Chapter 30: Vanity Leads to Suffering

The atmosphere in the private room turned even more subtle.

The looks directed at Chen Yu were filled with undisguised superiority. Most of them were doing reasonably well in life, but compared to a man who stayed at home living off his wife, they had every reason to stand tall and proud.

"That's right, Chen Yu, the class monitor is doing this for your own good," one person chimed in with a smirk. "Education is the foundation; you can't let your child lose at the starting line. As for your current... well, if you're a bit short on cash, we're all former classmates, just say the word. We can pool some money together for you."

"Exactly, don't let your pride get in the way of your child's future."

"Look at my kid—I spent over a hundred thousand this year alone just to get him into a good extracurricular class, and I didn't even blink. That’s what it means to be a man with responsibilities."

Sentence after sentence. They were constantly mocking Chen Yu, relishing the feeling of looking down on him, as if belittling a former classmate could validate their own success.

Chen Yu’s expression remained unchanged. To Wang Feng and the others, this indifference looked like the stubbornness of a man who had completely given up on himself.

However, they failed to notice Niannian, who had been sitting quietly beside Chen Yu like an exquisite porcelain doll. She tilted her small head slightly. Her large eyes blinked, and in her clear pupils reflected Wang Feng’s smug face. The little girl had a great memory, especially when it came to school names.

"Dulwich International?" Niannian’s crisp voice suddenly rang out.

Wang Feng was taken aback, then smiled even more brilliantly, assuming his showing off had worked and that even a child had memorized such a prestigious name. He leaned down and said in a tone meant for coaxing a toddler, "That's right, it's Dulwich International Kindergarten. It's very impressive, you know."

"Does Niannian want to go? If you do, you can ask your daddy to beg Uncle Wang, and Uncle Wang might... uh, find a way." He had originally meant to say it was impossible, but to save face, he blurred his words.

Unexpectedly, Niannian shook her head, pouting slightly as she looked earnest and a bit confused. "Oh, that school." She nodded, as if finally recalling something, and then said in a very certain tone, word for word: "That school is actually not very good."

"When I went to participate in the city’s Math Olympiad and the English speech competition, the kids from that school were always ranked way behind."

...

Boom!

Niannian’s words exploded in the room!

Around the circular dining table, the twenty or so faces that had been wearing fake smiles and mocking expressions a second ago all froze at once.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

"Pfft—"

Someone couldn't help but laugh, and it was like lighting a fuse. Immediately after, a tidal wave of uproarious laughter erupted.

"Hahahaha! I can't take it, I'm dying! Chen Yu, you're something else!"

"Not good? Ranked way behind? Oh my god, who wrote this script for you? It's hilarious!"

"Chen Yu, have you lost your mind? For the sake of your pride, you're actually teaching your daughter to tell such lies? Do you have any sense of being a father at all?"

The person who had been echoing Wang Feng was laughing so hard tears were coming out. He pointed at Chen Yu, gasping for air. "I'm telling you, Chen Yu, it's not shameful to be struggling, really."

"But to puff yourself up like this and drag your own daughter into your charade—that's just disgusting. Look at what you've taught your child!"

"Exactly! At such a young age, she's already learning to lie without turning red or skipping a beat. What will she be like when she grows up? Chen Yu, you're ruining your kid!"

"Is your pitiful self-esteem really worth this?"

"I never thought you were this kind of person. So disappointing!"

The crowd was incensed. Everyone, regardless of gender, aimed their hostility at Chen Yu, conducting a "moral trial" against him with righteous indignation. They seemed to have transformed into messengers of justice and experts in education, lamenting and blaming Chen Yu for his "depravity" and "shamelessness."

Niannian was startled by the sudden confrontation. Her small face turned bright red, and her large, watery eyes quickly clouded over. She didn't understand—she had just spoken the truth, so why were these adults laughing at her so loudly and saying bad things about her father?

"I didn't lie!" The little girl clenched her small fists and stubbornly raised her head. "Everything I said is true! Dulwich really is ranked behind!"

To the others, her defense only made her look even more ridiculously stubborn.

Wang Feng let out a mock sigh and said in a patronizing tone, "Chen Yu, oh Chen Yu, forget it. Don't let your daughter keep talking; it's getting embarrassing for you."

He paused, then turned his gaze to the flushed Niannian. "Alright, alright, Uncle believes you. I believe you're not lying."

He asked with feigned gentleness, "Then, little Niannian, can you tell Uncle, since Dulwich International is so 'not good,' what kind of amazing school do you go to that gives you so much confidence?"

Everyone stopped laughing, staring intently at Niannian, waiting to see how this pair would try to patch up their massive lie. They were certain Chen Yu would either blurt out a random name or stammer and fail to provide one.

Chen Yu remained silent. He simply placed a hand on Niannian’s back, soothing her slightly trembling body. His gaze had turned as cold as a Siberian gale.

Niannian felt the warmth of her father’s palm. She took a deep breath, lifted her little chin, and with all her might, clearly announced a name:

"I go to the Beijing First Experimental Kindergarten."

...

If Niannian saying Dulwich wasn't good was a shock, then the name "Beijing First Experimental Kindergarten" was a nuclear-level blast.

Beijing First Experimental Kindergarten?

What kind of international joke was this?

What kind of place was that? It was the absolute pinnacle of the pyramid for all early childhood education institutions in the entire country!

Forget the three-hundred-thousand-a-year Dulwich; even with three million a year, you couldn't even touch their threshold!

The children who got in weren't just "rich or powerful"—that didn't even begin to describe it; they were the true top-tier elite!

Never mind a low-level section chief like him working under the Municipal Bureau of Education; even their bureau director would have to pull every string imaginable just to see if they would even consider taking his child!

This Chen Yu, this freeloader, this piece of trash—his daughter went to the Beijing First Experimental Kindergarten?

This was even more absurd than claiming he was the Jade Emperor descending to earth to experience life!

After a brief, dead silence, an even more violent and unbridled roar of laughter erupted!

"Hahahahahaha! Beijing... Beijing First Experimental? Oh my mother! Chen Yu! You really have the guts to boast!"

"He's lost it, this guy has definitely lost it! Being kept by a wealthy woman must have rotted his brain!"