Chapter 278: Aunt York, What Are Your Intentions?

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Aunt York, What Are Your Intentions?

"Oh~" Mia let out a meaningful exclamation. "Then wouldn’t we know if we just ask her?"

Coincidentally, the little girl who cried about Scott drinking her milk was staying at the bed and breakfast right next door.

Her parents had initially been worried that if Scott stayed at the kindergarten, their daughter would continue to be bullied. Hearing Mia’s words, they immediately looked at their child.

The little girl cried as she explained.

"I only told Scott he could have one sip, but he drank all the milk in one gulp! Waaah...

"We agreed on one sip, but Scott didn’t tell me his sip would be so big! Waaah!"

The parents were rendered speechless.

Well, the case was closed. The child had willingly offered her milk to Scott.

Thea had never expected that simply ruining a five-year-old’s reputation would be this difficult!

She had no choice but to force a stiff smile. "But... but it’s still wrong for Scott to drink a classmate’s milk. He’s just too selfish..."

The girl’s parents asked their child, "Sweetie, why did Scott want to drink your milk?"

The girl looked extremely puzzled, answering as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Because he doesn’t have any milk! We’re good friends, so of course we have to share~"

As soon as she said this, a dead silence fell over the surroundings.

The supposedly "bullied" child had just declared that Scott was her good friend and that she was more than willing to share her milk with him.

She had only complained to her parents because he finished the milk in one giant gulp, not because he had "robbed" her of it.

The parents felt that something was even more amiss. "Every child in the kindergarten gets milk. Why did you say Scott didn’t have any?"

Crestfall Kindergarten had professional nutritionists on staff. Every day’s milk, fruit, and snacks were perfectly proportioned, and every single child received a portion.

Logically, Scott should have had his own share; there was no need for him to eat his classmates’ food.

And judging by his daughter’s attitude, she had shared voluntarily. In a situation where everyone had their own portion, how could a five-year-old child so willingly give up their own snacks?

However, the little girl gave an unexpected answer.

"Because he just doesn’t have any."

The girl was genuinely confused, her big eyes blinking innocently. "Scott has never had any. And since he’s always craving some, I let him have a taste... Waaah, who knew his one sip would be so huge!"

In an elite institution like Crestfall Kindergarten, Scott didn’t get any milk?

Did the teachers forget, or...

Estelle Lockwood spoke up calmly. "When Mia and Zachery enrolled, I paid an extra fee to cover their daily lunches, snacks, milk, and fruit. This fee was paid along with the tuition. Perhaps everyone here has forgotten about it."

Those who could afford to send their children to such an elite kindergarten were all wealthy and respectable. Most of the time, they didn’t even handle the enrollment procedures themselves; they left it to their assistants to pay whatever was required. To them, the kindergarten tuition was mere pocket change.

What difference did fifty or a hundred thousand make? Therefore, they truly hadn’t noticed that the fee for nutritious meals had to be paid separately.

But if everyone else had handled the procedures and paid the fees during enrollment, why didn’t Scott...

The parents instinctively turned to look at Thea.

Estelle smiled pleasantly. "That’s right, Miss York. Everyone else’s child gets nutritious meals, so why doesn’t Scott? From the sound of it, he’s never had them, which is why his classmates have been sharing their own milk and fruit with him.

"The York family... shouldn’t be lacking this bit of money, right?"

That was true. The York family certainly wasn’t short on cash.

Furthermore, this fee was checked by default. That meant someone would have had to specifically opt out of the meal plan for the fee to be removed.

But how could a child go without lunch at kindergarten? What kind of parent would deliberately waive this fee?

The viewers in the livestream also realized what was going on.

[Ah... so Scott didn’t have anything to eat, and the other kids willingly shared their food with him. This doesn’t count as bullying, does it?]

[Exactly! Based on the little girl’s reaction, it was clearly voluntary.]

[What’s going on with the York family? Everyone else gets nutritious meals except for Scott. And according to that parent, the fee is included by default unless deliberately removed. Does that mean the York family did it on purpose?]

[Deliberately starving Scott? What’s the point?]

[Uh... I’m guessing it’s because Scott is the grandson of the first wife. Think about it—would the current Mrs. York, the mistress who married her way up, ever treat him well?]

Seeing the livestream comments spiral out of control, the two hosts began to panic. After all, they were streamers under the York family’s payroll.

Thea’s expression froze. She clenched her fists tightly, secretly cursing these meddlesome busybodies.

On the surface, however, she feigned surprise and guilt, acting as if she had no idea. "What? How could this be...

"I know what happened! I was too busy when Scott enrolled, so I asked my assistant to handle it. The assistant must have embezzled the money... It’s all my fault! I didn’t realize someone close to me could be so malicious. I let Scott suffer, and it’s all my fault!

"Thank goodness I found out today. Scott, don’t worry. Once we get back to the kindergarten, Auntie will pay the fee. You won’t go hungry anymore."

Her eyes brimmed with tears, making her look incredibly innocent.

Looking at the watch on Scott’s wrist, Thea still refused to give up on such a golden opportunity. Gritting her teeth, she let more tears fall.

"But Scott, let’s keep things separate. It was Auntie’s negligence that led to you suffering at the kindergarten, but... but it’s still a fact that you stole Mia’s watch.

"I know everyone here is your friend. They might tolerate your habits of petty theft, but... but this really isn’t right.

"Look, the watch is on your wrist. Everyone can see it. You can’t just take advantage of being Mia’s friend like this. Friends need to treat each other with sincerity..."

Estelle rolled her eyes.

What a load of nonsense.

But in the end, Thea was still determined to pin the label of a thief on Scott.

Estelle couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache for the child.

She guessed that the York family had never wanted to keep this boy in the first place.

It must have been Stella York pulling strings. While taking care of her severely ill mother, she must have gone to great lengths to ensure Scott could stay. She had likely exhausted all her efforts.

After the first wife passed away, the York family had become completely unscrupulous.

Now, seeing Stella gradually gaining more authority, Thea was probably getting impatient.

After Thea finished her speech, Mia tilted her head. "Stole? How strange. Why did Aunt York’s words circle back to this again?"

Thea gritted her teeth. "Mia, I’m just doing this for Scott’s own good..."

"Then Aunt York, didn’t I tell you from the very beginning that Scott didn’t steal anything?"

Mia looked utterly innocent. "I told you I gave the watch to him as a gift. You said I was too scared to tell the truth because Scott was bullying me. But now it’s been proven that Scott has never bullied his classmates, so why does Aunt York still refuse to believe me?

"No matter what, Aunt York insists that Scott stole something. Is Aunt York really doing this for Scott’s own good, or... Mia is really curious, Aunt York, what exactly are your ulterior motives?"