Chapter 3

Mrs. Xander walked in followed by our homeroom teacher, her face stern and icy.

"Who is Yvonne?" she demanded, her sharp gaze scanning the room. None of the students dared to make a sound.

Yvonne, seated next to me, furrowed her brow and swiftly tapped a few times on her phone, then stood up calmly.

"That would be me. How may I help you?"

Mrs. Xander scrutinized Yvonne from head to toe with her slender brows furrowed. Yvonne's face gradually turned red, and she appeared somewhat flustered.

"It's you, the one who's dating my son every day, leading him into mischief?"

Yvonne instinctively denied it, but before she could say more, Mrs. Xander slapped her across the face.

"Your tricks won't work with me. Do you think I don't know what you're up to? You're so young, yet so cunning!"

Yvonne, with a red mark from Mrs. Xander's five fingers on her beautiful face, stared in disbelief at Mrs. Xander and shouted loudly, "You old hag, who gave you the right to hit me?"

Mrs. Xander coldly chuckled, "I have every right, especially when you, at such a young age, deliberately seduced my son. He used to be such a well-behaved child, but now, because of you, he's smoking, drinking, getting into fights, and defying his parents. If you want to ruin yourself, go ahead, but why drag my son down with you?"

Yvonne was a popular figure at school, and she couldn't tolerate being accused of seducing someone.

"Well-behaved? Ha, old hag, Nash is a human being, an independent thinker. How dare you use 'well-behaved' to describe him as if he were a dog."

Yvonne argued vehemently.

Mrs. Xander was so furious that her chest heaved up and down. She grabbed Yvonne's hair and began pulling.

"My son, my rules. It's my choice how I want to raise him. It's none of your business."

Nash finally arrived, pushing Mrs. Xander aside and protecting Yvonne.

Our homeroom teacher managed to restrain Mrs. Xander, who was now panting heavily.

"Mom, what are you doing? It's my choice to be with Yvonne so hit me instead.

"Withdrawing from the competition was my own decision; it has nothing to do with Yvonne."

Mrs. Xander never expected her obedient and sensible son to openly defy her for a girl who clearly had ulterior motives. She trembled with anger, swayed a bit, and our homeroom teacher hurriedly supported her.

"Mom..."

Nash hadn't expected his mother to be so upset. Seeing Mrs. Xander's unsteady steps, he worriedly called out to her.

"Don't call me 'Mom.' I don't have such a disobedient and unfilial son like you." Mrs. Xander raised her hand and slapped Nash.

She pointed at me, standing among the crowd. "You want to date? Your dad and I never stopped you, but at least find a decent girl like Wendy. Wake up and see what kind of person she is. Are you trying to drive me and your dad to an early grave?"

I stood there, feeling unexpectedly singled out. This hadn't happened in my previous life. Mrs. Xander had never come to the school, and even when she later found out about Nash and Yvonne's early romance, they had chosen to send Nash abroad discreetly, cutting off their contact.

Something must have happened this time to make Mrs. Xander react so irrationally and embarrass both of them publicly.

Since Mrs. Xander mentioned my name, everyone's eyes turned to me. Yvonne, seemingly realizing something, stared at me with sudden anger.

"Wendy, it's you! You're the one who told on us!"

"You promised me you wouldn't snitch on us. Why would you do this? What do you gain from it?"

Nash, too, looked at me with a mixture of caution and annoyance.

I shrugged. "This has nothing to do with me. I told you I wouldn't get involved in your affairs, and I've kept my word. If you want to argue, can you at least do it outside? It's affecting everyone's studying here. Also, Mrs. Xander, please clarify that I didn't inform on you."

However, Yvonne was convinced that I was the informer.

"Enough of this arguing. I'm the one who told Mrs. Xander. Calm down, and if you have any issues, discuss them in my office. Don't disrupt the other students here," our homeroom teacher said, rubbing her temples.

We followed our homeroom teacher to her office. It was class time, so there was no one else inside. Mrs. Xander, still furious, was seated by our homeroom teacher.

