The only person in the Valentine family who could control the unruly Marcus was Third Uncle.

Ethan Valentine had thought it through clearly.

He had only taken two steps before halting abruptly.

He frowned deeply and suddenly looked at his assistant.

"Big Brother went out drinking on his wedding night last night.

Has his wife come home tonight?"

The assistant immediately shook his head.

"Not yet."

Ethan hesitated.

Something seemed off between Big Brother and his wife.

They clearly cared for each other, yet they were caught in some inexplicable quarrel.

Would complaining to Third Uncle now only worsen their conflict?

He pondered for a moment before finally making a decision.

"Forget it.

I'll go to the preschool tomorrow!"

…

Mina Sherwood indeed had not gone home.

She and Chloe Roland were both staying at the Nan residence.

The already cramped house felt even more crowded.

Both guest rooms were occupied.

Alexander Vance was displeased.

As they prepared for bed that night, he couldn't help but complain.

"Don't they have homes of their own?"

Evelyn Ross was focused on her computer screen, fingers flying across the keyboard as she worked on something.

She didn't even look up at his words.

Alexander slowly walked behind Evelyn and glanced at the document title: Preschool Restructuring Plan.

Below it was a detailed list of the preschool's current issues, along with a series of new rules!

The first rule prohibited storing snacks in any classroom.

No preschool would ever do such a thing!

Alexander looked at her profile, absorbed in her work, and asked softly, "Taking it this seriously?"

Evelyn nodded.

"Since I've taken on this responsibility, I'll see it through to the end.

Besides, Chloe is almost three and will need to attend school soon.

How can I feel at ease without creating a proper environment for her?"

Alexander nodded and said nothing more.

This was just who Evelyn was.

Whatever she did, she gave it her all.

Otherwise, during her part-time jobs back in the day—whether as a repair technician, chef, or courier—she had excelled in every role.

Alexander watched her, sensing there were still secrets about her he had yet to uncover.

Evelyn finally finished the document and established the latest set of rules before stretching lazily.

Alexander immediately looked over with burning intensity.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Tonight, I promised to do face masks with Mina and Chloe."

Alexander: ???

Before he could respond, Evelyn had already risen and left the room.

Alexander could only lie down boredly and pull out his phone.

He happened to see a message from Marcus: [Is Mina at your place?]

Alexander gritted his teeth: [Can you please take your wife home?]

Evelyn did not return all night.

After applying face masks with Mina and Chloe, the three of them ended up squeezed into one room and fell asleep.

Evelyn woke up feeling refreshed.

The next morning, she opened the door and was startled.

Alexander stood there with heavy dark circles under his eyes, gazing at her resentfully.

His voice was low and husky.

"Enjoying having a woman on each side, were you?"

Evelyn: "…"

…

After breakfast, Evelyn asked Mina and Chloe to stay home and look after the children.

Alexander acted as chauffeur, driving her directly to the preschool.

It was Wednesday.

The preschool held a weekly all-staff meeting mid-week.

Evelyn intended to use this opportunity to announce the newly established rules to all the teachers.

10 a.m.

One teacher was left on duty in each classroom.

All other teachers, especially those who had previously slacked off and followed Fiona Valentine's lead, were summoned by the principal to the conference room.

Evelyn sat at the head of the table, scanning the room.

Without preamble, she distributed the rules she had drafted the previous day to everyone.

She stated decisively, "From now on, the preschool will operate entirely according to the new regulations.

Does anyone have any objections?"

The veteran employees were about to raise their hands in protest when Evelyn coldly added, "Objections will be noted but not entertained.

If you don't want to comply, you can leave.

I don't care how things were done under Fiona Valentine's management.

Under my watch, you will follow my rules.

At the very least, children in the classrooms will no longer be ranked or treated differently!"

Someone couldn't resist speaking up.

"But the children here all come from special backgrounds.

If we don't differentiate, can we really treat them all equally?"

"Absolutely."

Evelyn looked at them.

"Children come to school to receive an education, not to seek a sense of superiority.

Furthermore, expelling students arbitrarily will no longer be permitted!"

The teachers lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

Ethan Valentine strode in, followed by Fiona Valentine and Joey Valentine.

Ethan found a seat and sat down arrogantly.

"Ms.

Ross, is it? I'm here today to demand an explanation!"

Evelyn glanced at Fiona, then at the man who bore a fifty percent resemblance to Marcus, guessing he was likely a Valentine cousin.

But her expression remained cold as she replied indifferently, "What explanation?"

Ethan pointed at the preschool rules projected on the screen.

"I see your first rule prohibits mistreating children.

So, yesterday, you made Joey cry outside and stand there as punishment.

Does that count as corporal punishment?"

The principal hurriedly explained, "That wasn't punishment!

Joey was crying uncontrollably.

Staying in the classroom would have disturbed the other children, so we took him outside to calm him down…"

In preschool, the children are all very young.

If one starts crying, it's easy for others to join in.

So taking a crying child outside separately is actually standard practice.

Moreover, Joey had been particularly unruly yesterday, and Evelyn had wanted to teach him a lesson…

Ethan sneered.

"So in the future, any time a child misbehaves, they can be taken outside to 'calm down'? How is that different from punishment!"

He stared directly at Evelyn, his gaze fierce.

"Furthermore, your preschool made my child stand outside as punishment, crying and exposed to the cold wind, which caused him to vomit incessantly after returning home last night.

This matter requires a proper resolution!

Otherwise…"

Ethan tilted his head and gave Evelyn a sinister smile.

He left the threat unspoken, but it sent a chill down everyone's spines.

The principal turned pale with fear, looking nervously at Evelyn.

Evelyn remained seated upright, calmly lowering her gaze.

"Joey only cried for a few moments in the yard yesterday and stood there for about ten minutes in total.

His vomiting wasn't due to crying; it's because he has a brain tumor.

Have you taken him to the hospital for an examination?"

"How dare you spout such nonsense here!"

Fiona glared venomously at Evelyn.

"Are you a doctor?"

"No."

"Then what gives you the right to say my son has a brain tumor!"

Of course, it was because, in her current drug research, there was a treatment for this very condition!

Evelyn had seen far too many pediatric brain tumor patients.

Every one of Joey's symptoms matched those of a brain tumor patient exactly!

Evelyn was absolutely certain he was ill.

But just as this thought crossed her mind, Ethan suddenly shot to his feet.

With both hands, he violently flipped the table in front of him.

The crashing sound of shattering and clattering echoed through the room, startling all the teachers into taking several steps back.

Evelyn's first instinct was to look at Joey.

Brain tumor patients are exceptionally sensitive to sound.

Sure enough, Joey covered his ears in terror, his face deathly pale, swaying unsteadily on his feet…