Chapter 105: Reporting
Shen Mingzhe felt that his condition today wasn’t great. When he woke up in the morning, his temples were throbbing, and pressing on them brought no relief.
After washing up, it eased a little, but on the way to school, he hit five or six red lights in a row while driving and got cut off by two cars.
It wasn’t easy to arrive at school in one piece. When he went to pour water, the faucet malfunctioned a bit, splashing water onto him and scalding his hands, causing him to drop and shatter his three-year-old cup.
This cup had been a commemorative gift given at a provincial outstanding teacher recognition conference, with bright red designs and text on the wall of the cup. Shen Mingzhe liked it quite a lot.
He lingered for a few seconds, lamenting the broken glass, asked the janitor to clean it up, and then went back to the office to find another cup.
He had no classes in the morning, but as the homeroom teacher, Shen Mingzhe still needed to arrive at school on time to check the students’ morning study sessions.
He noticed Yang Xiao and others huddled together, secretly discussing something.
He already knew a bit about the previous incident when Class 3 had been sprayed with paint. After all, he had seen Hong Yi running toward Class 3 with spray paint, though he didn’t know exactly what had been sprayed.
It wasn’t a big deal, right? Just some minor quarrels between students—and Class 3 had already resolved it. However, Shen Mingzhe thought the way they “resolved” it was far too prideful and self-satisfied.
After checking morning study, Shen Mingzhe left the office. For the upcoming New Year’s Eve performance next month, the school had reportedly invited many guests.
Mingde High had always valued such events. Some students with special talents would showcase themselves through performances or competitions, and cooperating international schools and groups would use the occasion to scout promising talent.
Class 12 had only one student with a special talent—Lin Xiaoxue, who studied dance. Shen Mingzhe planned to help her secure a solo performance.
Back in the office at noon, Shen Mingzhe was ready to rest a bit, conserving energy for his afternoon classes.
It was at that moment that he saw Class 3’s class president, Jiang Chuchu, and another girl walk in.
Jiang Chuchu and Xie Xiangxue were a little nervous, but Gu Qinghuan was much calmer.
She even felt quite relaxed—once this matter was over, she could help her classmates catch up on the lessons they’d missed in the past few days and wouldn’t need to study so frantically anymore.
“Homeroom teacher, we have something to report!” Gu Qinghuan said firmly.
Even though they had prepared in advance, Chen Zelin still shuddered at her declaration: “What’s going on?”
“During today’s lunch break, a student from Class 12 falsely accused our class of cheating on the midterm!” Gu Qinghuan said, not sounding wronged at all.
But to the other teachers, her way of reporting it seemed quite normal.
Even just organizing study groups and putting up banners had made all the teachers aware that Class 3’s class president was a very resourceful girl.
Given that, it wasn’t surprising that she would come forward to defend the class when falsely accused.
Li Guying had already switched into “spectator mode,” thinking that Gu Qinghuan’s report was very well-structured.
In just a few words, she had explained almost everything that needed to be addressed.
Before Chen Zelin could speak, Shen Mingzhe stepped forward briskly: “It can’t possibly be students from our class. Are you sure you have the right students?”
Gu Qinghuan looked puzzled and lowered her voice: “Homeroom teacher, who is this teacher?”
“This is Teacher Shen, Class 12’s homeroom teacher,” Chen Zelin helped introduce, thinking to himself that Gu Qinghuan’s act seemed very convincing.
Gu Qinghuan immediately returned to normal volume and politely said: “Teacher Shen, since you’re here, could you please call Hong Yi and Cui Loulan from your class? Actually, there are two more students involved, but we don’t know their names.”
The onlooking teachers murmured among themselves: “Oh, they even know the names of two—must be true.”
Shen Mingzhe recognized the names Hong Yi and Cui Loulan and still looked surprised: “Hong Yi and Cui Loulan?”
“Yes. They came to our class before to cause trouble, but it was just a minor conflict between a few students, and it was resolved quickly. I didn’t want to affect the relationship between Classes 3 and 12, so I didn’t report it earlier,” Gu Qinghuan said, looking troubled.
