Chapter 21
Shen Yujing lowered his head and began posting on the forum.
[This stupid test is completely inaccurate. Jiang Yiheng, a high-IQ genius? More like severely mentally challenged!]
77th comment: Why are you randomly insulting Jiang Yiheng?
79th comment: How is this test inaccurate? I think it's quite good.
86th comment: Could it be that someone's just bitter about their low score?
Shen Yujing: "..."
Shen Yujing sent a message to Zhang Yong.
[Lonely Wolf]: Delete all posts about the IQ test from the forum.
[Brave Yong, Fear No Difficulty]: What's wrong, Brother Yu?
[Shen Yujing]: Just delete them, why so many questions?
[Brave Yong, Fear No Difficulty]: Got it!
Three minutes later, the post was deleted.
Looking at the now "clean" forum, Shen Yujing felt satisfied.
Time flew by quickly, and soon it was time for the monthly exam.
Looking at her recent mock test accuracy rates, Song Yi estimated that staying in Class A wouldn't be difficult, but continuing to maintain first place in the grade—
That was almost impossible.
Not having too high expectations meant less disappointment.
The seating arrangement for this monthly exam was based on the previous month's results, which meant Class A students didn't need to leave, just slightly adjust their positions within the classroom.
Song Yi sat in the first seat near the door, the "honor seat" reserved for the top student.
This led to every substitute teacher who hadn't taught Class A doing a double-take when they saw Jiang Yiheng, whom they were familiar with, sitting in second place. They would then walk up to Song Yi and ask, "What's your name?"
Song Yi had answered this question as many times as she had taken tests.
Perhaps because the previous month's Saint Slee Academy exam had been particularly difficult and many students had been discouraged, this time's paper seemed less challenging.
Song Yi found the questions manageable, and her self-assessment changed from barely staying in Class A to potentially achieving an above-average score.
After two days of exams, it was finally over.
Regardless of the results, at least they could temporarily breathe easy.
However, that same noon, while Song Yi was eating in the cafeteria, an uninvited guest appeared.
Seeing Lu Qingqing after so long, Song Yi instinctively became wary.
Lu Qingqing sat down across from Song Yi with a bottle of milk, smiling gently, "Long time no see, Yi-yi. I've been too busy studying to come play with you."
Although Song Yi couldn't understand what there was to "play" about with Lu Qingqing, she nodded perfunctorily, "Yeah, yeah."
Lu Qingqing continued, "This month's exam papers were quite simple, but I still couldn't solve many problems. I think I'll do poorly again. If only I could be as smart as you, Yi-yi."
Song Yi continued eating: "Yeah, yeah."
Lu Qingqing's smile froze, "Yi-yi, are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
Song Yi: "Yeah, ye—"
Seeing Lu Qingqing's uncontrollable grimace, Song Yi finally realized something was wrong and quickly corrected herself, "Oh no, of course I was listening carefully."
"Never mind, you keep eating. I'll go first." Lu Qingqing looked at her with some resignation and stood up to leave.
Song Yi lowered her head and responded, "Okay."
Suddenly, Chen Xue walked over, asking with disgust, "Lu Qingqing, why are you hanging out with this commoner?"
Lu Qingqing's beautiful eyebrows furrowed, "Chen Xue, don't talk like that."
Chen Xue came closer, and the two argued behind Song Yi's back for a few more sentences. During this process, someone's hand, intentionally or not, bumped against Song Yi's back.
Throughout all this, Song Yi never raised her head, completely ignoring their existence.
Even after they left, Song Yi continued eating.
But as she ate, she felt something wasn't quite right.
Song Yi patted her back and felt something uneven near her collar, as if something was hidden underneath.
She took it out and looked at it—it was a black, round-shaped object.
Song Yi mentally asked her system: "What is this?"
[It's a cheating device. Last year, Saint Slee Academy caught three students using it to cheat]
Song Yi: "?"
She lowered her head and carefully studied the small round object, wondering how one could cheat with it. What kind of high-tech device was this?
[One end connects to the person helping you cheat, the other end attaches to you, and there's a special earpiece that goes in your ear]
Song Yi: "Then where's my special earpiece?"
[...]
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The system couldn't take it anymore.
[They're trying to frame you for cheating! They're not trying to help you cheat! This alone is enough!!!]
Song Yi: "Oh."
After saying this, she casually put the device back under her collar.
