He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

The blunt question made Sang Jiuning's scalp tingle instantly.

Seeing her daughter's embarrassed and awkward appearance, Fu Xulan couldn't help but smile, her eyes gentle and open-minded, completely unlike Sang Tingyan's tense and serious demeanor.

She took a half step forward, looked her daughter up and down, and said with a hint of teasing and approval, "Not bad, you have the same style as me back then. Back then, I eloped with your father without hesitation, and that's how you came to be."

Upon hearing this, Sang Tingyan, who had been exuding an aura of authority and sternly reprimanding people, instantly lost his composure.

He could no longer maintain his composure, immediately abandoning all his imposing manner. He turned slightly to the side, his eyes softening as he looked at Fu Xulan beside him, his tone instantly becoming gentle: "Alan..."

He looked nothing like a stern patriarch; he was just an honest man who was afraid of his wife.

Fu Xulan chuckled helplessly, waved her hand gently, and took the initiative to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, I won't say anything more, I won't embarrass you anymore. You can educate our daughter, I won't interrupt."

With his wife's tacit approval, Sang Tingyan instantly regained all his confidence. He straightened up, put on a serious face, and turned to look at Sang Jiuning again, his tone solemn and stern: "Sang Jiuning, do you know what you did wrong?"

Seeing her father's serious and lecturing expression, Sang Jiuning felt extremely flustered and subconsciously took two steps back.

Out of the corner of her eye, her pupils contracted slightly.

Sang Tingyan casually pulled a thin wooden ruler from his pocket.

That was something Sang Tingyan always carried with her. She used it to discipline students when they made mistakes or when she was naughty as a child. Just looking at it was intimidating.

Sang Jiuning immediately backed down, waving her hands repeatedly and pleading in a fawning tone: "Dad! Let's talk this out! Can't we reason with each other? This is the university gate, with people coming and going, not your lecture hall. Don't do this! It's too embarrassing!"

She didn't want to be scolded by her own father with a ruler in front of a group of younger students; that would be too awful.

Sang Tingyan glared at her, exasperated, "Now you're worried about being embarrassed? When you stole the household registration book, why didn't you think about being embarrassed?"

Seeing her father approaching step by step, even raising the ruler, Sang Jiuning reacted quickly, slipping away and immediately hiding behind Fu Xulan, firmly holding onto her mother's arm to stay in the safe zone.

She poked half her head out, looking pitifully at Fu Xulan and pleading for help.

Fu Xulan looked at the father and daughter, one serious and earnest, the other clever and cheeky, and felt both annoyed and amused. She gently patted her daughter's hand and spoke up to end the "standoff" at the school gate.

"Stop making a scene here, there are too many people watching. Let's go back to the villa first, and talk about it there."

The black sedan came to a steady stop in front of the wrought iron gate of Fu Yanchen's detached villa. The evening breeze, carrying the heat of early summer, blew into the car window, bringing no coolness but instead making the already tense atmosphere inside the car even more oppressive.

Fu Xulan turned off the car key and sat quietly in the driver's seat without making a sound, only glancing briefly at the back seat.

The group walked into the villa in silence.

As soon as Sang Jiuning stepped into the villa, a large hand grabbed her ear.

Sang Tingyan's face was ashen, and he was radiating barely suppressed rage.

"Ouch—Dad! It hurts!"

A burning pain shot through Sang Jiuning's delicate earlobe, causing her eyes to instantly redden.

She bent slightly, her little hands frantically grabbing at Sang Tingyan's wrist, her voice soft and pleading, filled with grievance and a hint of tears: "Daddy, be gentle! You're really going to pull my ear off!"

She is only twenty years old this year. Although Sang Tingyan has been strict with her since she was a child, he has never raised his voice or laid a hand on her, let alone pulled her ear so hard.

Sang Tingyan's chest heaved with anger, his eyes filled with a mixture of disappointment and rage. His grip tightened further, his voice low and menacing: "Perfect! You're just a decoration anyway! You never use your brain for anything worthwhile, only causing trouble!"

He has been teaching for decades and has taught countless obedient and sensible students, but his own daughter is the one who gives him the most trouble!

To steal the household registration book without telling his family and register with someone else is simply outrageous!

"I know I was wrong, okay?!" Sang Jiuning's nose stung from the pain, her eyes were wet, and she looked completely dejected. She didn't dare to argue with her father, who was still angry, so she could only plead softly, "Dad, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, please let go first, okay? My ear really hurts so much."

She hung her head pitifully, her long eyelashes drooping wetly, looking like a little girl who had suffered a great injustice.

But Sang Tingyan was furious at the moment and showed no sign of softening, grabbing her ear and refusing to let go.

Sang Jiuning had only one thought in her mind: It's over, Dad is really angry this time.

Sang Jiuning caught a glimpse of Fu Yanchen sitting on the sofa out of the corner of her eye.

He stood tall and leaned lazily against the back of the sofa, his fingertips casually resting on his knees. His features were handsome, but his expression was somewhat unnatural, with a hint of guilt hidden in his eyes.

Sang Jiuning felt like she had grasped a lifeline. All her grievances and panic surged up at once, and she immediately cried out for help, her voice still nasal: "Brother! Save me!"

Fu Yanchen's heart skipped a beat.

His mind was in turmoil; he felt guilty and uneasy the whole time.

He was the one who leaked the whole thing from beginning to end.

He was furious that Wen Zhaoci had provoked him. Seeing his innocent and gentle younger sister being taken away by that obsessive and deep man, he eventually secretly told Sang Tingyan and his wife.

From the moment he sat there until now, he had been lost in thought, feeling both regret and fear.

He was afraid that once Sang Jiuning found out the truth, she would completely hate him, ignore him, and never be close to him again, never sweetly call him "brother" again.

But at this moment, seeing the little girl's red ears, her red-rimmed eyes, her pitiful and helpless expression as she pleaded for his help, Fu Yanchen couldn't suppress his inner turmoil and selfishness any longer.

No matter what, he couldn't bear to see his sister suffer or be punished.

He immediately stood up, speaking gently and sincerely, to stop her: "Uncle, let's talk this out. Don't be so harsh on her, and don't hit her."

With Fu Yanchen's words, Sang Jiuning felt a little more at ease and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She thought to herself, with her brother pleading for her, her father should no longer be angry.

But Sang Tingyan wouldn't listen to reason. His brows were furrowed, his anger undiminished, and his tone was stern: "Yan Chen, don't take her side! I've been teaching for so many years and have seen countless children, but she's the most disobedient and worrisome of them all! She has to learn a lesson today, otherwise she'll continue to act recklessly!"

Sang Jiuning's heart jumped again. She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, feeling extremely flustered.

Oh no, Dad won't listen to any advice.

She stood obediently in place with her head down, prepared to be scolded or even punished, her fingertips slightly cold with tension.

Just as the atmosphere reached its peak and the only sound in the living room was Sang Tingyan's heavy breathing, Fu Xulan walked over with elegant steps and gently sat down on the sofa next to her.

With a calm expression and a soft tone, she slowly uttered a sentence: "Anger kills cells and makes you age faster."