"What nonsense are you talking about?! I didn't—" Brandon snapped angrily.
"It's true! If you don't believe me, just ask Terence. He really called me," Paul cut him off and explained in a hurry.
It seemed like Paul wasn't lying. Seeing this, Brandon couldn't help but feel flustered.
Did his son really do such a thing?
"Oh, my God! So it turns out the son of the dean can just give out demerits as he pleases!" Kasie wrinkled her nose with disdain.
Students nearby had heard the conversation between Paul and Brandon and started booing.
Some of them even pulled out their phones to post about it on their forum.
Carlos, who was standing to the side, watched this scene unfold with displeasure.
Brandon looked around at the crowd and turned deathly pale, his whole body trembling.
'The issue regarding Debbie isn't a big deal, but it's still a scandal after all. Now Carlos has found out about it. If I can't solve this problem properly, he might withdraw his investment!'
Thinking of this, Brandon turned to Paul resolutely. "Get Terence here right this instant!" he roared.
"Yes, sir!" Paul clumsily took out his phone in a hurry and called Terence to come.
Terence was busy with Gail when he received the call from Paul. When he found out that his father was looking for him, it didn't cross his mind that something was wrong. Thinking about how his pocket money had run out, he readily went to see his father, Gail in tow.
However, he was in for a surprise. As soon as they arrived, Brandon yanked at his ear and scolded, "You brat! What the hell have you done?"
"Ouch! Dad, what are you talking about?" Terence cried out in pain. Before he understood what was going on, Brandon had already dragged him to face Debbie.
"Apologize to her right this instant!"
When Terence saw Debbie, it finally clicked. Frowning with disdain, he spat, "Did you rat me out to my father? You bitch! You're dead meat!"
Completely unfazed, Debbie sneered indifferently.
"Jesus Christ!"
Brandon was so angry that he slapped his son square in the face. How shameless could his son be? How dare he curse Debbie in front of all these people!
"Dad, what the—? Why did you hit me?! She's the one who seduced me! What a shameless bitch! She even made trouble in the bar. A woman like her deserves a demerit!" Terence made unfounded countercharges without hesitation, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kasie's nostrils flared angrily. She pointed a finger at him and said, "Debbie is an excellent young girl. What on earth makes you think she'd ever take a fancy to you? You chased her for more than half a year, but in the end, she turned you down. The whole school knows about it. How dare you make things up just now? You must be out of your mind! It's obvious you just have a grudge against her because you failed to win her heart!"
"Why, you—!" Kasie's words seemed to hit a sore spot for him. Terence was so angry that his face turned purple.
Gail, who was standing next to him, immediately came to his defense. She put on an innocent look and pouted. "How could you say something like that? Yes, he liked Debbie before. But that's all in the past. He loves me now. Besides, it is true that Debbie stirred up trouble in the bar. If she doesn't get punished, doesn't that set a bad example to the other students?"
As Gail spoke, she squeezed out a tear or two, looking like an injured puppy.
Although she was not as pretty as Debbie, she was still one of the most beautiful girls in the school. Seeing how pitiful she looked, some students around her softened their hearts and backed her up.
"Yes! Debbie did get into a lot of fights. Have you forgotten what happened to Harold?"
"Gail's right. What if others follow in Debbie's footsteps? The school's reputation will be damaged!"
Terence, who was flustered just seconds earlier, became arrogant again. "See? Debbie deserves a demerit. It's true that she seduced me."
Seeing how audacious Terence had become, Debbie rolled her eyes. Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she unlocked it and pressed a button.
An arrogant and obscene voice sounded from her phone speakers.
"Debbie, how does it feel to get a demerit? Are you upset?"
A collective gasp was heard all around.
This was Terence's voice!
Everyone fell silent.
Debbie let the recording play out.
"But you can't blame me. You bullied my girlfriend, right? But I have an offer to you. If you are willing to sleep with me, I can help you deal with this matter."
When the students heard the words "sleep with me", they all turned to Terence furiously.
"What the hell? How dare he say such a thing! Shame on him!"
"Disgusting! Does he think he can force the campus belle to sleep with him just because his father is the dean of the school?!"
"Hey, he also mentioned that he did it for Gail! Maybe Gail is behind this!"
Everyone sided with Debbie now.
It never occurred to Terence that Debbie might have recorded their conversation. Before the recording finished playing, he rushed up to snatch her phone. "Debbie, you fucking bitch!"
"Bastard!"
Brandon was so angry that his hands were shaking. He went up to Terence and kicked him on the shin. Terence immediately screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground, begging for mercy.
"Dad—it's not true. That recording is fake. I'm the one who was wronged. Gail can testify for me. Debbie tried to seduce me!"
It was clear that he was just desperate to save face.
As long as he didn't admit he was wrong, with his father's help, he could make his mistake sound less serious. Maybe he could even make it as if it never happened.
Gail had been annoyed when she heard that Terence had cheated on her and tried to hook up with Debbie, but since he was her backer, she had no choice but to speak up for him.
"Mr. Perez, I swear that Terence is innocent!" Gail said hurriedly, clasping her hands in front of her chest.
Debbie coldly watched them as they desperately tried to save face.
She opened her mouth and was about to say something when Carlos, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly spoke.
"Then why don't we check the audio?"