Never having embarrassed himself in front of his teachers and classmates before, Mu Hao was furious.
He had no idea why his mind had suddenly gone completely blank. If he was going to make a fool of himself, he had to make sure Mu Ze made a fool of himself too.
The English teacher thought Mu Hao was genuinely feeling unwell and did not push him any further.
"Student Mu Ze, why don't you give it a try."
Mu Hao shot Mu Ze a look of sheer disdain. If he couldn't say it, there was no way Mu Ze could.
The classmates didn't want to hear Mu Ze's hillbilly pronunciation either; some even covered their ears.
Mu Ze stood up from his corner. He looked at the English teacher at the podium, who clearly had no faith in him. Quickly organizing his thoughts, he spoke at a steady, unhurried pace, "My summer holiday is a happy time for me. I play the piano every day..."
At first, Mu Ze was a bit timid. In the past, whenever teachers called on him, even if he had the right answer in his head, it would come out completely wrong, turning him into the laughingstock of the class.
But this time was incredibly strange. The fog in his mind seemed to have vanished, and both his thoughts and his articulation were much clearer.
Seeing the shock and disbelief in the eyes of his teacher and classmates, Mu Ze spoke more and more fluently, his pronunciation becoming increasingly authentic and pleasant to hear.
Watching Mu Ze express himself so fluently, Mu Hao clenched his hands into tight fists, his face contorting with anger.
He could not tolerate Mu Ze surpassing him. Mu Ze was supposed to be inferior to him in every single way.
That fluent English of Mu Ze's was originally supposed to come from his own mouth.
He didn't understand why he had suddenly been unable to speak.
Mu Ze had stolen the glory that belonged to him.
Mu Hao wished he could march up there and tear his mouth to pieces.
After Mu Ze finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the classroom for a moment.
The English teacher was the first to react. She led the way by clapping her hands. "Student Mu Ze, you must have worked very hard over the summer holiday. Compared to last semester, you have made a qualitative leap."
With that said, the English teacher glanced at Mu Hao, a trace of suspicion in her eyes.
How could Mu Hao's level have regressed so much over a single summer break?
For the entire morning, Mu Hao was in a state of extreme irritability.
Not only had Mu Ze's English improved, but his math had as well. He could answer all the questions the teachers asked.
It made him so mad he could die!
He used to be the center of attention in the class, but this time, his charm seemed to have failed him.
At noon, they went to the cafeteria for lunch.
His little lackey noticed Mu Hao's displeasure. "Prince Hao, no matter how hard Mu Ze tries, he's still just adopted by your Mu family. He's nothing but a dog to your family, so you don't need to worry about him surpassing you."
"Yeah, yeah, Prince Hao is just feeling a bit under the weather lately. Once you recover your form, you'll definitely be way more awesome than Mu Ze."
Mu Hao cast a glance toward Mu Ze.
In the past, Mu Ze was always a lone wolf, and none of his classmates would ever talk to him.
But because his performance this morning was so outstanding, several classmates were now sitting around him.
"Mu Ze, you've really been hiding your talents! You can actually speak with an Oxford accent. If you have time later, could you teach me how to pronounce things?"
Seeing classmates asking him for advice, Mu Ze felt somewhat flattered. He nodded humbly and amicably, "Sure, as long as you don't mind."
"Mu Ze, teach me math! I suddenly realized your mind is so sharp!"
Just as Mu Ze was about to nod, a bowl of piping hot soup was suddenly splashed onto his face.
Mu Hao smashed the soup bowl in his hand at Mu Ze's feet, glaring at him in humiliating rage. "Mu Ze, you stole my knowledge!"
Mu Ze frowned deeply. "Mu Hao, I don't understand what you're talking about."
Mu Hao stood with his hands on his hips. "The things in your head originally all belonged to me."
Mom had said that the harder Mu Ze worked, the luckier he would become; everything Mu Ze learned belonged to him.
But this morning, it had stopped working.
Mu Ze must have stolen what rightfully belonged to him.
