"It’s okay, Primo," Ashley wiped Primo’s sweat as the boy came to them right after the game ended. "You had fun, didn’t you?"

Primo huffed heavily and nodded.

"Oh, boy," Julius also wiped his son down from his spot while the boy drank some water. "It’s okay. There’s another game."

"Yes, Daddy~! It’s so fun, though!" the boy intoned before turning to the family of three. After looking at Primo, he turned to his father. "Daddy, that’s Primo. He’s my friend."

Julius chuckled. "So, that’s him?" he quipped, even though he was already aware.

Before the game ended, he had already exchanged a few words with Ashley and Lucian. Since his son had been telling him a lot about Primo, he quickly became familiar with the couple. Who wouldn’t? His son kept talking about Ashley’s bento boxes.

"Good job, son!" Suddenly, Raka’s proud voice echoed in their direction. He shot Ashley, Lucian, and then Julius an arrogant look. "You did a good job winning that game. I’m so proud of you!"

Sammy, his kid, beamed. "I know! It was so easy!"

"Of course, it is!" The father and son laughed heartily with pride. "Hahaha!"

Meanwhile, the couple and Primo, along with Julius and his son, watched the duo. No one would ever question whether they were related just from watching them laugh.

Primo shook his head and refocused on his parents. The moment he did, all he saw was the vein protruding on Ashley’s forehead and the sharp look in Lucian’s eyes.

As for Julius’ son, he looked up at his father and mumbled, "That’s not true. They almost lost."

Julius clicked his tongue faintly and smiled at his son before ruffling the boy’s hair.

"How about you take a bite?" he offered, and the boy nodded.

With that, Julius took out a small container where he had organized some sandwiches and snacks for his boy. Of course, it was nothing fancy, since he had made it himself.

At the same time, Ashley was also bringing out some snacks for Primo to eat. For some reason, Julius and his son, Elliot, turned their heads.

The lunch box on Ashley’s lap also contained sandwiches — small, triangular, bite-sized ones. The inside of the box was just as colorful, complete with fresh fruits and sweets.

Ashley turned to the father and son with a smile. "Do you guys want to share?"

Primo pursed his lips as he stared at the perfectly arranged snack box, then glanced at his classmate, secretly hoping the father would say no.

"Haha! No, we’re—"

"Yes, please!" the boy intoned before turning to his father. "Daddy, can we share with Primo? We always share our snacks together!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Julius opened his mouth, but no words escaped his throat. In the end, he could only sigh and smile before shifting his focus to Ashley.

"Thank you," he said, slightly lifting the lunch box in his hand. "If you guys don’t mind."

And of course, the snacks he had made himself were quickly overlooked since his son had already joined the couple. There were vacant seats between them, so Primo and the other boy — Elliot, Julius’ son — sat there to eat.

Julius focused on his son, who was eating heartily, until he sighed faintly and chuckled. He reached out and ruffled Elliot’s hair before snapping his eyes toward Ashley and Lucian.

"Thank you," he said warmly. "My son told me he’s been eating a lot thanks to you."

It wasn’t that no one prepared nutritious food for his son. Julius had even hired a dietician to focus on Elliot’s diet and someone to prepare his meals. So Elliot was not starving at all. But Elliot’s appetite had been especially good ever since Ashley started adding extra portions for Primo to share.

"Haha! It’s nothing," Ashley waved dismissively. "My son is the one who wants to share."

Primo chewed slowly, lowering his head to hide his expression. But if it were up to him, he would say it wasn’t that he wanted to share — he simply didn’t have a choice, especially since Ashley had already added extra portions. Primo wouldn’t want to waste food.

Lucian studied his son’s reaction quietly before lowering his head slightly to hide a chuckle.

Elliot beamed. "Thank you, Pretty Auntie! Yes, Primo is so generous! He keeps sharing and even helps us with our schoolwork sometimes!"

"Really?!" Ashley beamed just as excitedly.

Her reaction made Julius chuckle as he watched his son happily converse with Ashley and how she matched Elliot’s energy almost perfectly. Unlike her, Lucian was very quiet. However, one could hardly call him detached.

Rather, the subtle smile on his face as he watched his wife, son, and Elliot talk already said everything about what kind of man Lucian was.

A family man.

"What a lovely family," Julius muttered in admiration — and perhaps with a slight twinge of jealousy at the sight of such a happy, simple family.

Meanwhile, Raka snorted from his spot as he watched the lively scene on the other side of the row.

"They look like they’re having fun," Sammy muttered, also watching Ashley excitedly match Elliot’s high energy. Then, his eyes fell on the lunch box on her lap.

"Don’t mind them," Raka cleared his throat and waited for his son’s attention. "Sammy, look at this! Aren’t these good? Every ingredient is fresh, and it was made by Chef Karina."

Sammy’s eyes twinkled at hearing his favorite chef’s name.

"Eat well, okay?!" Raka intoned, and Sammy nodded eagerly.

As the boy began to eat, Raka smiled warmly — something that could only be seen around his son. But when he glanced at the happy family across the row, irritation flashed across his face.

Happy family? Hah! They’re just a poor family leeching off the families here through donations just to get their son admitted.

As every student returned to their families to take a break after the exhausting game, lively chatter filled the gymnasium. Until...

"Everyone, our next game is a sack race," came an announcement over the speakers. "As stated in the manual, this is a game that involves both parents and students..."

As soon as the announcement came on, everyone stopped and listened. But unlike everyone else, Ashley’s and Lucian’s eyes glinted, burning.

With blazing eyes, they turned to Raka, their expressions clearly telling the man:

You are going down.

Nolan, still seated behind them, shook his head. When he shifted his eyes to Raka, who was looking back at the couple with dismay, Nolan sighed.

"Honestly, given how he’s been treating them..." he murmured to himself. "...this is getting off easy."

And once the game started, Ashley, Lucian, and even Julius made sure Raka and the parents on the other team had their morale crushed into the ground.