[???]
[Host, what are you doing? Hurry up and throw it away!]
Song Yi continued eating calmly, responding, "Of course I'm playing along with them."
Although she was somewhat surprised that Lu Qingqing, who seemed quite clever, would make a move against her so early.
She wanted to see how this drama would unfold.
Sure enough, at noon, Song Yi's name was announced over the school speakers.
[Would Song Yi from Class 3-A please come to the Director of Education's office immediately!]
In an instant, all eyes in Class A turned toward Song Yi.
Song Yi calmly stood up and followed the broadcast's instructions.
However, when she arrived at the Director's office, she saw someone unexpected.
The twenty-seventh ranked student in Class A, Quan Le's desk mate, also an excellent student.
The young man kept his head low, appearing timid, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing Song Yi arrive, the Director's expression became more serious, and he told them, "Both of you, come closer."
Song Yi asked, "Teacher, may I ask what this is about?"
The Director said, "You dare ask me what this is about? Look for yourselves!"
The Director then played the surveillance video from Class A's monthly exam.
In the footage, the twenty-seventh ranked student was constantly lowering his head, seemingly muttering to his fist, and after the exam, he walked to the trash can and threw something away.
The evidence was now on the office desk—a black round mechanical object similar to what Song Yi had found on herself earlier.
The Director paused the surveillance footage and slapped the desk while looking at the male student, "Tell me what this is!"
The boy's voice trembled as he whispered, "I... I don't know."
"You don't know?" The Director laughed angrily, "Isn't that you in the footage? Think carefully before you answer. First-time cheating only results in cancellation of your monthly exam results and ineligibility for scholarships this semester. But if your attitude is poor, you could face immediate expulsion!"
The boy instantly panicked and pointed at Song Yi, "Teacher! It was her! She forced me to do it! She said if I didn't help her, she'd get Murong Huan to expel me from school!"
Song Yi: "..."
This accusation was unfair to both her and Murong Huan.
The Director frowned, "She's the top student in the grade. Why would she need to copy from you?"
The boy quickly explained, "Teacher, you don't know, but at our previous school, Song Yi was always first in the grade, but her math was slightly weak. I was always first in mathematics at our school, so she needed my help during math exams to maintain her position as top student."
It sounded like a very reasonable explanation—if Song Yi were an outsider, even she would find it convincing.
Song Yi raised her hand, "Excuse me, I'd like to say something."
The Director looked at her, "Go ahead."
Song Yi pointed at the boy, "He just implicated me just now, right? The surveillance footage doesn't show me cheating, so how did you know to call me here beforehand?"
When Song Yi said this, her eyes were filled with two words—
Sincerity.
This was a plot hole.
The Director: "..."
His face instantly darkened, then he said, "A student anonymously reported both of you for cheating!"
"Alright." Song Yi nodded, temporarily accepting this explanation, though she didn't believe it.
The discipline teacher then asked the male student, "Is there any other evidence?"
The boy nodded, picked up something from the desk that Song Yi couldn't understand, pressed it a few times to locate something, and suddenly Song Yi's collar also made a sound.
Song Yi: "..."
So that's how this thing works, she learned something new.
Two similar electronic devices were placed on the desk, and the discipline teacher looked at Song Yi, "Is there anything else you want to deny at this point?"
Before Song Yi could say anything, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and the sound of wheelchair wheels rolling on the floor echoed as Shen Yujing appeared again.
Song Yi frowned, unable to understand what role he had to play here.
Was this another instance of the male and female leads' auras attracting each other?
Unexpectedly, Shen Yujing was also surprised to see Song Yi, "What brings a good student like you here to get scolded?"
The discipline teacher frowned, "You skipped two exams and you have the nerve to talk about others? Wait on the side first, I'll deal with you after I'm done with them."
Shen Yujing was a regular visitor to the discipline teacher's office. Although the teacher usually showed some favoritism towards Shen Yujing due to favors from the Shen family, he didn't spare criticism either.
So Shen Yujing wheeled his chair to a nearby desk, propped his chin on his hand, and started watching the scene intently.
The discipline teacher asked Song Yi again: "So do you admit to cheating on this monthly exam?"
Shen Yujing immediately stood up on one leg from his wheelchair, slammed his hand on the desk, and spoke up for Song Yi, "Hey old man! What nonsense are you talking about? She's our year's top student! Why would she need to copy from anyone?"