The classmates surrounding Mu Ze looked at the short-tempered Mu Hao, their previous rose-tinted view of him shattering completely. "Mu Hao, how can knowledge be stolen? It all comes from relying on your own hard work, okay!"
Mu Hao clenched his fists tightly, his anger skyrocketing to its absolute peak.
Unable to endure it any longer, he stepped forward and swung his fist straight at Mu Ze's face.
"You f*cking eat my family's food, drink our water, and live in our house, yet you dare to steal my knowledge! Watch me beat you to death, you little bastard!"
Taking the punch from Mu Hao, Mu Ze wiped his nose, which was now bleeding.
Aside from Mu Hao's little lackeys, the other classmates felt as if Mu Hao had turned into a completely different person. Although he liked to bully Mu Ze in the past, back then Mu Ze really was too stupid, and combined with their top student filter for Mu Hao, they had let it slide. But after this morning's classes, they realized Mu Hao was actually dumber than them.
Could it be that his past image as a top student was just an illusion?
Instead, it was Mu Ze who was much smarter than they had imagined.
It was also Mu Hao who had just started the trouble and thrown the first punch, while Mu Ze hadn't said anything provocative from beginning to end.
"Mu Hao, why are you hitting people?"
Seeing that some classmates were speaking up for Mu Ze, Mu Hao became even more furious.
In the past, he was the center of attention wherever he went, but after just one morning, Mu Ze had stolen his thunder.
"He's just a dog belonging to my family. What's wrong with me hitting him?"
Mu Hao looked at Mu Ze provocatively. "Get down on your knees and bark like a dog three times, and I'll let you off the hook!"
Mu Ze put down the chopsticks in his hand, his eyes turning red. "Mu Hao, don't push things too far!"
Mu Hao completely looked down on Mu Ze. Although he was young, he was a taekwondo master. If Mu Ze dared to fight back, he would beat him to a pulp.
"What right does a dog like you have to bark at me? Kneel down immediately, or else I'll tell Mom after school!"
Mu Ze lowered his long eyelashes, his lips pressed tightly into a straight line. "I don't want to fight with you."
"Hahaha," Mu Hao laughed arrogantly. "Even if you fought me, could you win? Coward!"
Mu Hao's little lackeys all burst into laughter.
Mu Ze's small face flushed beet red.
Seeing that Mu Ze refused to kneel, Mu Hao stopped wasting his breath, raised his fist, and swung at him again.
But in the next second—
The onlookers were all dumbfounded.
The one getting beaten was no longer Mu Ze, but...
The crowd stared in total disbelief at Mu Hao, who was lying on the ground unable to get up after being taken down by Mu Ze with a clean over-the-shoulder throw.
Mu Hao was a taekwondo master; almost no one in the school dared to provoke him.
Yet just now, Mu Ze had actually thrown him straight to the floor.
The back of Mu Hao's head hit the ground, making his brain buzz and sending stars dancing before his eyes.
After who knows how long, a little girl finally jumped up and clapped her hands. "Wow, Mu Ze, your moves are amazing! I suddenly realized you're really handsome, too."
Mu Hao looked at that little girl. Just last semester, the person she worshipped the most was him.
Mu Hao couldn't understand how Mu Ze could have undergone such an earth-shattering transformation in such a short period of time!
Rubbing his head, Mu Hao stood up from the ground, glaring at Mu Ze with an ashen face. "I'm calling my mom right now."
Mu Hao tapped on his smartwatch and dialed Mrs. Mu's number.
After throwing Mu Hao, Mu Ze actually felt a bit regretful in his heart.
Mu Hao was the little tyrant of the Mu family. When he got vicious, he would even hit Mrs. Mu, but Mrs. Mu never blamed him and would instead coax him.
If Madam Mu found out he had thrown Mu Hao to the ground, she would definitely beat him severely.
After all, he was just a child, and he was still afraid of being punished by his family.
Seeing the guilt and fear flash in Mu Ze's eyes, Mu Hao's eyes filled with malice and gloating.
