Chapter 120

When Huo Xiaozheng returned to the school, he found his daughter resignedly wiping the nose of a little girl.

"He's crying because he's naughty and pulled my pigtails, but why are you crying?" Huo Guining asked.

The little girl was thrown off by Huo Guining's question. Her brain seemed to short-circuit, and her crying paused as she stood there pondering why she was crying in the first place.

The teacher had been following the sound of crying, trying to comfort the children. She was clearly quite upset.

But the troublemaker wasn't idle either; she was even helping to soothe the others.

For a moment, the teacher couldn't decide whether she should scold her or praise her first.

Realizing the situation wasn't as serious as he had imagined, Huo Xiaozheng breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the classroom.

When Huo Guining saw him, she immediately broke into a big smile and waved at him. But as soon as she realized why he was there at this time, she sheepishly lowered her hand.

Huo Xiaozheng gave her a reassuring look and greeted the teacher first.

Having finally stabilized the situation, Huo Xiaozheng, Huo Guining, and the little boy were invited into the teacher's office.

The teacher gave Huo Xiaozheng a brief overview of what had happened.

"Mr. Huo, it's not a big deal, but..."

Huo Xiaozheng coldly interrupted, "What's your name?" He was addressing the little boy.

Frightened by his tone, the boy hid behind the teacher.

Seeing Huo Xiaozheng's accusatory demeanor, the teacher suddenly regretted calling him in. But it was too late now, so she could only press on, "This incident was indeed Shen Mingli's fault to begin with. His parents are on their way..."

Huo Xiaozheng's lips curled into a smirk. "Shen Mingli, is it?" He said as he pulled out his phone...

The teacher sensed that things were taking an unexpected turn. Just as she was about to intervene, there was a knock at the door.

The door opened, and Shen Shiyan appeared. "Hello, teacher. I'm Shen Mingli's guardian."

As he finished speaking, his eyes met Huo Xiaozheng's. "Why are you here?"

Before Huo Xiaozheng could answer, they heard Shen Mingli running towards his uncle, crying, "Waaah! She bullied me!"

Huo Xiaozheng's face suddenly darkened. What a little brat, already mastering the art of playing the victim at such a young age.

Shen Shiyan grabbed his nephew's shoulders, partly to prevent him from wiping his tears and snot on his clothes, and partly in a panicked attempt to explain.

"This is my nephew's doing. Guining, please don't hold it against me personally, okay?"

Seeing the situation descend into chaos again, the teacher had to step in and repeat the whole story once more.

This time, Shen Shiyan stopped coddling his nephew. He crouched down, pulled out a napkin, and wiped Shen Mingli's face.

Finally, in a serious tone, he asked, "Why did you pull Guining's pigtails?"

Shen Mingli's little eyebrows furrowed into a figure eight shape. "Did it hurt a lot?"

Huo Guining nodded solemnly. "Very much. Like this..."

She then grabbed a small tuft of his hair to demonstrate.

A stinging pain shot through his scalp. Shen Mingli's mouth gradually opened, his eyes brimming with tears...

Seeing that he was about to burst into tears, Huo Guining quickly stuffed a lollipop into his mouth.

"Here's some candy. Don't cry!"

Shen Mingli was shocked by her action, but the sweet taste in his mouth was real. It was his favorite strawberry flavor.

In an instant, he forgot all about the pain and started sucking on the lollipop.

Huo Guining breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned back to her own desk, thinking that going to school was truly exhausting.

As the bell for class rang, the teacher's familiar voice came right on cue.

"Shen Mingli, no eating in class!"

Shen Mingli stared at Huo Guining's back in disbelief, as if trying to bore a hole through her head with his gaze.

Huo Guining held her head in her hands, just wishing for the day to pass quickly, even quicker.

The chaotic day finally came to an end. When school let out in the afternoon, Huo Guining hastily packed her bag and fled.

Behind her, Shen Mingli followed, bouncing along with a face full of righteous indignation.

"Huo Guining! Don't you run away!"

Huo Guining thought: Only a fool wouldn't run.

Uncle Zhou was waiting for her at the door. Seeing her dash into the car like a gust of wind, lock the door, and urge him to drive away quickly, he was bewildered but complied nonetheless.

Left behind was Shen Mingli, who had been scolded all day, now standing dumbfounded and tasting a mouthful of car exhaust.

Shen Mingli: Just feeling very angry.

When they arrived at Huo Xiaozheng's company, he was still in a meeting.

Huo Guining put down her schoolbag and headed straight to the pantry, grabbing some bread and milk, which she promptly devoured.

Xi Chuan interrupted her meal with a smile: "Guining, the school teacher called. They want your dad to come to the school again tomorrow."

"This conflicts with Mr. Huo's schedule tomorrow. May I ask why you've been called in for a parent-teacher meeting?"

Huo Guining's hand froze mid-action, and she felt like crying: "Shen Mingli is such a tattletale!"