It was no wonder that the other parents in the class were so afraid of Bethany's family.It also dawned on her why she found the voice on the phone last night so familiar.A chubby girl with twin ponytails ran toward them and threw herself into Violet's arms."Grandma!" she greeted Violet sweetly. When she smiled, her eyes twinkled like stars in the sky. At first glance, Bethany seemed to be a lively and adorable girl, without any trace of having a nasty personality that the homeroom teacher and Aster had described. Violet smiled widely in response, making faint smile lines appear around her eyes.She fixed an affectionate gaze on her granddaughter and patted her lovingly on the head before grabbing her hand. The homeroom teacher called Aster over and handed her to Larissa.Violet glanced at Aster and murmured with a hint of regret, "He looks so much like you. What a beautiful son you have." Larissa smiled politely and spoke to Aster, "You should say thank you to Mrs. Roge
Bethany's bite had traumatized Aster. When Bethany touched Aster's hand, he flinched, instinctively taking a step back.It hurt Larissa to see that. Aster was an outgoing child who got along well with everyone around him. It was extremely rare for him to reject a person. He shook his head ever so slightly and raised his head, casting a pleading look at Larissa.Reading the fear in his eyes, Larissa stepped forward, using her own body to shield him."Ma'am," she began to say, turning to Violet. "Since Bethany has already apologized, let's wrap things up."Ashamed, Violet answered, "I'm sorry, Larissa. I didn't know Bethany would do such a thing ..."Larissa couldn't assure her that it was fine as Aster was far from fine given the injury he had suffered. Hence, she remained silent. However, a parent standing nearby couldn't hold back and brought their child over to complain to Violet, "You seem quite reasonable, so let me tell you this ... Your child must be disciplined! She bul
In Larissa's opinion, Bethany was a piece of work. Although, in her understanding, a five-year-old child shouldn't be capable of scheming. Besides, she was Kevan and Ruby's daughter. Therefore, it wouldn't come as a surprise if she was more intelligent than her peers.Larissa hoped that she was overthinking.As Larissa rarely returned home early, she unexpectedly ran into Dylan downstairs. Since they didn't live in the same building, he shouldn't have been there.Dylan explained, "I came out for a walk."Larissa didn't believe him.Meanwhile, Aster was delighted to see Dylan. He didn't need Larissa to tell him to greet Dylan. Larissa resisted the urge to bring him upstairs immediately.Dylan asked Larissa, "I heard that Aster is attending kindergarten nearby. Aren't you sending him back to Aldovia?""His mother is too busy to take care of him. I heard that the private kindergarten here offers extended hours of childcare, so I decided to let him stay. I initially thought of letti
On the top floor of the inpatient department of Redland Hospital was a VVIP ward where the daily fees amounted to several thousand dollars. Dylan stepped out of the elevator and walked to the end of the corridor, pushing open the door of the ward guarded by several bodyguards clad in black.Once inside, he locked the door behind him, just as he had done every time.The man lying on the hospital bed, who had his eyes closed, quickly removed the various equipment attached to his body and sat up."Take it easy, don't strain your back," Dylan said. He was only half joking.Kevan had spent nearly six years in the hospital. Initially, he was in the military hospital, but he couldn't stay there for an extended time due to the scarcity of beds. Hence, he transferred to Redland Hospital, which was a private hospital for the wealthy. As long as he paid the hospital, he could stay as long as he wanted.Kevan had been confined in a small space for a long time. As such, his muscles gradually d
"Okay, I got it. Thank you," Dylan hung up the phone and recounted what the homeroom teacher had said to Kevan."With my mother's intervention, Larissa and Aster would not suffer any grievances," Kevan expressed his complete trust in his mother.However, Dylan wasn't as optimistic as him."In your mother's eyes, Bethany is your only child or the only descendant of your family. Meanwhile, Larissa is a former daughter-in-law with no blood relation and no contact for several years. Do you think your mother will favor her over her granddaughter whom she brought up? Who do you think your mother will favor? The answer is obvious," Dylan said, his tone filled with sympathy as he patted Kevan's shoulder.Kevan was shaken, as every word Dylan said made sense."After my mother visits the kindergarten tomorrow, you can give the teacher another call," Kevan suggested."Kevan, I feel like you haven't grasped the main point," Dylan said, shaking his head."Huh?" Kevan looked puzzled."Lariss
After having a conversation with the homeroom teacher, Violet arranged for Bethany to apologize to her classmates before the class began. Hence, Bethany stood at the front of the classroom and bowed to everyone."I'm sorry," she said, her voice low and remorseful. "I was wrong, and I won't do it again. I hope you can forgive me."Children around the age of five years old were the most innocent. They didn't consider things the way adults did. Often, they would express their emotions directly.They all looked at her timidly. None of them dared to speak up. Violet felt a bit uneasy and had her maid distribute the snacks she had prepared to all the children in the class.It had been many years since she cared about others' opinions. Now, for the sake of her granddaughter, she had to force a smile, appeasing a group of children."Bethany has realized her mistake, and I have scolded her too. You are all good children, so don't be mad at Bethany. Can you be friends with her?""No!" a li
Feeling a little disappointed, Violet answered, "I hope so." Her dissatisfaction with Ruby grew as she started to miss the good times she shared with Larissa."By the way, that student of yours—Aster in your class, is he a new transfer student?" She shifted the topic to Aster."Yes, he transferred here less than a week ago." At the mention of Aster, a smile appeared on the homeroom teacher's face. "He is outstanding, smart, obedient, and kind to other classmates. Everyone in the class likes him. Speaking of which, you can encourage Bethany to befriend Aster. If their relationship improves, the other classmates will accept Bethany as well."Violet didn't like Aster much—after all, he was the child of Larissa and another man, which made her feel uncomfortable. Hearing the teacher praise him like this made her more uneasy. The stark contrast between Aster and Bethany made her feel ashamed.She couldn't help but think that if Larissa had conceived Kevan's child, the child would have
Larissa went to work with Aster tagging along since there were no kindergarten classes on Saturday. As Aster had grown tired of the children's playground in the hotel, Larissa packed a few books and a tablet into his small backpack, intending for him to spend the whole day in her office.The moment she entered the office, Larissa sensed something was up. She was usually the last one to arrive in the mornings because she had to drop Aster off at the kindergarten on weekdays. When she arrived, everyone would already be seated at their desks, earnestly working. However, today, they gathered together, chatting like they had never done before.Upon seeing Larissa, they scattered like a flock of pigeons and quickly returned to their seats. Those using computers continued their work, and those flipping through documents returned to doing so, their faces filled with guilt.Larissa was not a strict leader. As long as it didn't interfere with work hours, she never cared whether her employees