Unexpectedly, Victor used this as another way to flaunt himself and soak up praise.

The moment they noticed me, the classmates who had been flattering him just seconds ago immediately frowned, their faces twisted with disdain.

One of Victor’s lackeys spotted the car behind me and jeered loudly, “Ethan, after all these years, you’re still driving some cheap domestic garbage truck?”

The others burst into laughter.

“That’s hilarious! I’d rather die than drive that kind of junk!”

“But wait, why are there so many zeros on his license plate? That kind of plate isn’t something money can buy!”

“Obviously fake! How could a clunker like that have such a plate?”

“No wonder he dared to show up. He’s just pretending, flashing a fake license plate! Absolutely ridiculous!”

Ignoring their mockery, I stayed calm. “The license plate is genuine.”

“And this isn’t a garbage truck. It’s the Red Flag National Gift.”

The moment I finished, Victor strode up and punched me in the face.

“Of course, the plate is real—because this car belongs to my wife!” he roared.

“I’ve suspected she was keeping a pretty boy, but I never imagined it’d be you, a worthless loser!”

“You shameless gigolo! How dare you drive my wife’s car to my wedding just to provoke me, her rightful husband?”

His words left everyone stunned.

“Victor, this is really your wife’s car?” someone asked, eyes wide.

“How could it be fake?” Victor declared proudly.

“My wife used to pick me up in this car. I thought the plate was so unique, I even snapped photos!”

He quickly pulled out his phone, showing picture after picture of himself and Vivienne.

There were intimate shots of the two of them sitting cheek to cheek inside, and the others of them cuddling atop the hood. The photos captured every detail of the interior, with the license plate visible and unmistakable.

It looked identical to my car. Seeing this, the classmates all sighed in awe.

“It really is Victor’s wife’s car! No wonder it has such a rare plate!”

“So Ethan must really be a kept man!”

Victor’s face darkened with rage, his voice like venom. “No wonder you never post on WhatsApp anymore. You’re just hiding the fact that you’re a gigolo.”

The others turned on me instantly.

“Who would’ve thought Ethan, who looked so decent on the surface, is actually living off a woman?”

“Right? Back in high school, I even thought he was cool and once wrote him a love letter. Now I just feel sick!”

“Some people act aloof, but deep down, they’re rotten. The moment they see a rich woman, they throw away their dignity and crawl.”

“He even drove his sugar mama’s car right in front of her real husband! He’s clearly jealous of Victor and deliberately trying to ruin the wedding!”

Even our old homeroom teacher shot me a disgusted look.

“Ethan, when you go out, don’t you dare say you were my student. I never taught someone so morally bankrupt.”

The commotion quickly drew a crowd. Strangers gathered, pointing, criticizing, some even pulling out phones to film—a few spat on me with contempt.

Silently, I shrugged off my coat and tossed it into a trash bin. Then I glared straight at Victor.

“You hit me in public without even bothering to learn the truth. Do you think you can act this lawlessly?”

Victor sneered arrogantly.

“So what if I hit you? So what if I’m lawless?”

“I’m the husband of the richest man now. In Eastbridge, I can do whatever I want!” Victor sneered, then glanced at the car behind me.

“The thought of a piece of trash like you driving my wife’s car disgusts me!”

“I’d rather destroy something tainted than let garbage like you touch it!”

He grabbed a brick from the roadside and smashed it against my car.

Windows, headlights, hood—he struck at everything.

“Victor is the future husband of the richest man! We can’t let him be humiliated by a freeloader like Ethan!” one classmate shouted.

The others quickly joined in, grabbing whatever they could to smash at my car.

But my car was bulletproof. After all their effort, it only had a few scratches. Nothing more.

That only enraged them further.

“What kind of car is this? Why is it so tough?”

I looked at them coldly and warned, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This isn’t just any car. Damaging it won’t just mean compensation.”

Victor’s fury spiked. “This is my wife’s car. If I want to smash it, I will! What’s the problem?”

The next second, he and the others yanked the doors open, climbing inside to slash the seats and interior.

The once-pristine interior was soon in ruins.

