Chapter 12: The Four Great Families

“What exactly is going on here?” The square-jawed teacher glanced around at the few students who had followed him into the office, his gaze settling on Wei Chuan with a troubled expression.

He was the Dean of the Middle School at Slantel School, and he dreaded any matter involving this young master Wei.

Knowing Wei Chuan’s temperament, this incident was unlikely to be resolved so simply.

Wei Chuan was the eldest son of the Wei family’s current head, and how this matter was handled would affect the Wei family’s reputation— even the principal would have to tread carefully.

Wei Chuan sneered, his deep blue school uniform now crumpled. Straightening it, he glared fiercely at Huo Zhanyan.

“Who knows where he came from, but he just punched me right in the face! Teacher! Even my father has never hit me!” Wei Chuan shouted, pointing at Huo Zhanyan.

Wen Xiao narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at Wei Chuan.

When Wei Chuan mentioned his father, Wen Xiao noticed the teacher who had just questioned them stiffen slightly.

In this novel’s world, the four great families were the pinnacle of power, arranged atop a social pyramid.

That was why the F4 could wield their influence to do as they pleased, easily accomplishing whatever they desired.

Knowing that the kitten had been killed by Wei Chuan, Wen Xiao also realized that it was unlikely Wei Chuan would pay the price he deserved.

After all, in everyone’s eyes, the heir of the Wei family and a stray little kitten—there was no comparison.

As expected, the teacher next turned to Huo Zhanyan. “Young man, tell me your name.”

“Huo Zhanyan!” Huo Zhanyan replied boldly, his voice steady and firm.

The teacher nearly fell out of his chair; if he remembered correctly, Huo Zhanyan was the only son of the Huo family.

Neither the Huo family nor the Wei family was one to offend lightly.

“Huo Zhanyan, why did you suddenly come to the middle school and hit Wei Chuan?” The teacher had heard of Huo’s reputation as a little tyrant, always causing trouble. But there had to be a reason for this.

“He admitted to killing the kitten,” Huo Zhanyan stared at Wei Chuan silently adding that it was Wen Xiao’s beloved kitten.

He wasn’t particularly fond of cats himself; he preferred large, imposing animals. But after burying the kitten this morning, he found he quite liked the little creature.

Small, fragile—though lacking the majesty of tigers or bears.

“You’re crazy,” Wei Chuan said, stunned to meet someone so reckless. “It’s just a stray animal! Why make such a fuss over a beast?”

Wen Xiao could no longer tolerate it. Thinking of the little ginger kitten lying stiff in the grave, he stood up. “A stray cat is a beast? Then you are a scum, worse than a beast.”

Wei Chuan didn’t expect yet another brat to stand up for a dead animal no one cared about.

Very well.

He took a step toward Wen Xiao, but at once a figure leapt forward to block him.

Wen Xiao looked and saw it was Wei Nanxing, whom he had told to wait back. He hadn’t realized Wei Nanxing had slipped into the office.

Wasn’t Wei Nanxing supposed to be afraid of Wei Chuan?

Wei Nanxing stared at Wei Chuan, though much shorter, he lifted his head defiantly. “No... way!”

A flicker of disdain crossed Wei Chuan’s eyes. “Isn’t this just a stray dog we picked up somewhere? I’m telling you, as long as I’m here, there’s no room for you in the Wei family! Stray cats are just strays, abandoned and unwanted.”

He curled his lips coldly as he glared at Wei Nanxing. “And you’ve seen what happens to strays. Anyone can bully such beasts; better to die early and be reborn.”

Wei Nanxing stiffened, but someone pressed on his shoulder and pulled him back.

Wen Xiao understood Wei Chuan’s true meaning: though he spoke of a stray cat, he was actually referring to Wei Nanxing.

He had long known that within these wealthy families, brothers could treat each other like enemies in the fight for inheritance. But to see Wei Chuan so ruthless at such a young age made Huo Zhanyan seem almost endearing by comparison.

The dean did not expect a fight between the heirs of two great families to erupt over a mere cat in school. He exchanged glances with other teachers, who shook their heads helplessly.

“Alright then, Wei Chuan and Huo Zhanyan, you’ll both write a reflection and submit it to the teachers. Next time, come to us first instead of resorting to fists.”

He glanced at the two boys, both bruised and battered. Huo Zhanyan’s face was smeared with blood, looking particularly grim. He asked another teacher to summon the school nurses from the infirmary.

Wei Chuan’s eyes widened. This was clearly him who got hit, so how could it end like this, with him being asked to write a reflection?

“Teacher, you’re protecting him!” Wei Chuan gritted his teeth and took out his phone. Dialing while staring at Huo Zhanyan, he declared, “I’m going to make sure the school expels him today!”

