Chapter 3

My mind flashed with the smug faces of Uncle Michael and Aunt Brenda, and Ivy's shouting.

So, this was their plan.

To use what I cared about most to force me to humble myself.

I gave a cold laugh. They had definitely messed with the wrong person.

To avoid misdirected retaliation, I politely replied to Principal Davies, "May I ask, specifically, what aspect of Lily's application wasn't approved?"

He quickly replied, "Lily's Mom, our elite elementary school values not only a child's inherent qualities but also places great importance on evaluating the family environment."

"After our background check on your family elders, we found that there might be some disharmony and lack of filial piety within your family. Therefore, overall, it's deemed not very suitable."

Reading those lines, I almost laughed in anger.

It was them, all right, using the excuse of family disharmony.

So, "disharmony and lack of filial piety" meant that Lily and I didn't perform monkey tricks for a bunch of old geezers on New Year's Day, like Ivy did?

Were we supposed to be obedient, act like clowns, and maybe even bow down to them?

I took a deep breath and immediately called Ethan.

I recounted everything that happened tonight, word for word.

On the other end of the line, Ethan's breathing noticeably deepened. "They're using Lily's admission to threaten you?"

His voice dropped, but his tone was resolute. "Honey, you don't have to worry about this. I'll handle Lily's admission."

"Elite elementary school, right? Perfect. Our group has a major cooperation project with the city council recently. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll have my assistant contact the director.

"I want to see who dares to block my daughter, Lily's, admission review when all her paperwork is in order."

My heart settled quite a bit, but I still cautioned, "Don't be too impulsive. We have the moral high ground, so just follow proper procedures."

"Don't worry, your husband here is the most reasonable man. But if someone isn't reasonable, then I'll make sure they know what they're up against."

After hanging up, I felt much more at ease.

But then, group messages started popping up again.

I opened the "Happy Family" SnapChat group, and it was already in an uproar.

Ivy was wailing and crying, sending many photos of her torn clothes and scarf.

"I know Sarah doesn't like me, but during the holidays, to lay hands on me in front of a child, how can I bear it..."

She was acting so sincerely, crying real tears.

Uncle Michael directly tagged me, cursing me for having no upbringing.

Aunt Brenda also complained tearfully, demanding I apologize.

I looked at the family of drama queens, at their familiar tactics and accusations.

I typed out a reply and sent it, "She was clinging to my car window and wouldn't let go, she ripped her own clothes. What does that have to do with me?"

After my reply, the accusations in the group became even more intense.

They even started to escalate, cursing my deceased parents for not raising me properly.

I clenched my fists, then sent one last reply, "Is your 'upbringing' conspiring with outsiders to use a child's school admission to force a junior to bow down? Fine, then I'll find some 'outsiders' to judge fairly as well."

After sending it, without waiting for their reactions, I directly left the group.

Once the world was quiet again, I immediately opened my phone's photo album and found all those videos accumulated over the years.

They were videos of Ivy, over the years, wearing ridiculous floral jackets and various weird costumes, wiggling her butt and making the elders clap and laugh.

And also the chat logs from the family group just now.

I bundled them all up and sent them to the most popular local news exposé account.

With the caption, "Feudal elders force junior to act like a fool every year for 'filial piety,' threatening a child's future if they don't comply."

"Videos and chat logs as proof, asking for exposure."

I tapped my finger, and it was sent successfully.