school had conducted a background check; Lu Miao’s parents were deceased, and she lived with her uncle. The counselor asked, "Are you Lu Miao's uncle?"

Lu Miao subconsciously looked up at the man. She stared at his cold, handsome face and pouted. He was hardly an uncle; he was more like a lapdog sent by her actual uncle to keep tabs on her.

To her surprise, the man didn't deny it. With his broad back blocking her from view, he asked, "Do you have something to say?"

The counselor sat up straight and began to lecture him sternly. "Mr. Guardian, as a parent, how could you lead by example and resort to violence?"

Fu Shiyue made sure he had heard correctly, let out a scoff, and pulled out a chair to sit down. "Then teach me: when my ward is being bullied, if I shouldn't use my hands, what exactly should I do?"

The sheer pressure in the room made the counselor break into a sweat. "Wang Mingcheng was indeed in the wrong, but that doesn't justify cracking his head open..."

Fu Shiyue nodded. "You're right. Cracking his head was too light." He should have crippled him.

The counselor wiped his brow. This "uncle" of Lu Miao’s seemed dangerous—if he were some kind of underground thug, he wasn't someone to be trifled with. "Regardless, hitting people is wrong. I'll go talk to Wang Mingcheng's mother another day and ask her to give Lu Miao another chance..."

"That won't be necessary," he said flatly. "The matter is already settled."

After today, there would be no more Wang family in the capital.

"Settled?" The counselor looked skeptical. The Wang family was so powerful; how could they possibly let Lu Miao off so easily?

Fu Shiyue didn't respond. He glanced at his watch, stood up, and hauled Lu Miao away.

The counselor frowned, finding him quite rude. "Lu Miao's uncle! There is a very serious matter I must tell you. Lu Miao failed all her final exams last semester! If she doesn't pass the make-up exams this time, she will face disciplinary action!"

Fu Shiyue turned back, expressionless. "Shouldn't that be a problem for your school to solve?"

The counselor was choked for words. It was his first time encountering someone who thought a child's poor grades were the school's fault.

"Lu Miao's uncle, I hope you realize the gravity of the situation..."

Fu Shiyue had no interest in listening further. "Don't waste time here. If you can't teach her well, I'll find someone else who can."

The counselor was so angry he could have exploded. He had seen doting parents, but never one so unreasonably protective. Truly, the upper beam is crooked, and the lower ones follow suit!

Lu Miao hadn't expected the man to be so unyielding in defending her against the teacher. She had assumed that someone as rigid as him would join forces with the teacher to lecture her, or at least report her to her uncle. She was genuinely surprised.

Once they were out of the office, Lu Miao tilted her head to look at him. "Why did you come?"

"Your uncle received a call from the school, and he had me come over to check on the situation."

"Oh."

"Nothing else to say?"

Lu Miao looked at him with her clear, black-and-white eyes. "Thanks. You successfully helped me offend the counselor."

Fu Shiyue lowered his gaze in astonishment. The little ingrate—he had cleared her trouble, and she wasn't even grateful.

"I'm going back to class." Lu Miao shook off his hand and darted away.

As she reached the stairwell, she heard a stern voice: "Lu Miao is in trouble again? What? Assault? Fine, fine, I’ve arrived at the school!"

Lu Miao froze. Why was *he* here too?!

Seeing the man coming up, she retreated two steps like a mouse spotting a cat, and then scurried back toward Fu Shiyue.

Fu Shiyue stood tall and still, watching calmly as she hurried away and then just as quickly hurried back. Lu Miao hid behind him. "My elder uncle is here. Quick, help me cover this up."

Fu Shiyue turned slightly, looking at the nervous girl behind him. He scoffed, "What does that have to do with me?"

He reached out to pull her out from behind him, looking detached and superior. Seeing Lu Guoxun emerging from the stairwell, Lu Miao grabbed Fu Shiyue's sleeve in a panic. "Help me this once, and I promise I'll repay the favor."

Fu Shiyue glanced at her small, pale hand clutching his sleeve. He raised his eyes slightly, staring into her damp, almond-shaped eyes, and said, "I'll consider it."

Lu Miao stomped her foot in frustration. Seeing him still looking so calm and breezy, she bit her lip. "What is there to consider?"

He said, with great gravity, "I had to cancel my lunch meeting to deal with your mess..."

"I'll buy you lunch! We'll go right now!"

Fu Shiyue’s lips curled into a lazy smile. "Deal."

As the word fell, he reached out and pulled Lu Miao’s head into his chest.

Lu Miao was stunned, her face flushing with shy annoyance. "What are you doing..."