Chen Feng had actually just been trying to scare Qin Jiao. He’d never hit a girl in his life. He was incredibly agitated because of his mother’s situation, so he had just given a few half-hearted replies.

Sensing his dismissiveness, Lin Nian’s expression darkened.

A little while later, the two of them returned to the classroom. They both instinctively looked over at Qin Jiao, only to find her discussing a math problem with a complex solution with Shen Yi.

Shen Yi: "This is so complicated. It probably won’t be on the exam."

Qin Jiao: "We can’t get complacent. But let’s see if we can find a simpler way to solve it."

Their heads were almost touching, but there was no romantic tension between them at all. They were genuinely focused on studying.

When Chen Feng and Lin Nian saw this, the knot in their chests tightened.

It wasn’t long before the teacher arrived. Everyone pushed aside their personal distractions and dove into the intensity of their studies.

In the blink of an eye, the school day was over. Qin Jiao and Shen Yi were pushing their bikes side by side, heading out of the school gates. Just as they rounded a corner, someone chased after them from behind.

Chen Feng had been distracted all day. His face was grim as he said, "Qin Jiao, what exactly is the problem between you and Xiao Nian? Why do you keep targeting her?"

Qin Jiao had expected him to confront her about Li Xiaomei being a homewrecker. ’But he’s talking about *this* instead?’

’This male lead has to be an idiot!’

Qin Jiao said, "Chen Feng, for someone with decent grades, is your head full of cement? If Lin Nian hadn’t come looking for trouble, would I have snapped at her? Stop standing here, defending your mother one minute and your girlfriend the next. Go home and ask them what they’ve been up to."

"Why are you bringing up my mother again?"

"It seems you haven’t asked your mother. Go home and ask her properly."

Qin Jiao didn’t want to spell it out for him, but she also didn’t want Chen Feng to have it so easy.

He always thought he lived a wholesome life and had a strong moral compass. But his inherent bias toward Li Xiaomei and Lin Nian proved that he, Chen Feng, could never be a truly righteous person.

This was also why Qin Jiao could never, in two lifetimes, bring herself to like Chen Feng.

Chen Feng’s brow furrowed again. He was furious. ’How dare Qin Jiao bring up his mother again!’

He took a step forward, but Shen Yi, who was standing beside her, was a step faster. He moved to block Chen Feng from Qin Jiao. Shen Yi said, "Chen Feng, go back and tell your mother that if she still loves Shen Zhengfeng, I’ll help her."

Chen Feng’s eyes widened in a glare. "What do you mean by that!"

"Yesterday, when you all went to the movies, your mother left with a man for a little while, didn’t she?"

Chen Feng froze in place.

Meanwhile, Shen Yi had already told Qin Jiao, "Let’s go," and swung a leg over his bicycle. Qin Jiao immediately hurried to catch up. She said, "Shen Yi, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up. Lin Nian was just so infuriating, and I... I blurted it out without thinking."

Childhood trauma leaves a scar.

A father’s infidelity is an open, bleeding wound.

For Shen Yi, both were sources of pain.

Shen Yi: "Xiao Jiao, don’t blame yourself. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I was planning on letting Chen Feng know anyway. Why should he get to live such an innocent, untainted life after all the things his mother has done?"

Shen Yi’s voice was filled with mockery.

He still remembered it well. This was the same Chen Feng who had always lived so diligently, so full of sunshine and purity. Later, he would enter the Shen Family as the stepson and think of himself as some kind of savior.

It wasn’t until the very end that Chen Feng learned the truth: he was actually Shen Zhengfeng’s son, his paternal half-brother who was several months older than Shen Yi.

By then, Chen Feng had already become successful and famous. In the face of this devastating blow, he quickly composed himself.

He even went to Shen Yi and hypocritically professed his brotherly affection. ’How disgusting!’