Chen Zelin: No, you reported it… well, saying it this way is better for now.
“But falsely accusing us of cheating on the midterm isn’t okay,” Gu Qinghuan said firmly. “How can all the hard work we’ve put in recently be erased by a single rumor?”
If they weren’t in the teachers’ office, Jiang Chuchu and Xie Xiangxue wouldn’t have dared to say this openly.
The microphone hidden on Jiang Chuchu even transmitted these words to the class, and everyone at their desks widened their eyes: “Wow, now they’ve taken the moral high ground!”
Shen Mingzhe’s expression darkened. Chen Zelin spoke: “What exactly happened? Can you clarify a bit more?”
Gu Qinghuan turned slightly: “Xie Xiangxue experienced it. She can explain.”
Xie Xiangxue stepped forward to Shen Mingzhe and Chen Zelin, hesitantly recounting what had happened at noon, and added at the end: “The girl who helped me is named Lu Jian. I’m not entirely sure if I remembered correctly, but you can check with her.”
Zhao Dan, the homeroom teacher of Class 6, hadn’t expected her class to be involved, but she felt proud that her student had such a strong sense of justice.
The surrounding teachers were somewhat familiar with the name and glanced at her for confirmation. She openly admitted: “Yes, she’s our class representative, second in the grade this time.”
Although Class 6 didn’t have the highest average in the grade, both the homeroom teacher and the students were usually very low-key.
With Zhao Dan’s confirmation, Xie Xiangxue’s words became even more credible.
Shen Mingzhe forced a smile: “There must be some misunderstanding…”
“Does a misunderstanding allow people to falsely accuse others?” Gu Qinghuan widened her eyes.
Before Shen Mingzhe could speak, Chen Zelin interjected in a slightly stern tone: “Class president, I know you’re upset, but calm down and hear what Teacher Shen has to say first.”
Gu Qinghuan obediently said, “Oh.” The other teachers nodded in agreement. Chen Zelin, as a homeroom teacher, had done well here.
Chen Zelin then turned to Shen Mingzhe, speaking earnestly: “I agree with you, Teacher Shen. There must be some misunderstanding. Students from your class wouldn’t randomly accuse ours of cheating.
“I suggest calling those students over to clarify in person, eliminate any misunderstanding, and ensure the two classes can continue to interact harmoniously.”
With things said this far, Shen Mingzhe had no choice but to arrange for Hong Yi and the others to come over. He kept a precaution in mind: Xie Xiangxue only knew Hong Yi and Cui Loulan, so only they would be called.
Just as he finished saying, “I’ll call Hong Yi and Cui Loulan over,” Jiang Chuchu interrupted: “I’ll go with Xie Xiangxue to Class 12. That way, we can also identify the other two students.”
She smiled: “With me there, they surely won’t refuse to believe us. After all, when they came to our class before, they knew who I was.”
The eavesdropping students from Class 3: “Yikes, this girl from the Discipline Committee sounds like a villain threatening someone!”
The problem was, the teachers knew Jiang Chuchu’s identity and couldn’t think of any way to refute her.
With Jiang Chuchu there, would the students in Class 12 doubt her words? Or refuse to come over?
Don’t be ridiculous. That’s the Jiang family! Anyone daring to go against them should first weigh themselves carefully.
Jiang Chuchu led Xie Xiangxue to identify the students, completely unconcerned about Hong Yi and the others running away—Class 3 had a group keeping watch to ensure they were all caught.
Within ten or so minutes, they had corralled the wide-eyed and nervous Hong Yi and the others.
Yang Xiao looked even paler. He was slightly smarter than the other three and knew this would be very troublesome when it reached the teachers.
If they had prepared their “testimony” in advance, it might have been slightly better, but they hadn’t expected to be confronted so quickly!
Being watched the whole way, they had no chance to confer.
He closed his eyes in despair and made a decision: realistically, they couldn’t afford to offend the Yan family. They would have to sacrifice Shen Mingzhe to protect themselves.
