The Tycoon Secret Heir: From Shame to riches

CHAPTER 3 MORAL HYPOCRITE

"I earned it myself," Cedric Brown said calmly.

"You?" Tiffany scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Did you take a look in the mirror? You couldn't pay me back this morning, and now you expect us to believe you made four hundred bucks in less than half a day? Did you sell your body?"

"Haha! This guy wouldn't even be worth that much if he did!" The whole class burst into laughter.

Seeing his classmates mock him, Cedric sighed. "Tiffany, I've already paid you back what I owed. Thanks."

He then sat down at his desk.

Tiffany frowned, putting the money away. "Hey, tell me how you made four hundred bucks in just one morning!"

"I found some money," Cedric casually made up an excuse. Honestly, earning four hundred in a morning was impossible for a student like him. Everyone knew that part-time jobs usually paid around ten bucks an hour.

"Wow, you must have hit the jackpot!" Tiffany sneered, though there was a hint of envy in her voice.

Other classmates gathered around, clearly intrigued.

"Hey, Cedric, how much did you find?"

"Yeah, come on! We're all classmates. Just tell us how much you found!"

With everyone bombarding him with questions, Cedric felt helpless and finally said, "Two thousand bucks."

"What? You found two thousand dollars? That's a month's worth of living expenses!"

All the classmates were astonished, secretly grumbling to themselves about how lucky Cedric Brown was to find two thousand bucks. Why couldn’t they have found it instead?

Tiffany glared at Cedric, increasingly annoyed. "Hey, why don’t you return that money to its owner? Two thousand dollars is a lot! The owner must be worried sick! How can you be so selfish?!"

With her words, other disgruntled classmates chimed in.

"Yeah, you should give the money back! How can you just keep it? What if it’s someone’s hard-earned monthly salary? You just took it, and now they’re left with nothing!"

"That’s true, but if it’s a classmate’s money, that’s even worse. We’re all broke as students! Cedric, this isn’t right! What if someone reports it, and the surveillance found you? You’d be in big trouble."

"Exactly! There are surveillance cameras everywhere now. I suggest you return it voluntarily."

As the classmates chattered away, Cedric could only manage a bitter smile. "I waited, but no one showed up."

"Waiting a minute or two isn’t enough; you should at least wait for the owner to come back."

"If I found it, I’d wait a whole day."

"What's the point? He probably did it on purpose. Two thousand bucks is a fortune for him! If it were me, I’d grab it and run!" Tiffany crossed her arms, feeling even more upset. If she had found that money, she could have bought a decent set of makeup.

"True, advising someone like him like him is just a waste of time. Forget it, I’m done."

The other classmates shook their heads and returned to their seats, no longer interested in Cedric Brown.

"Hey!"

One girl stood up, unable to hold back her frustration. "Enough already! If you found that money, would you really return it? Stop pretending! You all sound like a bunch of moral hypocrites!"

This girl was Susan Anderson, a classmate of Cedric's. Their families were similar, so they shared a sense of camaraderie and had a decent relationship.

“What are you talking about, Susan Anderson?” Tiffany shot a glare at Susan, her voice dripping with arrogance. “This is your own opinion? Do you think you are a saint? His behavior is just wrong! If we found money, of course we would return it!”

“Exactly! It’s embarrassing to be classmates with someone who has such twisted values,” chimed in another classmate, looking down on Susan.

Susan was furious.

Just then, the sound of high heels echoed down the hallway, accompanied by a fragrant breeze. In walked Jean Jordan, the wife of Cedric Brown, her long legs confidently striding in.

Jean’s expression was cold as she scanned the room, her eyes landing on Cedric in the corner, revealing a flash of anger. But she wouldn’t dare show it here; if her students found out Cedric was actually her husband, she’d be mortified.

Seeing Jean, Cedric quickly pulled Susan down into her seat, regretting his decision to attend class today. He wondered if Jean would deliberately target him now.

Noticing the other students were indifferent, Jean frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Ms. Jean, someone found money and didn’t want to return it! He’s keeping it for himself! Don’t you think that’s immoral?” Tiffany said sarcastically.

