You are all bad women! Don't come over!

Although the two of them were fast, by the time they arrived at the school gate, it was already 9:10 am.

Catherine sat in the car, preparing to get out, "Any meat buns left?"

"Why didn't you say earlier that you wanted meat buns..." Shen Mochen looked at the half-eaten meat bun in his hand, reluctantly handed it over, "There's half left."

"Are you a pig? Eating that fast!" Catherine angrily glared at Shen Mochen and unceremoniously snatched the last half of the meat bun from his hand.

"I didn't know you wanted some..." Shen Mochen frantically gulped down water, and then burped contentedly, letting out a long breath, "Whew, I'm actually a bit nervous."

"Are you getting cold feet as we're approaching home?"

The corners of Shen Mochen's mouth twitched slightly, "No, the last time we almost made off with all the students' pocket money... I'm afraid of getting beaten up."

They still remembered the gambling event about Catherine's spouse that occurred on the school forum a few months ago. It was one of the biggest gambling events in the history of the school forum, where the total amount of money invested by teachers and students was nearly a hundred million... and then it was all swept away by Shen Mochen.

When the news broke, there was a non-stop barrage of curses on the forum. Who the hell added Shen Mochen as an option?

Originally, no one favored Shen Mochen; the disparity in status was clear. A pheasant, no matter how pretty, was still a pheasant, while a phoenix was destined for the parasol tree. How could the two ever be a match? The inclusion of Shen Mochen as an option was completely out of malice and mockery.

As a result, in the beginning, there were very few bets on him, only one with five thousand yuan. Many people laughed, suggesting it might have been Shen Mochen himself who placed the bet. Even when suddenly a bet of one hundred thousand yuan appeared, no one took it seriously.

But who could have expected such a surprising outcome! Nobody could have predicted this ending!

When all the betting money was transferred into someone's account, someone hacked into the backend and discovered that the five thousand yuan was placed by Catherine, and that one hundred thousand yuan bet was made by Shen Mochen.

Isn't this... kind of like fraud?

Are we just a part of your play?

You're already making us grind our teeth with your happiness, and now you want us to fork over the bets as well?

Give me my money back, I don't want to play anymore!

After the students at First Middle School learned the truth, they were so outraged that even though there was a gag order placed to stop discussing the matter, it couldn't contain their curses towards Shen Mochen.

"Damn Shen Mochen, give me back my hard-earned money!" became a popular saying on the school forum.

Catherine paused for a moment, then coughed and righteously separated herself from Shen Mochen, "Please don't include 'us' in this. You took most of that money, it has nothing to do with me."

"What are you talking about? Didn't you take the opportunity to loot 40%? That's nearly 40 million!"

The thought of this matter made Shen Mochen hurt all over.

Damn it, what kind of rich woman is this, robbing the working people of their hard-earned money!

"When did I ever rob you? Do you have any proof?"

"I have the transfer records!"

"That can only mean you willingly gave me some money, what does that have to do with that betting game? I only profited four million from it."

Catherine was so righteous in her defense that Shen Mochen felt a bit dazed. Were all the elite this shamelessly brazen?

"Shouldn't we share the joy and bear the hardships together, then? Otherwise, give me back my money!"

"Stop your nonsense and get out of the car!" Catherine kicked Shen Mochen out with one foot.

Shen Mochen grumbled as he got out of the car. At the school gate, a huge banner welcoming Shen Mochen back to his alma mater was displayed.

The school gates were wide open. On both sides stood the most beautiful girls in the school, including You Feicheng and Gu Yange, each holding flowers, while the head of teaching staff personally stood in the middle to welcome him.

"Shen Mochen, it's been a long time since you visited your alma mater, hasn't it?" The head of teaching staff stepped forward to shake Shen Mochen's hand with a warm smile.

"I've been quite busy before, but I've always wanted to come back and see the teachers and classmates. To have Director Tian personally welcome me is truly an honor."

Shen Mochen was a smooth talker, always knowing what to say and to whom.

"You're an outstanding student representative from our First Middle School, the face of our school!" Director Tian enthusiastically ushered Shen Mochen and Catherine into the school.

In terms of practical benefits, Shen Mochen indeed brought a lot of prestige to First Middle School. There had been more and more outside voices questioning whether State First Middle School had become a preserve for the children of the elite, causing the school some embarrassment. Even if what you're saying is true, you shouldn't say it out loud!

But after Shen Mochen became famous, those voices quieted down considerably, like a heaven-sent fig leaf.

You say First Middle School only admits the elite? Well, look at Shen Mochen, who came from the slums, isn't he also a student from our school?

And once someone questioned whether Shen Mochen still counted as poor after his sister joined Buque, the school didn't even need to respond—the fans of Shen Mochen would manage the comments themselves, lashing out viciously and forcing detractors off the internet.

How dare they ruin our Mochen brother's perfect public image of "always being at the bottom, emerging from the mud unstained, and always keeping a pure heart"? They need to see how the Horse God deals with them!

Of course, if that were all, there would be no need for such an extravagant welcome for Shen Mochen. The most important thing was that Shen Mochen's current background was a mystery.

Outsiders didn't know, but inside First Middle School, plenty were aware of Shen Mochen's infamous disruption of the Alexandrov Family's engagement event, holding hostage including Marquis Roman Glanjin, among numerous wealthy aristocrats.

And yet, Shen Mochen managed to stay alive and kicking to this day, with Buque not only protecting him but also making him a household name and a star, while even the Capital City's Shen Family had ambiguous words to say.

It was the hidden power and influence behind him that really intrigued people.

The three walked through the school. For Shen Mochen, who hadn't been back for half a year, every plant and tree stirred up nostalgia.

After a while, they arrived at the auditorium. The teachers and students were already seated. Director Tian invited Shen Mochen to sit on the stage and also reserved a seat for Catherine.

After all, Catherine had nominally dropped out by now, and her visit today could also be seen as representing the Alexandrov Family.

Upon seeing Shen Mochen's arrival, the principal immediately started the welcoming speech, and thunderous applause erupted from the teachers and students below.

Shen Mochen glanced at the prepared speech on the seat, then at the composed Catherine beside him.

He looked down at the complex faces of the teachers and students and thought to himself, I really never expected to have this day.

Back then, his wildest dream was nothing more than to excel academically, attend a good university, and return to that shabby community elementary school to show off in front of a bunch of kids with nearly no future.