The discipline teacher took a deep breath, "I'm only forty-five, who are you calling old man?"
Song Yi looked at Shen Yujing and asked curiously, "Doesn't your leg hurt?"
Hearing Song Yi's words, Shen Yujing finally noticed his leg and immediately sat back down in the wheelchair, his expression contorted from holding back intense pain.
Shen Yujing sucked in a sharp breath, "Leg! Leg! My leg!"
Song Yi: "..."
The cheating investigation was temporarily suspended as the urgent matter now was to get Shen Yujing to the hospital to prevent his leg condition from worsening.
Song Yi and the 27th-ranked male student were left there, with the discipline teacher telling them to wait for his return.
The 27th-ranked student sat in the corner of the sofa, hanging his head lower and lower, not daring to make eye contact with her.
Song Yi walked up to him and asked with a smile, "You say I threatened you?"
The boy hung his head even lower, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Song Yi asked again, "Tell me, was it Chen Xue or Lu Qingqing?"
Only those two had been standing behind her today, but Song Yi suspected they probably planned it together.
The boy shook his head desperately, "I don't know anything, I really don't know anything, please stop asking me."
Song Yi crouched down to look at the boy, still wearing a faint smile, "You don't know anything? Shouldn't I be the truly innocent one here? You think you're pitiful, so your guilty conscience is eating at you, making you unable to face me, is that it?"
The boy covered his face with both hands, and after a long while, said with a choked voice, "I'm sorry."
Well, Song Yi didn't want to bother with an insignificant character anymore, so she stood up and headed out to return to class.
By now, rumors had spread throughout both the forum and the school.
[Damn! Shocking news! The top student Song Yi! She cheated on the monthly exam!]
1L: ?
2L: ?
3L: ?
16L: I don't understand, she's already top of the year, why would she cheat?
17L: Think about it from another angle - what if she got to be top of the year through cheating?
19L: Holy crap, that's scary when you think about it, but even if she copied, would she dare to aim so high?
29L: I know someone from No. 7 High School, Song Yi's grades are indeed very good, she's been consistently top of the year. But the issue is that she's not very good at math, usually scoring between 125-130, that 137 at the start of school was already her performing above average.
41L: Hah, what performance above average, she must have started cheating already.
46L: What are you all playing at being justice warriors? Who can guarantee they've never cheated on an exam from childhood to now? You're being too harsh on others.
47L: Is cheating to get slightly better grades the same as cheating your way to the top of the year? Moreover, she's a special merit student who only transferred to our senior year, everyone should know that the school spends a lot of money on these special merit students every year for senior year, this is fraud!
56L: Agreed! @Saint Slee Academy Student Council, give us an explanation!
69L: Song Yi get out of Saint Slee! We don't welcome poor fraudulent cheaters!
...
At the bottom of the teaching building.
Looking at these posts on the forum, Song Yi remained very calm.
But the system anxiously asked her [Host, what should we do? Now everyone thinks you cheated! You need to quickly find a way to clear this up!]
Find a way?
Song Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Should I redo a math paper in front of everyone, proving with my own ability that I don't need to cheat, and slap their faces hard?"
[Yes, yes, yes! That's a good idea! Brilliant! Though it feels familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before?]
"How could it not be familiar?" Song Yi rolled her eyes and commented, "In nine out of ten campus novels, the female lead gets misunderstood as a poor student, then shocks everyone in the monthly exam only to be suspected of cheating, and they all prove themselves this way."
[Yes, yes, yes! But this method is really good!]
Song Yi said, "But I'm different."
[?]
Song Yi smiled, "I really don't know how to do it."
[???]
Then what are you being proud about???
The system was about to cry and asked [Then Host, what should we do?]
"Take it one step at a time, don't panic." Song Yi answered very confidently, then walked upstairs.
The moment Song Yi appeared, all the classmates' eyes turned to her, each with different thoughts.
The teacher also paused for a moment and said, "Student Song Yi, you're back?"
Song Yi nodded and asked, "Teacher, may I come in?"
The teacher waved, saying, "Of course."
Song Yi returned to her seat and took out her books, continuing to listen to the lesson as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Yiheng glanced at Song Yi, his brows slightly furrowed.
In Jiang Yiheng's view, Song Yi's attitude towards studying these days had been evident to all, and he didn't believe she would cheat.