Watching this madness, I quietly pulled out my phone and called my boss.

“Boss, the company-assigned car was destroyed.”

Before I could hear a reply, one of Victor’s henchmen snatched the phone from me and slammed it to the ground.

“Still want to complain? You’re just a gigolo leeching off women. How dare you act tough?”

“What now? Going to call your rich sponsors to crush us? Hahaha!”

“You’re hopelessly addicted to pretending. We’re all classmates—who doesn’t know what you really are?”

“Yeah! Are you some reincarnated trash can? Acting so high and mighty?”

Laughter exploded again, their voices dripping with contempt.

I stared at the shattered phone on the ground and said coldly, “I hope you can still laugh later.”

That made Victor furious. He seized my collar and snarled, “You loser, you dare threaten us?”

As he spoke, his eyes landed on the jade necklace tucked near my collar. Greed flashed across his face. He reached out and ripped it off in one swift motion.

“This necklace doesn’t look cheap. Did you waste my wife’s money on it?”

My face instantly paled. “Give it back!”

Seeing my sudden panic, Victor sneered. “So nervous? This necklace must be valuable.”

“It’s not worth much, but it’s extremely important to me. Return it!” I pleaded, reaching out to snatch it back.

That jade necklace was the only thing my parents left me.

They were martyrs—my lifelong role models.

The last time I saw them was the day before my eighteenth birthday.

They promised to come home and celebrate after finishing their mission.

I waited and waited.

But instead of them, two urns of ashes and this necklace were delivered to me.

The leader said my parents’ last wish was to leave it with me.

They devoted their lives to the country. Their final gift to me was this necklace—my belated birthday present.

It became my most cherished weakness.

And I would never allow anyone to destroy it.

“The more you want it, the more I’ll destroy it!”

Before I could reach for it, Victor hurled the necklace to the ground.

With a sharp crack, the jade pendant shattered.

Fragments scattered across the pavement.

“No!”

Watching the only relic left by my parents break into pieces, my chest clenched with pain so sharp it stole my breath.

“You beast!”

Instinctively, I raised my fist, ready to smash it into his smug face.

But at the last moment, I froze.

My superiors had warned me countless times—I could be ruthless against enemies, but if I unleashed that strength on ordinary people, it could mean death.

They told me never to act recklessly.

Seeing me stop, Victor smirked and tapped his cheek, taunting, “Go on, hit me! Let’s see if you’ve got the guts to strike the husband of the richest woman!”

I ignored his provocation, crouched down, and silently gathered the shattered pieces of the necklace.

“Coward! You don’t dare hit me, but I dare hit you!” Victor roared. Then, turning to the classmates, he shouted, “Teach this loser a lesson!”

“Whoever does the best job gets a million!”

At once, the classmates who already despised me swarmed forward, throwing punches and kicks.

“You think you can hit Victor? He’s the richest man’s husband now. You’re not worthy!”

“Exactly. So we smashed your necklace. Big deal! You got it from serving women anyway. What’s the difference if you serve a few more?”

“Shameless! You seduced another man’s wife and even dared to challenge her real husband. Think you can bully us, your old classmates?”

Even the homeroom teacher secretly landed a kick.

I shielded myself from the blows while clutching the broken necklace, spitting out through clenched teeth: “You’ll regret this!”

They burst into raucous laughter as if I’d told the funniest joke.

“Regret? What is this, high school? Think being a top student still makes you superior?”

“Yeah, you’re nothing but trash, a parasite! You live off women and dare to threaten us?”

“A gigolo should know his place—stand still when you’re hit!”

“You pathetic leech! Trying to steal from your classmates? If I were you, I’d bash my head on a wall from shame!”

Faces twisted with disdain, they mocked me without restraint.

The onlookers joined in, muttering that I was delusional.

With the crowd behind him, Victor yanked my hair and sneered, “Regret? I’ve never regretted anything! I’ll wait and see how you, a worthless nobody, can possibly make me regret it!”

The words had barely left his mouth when the roar of engines thundered from the distance.

Hundreds of military off-road vehicles surged into view and braked in formation before the stunned crowd.