"If our homeroom teacher hadn't told me, how long were you planning to hide this from me? All the things you've done behind my back, how do you plan to explain them to me and your dad?" Mrs. Xander glared at Nash.

"Alright, talk to your child calmly," our homeroom teacher said, pouring a cup of tea for Mrs. Xander and patting her hand.

Our homeroom teacher and Mrs. Xander were old classmates and had a very close relationship. With her soothing words, Mrs. Xander managed to restrain her anger.

Both Mrs. Xander and our homeroom teacher confirmed that the information didn't come from me, and I finally cleared my name.

"Now that it's not my problem, I'll head back to the classroom. There are so many practice papers I haven't finished."

The college entrance exam was approaching, and I had to make the most of my time.

However, I had underestimated the gossip mills in our school. This incident became widely known. While teenage romances were not uncommon, and some even involved parents and the school, this one attracted unparalleled attention.

I heard that Mrs. Xander gave them two choices that day.

Either Nash would go abroad, or Yvonne would transfer to another school. Yvonne thought she could easily get into an art school with her looks and figure, which was why she dared to be so reckless in her relationship with Nash.

She certainly wouldn't transfer schools for Nash; she hadn't fallen in love with him that deeply yet. Tears welled up in Yvonne's eyes as she hid behind Nash, feeling wronged.

"Don't worry, Yvonne, I'll protect you."

Nash probably felt responsible for Yvonne's humiliation by his mother. When Nash was taken home by Mrs. Xander, another intense argument erupted. To express his determination to be with Yvonne, Nash even smashed his beloved easel and went on a hunger strike in protest.

I saw Nash a week later. It was the first sunny day in two months. I happened to catch a glimpse of him sitting by the window, painting. Since being with Yvonne, he had rarely touched a paintbrush. He would discard a painting even before it took shape.

In the middle of the night, the piercing sound of an ambulance tore through the silence. My parents heard it and rushed next door to help. I saw Mr. Xander carrying Nash on his back, and Mrs. Xander was sobbing behind them. Nash's right hand hung in front of Mr. Xander, and blood was dripping down one drop at a time.

"Quick, get him into the ambulance, Mr. Xander, I'll give you a hand."

My dad rushed up, supporting the unconscious Nash on Mr. Xander's back, and they hurried towards the ambulance. Nash, pale as a ghost, lay on his father's shoulder, a victorious smile in his eyes. As he passed by me, he chuckled and said something.

"In this lifetime, I'll live for Yvonne. Wendy, don't obstruct me, or you know what'll happen."

In that moment, it felt like a bucket of icy water had been poured over me, and I stood frozen in place, feeling a chilling dread.

Nash's tendons in his hand were severed, and while the discovery was made quickly and his life was not in danger, his hand was rendered useless.

Mr. and Mrs. Xander had no choice but to agree to let the two of them be together.

Nash could never pick up a paintbrush again, but he didn't mind it one bit.

When someone asked, he would proudly display the long scar on his wrist, boasting, "This is proof of my love for Yvonne, this is my youth!"

But only I knew that those hands of his could have painted unique works of art. He could have been in the halls filled with an artistic atmosphere, enjoying the admiring glances of everyone.

After Mrs. Xander's visit to the school, Yvonne moved to the seat farthest away from me. The two of them were now openly together. I heard there were a few breakups in between, but each time, Nash went and coaxed her back. As for Yvonne, she simply assumed herself to be part of the Xander family.

After witnessing Mrs. Xander's wealth and extravagance, and dissatisfied with her own modest circumstances, Yvonne often asked Nash for expensive gifts that students couldn't afford.

However, Nash was determined to be with her. Disappointed, Mr. and Mrs. Xander cut off Nash's allowance. Nash had already moved out of his home, and he rented a house with Yvonne off-campus.

Thanks to Nash participating in various competitions over the years, he had won numerous prizes and managed to save a substantial amount from his previous allowances.

For a while, they were living quite comfortably.