But... never mind, it wasn't his business.
The bell rang soon after, and Murong Huan rushed straight to Class A.
Murong Huan wanted to talk to Song Yi but felt it wasn't quite convenient, so she directly pulled Jiang Yiheng up, "Give me your seat!"
Jiang Yiheng: "...?"
Jiang Yiheng lifted his eyelids slightly, looking at his fiancée with some surprise.
Although Murong Huan had always appeared arrogant and domineering in others' eyes, she had always tried to maintain a gentle appearance in front of him. This seemed to be the first time she had lost control.
Oh no, or rather... this time she completely ignored his existence.
So Jiang Yiheng stood up to give Murong Huan his seat, and Murong Huan immediately sat down, grabbing Song Yi's hand and asking, "What's going on here? Tell me quickly!"
Quan Le had somehow also gathered around, with complex emotions in her eyes, and asked, "I heard my desk mate said you threatened him to cheat, is that true?"
Murong Huan lowered her voice, "If you really did cheat, just tell me, I'll help you handle this matter."
Quan Le asked, "How would you handle it?"
Murong Huan shrugged, "Just make that boy drop out of school, wouldn't that make the rumors disappear on their own?"
Quan Le frowned, "But he's my desk mate, and he's quite nice, he helps bring me things from the convenience store and voluntarily helps with classroom duties."
Murong Huan: "I can find you a new follower, what's the big deal?"
Quan Le: "No way, his family member is sick, and they rely on his school scholarship for treatment."
Murong Huan: "That's really pitiful. I can help pay for his medical expenses."
Quan Le: "That won't work either. It just won't do."
Murong Huan: "???"
Murong Huan grew impatient, "Why are you being so wishy-washy? This won't work, that won't work - whose side are you on anyway?"
Quan Le: "This isn't about taking sides. Can't you be a bit more reason-"
"Wait." Song Yi raised her hand to interrupt them and said wearily, "Stop arguing. Can you both listen to me for a moment? I really didn't cheat. He must have been threatened by someone, that's why he falsely accused me."
Murong Huan and Quan Le fell silent for two seconds.
Murong Huan immediately changed her tune, saying: "Oh, I knew you would never cheat! They're just spreading rumors!"
Quan Le nodded vigorously in agreement, then condemned: "How could that guy do this? I'm so disappointed in him. I'll definitely teach him a lesson for you."
Song Yi: "..."
Your attitudes were quite different just now.
Jiang Yiheng watched them from the side, thinking that while the scene was somewhat noisy, it wasn't unpleasant.
Or rather, he felt a bit envious.
Realizing the next class wasn't important, Jiang Yiheng left directly for the student council.
Meanwhile, Song Yi explained the whole situation to them, and anger flashed across both their faces.
Quan Le: "What should we do now!"
Murong Huan: "What should we do now!"
Song Yi: "..."
These two don't seem very reliable.
Quan Le: "Why don't we go find Shen Yujing? The Shen family is the largest shareholder on the school board. He must be able to help."
Murong Huan also thought this was a good idea and said: "Alright."
Song Yi couldn't understand why these two unreliable people wanted to go find the most unreliable one of all.
But at the mention of Shen Yujing's name, Song Yi remembered he was still in the hospital, so she said: "Shen Yujing was just in the office earlier, and then he suddenly stood up..."
Quan Le found this strange: "Stood up? How could he stand with those legs of his?"
Song Yi replied: "That's exactly why he couldn't stand, so the disciplinary teacher took him to the hospital."
Murong Huan: "..."
Quan Le: "..."
Aliali: 673eb950c4f3f33ac4ee7f08Just then, a student appeared at Class A's door and called out: "Is Song Yi here? The disciplinary teacher wants you to return to his office right now!"
Song Yi heard this and stood up, while Quan Le and Murong Huan suddenly followed her.
Quan Le began condemning Number Twenty-Seven with a blank expression, "To think I considered him a friend, and he would falsely accuse you like this? I want to see exactly what his reason is!"
Murong Huan gave a cold laugh and said: "He dares to bully someone close to me? That's like slapping me in the face!"
Song Yi didn't understand, thinking these two were speaking like typical arrogant protagonists.
But she was still moved, so she said: "I can really go by myself. You should both head back."
Quan Le: "I don't want to go to class."
Murong Huan: "Me neither."
Song Yi: "..."
Well, alright then, let's go.