Luo Yingbai said aggrievedly, “The cheat sheet was in Zhao Qi’s hands. If he’s not trying to cheat, then he must be trying to frame me. Now I’m living in constant fear and can’t even eat.”
Zhao Qi: “You motherf*cker – I, I…”
He was so angry he almost jumped up. What Luo Yingbai said was true – he had tried to hit him in the office and was indeed trying to frame him. But why did it sound so wrong!
Dean Wang slammed the table: “Stop arguing!”
Just as he was about to continue, there was a knock at the office door. Dean Wang frowned and said, “Come in.”
He was a bit unhappy about being interrupted, but when he saw who entered, his slight displeasure immediately turned into a smile: “Oh, President Yi, what brings you here?”
Dean Wang stood up from the desk, and Luo Yingbai and Zhao Qi both said, “Hello, President.”
President Yi nodded, glanced at Luo Yingbai, and then turned to Dean Wang: “I heard there was a student caught cheating and brought here. I came to understand the situation.”
His statement surprised everyone present, including Luo Yingbai, who didn’t understand why he would personally come for such a matter.
Dean Wang, feeling guilty, cautiously said, “Yes… it’s not a big deal.”
This student brought a cheat sheet during the exam, but didn’t get a chance to use it. He usually performs excellently; this might just be a momentary lapse. I was thinking of just giving him a warning and a chance to correct himself.”
The “student” Wang was referring to was obviously Luo Yingbai. Ou Ziheng had never intended to completely ruin him, just to teach him a small lesson. The Weibo exposure had already achieved his goal.
Dean Wang was afraid Luo Yingbai might contradict him in front of the president and escalate the situation, so he was trying to plead for him. As he spoke, he kept glancing at Luo Yingbai, thinking that President Yi had always been lenient with students, and if he nodded, the matter would be over.
Unexpectedly, the old president said, “No. Cheating is a matter of moral character and must be handled seriously. Whether it’s his first time cheating or how he usually performs is irrelevant to whether he should be disciplined. Zhao Qi must be given a disciplinary record.”
Zhao Qi: “…”
Dean Wang: “???”
He made such an unexpected turn that caught everyone completely off guard. Even Luo Yingbai was stunned. Looking at the expressions of the other two, he almost laughed but quickly pinched his thigh.
Dean Wang was bewildered and carefully said, “President, I’m talking about this student, Luo Yingbai. He’s the one who cheated.”
Look, the handwriting on the cheat sheet is his.”
President Yi said in surprise, “Is that so? That’s different from what I just heard. What I heard was that Zhao Qi brought out the cheat sheet, and Luo Yingbai was the one who reported him.”
Zhao Qi quickly said, “President, no! That cheat sheet was his, he threw it over. He’s reporting me to frame me! He’s jealous of me!”
Caught off guard by the accusation, Luo Yingbai chuckled, “Jealous of you? You’re quite confident. I guess that’s a good thing.”
Zhao Qi was furious, roaring, “Shut up! You’re jealous of me! Because I got the project and you didn’t!”
When he said this, President Yi completely understood what was going on. A school is a place for education; how could a young man in his early twenties be so vicious?!
He was so angry that he trembled and no longer had the mood to beat around the bush. He directly asked Luo Yingbai: “What exactly happened? How did it become someone else’s? Why didn’t you tell me anything?”
Luo Yingbai knew that the topic would not pass the final review and had no intention of reporting to President Yi. He didn’t expect the principal would know about this cheating incident, and Zhao Qi had brought it up on his own, making a scene that couldn’t be stopped.
He didn’t exaggerate and honestly said: “I don’t know how it happened. When the list came out, it was just like this.”
When President Yi spoke, Dean Wang and Zhao Qi were completely stunned. Neither of them had expected that President Yi actually knew Luo Mingbai and had even seen the topic – so he had come today specifically for Luo Mingbai!
Dean Wang experienced a double shock – Zhao Qi using cheat sheets to frame others was something he was trying to handle. But he had absolutely no idea that Zhao Qi had plagiarized the topic.
His rhythm was completely disrupted, and he almost forgot he was in front of the principal. He glared at Zhao Qi and questioned: “Did you really plagiarize that topic? Huh? Speak up!”
Zhao Qi was sweating profusely and couldn’t say a word. Dean Wang was so angry that his temples were throbbing, wanting to kick him: “Bastard!”
“Alright, Dean Wang, instead of talking about him, let’s first discuss your own problems!”
President Yi questioned: “Even if you didn’t know about the topic, you should at least know who cheated in the exam, right? I’m asking you, after calling the two students, did you carefully understand the situation? The handwriting on the note is obviously traced. Didn’t you see that? When covering for your own child, did you ever consider others’ feelings?
With such character, you still have the face to educate students. I’m embarrassed for you!”
Dean Wang turned pale from the scolding. Zhao Qi was stunned. Although he usually relied on his uncle’s privileges to act recklessly, this was the first time he had seen Dean Wang so embarrassed, being reprimanded worse than a grandchild.
In his anxiety, he blurted out: “What happened back then wasn’t like that. You must have heard wrong. Don’t believe me? Ask our invigilating teacher, she can testify!”
President Yi said coldly: “Where is your invigilating teacher?”
Zhao Qi replied: “She just went out to make a phone call…”
President Yi opened the office door and looked into the hallway, calling out: “Ms. Zou, come in!”
Zou Ying had just finished her call and entered, looking somewhat panicked. She didn’t even care why the principal had called her, instead looking at Luo Mingbai with fear.
President Yi asked: “Ms. Zou, tell me what exactly happened during the exam. Did you see Luo Mingbai throwing a note to Zhao Qi?”
Zou Ying hesitated.
Zhao Qi looked expectant, knowing this was his last chance: “Ms. Zou, say something!”
Zou Ying, already anxious and flustered, heard the urging, bit her lip and said: “At the time, I saw… the note was taken out of his own pocket by Zhao Qi.”
Zhao Qi was shocked: “What did you say?”
Zou Ying didn’t look at him and said stiffly: “Teacher is also doing this for your own good. Cheating should be punished.”
When she said this, her heart was bleeding. She knew this effectively ended her chances of promotion, but she didn’t dare to offend Luo Mingbai.
After speaking, she turned to President Yi: “Principal, I just received a call that my daughter was in a traffic accident and might have a broken leg. I need to go to the hospital.”
President Yi, who had initially thought Zou Ying was colluding with Zhao Qi, saw her as quite principled. Hearing about her family emergency, he softened his tone: “This is serious. Go quickly. If you need any help, you can contact the school.”
Zou Ying would have been overjoyed to hear the principal speak so kindly, but at this moment, she was anxious and worried about her daughter, and didn’t care about anything else. She agreed and left quickly.
Luo Mingbai watched Zou Ying’s back, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Although the words could be misunderstood, Luo Mingbai thought as long as Zou Ying recognized the danger, it didn’t matter if she thought he was threatening her. But clearly, she hadn’t understood.
