After school.
The homeroom teacher, Miss Li, heard about the “Zhou Xiu cheating” incident and called Zhou Xiu to the office.
“Mr. Huang has already documented the incident and is preparing to submit it to the school board. Zhou Xiu, you should think carefully about what you do next. Admitting your mistake voluntarily is better than being forced to leave after the results come out.”
She mocked, “No student from Class 24 has ever been expelled. Zhou Xiu, you’ll be the first.”
What score would be considered good enough? Unless Zhou Xiu could achieve a perfect score, she couldn’t prove she hadn’t cheated. But was Zhou Xiu someone who could get a perfect score?
Absolutely not!
If she were capable of that level, she wouldn’t need connections to get into Class 24. Miss Li already regretted accepting Zhou Xiu into her class in the first place.
Outside the office, a few students from Class 24 gathered, whispering:
“Tsk tsk tsk, Zhou Xiu is really in trouble.”
“How long has it been since the exam, and this has already escalated to the school board? Mr. Huang has some real power!”
“I’ve always said Mr. Huang is not to be trifled with. Do you think he insults us because he’s borrowing courage from heaven?”
Du Feiyang, feeling agitated, said, “What does the homeroom teacher mean by this? The matter isn’t even concluded yet, and she’s already accusing Zhou Xiu of cheating?”
After listening to the homeroom teacher’s scolding, Zhou Xiu gave her a long look.
Clenching her fists, she coldly said, “Miss Li, you’re insulting me. You can look down on me, but…”
“I will never apologize for something I didn’t do.”
The students outside the office fell silent after hearing this.
After a long while, someone finally said, “It really seems like Zhou Xiu was framed.”
Hua Xu said, “Xiuxiu was framed from the start.”
When Zhou Xiu came out of the office, Hua Xu asked, “Xiuxiu, think carefully. When could that test paper have been placed in your backpack?”
Zhou Xiu returned to the classroom, packed her bag, and drank some water before saying, “Don’t worry about it. Focus on the upcoming exams. Do well in the next two subjects.”
Zhou Xiu had calculated that she would earn at least 1500 RMB in rewards from this monthly exam, provided she did well.
Any reward Zhou Xiu could reach, she wouldn’t allow herself to miss even a single penny.
Hua Xu, having never been so frustrated in her life, rolled her eyes, “You focus on the exams, I’ll go check the surveillance footage.”
Zhou Xiu’s eyes warmed, “Thank you.”
“Ha, I’ll wait for your scores to come out and slap their faces.”
……
The next day, they had the science and English exams.
Mr. Huang, as usual, was supervising the Class 25 exam room. It was unclear if he had requested to do so.
Before the exam, he wrote “Cheating in exams results in a zero score” on the blackboard and even searched Zhou Xiu’s backpack again.
“Some students always harbour the lucky thought that they can cheat without being caught… What’s the point of getting high scores by deceiving classmates and teachers? You’re only deceiving yourself!”
“Zhou Xiu, why are you looking around? I’m talking about you.”
The exam room now had a new batch of students, many unfamiliar faces who had heard the rumours about “Zhou Xiu cheating.”
For a moment, dozens of strange looks fell on Zhou Xiu.
Zhou Xiu retorted calmly, “Teacher, don’t speak too soon before the results are out.”
Mr. Huang sneered, “You won’t shed tears until you see the coffin.”
The test papers were handed out, and Zhou Xiu received her English exam paper and started writing seriously.
She was focused and undistracted.
The exam bell rang, signalling the end of the last subject.
Yude Middle School’s monthly exams came to a close. The entire sophomore year was abuzz with the “smuggling exam paper” incident.
This incident also brought attention to the main characters, Zhou Xiu and Mr. Huang from the math department.
No student had ever dared to argue with a teacher like she did.
The Rocket Class students, having witnessed the entire event, chatted idly after the exams:
“Does Zhou Xiu from Class 24 have a persecution complex, thinking the teacher framed her for cheating?”
“That’s nothing. She even dragged Lingshan into it, claiming she framed her too. Shan Shan is too kind to bother with her. But I’ve heard Mr. Huang has a bad temper; Zhou Xiu is in for it this time.”
The girls looked at Lu Lingshan, “Isn’t that right?”
Lu Lingshan smiled but didn’t respond.
There were always students cheating in every exam, and those caught were usually from the lower classes. These classes didn’t garner much respect. The top students of the Rocket Class gradually began to look down on the underperformers and their classes.
Cheating in exams was always deeply despised by the top students.
“Why does Xu Qing choose to stay in such a trashy class?”
“Isn’t Xi Shaoyuan also in the Winners Class? Rich people usually stick together. Wait—here comes Old Wang, let’s ask if he has finished grading the papers!”
……
After the monthly exams, Zhou Xiu gave herself a half-day break.
She had memorized Chinese texts, chemical formulas, and almost all the vocabulary. Zhou Xiu leisurely ran on the golf course outside the Xi family villa.
The butler and the housekeeper had returned from their hometown after the funeral.
Zhou Xiu enjoyed a pleasant meal.
At dinner, Xi Shaoyuan glanced at Zhou Xiu and asked, “Will you have to drop out because of the math exam incident?”
Zhou Xiu paused with her chopsticks, puzzled, “Why would I drop out?”
Xi Shaoyuan leaned back in his chair, looking exasperated, “Actually, the rumour that I like girls with good grades is complete nonsense.”
