"Whether you're friends with them or not, the second you stepped up, you became my enemy!"
Mitch didn't care about Mike's explanation. He bounced on his feet, putting up his fists in a sloppy boxing stance, and provoked him excitedly, "I gave you a chance! Come on~"
Beating up the "pretty boy" to show off his strength and win the "admiration" of the girls at school.
For a simpleton like Mitch, this was the ultimate fantasy right now.
However, the script didn't play out the way he had written it in his head.
Mike wasn't the least bit angered by his words. Instead, looking at him like he was watching a clown perform, Mike smiled and asked,
"Mitch, right? Tell me, why exactly are you bullying Alex?"
At the same time, Mike subtly activated his recently acquired [Power of Truth].
"Why? Because I can!"
Still oblivious to the severity of the situation, Mitch arrogantly shot back,
"Why is it that I'm this jacked, but I still can't make the starting lineup, and none of the hot girls give me the time of day..."
"Meanwhile, this loser Alex not only gets good grades, but there are actually girls who like him~"
Alex had a bookish, gentle vibe—the classic punching bag archetype—but he also happened to have a very delicate, handsome face.
While that specific look might not be every girl's first choice, it definitely had a solid market among certain demographics.
And that was exactly what had triggered Mitch, whose own "life" wasn't exactly going the way he wanted.
However, Mitch's reasoning for bullying his classmate was incredibly pathetic and unpresentable.
Right now, faced with the collective boos from the crowd of girls surrounding them, his expression wasn't nearly as confident as before.
"Ah, I see~"
Mike put on a look of sudden realization. Keeping the smile on his face, he continued,
"It seems you have quite a few secrets locked up in that head of yours. Since we have such a great audience here, why don't you share some more with us?"
[Power of Truth] activated again.
"I... I nine..."
Realizing he was about to involuntarily spill his guts, Mitch frantically slapped his hands over his mouth.
When he looked back at Mike, his eyes were wide with pure terror.
"Nine what? Go ahead, tell everyone. Let us hear it."
Mike had absolutely zero sympathy for bullies, so he decided to pour a little more gasoline on the fire.
"When I was nine, I stole a little girl's lollipop! When I was thirteen, I beat up an old lady..."
Covering his mouth proved completely useless. With his face violently contorted, Mitch continued to confess,
"When I was fifteen, I participated in a smash-and-grab looting..."
By the end of it, Mitch looked completely dead inside, and a solid five-meter "vacuum zone" had formed around him as the disgusted crowd backed away.
It was safe to say that after today, he was going to become an absolute "legend" on campus.
He probably wouldn't have the time or the face to bully anyone ever again.
Meanwhile, Mark, possessing the soul of a middle-aged man, was probably the only person in the massive crowd who fully grasped just how much psychological trauma this event was going to inflict on Mitch.
However, a scumbag bully like Mitch—especially one who had targeted his own son—didn't deserve an ounce of Mark's sympathy.
In fact, watching the kid completely implode, Mark felt an inexplicable sense of deep satisfaction.
When Mark finally turned back around, he realized that the mastermind behind the bully's self-destruction had already left the scene with the two girls.
"Wait up, Mike~"
Leaving Alex, who was still staring in shock at the spectacle, Mark chased after Mike's trio, catching up to them around a corner.
"What's up?" Mike teased with a smile. "Did you come all this way just to thank me?"
But to Mike's surprise, his gentle smile looked terrifying to Mark.
After all, that was the exact same smile Mike had on his face right before he completely "destroyed" Mitch.
"I..."
Mark hesitated cautiously before finally saying, "Thanks for what you did back there. I owe you one. If you ever need a favor, just say the word."
Truth be told, Mark actually had a pretty good impression of Mike. Of course, that was strictly excluding anything involving his daughter, Maggie.
Maggie, heavily afflicted with "pretty privilege" bias, was currently completely obsessed with the ridiculously handsome Mike.
From what Mark could tell, his daughter's current life goal was figuring out how to deliver herself to Mike on a silver platter.
Hell, she had probably already picked out names for their future kids.
Mike, utterly oblivious to Mark's complicated inner turmoil, waved off the gratitude casually.
"Message received. If there's nothing else, I'll catch you later."
To be fair, if the person getting bullied hadn't been someone Mike recognized, there was a very high chance he wouldn't have bothered sticking his nose in.
So, Mark genuinely did owe him a proper thank you.
"Wait, there's one more thing I need to ask of you."
Just as Mike was about to leave, Mark spoke up, looking incredibly awkward.
"If Maggie comes looking for you... please, just be gentle with her."
One second he was stressing over his timid son Alex, and the next he was worrying about his lovesick daughter Maggie.
It was safe to say that as a father, Mark's heart was constantly working overtime for his kids.
Right now, he had basically come to terms with his daughter's situation. Instead of constantly worrying about her "fangirl" obsession, he figured he might as well let her shoot her shot.
Besides, if she actually managed to land a guy as outstanding as Mike for a "son-in-law," it honestly wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Of course, as a mature adult, Mark also knew that Mike might not even be interested in his daughter.
But he still sincerely hoped that in his daughter's pursuit of happiness, she would at least be treated with kindness.
"Maggie?"
Mike recalled the pretty girl who was always sneaking glances at him.
Then, he looked at Mark with a bizarre expression and said,
"I'll do my best."
Others might be in the dark, but Mike, armed with an arsenal of supernatural abilities, had figured out Mark's true identity a long time ago.
Which naturally included the fact that Maggie and Alex were his kids.
...
For the rest of the day, Mike settled into his normal campus routine.
And on that very same day, Mitch's morning "self-destruction" spread across Columbia like wildfire.
Unable to handle the sheer humiliation, the unlucky kid quickly fabricated an excuse and filed for a month-long "medical leave" from the university.
He was desperately hoping time would heal all wounds.
But what he didn't understand was that some stories only grow more legendary with time.
For instance, the moment the head coach of the university football team heard about Mitch's absurd confessions, he unilaterally kicked him off the team.
It was easy to predict that whenever Mitch finally returned to campus, things were going to be infinitely worse for him.
After finishing his classes for the day, Mike headed to the parking lot to catch a ride back to the mansion. There, he once again bumped into the impeccably dressed Caroline.
Unlike the previous times where she had orchestrated "accidental" encounters, today, her expression was incredibly heavy.
"Mike, we need to talk."
The heiress came on strong, looking slightly aggressive right out of the gate.
"There's no one else around. Say whatever you want to say."
Feeling they weren't exactly close enough for this kind of dramatic approach, Mike didn't offer her the warmest reception.
Caroline shot a glance at Paige and Needy standing next to him. With a mix of anger and deep-seated resentment, she finally blurted out,
"As the sole heiress to the Channing family, and considering how beautiful I am... why the hell would you choose those bitches over me?!"
Seeing the girl's bizarre outburst, Mike frowned and decisively activated [Eavesdropping on Women's Hearts].
It turned out the reason for the usually composed heiress's meltdown was that Lisa, the campus queen bee, had been loudly bragging to everyone at school for the past few days that she was Mike's official girlfriend.
Naturally, this completely infuriated Caroline, who had firmly locked onto Mike as her own target.
However, right now, there was someone even more annoyed than her.
Mike had already explicitly warned Lisa that their arrangement was strictly a mutually beneficial transaction.
Who would have thought the woman wasn't just vain, but incredibly manipulative, foolishly trying to use petty high-school tactics to force an "official" status?
But what Lisa didn't realize was that in Mike's eyes, her little scheme was nothing but a pathetic display of thinking she was smarter than she actually was.