Sheldon Caldwell let go, and Rona Langdon was knocked straight to the ground by Vera Xavier. The back of her head hit the ground hard. Luckily, this was the nineties, when concrete roads weren’t yet widespread; this was just a dirt path with no rocks. Otherwise, even if the fall didn’t knock Rona Langdon senseless, she would have at least ended up with a concussion.

Vera Xavier thought to herself, ’What a pity.’

But a show had to be complete. Wiping at her tears, she violently shook Rona Langdon and said, "Mom, are you okay?"

Rona Langdon’s broken arm was already causing her excruciating pain. Then, after being knocked to the ground by Vera Xavier, her head was also throbbing. Now, as Vera Xavier shook her, she became completely dazed and nearly threw up.

She shoved Vera Xavier away with her good hand. "You damned brat! Are you trying to kill me? Get away from me!"

Her words immediately drew criticism from the parents standing nearby. "Your daughter was just trying to help you, and this is how you treat her? You’re completely deranged!"

"That girl is too good-hearted. Her own mother treats her like that, and she’s still trying to protect her!"

"I can’t imagine what that woman is thinking, treating such a wonderful daughter that way!"

"If only I had a daughter that good. I’d be sure to cherish her!"

The male teacher on the side couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He said to Vera Xavier, "Since your mother won’t let you help her, you should hurry and take your exam! Don’t let a mother like her make you miss it."

"But..." Vera Xavier looked hesitant. "My mom..."

"Your mom has enough energy to push you and curse at you; she’s obviously fine. Don’t worry about it, just get to your exam room!" the male teacher urged.

A nearby parent couldn’t take it anymore. A woman took her by the hand and said, "Dear, hurry up and go to your exam!"

And so, Vera Xavier was "reluctantly" escorted into the testing center by a crowd of well-meaning people.

Sheldon Caldwell watched this scene, dumbfounded. Others might not have clearly seen the entirety of Vera Xavier "saving her mother," but he had seen it all with perfect clarity.

She had broken Rona Langdon’s arm and injured her head in front of everyone, yet they all thought she was merely "desperate to save her mother." Not only did she escape criticism, but she actually won the crowd’s sympathy and was showered with praise.

His eyes suddenly lit up. ’That’s it,’ he thought. ’A man like Nathaniel Nathan, even if he was taken by this young woman’s beauty, wouldn’t dote on her to that extent for no reason. So this delicate little thing is actually a little vixen!’

He turned his head to look at Vera Xavier, who happened to turn and look back at him at the exact same moment. Their eyes met. She gave him a slight arch of her eyebrow and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

Sheldon Caldwell chuckled. ’This girl is something else,’ he thought. ’No wonder she has Nathaniel Nathan wrapped around her little finger.’

By the time Rona Langdon sat up and realized what had happened, Vera Xavier was already inside the testing center. She grew frantic and tried to go after her, but Sheldon Caldwell stepped in and blocked her path.

She saw Sheldon Caldwell’s ice-cold eyes and was inexplicably intimidated, instinctively taking two steps back.

Sheldon Caldwell said coldly, "Someone like you is an insult to the very word ’mother’."

Rona Langdon didn’t dare make a scene in front of him. She could only say, "What do you know? She’s absolute scum! She’s nothing like what you see on the surface! She has a vicious heart!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"If I had a mother like you," Sheldon Caldwell said coldly, "I’d probably be vicious too. I’d spend every minute of every day trying to figure out how to kill you."