Mom would definitely vent his anger for him and beat Mu Ze to death!
Not far away, Si Youyou and Wen Yan watched this scene unfold.
Seeing Mu Hao calling Madam Mu, Si Youyou felt somewhat worried for Mu Ze. "Sister-in-law, Xiao Ze is definitely going to get beaten."
"Not for the time being. This afternoon, Madam Mu is taking Xiao Ze and Mu Hao to the club to meet Madam Sun. She still needs Xiao Ze to play the piano then. Besides..."
Wen Yan waved her phone. "I recorded the scene of Mu Hao starting the trouble and bullying Xiao Ze. I'll post it on their school forum later, and then have your older brother use his hacking skills to pin it to the top so they can't delete it."
After receiving Mu Hao's call, Madam Mu quickly rushed to the school.
Upon learning that Mu Ze had thrown Mu Hao, Madam Mu was both heartbroken and furious.
She wanted to pull Mu Ze aside to teach him a lesson, but the homeroom teacher hurried over. "Madam Mu, Mu Hao threw the first punch. Someone took a video and posted it on the forum. Now many parents and classmates have seen it, and the impact is extremely bad. If you still punish Mu Ze, it will cause public outrage."
Madam Mu quickly checked the forum.
She clearly saw that Mu Hao was the one who acted first, but she only cared about the fact that her Mu Hao was thrown to the ground by Mu Ze.
It must have hurt a lot.
Madam Mu gritted her teeth.
However, due to her reputation and public opinion, Madam Mu didn't dare to discipline Mu Ze at school.
Moreover, she needed Mu Ze to play the piano in the evening, and she was afraid that injuring him would affect his performance.
"Xiao Ze, although you are not my biological son, I have focused on cultivating you since you were little. Xiao Hao has a bit of a short temper, but you are the older brother, so you should be more accommodating to him. Even if it's just for my sake, don't raise your hand against him again, do you understand?"
Mu Ze hung his head and said nothing.
"If you don't want to make me angry, perform well when you play the piano tonight."
Mu Ze was a bit surprised that Madam Mu didn't hit him. He was a child starved of affection, and if he received even the slightest bit of warmth, he would repay it doubly. He nodded obediently.
Madam Mu told Mu Ze to go back to the classroom for his lesson. The moment Mu Ze turned to leave, her eyes filled with ruthlessness and malice.
Wait until she finished meeting Sister Sun and Xiyao, then she would show him how she deals with him!
Evening.
Madam Mu brought Mu Hao and Mu Ze to a private club.
Madam Mu took Mu Ze to one of the private rooms, which had a piano and some pastries. "Xiao Ze, eat something first. Later, when the butler tells you to play the piano, you must play well. Don't make any mistakes, understand?"
Mu Ze nodded.
Madam Mu and Mu Hao went to another luxurious, large private room.
Not long after, Madam Sun brought her daughter, Sun Xiyao, over.
"Sister Xiyao." Seeing Sun Xiyao, who looked like a porcelain doll, Mu Hao completely dropped his arrogant and domineering little bully act and took the initiative to hold Sun Xiyao's hand.
Seeing the two children getting along so well, Madam Sun revealed a smile.
Madam Mu took the opportunity to speak up, "Sister Sun, about the project..."
Madam Sun interrupted Madam Mu's unfinished words. "No rush. I specifically brought Xiyao over today to learn from Hao Hao. The sonata you sent a couple of days ago is not something an ordinary person can play. Both Xiyao and I want to hear Hao Hao play it live again."
Sun Xiyao had a look of admiration. "Brother Hao Hao played it so beautifully in the audio, it will definitely sound even better live."
Madam Mu pulled Mu Hao to the piano and smiled. "In that case, our Hao Hao will show off his meager skills."
Madam Mu immediately sent a message to the butler in the other room.
Upon receiving Madam Mu's message, the butler had Mu Ze sit at the piano. "You may begin."
Just as Mu Ze was about to play, suddenly, an accident happened—
