Chapter 295 Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill

• Bloudence. 4:00 p.m. Maverick shut the Communication Reach page and tossed his phone on the table. He’d just finished checking Sparrow Media’s current stock price. Powell moved fast. After the previous five million shares, he issued another five million. In other words, Sparrow Media now had ten million shares in total. Normally, when the number of shares increases, the price per share should drop. But Sparrow Media didn’t. From the moment that second batch of five million shares hit the market, they were snapped up. The price didn’t fall—instead, it climbed to 303. That meant Sparrow Media’s total market value had topped three billion. From December 18, the night of Celebrity Night, to now—just three days—Sparrow Media’s market cap had shot up by 2.5 billion. Who dares say it isn’t a freak stock? The market’s always weird like that. It’s like a snowball. The more potential people think it has, the more investors rush in, and the market cap rockets. Of course, the stock market’s a deep well. No one can see the bottom. Take Sparrow Media for example. The surge looks wild now, but one wrong step and it could plunge into the abyss. Still, Maverick holds twenty percent of Sparrow Media. He’s not letting that happen. “Powell, don’t let me down,” Maverick muttered, rubbing his brow. Powell’s a businessman. He does everything for profit. Maverick had clocked that long ago. He doesn’t have absolute control at Sparrow Media. If Powell tries any little tricks, Maverick will make sure he learns why “the flower blooms so damn red.” … 5:00 p.m. Josephine got off work. They’d already set a dinner date with Rafael and the gang tonight. So after Maverick and Josephine picked up Sasha from kindergarten, they headed straight to the Paradiso Hotel. On the way, Sasha chirped non-stop, happy as can be. “What’s got my sweetie so pumped?” Maverick asked. “Daddy, today Hu Chenyu tried to kick me again, and I punched him till he cried!” Sasha waved her tiny fists. “You fought again?” Josephine’s brows pinched tight. Sasha hurried to explain, “Mom, I didn’t want to fight him. He swung first!” “Who’s Hu Chenyu? The kid who fought you the day before yesterday?” Maverick asked. “Mm-hmm!” Sasha bobbed her little head. Maverick curled his lip. “Sasha, fighting isn’t right. But we can’t let anyone push us around. If we have to, we hit back.” “Daddy’s right. Daddy’s got standards!” Sasha crowed. “Standards, my butt!” Josephine shot Sasha a glare. “Quit bingeing those short videos. You learn one buzzword and wear it out. ‘Standards, standards’—is this about standards?” “Mom, saying that means you lack standards.” Josephine: “…” Kids bickering is normal. And Sasha didn’t get the short end of the stick, so Maverick and Josephine didn’t sweat it. What they didn’t expect was—just as they walked into the private room and bumped into Rafael and the others—Sasha’s homeroom teacher, Jin Caicai, called Josephine’s phone. “Ms. Jin,” Josephine answered. Jin calling at that moment gave her a faint sense of dread. Sure enough. Jin hesitated and said, “Sasha’s mom, uh… have you eaten yet?” “We’re just about to. Is something wrong?” Josephine asked. Jin sounded torn and stayed quiet for a bit. She’s Sasha’s first teacher, after all. Josephine respects her. She said, “Ms. Jin, please be frank. If Sasha messed up, we’ll talk to her properly.” Jin sighed. Then, bracing herself, she said, “Sasha’s mom, I’ll be honest. Sasha and Hu Chenyu fought again today—the same boy I mentioned last time.” “I know. Sasha told me,” Josephine said. “Honestly, it’s not a big deal. And it isn’t Sasha’s fault. Hu Chenyu struck first and Sasha hit back.” Jin went on, “Kids scuffle. It’s normal. We’re not taking sides—just stating facts.” “But…” Jin paused. Then said, “Hu Chenyu’s parents came to the school.” “Yeah?” Josephine frowned. She’d already guessed as much when Jin called. And here they were. “What do they want?” Josephine asked. “They hope you can come to—” Jin didn’t finish. Josephine heard a loud bang on the other end. Then a sharp voice cut in. “Ms. Jin, you’re Chenyu’s homeroom teacher. He’s hurt badly, and you’re hiding in here making calls?” “I’m telling you—even God himself couldn’t fix this today!” “That little brat’s parents need to get their asses to the school. If they don’t apologize to Chenyu, this won’t blow over!” Jin sounded flustered. She said, “Chenyu’s mom, I’m calling Sasha’s parents. Please step outside and wait.” “That little brat’s parents? Perfect. Give me the phone—I’ll talk to them!” Josephine heard a burst of static. Chenyu’s mother must have tried to grab Jin’s phone, but Jin didn’t hand it over. “Ms. Jin, hold on. We’re coming to the school now,” Josephine said, not wanting to put Jin on the spot. She hung up. “Something about Sasha?” Maverick asked. “Yeah.” Josephine nodded. “Chenyu’s family went to the school. They’re pissed.” She didn’t tell Maverick that the other parent had called Sasha a “little brat.” That word made her furious, too—but she knew there was a world of difference between her anger and Maverick’s. “What’s the ask?” Maverick said. “Ms. Jin hopes we can swing by the school,” Josephine said. “Sis, what happened?” Gideon asked. Josephine shrugged helplessly. “Sasha got in a fight at school. The other kid’s parents are making a fuss at school. We have to go handle it. We’ll come back after. You guys start without us.” “It’s two kids scrapping. How big a deal can it be?” Orlando said, annoyed. “These parents are making a mountain out of a molehill. If it were serious, the teacher would’ve told you when you picked Sasha up.” “No choice. We can’t put Sasha’s teacher in a tough spot,” Josephine said as she, Maverick, and Sasha headed out. “Sis, want us to come too?” Rafael called. “Give me a break,” Maverick shot him a look. “It’s a small thing. No need to kick up a storm. We’ll be back quick.”