Chapter 8: Does he dare?

Despite the awkward atmosphere, HuMing remained calm and unfazed. He nodded slightly to Han LiTian and then walked towards the door."I'm incredibly grateful for all the nurturing you've provided all these years."

Han LiTian abruptly turned around at Hu Ming's final words, but Hu Ming had already disappeared around the corner. For a moment, Han LiTian felt a sense of emptiness inside.

【After all, he's the child I raised for over ten years...】

Han LiTian, who had planned to exercise in the morning, lost his motivation. Suddenly, another voice came from behind him.

"Father?"

Han LiTian turned and saw Han ShuYi standing behind him.

Seeing his biological son, Han LiTian temporarily set aside his worries. He needed to make up for the lost years with his son.

"ShuYi, you are up so early."

"Yeah, back in the countryside, I had to go to the fields before dawn."

Han ShuYi stated it calmly, but it elicited even more pity from Han LiTian for the child. He approached, gently stroked Han ShuYi's head, and then said,

"Take your time to get some extra sleep if you'd like. Our servants will make sure to wake you up."

"Okay."

Han ShuYi obediently nodded, not refuting Han LiTian's words. But then he looked behind Han LiTian and continued,

"Did someone pass by earlier?"

"Oh, HuMing was back last night. He just went to school."

"Is he avoiding me?"

Han ShuYi's worried expression reflected his concern for HuMing.

Upon hearing Han ShuYi's concern, Han LiTian patted his shoulder to reassure him.

"Even though HuMing isn't our biological child, we raised him all these years and have grown to care for him deeply. Try to see him as an additional brother. Can you do that?"

Han LiTian was concerned that Han ShuYi might reject HuMing, considering that HuMing had essentially taken his place all these years.

But Han ShuYi's submissive appearance distressed him even more as he struggled to be resolute at that moment.

"Of course, I'll treat him as my brother."

"That's great."

Seeing Han ShuYi's understanding, Han LiTian only hoped there wouldn't be conflicts between him and Han HuMing so their family could live harmoniously.

Han LiTian walked to the backyard for his morning workout. Only Han ShuYi remained, gazing at the corner.

His eyes narrowed slightly as the gentle smile faded from his face.

Initially, HuMing seemed easy to handle, but now he appeared to be different from what was expected.

He easily deceived the idiots at school, but this family seemed very sentimental.

Suddenly, he couldn't replace HuMing's position!

"I'll have to think of another way..."

Han ShuYi turned away and headed straight to his room. Unbeknownst to him, someone watched his every move from a nearby corner.

...

He got up early and arrived at school. As soon as HuMing got out of the car, he bumped into Ye QiuXue, who had just arrived.

Ye QiuXue gazed at Hu Ming and couldn't help recalling their conversation from the day before.

"Good morning, President."

Seeing Ye QiuXue, HuMing greeted her in a friendly manner. But Ye QiuXue remained composed, reminding him of her promise from the previous day.

"I said I would give you an answer today. Wait for me during morning exercises."

"Okay. Thank you, President."

How could Hu Ming refuse her request? But as soon as he entered the school gate, he felt the pressure from the Student Council President. Seaʀᴄh the NôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Ye QiuXue calmly turned around, put on her armband, and stood straight at the entrance. She took out a notebook and pen to make notes. It was eerie how official she appeared, making even Hu Ming wonder why the original HuMing had clashed with such a person.

If anything could make time fly by in school, it was break time. Hu Ming sat at his desk, watching classmates gradually enter the classroom. Some had already taken out their homework to copy.

Don't assume that high-achieving students never cheat on assignments. The only disparity between them and other students is their ability to finesse the particulars.

"Han HuMing, do you want to copy homework? The price is still the same as before, ten yuan per copy."

A male student's voice reached Hu Ming's ears. He had a proud expression as if bestowing alms.

HuMing arched an eyebrow, a sly smile tugging at his lips.

"Ten yuan per copy? Will you do the writing?"

"Huh? Do you want me to write it for ten yuan? Be grateful I'm only charging you ten yuan per copy. Who else would let you copy?"

The boy gestured for Hu Ming to look around. Indeed, no one wanted to approach him.

HuMing rubbed his chin, intrigued by the person before him, and said,

"How about this? I'll give you an extra hundred yuan. You tell me who messed up my desk yesterday, and I'll pay you right now."

Hu Ming did not mask his voice but deliberately let everyone in the class hear. The classroom instantly fell silent, and many people's eyes turned towards him.

The boy's expression changed suddenly as his mocking smile instantly wiped away from his face.

"What are you saying? I didn't see anything yesterday."

"You didn't see? How about this? I'll give you a hundred per person. If you can point out a few, that's a few hundred, right?"

HuMing was generous and appeared no different from the extravagant young master he used to be.

Han ShuYi, seated at his desk, glanced at Hu Ming, observing his arrogant demeanor, momentarily uncertain whether Hu Ming was genuinely foolish or merely feigning ignorance. How could he utter such remarks?

Upon seeing Hu Ming's strong stance, the boy's mouth twitched slightly and retorted in annoyance.

"Money? Is that even yours? That's Han ShuYi's money."

"In that case, I'll leave the money here. Let's see if Han ShuYi dares to take it," said Hu Ming, taking a thousand yuan from his bag and slapping it on the table.

Suddenly, the entire class fell silent. No one dared to provoke HuMing. Yesterday, Han HuMing seemed possessed and didn't resist at all. But today's HuMing was the real him!

HuMing smirked as his eyes met Han ShuYi's, but his provocative gaze caused Han ShuYi's face to darken slightly.

Blatant provocation!

Han ShuYi could see through Han HuMing's arrogance. However, he also understood that he couldn't intervene in this matter. After all, if Han LiTian found out about Han HuMing's grievances at school, the couple would undoubtedly favor Han HuMing even more.

He wouldn't allow something like that to happen.

The classroom fell silent, and the boy who confronted Hu Ming didn't know what else to say. He muttered "nutcase" under his breath and returned to his seat.

HuMing chose not to retrieve the money. He drummed his fingers on the table, breaking the silence once again.

"I'll give everyone a chance. The money is theirs if anyone tells me who those people were yesterday before morning exercises."

He smiled, adding on.

"I hope I won't be waiting long~"