Shocking! A three-year-old brings his aloof mother to their door.

Lin Simei was stunned by her old-fashioned way of speaking, blinked her big eyes, and after a couple of seconds of blankness, she reacted and burst out laughing:

"I...I'm a woman by nature!"

"Oh right!" Tongtong scratched her head belatedly, and the two girls looked at each other before bursting into laughter, their clear laughter filling the corner like wind chimes.

Children's emotions come quickly and go just as fast; sunshine can easily dispel a brief gloom.

After the laughter subsided, Lin Simei remembered something and carefully took out a handmade item from her cartoon cloth bag.

The little rabbit doll, though slightly childlike, is full of heartfelt sentiment, with a crooked little red flower embroidered on its ear.

"Tongtong, this... is for you. I made it with Mom last night. Thank you for protecting me."

Tongtong's eyes lit up instantly, as if they were filled with stars.

She took the soft doll with both hands, hugged it tightly to her chest, and thanked it sweetly.

"Thank you, Xiaomei! I love it!" The concept of reciprocity was deeply ingrained in her mind, so she immediately put down the doll and rummaged through her teddy bear backpack, pulling out a shiny one.

A strawberry hair clip adorned with tiny rhinestones was carefully pinned to Lin Simei's hair as she stood on tiptoe.

"Does it look good?" Lin Simei shook her head, her hair clip reflecting shimmering light in the morning glow.

Tongtong tilted her head, looked her up and down, then nodded vigorously, and then raised her chin, revealing her signature arrogant expression:

"Hmm...it's alright! But, if you want to be prettier than me, that's fine too—"

Her large, dark, grape-like eyes darted around, flashing with a mischievous light. "Unless you call me 'sister'!"

Lin Simei was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and gently patted Tongtong:

"Dream on! Everything else is negotiable except for this!"

She's several months older than Tongtong, so she can't easily relinquish her position as the older sister.

Tongtong pouted, looking somewhat deflated.

She looked around the classroom and felt as if she were the youngest person in the entire kindergarten.

Sigh, her parents won't give her any younger siblings to play with, so she can't even get the prestigious title of "older sister".

She slumped onto the table, fuming, and began to think about "Kiryu"—how could she get others to willingly call her "older sister"?

At this moment, Lu Hao walked in carrying his schoolbag, with a faint bluish-purple bruise under his left eye.

But she tried her best to puff out her small chest, putting on a cool look that said, "What's a little injury?"

Lin Simei immediately grabbed another gift—a brand-new Ultraman model—and ran over, her voice sweet:

"Lu Hao, thank you for helping me yesterday! This is for you!"

This is a thank-you gift that her mother specifically asked her to bring after she learned what had happened.

Lu Hao saw Lin Simei running over, especially since she was smiling sweetly at him.

Her face flushed red instantly, and she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet.

He waved his hand, trying to sound manly:

"No, you're welcome! Protecting girls is what a real man should do!"

Despite saying that, her eyes couldn't help but glance at the handsome Ultraman.

In the end, at Lin Simei's insistence, he accepted the gift and muttered a "thank you" softly.

Lin Simei found his bright red ears and forced composure amusing and genuinely grateful, so she added, her voice even sweeter:

"You looked so cool when you stood in front of me yesterday!"

"boom--!"

Lu Hao felt a surge of heat rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and his entire face and neck turned as red as a boiled shrimp.

He felt as if his soul had been compressed in an instant, regressing from a "little man" to a newly formed embryo, light and dizzy, almost evaporating on the spot.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word; he could only move his hands and feet in unison.

He stiffly moved back to his seat, and after sitting down, he couldn't help but steal a glance in Lin Simei's direction.

"Ahem." A clear cough interrupted the gradually lively atmosphere in the classroom.

The newly appointed deputy director of the teaching affairs office, Ms. Lin Yu, walked in with a warm smile on her face.

She was carrying a large bag.

Good morning, children.

Lin Yu's gaze swept subtly over Tongtong, Lu Hao, and Lin Simei, a warm feeling welling up inside her.

"You were all very brave yesterday and learned that friends should help each other. I've prepared a small reward for you."

She started giving each child small gifts—pretty stickers, tiny erasers, and colored pencils.

The children cheered with joy. When it was Tongtong's turn, Lin Yu's smile deepened.

In the bag she handed to Tongtong, besides the same things as everyone else, there was also a box of imported animal-shaped chocolates and a glowing angel keychain.

"Tongtong was especially great yesterday. This is a special reward from your teacher for your courage."

Lin Yu said softly, gently patting Tongtong's head.

There's no way she can avoid showing favoritism.

A promotion and a raise, getting rid of that suffocating former boss—life suddenly became bright and full of hope—all thanks to the manipulative hands of Tongtong's mother, He Wanqing.

There was a time when she hated and despised the word "relationships" the most, firmly believing that hard work and ability were everything. But...

When the benefits of "relationships" so tangibly fall upon you...

Lin Yu smiled bitterly to herself: In the end, she still ended up living the kind of life she used to hate.

But looking at the doubled salary in my bank account, and thinking that I could finally rent that apartment with bright windows that was closer to the school...

All she could say was: It smells amazing! Let this kind of "hatred" come even more fiercely!

Looking at Tongtong chattering and full of energy with her friends below, Lin Yu felt that she looked pleasing to the eye and was adorable no matter how she looked at her.

Kids should be lively; talking a lot makes them seem more energetic.

Even Tongtong's occasionally overly clear "little adult" logic was seen by her as a sign of precocious intelligence.

"What a lucky star," Lin Yu thought to herself, her smile growing even brighter.

........

In stark contrast to the sunny, candy-sweet atmosphere of the kindergarten, the atmosphere on the other side of the city is filled with the rough edges and cold confrontations of the streets.

Outside the West City Detention Center, a middle-aged woman wearing a gaudy floral shirt and with her hair permed into small curls stood with her hands on her hips, her face contorted with agitation and anger.

She is Zhou Xuechong's mother, Quan Zhenyu.

Upon hearing that her daughter had been arrested, she immediately rushed over from her hometown.

Seeing her daughter's haggard and disheveled appearance through the cold glass, Quan Zhenyu felt as if her heart had been ripped out. This heartache then turned into a raging fire and unreasonable arrogance.

"My darling! Who the hell locked my precious child up here!"

She pounded on the glass, her voice so shrill it seemed to rip through the air, then turned to Zhou Xiong, whose face was ashen, and cried out:

"Son! You're the bureau chief! You have to think of something!"

Get your sister out! She's never suffered like this before!

Zhou Xiong was in a state of utter distress.

His own position was precarious, and the pressure from all sides was suffocating him.

His mother's piercing cries were like steel needles stabbing his eardrums.

She's always like this; when faced with a problem, she never thinks about how to solve it rationally, but only throws tantrums, cries, and uses emotional blackmail.

This approach might work in the countryside where family ties are important, but in this strictly rule-bound prison, it only seems foolish and ridiculous.

"Mom, stop making a scene, things aren't that simple..." Zhou Xiong tried to explain, his voice weary.

"It's not that simple? What's so complicated about it! Aren't you the bureau chief? Aren't you a high-ranking official?"

"You can't even get someone out of trouble? What use is a son like you to me!" Quan Zhenyu wouldn't listen to a word.

She only believed in her own logic: "I worked so hard to get you promoted and made you an official so that you could protect the family!"

Now that your sister is in trouble, what are you doing, giving me that bureaucratic nonsense?

You unfilial son! Why is my life so miserable...