Zhou Xiu was surprised by Xi Shaoyuan’s statement.
He continued, “About the cheating incident—if you ask me for help, I could talk to the school board for you.”
Zhou Xiu stared coldly at the boy in front of her and said:
“Shut up. You have no right to say that. Remember, the humiliation I’m facing is all thanks to you.”
Xi Shaoyuan was taken aback, “Zhou Xiu, what do you mean?”
Zhou Xiu didn’t answer him. She went to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast and lunch she would take to school the next day.
Wearing a light blue apron, she skilfully kneaded the dough. Her cheeks were still flushed with anger as she worked.
Xi Shaoyuan recalled how she was that day during the exam, calm yet furious, her dark eyes burning with anger.
The next morning.
Yude High School worked quickly, and by the second day after the monthly exams, the math scores for the entire grade were released.
Class 24 students saw Zhou Xiu sitting silently at her seat, her expression neutral, focused on her studies as usual.
They didn’t dare to bring up her potential disappointment.
Hua Xu logged into the school’s score management system and found her own scores. She asked, “Xiuxiu, why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I’m really worried about you.”
Hua Xu secretly glanced at Zhou Xiu, imagining all sorts of scenarios.
In her mind, she saw Zhou Xiu’s silent face filled with the sadness of departure.
Hua Xu hesitated and said, “I checked the surveillance footage from the day of the math exam, and it just so happens that your part was missing.”
“You won’t have to drop out, trust me…”
“What’s the big deal if you didn’t do well? Scores aren’t everything and don’t represent who you are!”
Some students, hearing Hua Xu finally broach the subject, thought: scores might not be everything, but if Zhou Xiu didn’t do well, it would confirm she cheated.
This was the bet she made with the math teacher, to drop out if she didn’t do well. The bold statement was impressive, but now it seemed like it might backfire.
They felt their faces would also be figuratively slapped by Mr. Huang.
One student rolled their eyes, “Ugh, we still have two years left. I wonder how long we’ll be called garbage by Mr. Huang.”
“If you think you’re garbage, fine, but don’t include us. My Xiuxiu isn’t garbage,” Hua Xu retorted.
Du Feiyang tried to lighten the mood, “The results aren’t out yet! Don’t underestimate Xiuxiu.”
“Our scores are out. How could Zhou Xiu’s not be?”
Zhou Xiu finally spoke, “I can’t find my score. Maybe another teacher graded my paper—”
Math class finally began, and Mr. Huang walked into the Class 24 classroom with a stack of test papers. He called out the scores as he handed them back.
This month’s scores were disappointing. He berated the students as he distributed the papers:
“After all this time studying, and you get these scores? Embarrassing.”
“Your class is at the bottom again. You can’t even beat Class 23, let alone Class 25. How do you have the nerve to argue with me?”
“Hey—Zhou Xiu, did Mr. Wang give you your paper? Zhou Xiu, come up here. I’m giving you a chance this time. Don’t say I’m bullying a student. If you honestly admit to cheating right here and apologize, I won’t make you drop out.”
Holy crap.
Hua Xu stared at Mr. Huang in disbelief, finding him incredibly infuriating.
Her family’s production company was casting for a villain in a drama, and she felt Mr. Huang’s arrogant demeanour was a perfect fit for the role, guaranteed to generate endless hatred.
She quickly tried to calm Zhou Xiu.
“Xiuxiu, Xiuxiu, stay calm. Don’t get angry.”
Zhou Xiu gripped her pen tightly.
“Sorry, Mr. Wang hasn’t given me my test paper yet.”
Mr. Huang, unimpressed, replied, “Mr. Wang is busy. He probably forgot about your small issue. Just admit your mistake before the test paper comes back with a shameful score. Even if I gave you an open-book test worth 150 points, you couldn’t score half. No wonder you had to steal the test paper.”
“If I were you, I would—”
Mr. Huang’s speech was interrupted by a test paper handed to him.
Mr. Wang, having finished distributing the test papers to his class, finally remembered Zhou Xiu’s issue. He slowly walked into Class 24, looked around but couldn’t recognize her, so he handed the test paper to Mr. Huang.
The class suddenly buzzed with excitement.
“Is this Xiuxiu’s test paper? How did she score?”
Meanwhile, the students in the adjacent Winners Class already knew Zhou Xiu’s score and were dismayed.
As Mr. Wang left to deliver the last test paper, a student in the Winners Class discreetly sent a message to Du Feiyang.
“Your Zhou Xiu is amazing!”
“Damn, she did so well, we got scolded by Mr. Wang for ten minutes! Mr. Wang said, ‘You can’t even beat Class 24, how shameful!’”
Du Feiyang, confused, asked, “So how much did Xiuxiu score?”
“150!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The message was filled with exclamation marks, expressing the sender’s frustration.
“With such a good score, why would she need to cheat? Take the score and thank me later.”
“Keep it down; we want to hear your Mr. Huang’s face get slapped too.”
Du Feiyang rubbed his eyes in disbelief and let out a few exclamations.
Afraid of being tricked, he replied, “Really???”
And sent another message, “Are you not lying????”
“Why would I lie? Our whole class knows about this. Just ask Zhou Xiu if you don’t believe me.”
Du Feiyang looked up and saw Mr. Huang receiving the test paper, repeatedly checking it in disbelief. “Mr. Huang, can I have my test paper back?” Zhou Xiu asked calmly.
Leave a Reply