At that moment, Song Jingbai suddenly spoke, flashing the dean a faint smile. In this situation, he seemed the only one able to smile.

But his words made the dean think, “Where did this troublemaker come from?”

“Teacher, writing a reflection is too light a punishment,” Song Jingbai said, watching the dean’s helpless expression.

The dean wanted to say, “If you think it’s too light, then you take over! Wei Chuan is even calling his parents!”

Huo Zhanyan, seeing Wei Chuan making a call, pulled his phone from his pocket and said, “So what if you call your parents? Who’s scared of you? Let’s see who the school kicks out today!”

“Teacher, aside from killing the kitten, Wei Chuan ordered someone to place the dead kitten inside another student’s desk. This counts as bullying and frightened many classmates, disrupting our class’s learning,” Song Jingbai added.

The dean’s expression changed, his voice trembling slightly. “Which class are you from, student?”

If this had affected more students, it was no longer a private matter between Wei Chuan and Huo Zhanyan. Sweeping it under the rug would be impossible.

“Grade One, Class Two,” Song Jingbai replied, making the dean even paler.

He wiped his sweat. Class Two housed the eldest sons of the Song and Leng families, both newly enrolled with much attention from the school’s top brass.

Only when a sharp knock came from the door did he finally relax.

A poised woman appeared in the doorway. “The principal requests everyone to move to the principal’s office. Mrs. Wei has already briefed the principal and will arrive at the school shortly. The principal will handle this matter properly.”

* * *

The principal’s office was in the Slantel School’s administrative building, located at the high school campus on North Island. When Wen Xiao unexpectedly arrived there, the atmosphere around him instantly grew heavier.

He had expected to return, but never imagined it would be like this.

The scenery was familiar yet strange. Slantel School had changed little, but the faces on the street were all strangers. It was then he realized, this was no longer the time he remembered.

He had been reborn, back ten years.

The principal’s office was on the top floor. Riding the elevator up, they were led into a spacious room that resembled a large reception hall more than an office.

He understood why the principal summoned them separately: both the Wei and Huo families sat on the school board and provided substantial annual funding.

Moreover, with both families’ parents present, it would be inappropriate to crowd into a small office in the teaching building.

Wen Xiao was unaware their incident had already spread across the Slantel School’s internal forum. Like other schools, the network allowed students to exchange information and gossip.

By now, the popular thread had 300 replies, mostly from the North Island high school campus, as the school limited forum access for elementary and middle school students.

[Shock! Heirs of the Wei and Huo families come to blows, because of...]

80l: After all these years, still using this kind of headline…

102l: My junior from middle school just privately sent me photos, look quickly before they get reported and deleted. [images] [images]

106l: No way, they really fought? They’re only first graders! I bet this young Master Huo will do great things in the future.

111l: They even bled, looks serious. What caused the fight?

112l: Apparently it was over a stray cat.

120l: Latest news, someone said that kid from the Song family was involved too.

131l: Someone spotted Leng Shucheng also coming to North Island. Are all these families gathering? This is going to be interesting. The young masters just started school, and I’m already reluctant to graduate.

132l: But why are all their kids about the same age? They even squeezed into the same class. Did they all plan to have kids at the same time?

133l: Blind student, you’ve found the clue.

134l: Haha, as if they planned to have kids together!

...

Wen Xiao heard the door open and looked up to see a familiar figure.

Wen Xu came forward and lightly knocked Huo Zhanyan on the head. If Huo hadn’t fought, they might have had a stronger case; but now the matter had escalated.

Since the semester started two months ago, Huo Zhanyan had caused plenty of trouble—bullying classmates, fighting—but this was the one incident his parents were least angry about.

Huo Zhanyan had fought Wei Chuan to avenge the kitten, unlike before when he bullied others out of anger or for fun.

At least his intentions were good, though his methods were too harsh.

Wen Xiao noticed beside Wen Xu stood an elderly man with half-white hair and Leng Shucheng with his right arm in a cast. When the elder spoke, Wen Xiao realized he was the principal of Slantel School.

Unlike the one in his memory—the principal had changed by the time he reached high school.

“I’ve been briefed on the situation,” the principal said gently. “Wei Chuan, you killed the stray cat and then instructed someone to place it inside another student’s desk?”

Wei Chuan crossed his arms and snorted coldly on the sofa. “So what if I did?”

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed at the door—high heels striking the floor briskly, the pace urgent.

The door swung open, revealing a striking woman with her hair pinned up and heavy makeup, her expression cold and sharp.

“Who hit our Wei Chuan?” she demanded.