Elly could only offer an apologetic smile to everyone.
Meanwhile, the parent who had tripped William earlier now looked terrified, her face turning pale. Her husband had not expected his wife to do something so foolish. He was both angry and frightened and had no choice but to drag his wife and child over to Adam Jones before the start of the competition, his face ashen as he apologized:
"Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones, I’m terribly sorry. My wife accidentally tripped your Young Master earlier, causing Mrs. Jones to fall as well. I’m really embarrassed."
As he spoke, he yanked his wife towards him and growled with a stern face, "Apologize to Mrs. Jones now."
The woman’s eyes reddened from her husband’s scolding; she felt both angry and regretful.
She had been envious seeing a man as distinguished and kingly as Adam treating his wife with such submissive devotion and extra care, while her own husband always acted like a lord. Feeling jealous and unbalanced, she lost control of these emotions.
In that instant, for some inexplicable reason, she tripped his son with her foot, but after causing the fall, she became frightened, forgetting the status of the two people involved in the impulse of the moment.
Now, facing the stern warning in her husband’s eyes, she felt even more regret and pain but had no choice but to muster up the courage to apologize.
But before she could utter a word, she heard Adam’s cold, merciless voice, "There is no need for apologies. I have eyes to see whether it was on purpose or not."
His gaze was only warm when looking at his wife and child. At other times, whenever he looked at anyone else, his eyes held a cold and forbidding air.
In the fearful eyes of the couple before him, Adam said indifferently, "Not every mistake can be resolved with a mere apology."
The man’s face turned pallid, panic gripping him. He clearly understood the implication behind Adam’s words.
He wanted to plead further, but Adam no longer wanted to listen and turned his attention elsewhere.
"For the second round of the competition, it will still be the three-legged race, but this time, we’ll have a different set of rules..."
As the PE teacher’s voice came from the speaker’s podium, it interrupted the man’s urgent voice.
Adam paid no further attention to them, focusing instead on Elly, looking down at her, and asked with concern, "Does your knee still hurt?"
Elly realized that when Adam made a fuss over small things, he really could be overly sentimental—so much so that she felt too embarrassed to meet the glances of the people around them.
So even though her knee was still throbbing as she walked, she bit her tongue and said nothing.
"This time, the rules are such that the mom and dad will have their two legs tied together, and the child will stand at the finish line. Once mom and dad reach the child, they will then carry the child back to the starting line. The first couple to return to the starting point with their child wins," announced the teacher as the rules were set, and William had already run excitedly to his position at the finish line.
"Go, daddy! Go, mommy!"
Little William stood at the finish line, jumping excitedly, cupping his hands and shouting encouragement towards his parents at the starting line.
At this moment, the park had designated a filming crew to conduct interviews, moving from group to group speaking with the competing parents.
When they reached Adam, the demeanor of the interview crew immediately changed from the relaxed attitude they had with other parents to being on their best, most formal behavior.
"Mr. Jones, taking time out of your busy schedule to join your son at the competition, he must be very happy, right?"