After being reborn, the school beauty's entire family knelt down to repent.

"Chen Ming! You are utterly lawless! You have no respect for your elders!" The principal spat as he spoke.

Her finger almost poked Chen Ming's nose. "The school will investigate your father's hospitalization, but you shouldn't have made such a scene at school and even hit someone! Do you have any respect for school rules and regulations?"

Chen Ming sneered, completely ignoring the principal's roar.

"Investigation? Principal, this investigation of yours is going to take forever!"

"Or do you already know who did it, but just want to downplay it and make it go away?"

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and a slick-haired young man walked in.

He was holding an apple in his hand, casually munching on it.

Wang Mian, the principal's beloved son.

Chen Ming recognized him at a glance; he was one of the thugs who attacked his father yesterday!

Anger surged within him instantly, and Chen Ming rushed forward, snatched the apple from Wang Mian's hand, and smashed it hard into his face.

"Fuck your mother! How dare you eat an apple!" Chen Ming roared, punching Wang Mian in the stomach.

Caught off guard, Wang Mian doubled over in pain, apple juice dripping from the corner of his mouth, making him look utterly disheveled.

"Chen Ming! What are you doing?" The principal was shocked and rushed over to stop Chen Ming.

But Chen Ming was already blinded by rage and completely ignored the principal, launching a barrage of punches and kicks at Wang Mian.

"You fucking dare hit my dad! I'll beat you to death today!" Chen Ming used all his strength in every punch.

Wang Mian was beaten so badly that he could only roll on the ground, clutching his head and screaming like a pig being slaughtered.

"Stop! Chen Ming! Are you crazy!" The principal tried desperately to pull Chen Ming away, but Chen Ming was surprisingly strong and he couldn't budge him at all.

Seeing Wang Mian beaten black and blue, the principal was sweating profusely, but dared not really hurt Chen Ming.

"Stop hitting me...stop hitting me...I won't do it again..." Wang Mian, beaten to the point of near death, cried and begged for mercy, "I'll never do it again..."

Chen Ming then stopped, looking down at Wang Mian with eyes as cold as ice.

"Speak! Who sent you?"

Wang Mian trembled all over, not daring to hide anything, "It's...it's Zhao Rou..."

"Zhao Rou?!" The principal stared at Wang Mian in disbelief. "This...how is this possible?"

With a mournful face, Wang Mian blurted out everything.

"It's...it's Zhao Rou...she...she said...as long as I...teach Zhang Lingqian a lesson...she'll...give me...benefits..."

Chen Ming snorted coldly. He knew it must be that woman. She was crying and making excuses in the classroom just now, but now the evidence is irrefutable. What kind of trouble can Zhao Rou cause now?

"What benefits?" The principal was so angry he almost fainted.

"You...you beast! You dare to hit someone over such a trivial matter?"

Wang Mian shrank back, not daring to speak. Chen Ming snorted coldly.

"Teach Zhang Lingqian a lesson? Why don't you just say you wanted to insult her?"

Wang Mian's face turned deathly pale instantly; he hadn't expected Chen Ming to be so blunt.

He stammered, "I...I didn't...I just...just wanted to...scare her..."

"Scare her? You injured my dad, and you call that scaring her?"

Chen Ming's anger flared up again, and he grabbed Wang Mian by the collar, "Speak! What else did Zhao Rou ask you to do?"

Wang Mian was terrified and cried, "It was her...it was her. She even said...if...if your dad...stopped us...we would...beat him too...that's why we dared to hit your dad."

"What?!" The principal was struck dumb. He never expected that his son would do such a thing! He pointed at Wang Mian, trembling, and couldn't speak for a long time.

Chen Ming released Wang Mian, turned to look at the principal, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger.

"Principal, do you have anything to say now?"

The principal was speechless.

Chen Ming released Wang Mian as if discarding a tattered rag, and turned to leave.

Wang Mian collapsed to the ground, his face bruised and swollen, looking like a dead dog.

"Chen Ming, where...where are you going?" The principal's voice trembled, tinged with fear.

Realizing that his reaction had been too impulsive, he had forgotten Chen Ming's current identity.

He quickly opened his mouth and said, "Chen Ming... let me explain..." Chen Ming left the office without looking back.

The principal then realized that he had wronged Chen Ming.

He looked at Wang Mian lying on the ground like a dead dog, and his anger flared up. He raised his foot and kicked him hard.

"You beast! You beast!" The principal turned around and kicked Wang Mian. "Do you want to get your father killed?"

Wang Mian held his head in his hands, not daring to utter a sound, only sobbing softly.

"Do you know who Chen Ming is now? He's a key figure being supported by the county!"

"If you offend him, what will happen to our school's funding? Do you want our whole family to starve?"

The principal got angrier and angrier, and kicked Wang Mian in the stomach again.

Wang Mian curled up in pain, but dared not resist.

He knew he had made a huge mistake this time, and his father's anger terrified him more than Chen Ming's fists.

"Speak! Why did you do this? What did Zhao Rou give you that made you so heartless?"

The principal grabbed Wang Mian by the collar and roared at the top of his lungs.

Wang Mian stammered out Zhao Rou's promises, which were nothing more than money and women. To the principal, they sounded ridiculously naive.

"You dare to hit someone for this little thing? You dare to push your own father into a fire pit?"

The principal was so angry he was trembling, wishing he could slap his good-for-nothing son to death.

"Dad...I was wrong...I'll never do it again..." Wang Mian cried and begged for mercy, knowing that he was really finished this time.

"You think you can solve the problem by simply saying 'I was wrong'? You just wait and see how I deal with you!"

The principal shoved Wang Mian aside and stormed out of the office.

......

The north wind howled, swirling fallen leaves among the bare branches, and the weather grew colder day by day.

Chen Ming wrapped his military overcoat tighter around himself, rubbed his hands which were red from the cold, and exhaled a puff of white breath.

During his hospital stay, Chen Yitian repeatedly expressed his desire to go home, as the smell of disinfectant in the hospital made him feel suffocated.

The doctor confirmed that he was recovering well and only needed to rest at home, so Chen Ming decided to take his father home from the hospital.

On the day I was discharged from the hospital, a light snow began to fall from the gray sky, and the air was filled with the chill of early winter.

Chen Ming arrived at the hospital early to help his father pack his things.

In the ward, Chen Yitian was struggling to put on a heavy cotton-padded coat, his movements slow and deliberate, like a rusty machine.

Chen Ming quickly stepped forward to help, nagging, "Dad, slow down, what's the rush? This weather is freezing!"

As Chen Yitian watched his son bustling around, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

"Xiaoming, I'm sorry to have troubled you." He sighed, his eyes slightly moist.

"Don't talk about worrying about it," Chen Ming said with a smile, patting his father on the shoulder. "Your priority is to take good care of your health."