The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 204: Exposing Ian Shaw

Ian Shaw stared intently at the paper in front of him. A gray pencil moved with incredible dexterity in his hand, leaving a mass of numbers on the white sheet. His handwriting was quick and scrawled; from a distance, it looked like random, nonsensical scribbles.

The camera panned over to him.

Renee Jennings immediately scolded him, "Ian Shaw, what are you doing? Why aren’t you paying attention to the lesson? Look at what all the other children are doing. Are you not feeling well, or..."

"I don’t like listening to your lecture," Ian Shaw said bluntly, his fair cheeks showing a hint of irritation at being disturbed.

Renee Jennings clenched her fists, her voice sounding as if it were squeezed through her teeth. "Well, well. You truly are Nina’s good little boy. Just like her. You two, mother and son, are really two peas in a pod!"

"Don’t you talk about my mom!" Ian Shaw suddenly dropped his pencil, like a little animal whose final line had been crossed.

In front of so many people, Renee Jennings had no choice but to suppress her anger. At the same time, she was glad she had found such a good opportunity to challenge him. "So you think you’re justified in doodling in class? Did you understand anything I just taught? Since you’re so smart..."

Renee Jennings flipped through the textbook. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she pointed to a page with the most complex characters. "Weren’t you saying you’re too smart to listen? Fine. Read this page. I’d like to see just how smart you really are!"

A hint of delight was hidden in the depths of Renee Jennings’s eyes. She had finally caught the perfect opportunity. Usually, Naomi Kenway would have planned a script with Ian Shaw in advance to establish his ’child prodigy’ persona. This time, she had found her chance and was determined to expose him!

The book was thrown roughly in front of Ian Shaw. The girl next to him, Carina Sanders, glanced at it, then frowned and raised her hand. After getting Renee Jennings’s permission, she said anxiously, "We haven’t learned these words yet. Little brother Ian is only in kindergarten, how could he possibly read them?! Aunt Rachel... Teacher, you’re being so unreasonable!"

Renee Jennings was unconcerned. "If he doesn’t learn his lesson, he’ll never study properly. I’m doing this for Ian’s own good. Being lax and turning a blind eye is the most irresponsible thing we could do for his future!"

Renee Jennings’s words all sounded reasonable, so Carina Sanders couldn’t say anything more. She just watched Ian Shaw with worry from the side.

Simon Sawyer also turned around, looking like he wanted to speak but holding back. His eyes were filled with worry.

Nathan Lynch kept his head down, lost in thought.

Jared Woods was gloating a little, sticking his tongue out smugly.

[Isn’t she deliberately making things hard for a kid? Why did Renee Jennings flip so many pages ahead? This is just blatant bullying!]

[Ian is only in kindergarten, it’s normal for him to be a little playful. Isn’t Renee Jennings overreacting a bit?]

[The words on the page Renee Jennings flipped to are obviously difficult for a little kid. Does she really need to be so harsh with a child?]

[What’s everyone ^above^ getting so worked up about? Weren’t you all just calling Ian Shaw a genius? Why are you now acting like ants on a hot pan...]

[This is a perfect chance to see Ian’s real ability. Everyone knows Naomi Kenway and Renee Jennings don’t get along, so this can’t possibly be scripted!]

[Why are Naomi Kenway’s fans all like this? If you ask me, Rachel didn’t do anything wrong. That kid needs to be taught a lesson, or his grades will never improve! No wonder he doesn’t have a single award. Now we finally see what he’s really like at school!]

...

Ian Shaw picked up the textbook. His expression was a little impatient, but he still began to read from it. His voice was soft and childlike, but his pronunciation was perfect, even for characters with multiple pronunciations.

After reading the passage, Ian Shaw handed the book back to Renee Jennings. "Is that enough? Get up."

His voice was very cold, completely different from how he acted in front of Naomi Kenway.

Renee Jennings was dumbfounded. She looked down and re-examined the passage she had chosen. ’There’s nothing special about it... Naomi Kenway couldn’t have predicted this... In that case...’

Renee Jennings’s gaze toward Ian Shaw now held a trace of wariness. An unprecedented sense of crisis washed over her, making her heart pound uneasily.

Ian Shaw picked up his gray pencil again without even looking up.

Renee Jennings left with a deep frown, having lost any reason to give Ian Shaw a hard time.

Carina Sanders’s eyes sparkled. "Oh my gosh, little brother Ian, just how much do you know? I’m almost too embarrassed to call myself your big sister."

In the front row, Jared Woods was still turned around, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

The comment section was also in an uproar:

[Let’s see who still dares to say this is scripted! It’s obvious our Ian is just plain smart, okay? He might be quiet, but his IQ is off the charts!]

[I think the reason Ian doesn’t listen to Renee Jennings’s class is partly because he dislikes her, and partly because he already knows all this stuff, right? So there’s no point in listening.]

[So this wasn’t scripted at all. Our Ian is a 24k genius! (proud)]

[Uh... it’s just a few words, isn’t it? Look how happy you all are. The other guests’ kids can probably read them too. Is it really worth praising him to the high heavens for this?]

[Why are there always people like this? You’re the ones who were shouting you didn’t believe it, and you’re the ones who just got proven wrong! And now you’re trying to move the goalposts. What we’re saying is that Ian isn’t what the haters claim he is. He’s an incredibly smart kid, just as good as any of the other little guests!]

[I feel like Ian has huge hidden potential, too. Nina and Ian are truly mother and son—they always manage to surprise us! I’m getting curious, does this mother-son duo have a lot more unique skills up their sleeves?]

...

Hope Primary School held regular pop quizzes, and as it happened, today was one of those days. The morning’s test was on language arts. Renee Jennings was helping another teacher hand out the test papers. Just as she was about to give a paper to Ian Shaw, the other teacher called out to her.

"Teacher Rachel... this little one looks very young. I heard he’s still in kindergarten. Maybe we shouldn’t give him one? These first-grade questions are still pretty hard for a kindergartener. I remember Mona is also in kindergarten, maybe she also..."

"No need," Renee Jennings said firmly. "Mona’s academic foundation is very solid. It’s fine for her to take the test with the others."

Her gaze then shifted to Ian Shaw, her eyes holding a hint of probing suspicion. "As for Ian... it’s not like we’ll miss one extra paper."

With that, she placed the test paper on Ian Shaw’s desk.

Unsurprisingly, Ian Shaw still didn’t look up at her, remaining completely engrossed in his own "nonsensical scribbles."

’Naomi Kenway’s child is just as rude as she is,’ a trace of displeasure rose in Renee Jennings’s heart.

Renee Jennings gave him one last look before returning to the front of the classroom. Her eyes scanned the room as she emphasized, "This is just a small quiz. No cheating, everyone."

Her gaze lingered on Ian Shaw for a particularly long time.