According to the ratio, she might not survive past tomorrow.

"They started fighting?"

William Brooks turned her head and asked.

The little boy who came to report shook his head, "I don't know, they were just playing and suddenly started fighting! Edward Sutton is so fierce!"

At this moment, William Brooks finally understood why, on the day the former homeroom teacher packed up to go on maternity leave, she left her an entire box of Mrs. Calming Oral Solution.

She took a deep breath, got up, and walked toward the classroom.

Passing through the corridor filled with chasing and roughhousing, she climbed the perilous stairs.

She hadn't even reached the classroom door when she already heard a deafening commotion.

"What on earth is going on!"

She muttered, quickening her pace.

The moment she pushed open the back door of the classroom, all she saw was a sea of heads, chaotically piled together, with shouting and crying nearly lifting the roof off.

"Quiet!"

William Brooks shouted, "Everyone quiet!"

The kids on the outskirts heard her voice and all turned their heads in unison, each one so frightened they scattered in all directions.

Once the crowd dispersed, William Brooks finally saw the main culprit in the middle.

The notoriously fierce Edward Sutton—

Was currently pinned to the ground by another child, unable to move.

"Stop it!"

William Brooks rushed over in a few steps, and upon a closer look, Edward Sutton's face was actually covered in blood.

"David Foster! Stop right now!"

The little boy who was called out was so startled by her voice that he rolled off Edward Sutton at once.

-

"It's nothing serious, just a bumped nose. The bleeding will stop soon."

The school nurse was used to this kind of roughhousing, and without much expression, tossed William Brooks a disinfectant wipe, signaling her to clean the blood off her hands.

With those words, William Brooks's wildly pounding heart finally slowed a little.

Luckily, nothing major happened. Edward Sutton just had a nosebleed, and after touching it a couple of times, smeared blood all over his face.

But William Brooks wasn't in the mood to wipe her own hands. She frowned deeply, staring at the little boy in front of her, and asked, "Why did you hit someone?"

Edward Sutton had gauze stuffed in his nostrils, looking rather comical.

Combined with his stubborn expression, he looked even more like a cartoon character.

"Not talking?"

William Brooks said sternly, "It's okay to make mistakes, what's important is your attitude."

"......"

"Tell the teacher, why did you fight?"

"......"

Seeing that he absolutely refused to speak, William Brooks had no choice but to soften her approach.

She half-squatted in front of Edward Sutton, patted his sweat-dampened hair, and said gently, "Tell the teacher, okay? We agreed to be good friends, remember?"

William Brooks's voice was like the smooth red bean paste inside a tangyuan—soft and sweet, so much so that even the school nurse nearby felt her heart melting.

But this seven-year-old boy remained unmoved, turning his head away in silence.

"If you keep this up..."

William Brooks said, "I'll have to talk to your parents."

Calling the parents was truly the ultimate weapon.

No matter how stubborn a child was, hearing that would immediately make them panic.

His dark pupils spun around like black grapes rolling about.

"I—I... It was David Foster who cursed at me first!"

William Brooks asked, "What did he call you?"

Edward Sutton opened his mouth, looking like he was about to speak, but then seemed to think of something else.

He pouted, turned his head, and clammed up again.

"No matter what, we can't solve problems with our fists."

Behind this gentle tone, no one knew that William Brooks's patience was already running out.

"If you don't say, I really will have to call your parents."

Edward Sutton's cheeks suddenly flushed red, and his fingers fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt.

After a while, he stammered, "M-my dad is very busy! He doesn't have time."

"How busy could he be?"

William Brooks asked, "No matter how busy, he should have time to come to school at least once, right?"

"My dad is—a doctor! He's saving patients every day!"

"Doctors get off work too."

William Brooks said calmly, "I can go to the hospital to find your dad as well."

Kids are kids; when they lie, they can't stand being scared.

Seeing he was about to be exposed, he got so anxious even his baby fat was trembling. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly said,

"No, no, my dad changed jobs! He doesn't work at the hospital anymore!"

"Oh?"

"He's—he's a big celebrity now!" Edward Sutton rolled his eyes as he tried to recall, "He goes out in super cool cars! Over a hundred reporters block his building! Hundreds of fans take his photos every day and sell them! Teacher, you can't see him without buying a ticket!"

"Why not just say your dad is an astronaut and isn't even on Earth right now?"

William Brooks suppressed a laugh, pulling out her phone as she spoke, "Yuanyuan, everyone makes mistakes. As long as you correct them, you're still a good kid. But lying is not okay."

Opening the DingTalk parent group, William Brooks found "Edward Sutton's Dad."

When Edward Sutton saw this, he jumped off the bed in a panic, but didn't dare do anything else. He could only hold back tears and pitifully tug at William Brooks's sleeve.