Felix Thorne stopped, planting one foot on the ground. He looked at her mockingly. "It’s perfectly natural for my wife to keep me in line. I’ve kept a tab on all the meat you bought on credit. It comes to twenty-eight yuan. Time to settle your bill!"

Phoenix Golding’s breath caught in her throat, and she was half-dead with rage. She gritted her teeth. "Didn’t you give me that meat? How could it be on credit? Felix Thorne, have you lost your mind?"

"Who are you to me? Why should I give you free meat? I think *you’re* the one who’s lost her mind. Get the twenty-eight yuan ready within a month, or I’ll have Aurelia come to your door to collect!"

Felix Thorne shot her a contemptuous sidelong glance, got back on his bike, and rode away. Phoenix Golding stood behind him, dazed, still trying to make sense of the situation. But up ahead, Felix stopped again and yelled back at her, "If you ever bully my little girl again, I’ll break your hands!"

’He should have dealt with her last time, right alongside Phoebe Huxley. He should have broken that damn bitch’s hands. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it then, and his little girl ignored him for days afterward. Felix Thorne was kicking himself for it.’

Phoenix Golding’s face turned livid with rage. She shrieked, "Your daughter broke the classroom rules! Is it wrong for me, her teacher, to discipline her? Felix Thorne, be reasonable! Don’t be a tyrant like Phoebe Huxley. Besides, Phoebe is stopping Tang Xiaonan from coming to class. She’s ruining the child! How can you go along with her nonsense?"

"Go to school to learn a pile of bullshit from you? You couldn’t even get a passing grade when you were in school. What the hell can you teach? My girl is just fine at home, and she doesn’t need you looking after her. And another thing—no matter how unreasonable my Aurelia is, she’s a hundred times better than a bitch like you. Get that twenty-eight yuan ready, and fast!"

Felix Thorne wasn’t usually a man of many words, but the sharp tongues of the Thorne brothers didn’t just come from Phoebe Huxley. It took some venomous genes from both parents to produce three sons with tongues like razors and the dispositions of bandits. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"You... you’re insane! I must have been blind to have ever fallen for you!" Phoenix Golding cursed, furious.

"My eyes are just fine. I knew you were a bitch—just someone to fool around with. When it comes to marrying a wife, it had to be my Aurelia!" Felix Thorne sneered, his face full of contempt. He was incredibly grateful to his father, Byron Thorne, for stopping him from marrying this bitch back then. ’Otherwise,’ he thought, ’I’d be a cuckold by now.’

Phoenix Golding heaved and panted. Her sense of superiority had been utterly crushed by Felix Thorne’s venomous tongue. ’So, all along, Felix had just been playing with me. I was nothing but a joke.’ But she still didn’t believe it.

"If you don’t like me, why did you give me meat? Felix Thorne, stop lying to yourself! I know your dad forced you to marry Phoebe Huxley!" Phoenix Golding softened her tone. She hadn’t cared about her appearance just now and must have looked hideous. ’No wonder Felix was so cruel with his words,’ she thought.

’Men, no matter the situation, always like pretty women.’ Phoenix Golding was well-versed in this and firmly believed her looks and her body were her greatest weapons, capable of achieving any of her goals.

"I only let you buy it on credit out of respect for our fellow villagers. The total is twenty-eight yuan. Not one cent less."

Felix Thorne gave her a look that said, ’You’re flattering yourself,’ snorted disdainfully, and rode away on his bike. He felt incredibly satisfied. He had finally vented all the frustration that had been bottled up for so long.

"You’re talking nonsense! When did I ever buy meat from you on credit? There’s no debt!" Phoenix Golding grabbed a pebble and threw it after him, too angry to care about her image anymore. Forget twenty-eight yuan, she wouldn’t even give him eighty cents.

’With twenty-eight yuan, I could buy several new outfits. Why should I give it to that thug?’

"You know perfectly well whether you owe me or not. In one month, I’m sending Aurelia to get the money from you!"

Felix Thorne glanced back coldly. ’The rose-tinted glasses are off now. Without that filter, this woman is just ugly and shameless. My little girl wasn’t wrong about a single thing. I really was blind back then. Thank God I can see clearly now.’