After settling the compensation with Zhang Ning’s mother over the phone, Gu Yu’an let out a long breath.

Earlier at the hospital, she’d met Wang Chengwen’s father—a man in his forties with a kind, honest face who’d apologized nonstop the moment they met.

The couple ran a small factory, constantly traveling and working nonstop. They’d neglected to discipline their son properly, planning only for him to graduate high school and join the family business. Yet Wang Chengwen had grown increasingly unruly.

The mediation went smoothly. Wang’s father knew his son’s flaws well. He didn’t want the boy, barely seventeen, to end up with a police record.

Gu Yu’an, Wang’s father, and Zhao Zhuoyang’s mother—all calm and reasonable, unlike their brawling children—had even chatted amiably after finalizing the compensation.

She recalled Wang’s father sighing, "You know, we chase money all our lives... for what? For our kids."

"Now we’ve earned it, but failed to raise him right. I never expected greatness from him. I just hoped he’d inherit what I built, live safely, and stay out of trouble." His brows knotted with worry.

"Every parent’s heart aches the same," Zhao’s mother agreed with a sigh.

"Now I think... after he graduates, he won’t join the factory. He’ll enlist. Let the army teach him discipline—how to be a decent human—before he learns to make money from me."

Gu Yu’an sighed too. Her own father had been a dirt-poor farmer. Her maternal grandfather, a bold pioneer, had plunged into society’s harsh realities decades ago, clawing his way up to seize the era’s opportunities and build wealth.

In her youth, she’d been wild as an untamed horse, often angering her father. She’d tamed her spirit only once—pouring her whole heart into a man who shattered it into pieces.

She’d dropped out of college to marry. The farce ended in under three months. He never even knew she was pregnant. Only when she saw her father’s lifelong pride crumble did she realize: she’d wounded the man who loved her most for a man she’d loved most.

Just then, Guyen shuffled out of his bedroom. A blue printed T-shirt hung loosely over his favorite floral beach shorts. Flip-flops slapped against his feet. Bruises marred his cheeks, and his careless posture screamed delinquent to Gu Yu’an.

"Look at you!" she snapped. "Slacking off on studies, always causing trouble! Breaking someone’s hand? You’ve got real nerve! Why don’t you put that energy into something useful?"

Guyen didn’t lift his drooping brows. Silent, he ambled to the coffee table, grabbed an apple, and munched on it absentmindedly.

His unresponsive attitude ignited her fury. Her words grew sharper until she spat, "I don’t even expect you to be a cog in society! Without this family, you’d starve!"

Guyen’s patience had snapped ten minutes ago under her barrage. He shot back, "Starve? Wang Chengwen had it coming. His mouth wrote checks his fists couldn’t cash. I went easy on him."

"Still defiant? Fine! At this rate, I’ll be visiting you in jail to bring meals!"

"You yell without knowing anything!" Guyen shouted back. "Easy for you, just flapping your lips!"

"Fine! Explain yourself!" Her voice trembled with rage. "Why hit him? What did he say to set you off?"

Guyen’s words died. He turned his head aside. "I’m just a burden anyway—a kid raised by his mother with no father to teach him. Go ahead. Keep yelling."

*Slap!*

The argument died instantly. Gu Yu’an froze, hand suspended midair, utterly lost.

"You don’t know me at all!" Guyen stormed out in his flip-flops without looking back. The door slammed shut behind him.