“Who found the money?” Jean’s expression softened as she asked, genuinely curious.

Tiffany stood up, pointing at Cedric in the corner. “Him! Cedric Brown!”

Jean’s brow immediately furrowed, her voice cold as she reprimanded, “Cedric Brown, why didn’t you return the money?”

“I…” Cedric felt a chill run down his spine under Jean’s intense gaze.

He knew she was genuinely angry. He wasn’t sure if other students would return the money they found it, but he knew Jean would. Despite her sharp tongue, she had a strong moral compass.

“How much did you pick up?” Jean Jordan's eyes were fixed on Cedric Brown, as if she wanted to devour him whole!

“Ms,Jean, he picked up two thousand,” Tiffany chimed in.

“Two thousand?” Jean's voice rose sharply. She strutted over on her long legs, her expression filled with disdain. “Why didn’t you return that money? That could be someone’s living expenses for an entire month! How can you act like this?”

Cedric didn’t bother to defend himself; he knew it would be pointless.

The other students snickered, some even starting to mock him openly. Cedric kept his head down, silent. Jean's frown deepened, her face cold. “I thought being poor was one thing, but at least money should be earned honestly. With your actions, your family must be so embarrassed! You might as well plan to live off that two thousand for the rest of your life!”

Cedric forced a bitter smile. Was she implying that she would be the one to embarrass herself?

“Ms.Jean, Cedric has been waiting for the owner, but no one showed up,” Susan Anderson said softly.

“No one showed up? Do you really believe that excuse, Cedric?” Jean sneered. Her mocking tone made Cedric's fists clench tightly, and he suddenly felt the urge to throw the money in his bag right at her face!

Growing up together, sharing everything, and now Jean Jordan thought he was that kind of person?

Fury bubbled inside him, but he bit his tongue. He couldn't reveal that he was actually wealthy just yet.

“Cedric, this is how your life will be. A person who is greedy for small gains will never achieve anything,” Jean said as she returned to the front of the class, and the other students cheered her on.

“Someone like Cedric having a bright future? That’s a joke! When he finds a wife, she’ll probably be driven crazy!” Tiffany added sarcastically.

"How could someone like Cedric Brown ever find a wife? Unless the woman is blind!"

Laughter erupted in the classroom.

"What are you all talking about?" Jean Jordan shot an angry glare at Tiffany. "Is this chaos ever going to end? Someone found some money, and what does it have to do with you? A few comments are fine, but you keep going on and on. Are we even going to have class?"

"Ms.Jean..." Tiffany's face flushed red as she shot a fierce glare at Cedric.

Jean Jordan was known for her short temper, and the other students fell silent, not daring to speak up.

Cedric glanced at Jean a few times. This wasn’t about him standing up for himself; it was because Tiffany had triggered Jean, who was technically Cedric's wife.

The rest of the class was a blur for Cedric. Jean kept her face cold, and when the bell finally rang, the class felt liberated. However, as she walked out, she shot Cedric a frosty look and said, "Cedric Brown, come to my office!"

With no choice, Cedric stood up and followed Jean out.

Once they left, the classroom buzzed with chatter.

"Hmph! You found money and didn’t even treat me to a meal to thank me for lending you money. I hope Ms.Jean gives you a hard time!" Tiffany sneered.

"Why should he treat you to a meal?" Susan Anderson chimed in.

"Hey, I’m talking about my own business! What does it have to do with you? You keep defending Cedric Brown; you wouldn’t happen to like that loser, would you? Your standards must be really low!" Tiffany mocked, and the other students joined in, leaving Susan blushing furiously.

Smack!

Back in the office, Jean Jordan pulled out two thousand dollars in cash from her bag and slapped it on the desk, disgusted. "Give the money back to the owner!"

Cedric Brown let out a bitter smile. After all the time they had spent together, was he really that insignificant in her eyes?

"I'll pay you back," Cedric said calmly, looking at Jean Jordan. "And by the way, I'm moving out today!"