Cedric Grant looked down.

And sure enough.

That morning, the comments had been a chorus of curses against Sophia Shaw, but now they were all piled high with vitriol for Joanna Sherman.

What had been only a few hundred comments had now ballooned to tens of thousands!

All the comments bashing Sophia Shaw were completely drowned out by the ones bashing Joanna Sherman!

Tina Lawson patted him sympathetically. "Don’t be sad. It’s not your fault you’re dumb."

My mom says only people with an IQ under thirty can’t tell the difference between ’more’ and ’less’ when it’s this obvious.

’Cedric Grant’s IQ must be under thirty.’

Cedric Grant: "..."

"Cedric Grant, tonight I’ll have my mom send the pork brain seller’s WeChat to your mom so she can stew some for you."

The little girl, wearing a "you’re welcome" expression, walked away with her head held high.

After the activities were over, the parents didn’t hurry to leave.

The parents gathered with their children in twos and threes, chatting.

Joanna Sherman and Vincent Grant came out.

Seeing the parents gathered in small groups, Joanna Sherman’s eyes glinted. "Vincent, why don’t you go get the car first? I’ll take Cedric and meet you at the school gate."

The parking area at the school gate was limited, so Vincent Grant’s car was parked a little far away.

After Vincent Grant was a good distance away, Joanna Sherman went up to Cedric Grant. "Cedric, why don’t you take me to say hello to your classmates?"

Cedric Grant was still feeling down after being scorned by Tina Lawson, but he had never refused a request from Auntie Joanna.

Forcing himself to cheer up, he said, "Okay."

Cedric Grant deliberately led Joanna Sherman to a spot far away from Tina Lawson and the class monitor.

"Hi everyone, this is my favorite Auntie Joanna," he introduced her generously.

Many of the parents had seen Joanna Sherman during the picnic activity. Hearing Cedric Grant’s loud introduction, they all nodded as if they understood something.

They greeted her politely.

But they couldn’t help but size her up discreetly.

Joanna Sherman’s fame had been on the rise recently, and Vincent Grant’s status was undeniable.

’The two of them make a good match.’

’The key is, she’s even won over her future stepson. It seems like good news is on the horizon.’

Most of the parents at this school were in business and had no connection to Joanna Sherman’s rocket launches.

Still, quite a few parents exchanged contact information with her.

’She’s the future Mrs. Grant. It’s always a good idea to curry some favor.’

Joanna Sherman said graciously, "In the future, you can also contact me for anything related to Cedric."

This statement further confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

Seeing that she had accomplished enough, Joanna Sherman took Cedric Grant’s hand and started to walk away.

"Auntie Frost, Auntie Frost!" From behind, Tina Lawson frantically pulled her mother along as she ran toward Joanna Sherman.

Joanna Sherman thought she was calling someone else, but she still paused.

Just then, she saw Tina Lawson stop right in front of her.

The little girl was out of breath from running. She gasped, "Auntie Frost, this is my mom."

Joanna Sherman: "..."

"What did you call me?"

Cedric Grant hadn’t expected Tina Lawson to chase after them, and he was furious that she continued to call Auntie Joanna "Auntie Frost." His face turned red with anger.

He corrected her, "She’s *my* Auntie Joanna."

"Oh," Tina Lawson replied. "Auntie Frost, quick, scan this WeChat QR code."

She held out the phone she had snatched from her mom, presenting it like a treasure. "I promised Cedric Grant I’d give you the uncle who sells pork brains."

She was referring to giving the WeChat contact to Joanna Sherman.

After saying this, she gave Cedric Grant a sympathetic look. "Auntie Frost, the uncle’s pork brains are really good for you. I guarantee they’ll fix Cedric Grant’s brain right up."

Joanna Sherman: "..."

Cedric Grant: "..."

Tina Lawson had called him stupid right in front of Joanna Sherman. Cedric Grant was utterly humiliated. He stammered, "My brain... She’s not Auntie Frost!"

He wanted to say there was nothing wrong with his brain, but he was also desperate to correct Tina Lawson for calling Joanna Sherman "Auntie Frost."

The more flustered he got, the more jumbled his words became.

Tina Lawson nodded understandingly, then grinned proudly at her own mother. "Mom, aren’t I such a helpful kid?"

Mrs. Lawson: "..."

She looked at Cedric Grant, who was on the verge of tears, and then at Joanna Sherman, whose expression was grim.

’Looks like... we’ve offended someone.’

Afraid her daughter would say something even more shocking, Mrs. Lawson scooped up the child, left a quick "So sorry,"

and beat a hasty retreat.

The class monitor and Chubby walked over with their mothers.

The two parents had just seen Joanna Sherman exchanging contact information with other parents and had come over to greet her as well.

The class monitor huffily pulled his mother back. "Mom, I don’t want to say hi to Cedric Grant, and I don’t want to be his friend. He doesn’t even want his own mom! He’s always running around with some other auntie. He’s so annoying!"

Chubby quickly added, "I can prove it, the class monitor isn’t lying! He said his mom is embarrassing and is always showing off that ugly Auntie Icy-Onion-Noodle-Soup!"

Joanna Sherman: "..."

She had always been called a goddess. Being belittled by two children in a row, no matter how much self-control Joanna Sherman had, her expression became incredibly grim.

The two mothers looked at both Joanna Sherman and Cedric Grant at the same time.

’A child who won’t even acknowledge his own mother is a menace, no matter how good his grades are.’

’Best to avoid them.’

In the end, they just gave Joanna Sherman a cool nod and, as if fleeing a plague, quickly pulled their children away.

「That evening.」

A parent she was on good terms with called Sophia Shaw to tell her what had happened that afternoon.

Including how Cedric Grant was called an idiot, and how he and Joanna Sherman were collectively shunned by the other parents.

"Everyone feels it’s so unfair to you! You put so much effort into that child, and in return, he calls you embarrassing and runs around showing off some random auntie who has nothing to do with him!"

Many of the parents had seen with their own eyes just how much Sophia Shaw cared about Cedric Grant.

Even though she worked out of town, she would pick up her son every single day without fail. No matter how busy she was, she never missed any of her son’s activities.

She never missed one, even when she was heavily pregnant.

Sophia Shaw was now indifferent toward Cedric Grant. No matter how much he praised Joanna Sherman to the high heavens, she wouldn’t feel sad anymore.

She just said, "Thank you for your kindness, but from now on, Cedric is no longer my concern."

It wasn’t appropriate to say much about her divorce from Vincent Grant, so she kept it brief.

The other mother understood and just said, "Oh."

"It’s Cedric’s loss for giving up a wonderful mother like you. He’ll definitely regret it in the future."

After hanging up, Sophia Shaw still couldn’t help but sigh.

Even outsiders could see how much she cared for Cedric Grant, but he himself seemed oblivious, abandoning her so easily.

’Whatever, I’m not going to think about it anymore.’

Sophia Shaw picked up Bun and started her weekly livestream.

「The Sherman Residence.」

Joanna Sherman had wanted to persuade Cedric Grant and Vincent Grant to eat dinner out before going home, but a phone call from Yvonne Sherman summoned her back.

"What is it? Did it have to be so urgent?"

Joanna Sherman was not in a good mood.

Being humiliated by a bunch of little brats at school had left a very bad taste in her mouth.

And now Yvonne Sherman had interrupted her date with Vincent Grant.

She wasn’t a magnanimous person; otherwise, she wouldn’t have started bullying Sophia Shaw when they were children.

Yvonne Sherman’s expression was grim. "Of course it’s a big deal. Haven’t you seen the online comments today?"

"Do you think I’m like you, wasting my day on that kind of pointless stuff?"

Yvonne Sherman didn’t have time to argue with her daughter. She opened her phone. "Look! Yesterday, everyone was cursing out Sophia Shaw. Today, it’s like they’ve all gone crazy and are coming after you!"

Joanna Sherman looked down.

She saw a dense wall of comments, all of them filled with various criticisms and curses directed at her.

They didn’t use any profanity, yet they were scathing enough to make all eighteen generations of her ancestors want to hide in shame.