Chapter 100 The Timid Him (Part 12) I'm Proud to Stand with My Motherland...

Seeing Song Ce's confident and composed expression, Liang Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously gripped the hem of his clothes tightly with both hands.

Song Ce raised an eyebrow slightly, the curve of his lips widening. He spoke slowly and deliberately, “Teacher Wang, the power of rumors is far more terrifying than we imagine. Three men can make a tiger, and many mouths can melt metal. If you really searched Zhao Mingjun's jacket and backpack today, what will his classmates think of him? Chen Yizhong and Liang Wei have no evidence whatsoever, they suspect Zhao Mingjun of taking something based solely on their own words. In my opinion, we should just call the police. The police are much more professional than we are, and I believe they will definitely be able to clear Zhao Mingjun's name. What do you think, teacher?”

Song Ce's alarm call was so decisive that not only Chen Yizhong and Liang Wei stood frozen in place, but even teachers Mao Guanying and Wang Zhaoxing were caught off guard and stunned on the spot.

Wang Zhaoxing frowned, a fleeting look of displeasure crossing his face. He felt Song Ce was making a mountain out of a molehill! He had privately called the students to the activity room today precisely to handle the matter discreetly, to avoid escalating the situation and negatively impacting the school. Why couldn't this student understand his good intentions?

"Song Ce, the teacher didn't say for sure that Zhao Mingjun took it. Isn't calling the police a bit of an exaggeration? It's just a small conflict between classmates, why make such a big deal out of it?"

Song Ce maintained a polite smile, looked directly at Wang Zhaoxing with neither arrogance nor servility, and said in a calm tone, "Teacher Wang, if I were to tell others that you subtly encourage parents to give you gifts every time you hold a parent-teacher meeting, how would you explain that?"

"What nonsense are you spouting, child? How can you make up stories about your teacher?" Wang Zhaoxing's face flushed red instantly, and his voice rose several decibels as he loudly rebuked him.

"So you see," Song Ce paused, then said gently and politely, "Teacher Wang, I was just saying it casually, and you got so angry. So why don't you try to put yourself in my shoes? If someone suspects you for no reason, who would feel good about it?"

Wang Zhaoxing opened his mouth, his face turning pale and then red, unable to utter a single word. Zhao Mingjun, listening to Song Ce's reasoned and well-founded rebuttal, became so moved that his eyes reddened.

After a long silence in the activity room, Mao Guanying quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Song Ce, how could you talk to Teacher Wang like that? Actually, this matter isn't difficult to resolve. Whoever makes the claim must provide evidence, right, Teacher Wang?"

As soon as Mao Guanying finished speaking, Song Ce subtly gave Zhao Mingjun a wink.

Zhao Mingjun immediately understood, wiped away his tears, and complained to the two teachers, "Teachers, I swear to God, I really didn't take anything from Chen Yizhong! My uncle has given me several new iPods, why would I take one of his old ones? Since Liang Wei says he saw me, fine, let him produce evidence! Making baseless accusations! I could say I saw him robbing a bank! Teachers, this concerns my reputation. If you can't give me justice, I'll have to call the police! Anyway, I haven't done anything wrong, I have nothing to hide! If you stop me from calling the police, I… I'll have my uncle report this to the Education Bureau!"

Hearing this, Wang Zhaoxing felt his temples throbbing and his head throbbing even more. He had originally planned to start with Zhao Mingjun, since he was good-natured and studious, and should be easier to communicate with than the other students. Who would have thought that Song Ce's words would make him so assertive? If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have called Song Ce to the activity room! Now, the situation was completely out of control.

For a moment, the activity room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Wang Zhaoxing's face was ashen; he felt his authority as the homeroom teacher had been severely challenged. Suppressing his anger, he asked in a deep voice, "Zhao Mingjun, what exactly do you want? You're only a first-year high school student. If this gets out of hand, how will you be able to concentrate on your studies at school?"

"Teacher, what do you mean by that? Are you threatening me? Just because my parents are gone, does that mean my classmates can slander me like this?" Zhao Mingjun retorted loudly, his face full of grievance.

Upon hearing this, Song Ce couldn't help but applaud him inwardly. He hadn't expected the kid to be so quick-witted and reliable at such a crucial moment.

"Teacher...Teacher didn't mean that, Zhao Mingjun, don't overthink it." Seeing this, Wang Zhaoxing's tone softened instantly, and he quickly comforted him.

Seeing Song Ce's approving gaze, Zhao Mingjun became even more emboldened. He rubbed his eyes and said with increasing grievance, "Teacher, I'm really afraid that I'll hear rumors at school that I'm a thief. You have to clear my name! Otherwise, I... I won't be able to face anyone. Right now, I really want to jump off this building to prove my innocence."

"Zhao Mingjun, please don't do anything foolish!" Mao Guanying's expression changed upon hearing this, and she quickly stepped forward to persuade him, fearing that Zhao Mingjun might say something rash in a moment of impulse.

Song Ce glanced at Liang Wei, who was clearly on the verge of losing his composure, and smiled faintly. That's just how people are; the tougher you are, the more restrained they'll be; conversely, the weaker you are, the more they'll take advantage of you.

Just when the atmosphere reached its peak of tension, Liang Wei finally couldn't hold on any longer. His eyes were filled with obvious panic and fear as he looked at Song Ce, his fear level rising steadily until it finally reached a breaking point.

Bang!

Liang Wei trembled slightly and suddenly shouted, "Teacher! I...I have something to say."

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Liang Wei. Wang Zhaoxing and Mao Guanying exchanged a glance, a complex expression flashing in their eyes.

“Actually…actually, I didn’t see Zhao Mingjun go back to the classroom.” Liang Wei gritted his teeth and spoke with difficulty: “Chen Yizhong told me that his iPod was missing and suspected that Zhao Mingjun took it. He said he wanted me to help him testify. We thought we would team up to swindle Zhao Mingjun, so I testified that I saw Zhao Mingjun go back to the classroom.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yizhong immediately flew into a rage. "Liang Wei, what nonsense are you spouting? Don't try to pin this on me!"

Wang Zhaoxing was immediately enraged by Chen Yizhong's attitude, his face turning ashen. He demanded sharply, "Chen Yizhong, what exactly is going on?"

"Teacher, I never said that!" Chen Yizhong denied it outright.

Song Ce gave a cold laugh and said, "Liang Wei, this so-called witness, has already admitted it himself. Do you think he would say such a thing for no reason?"

Chen Yizhong's face turned red as he argued, "Why should Liang Wei's words be the only truth? I never said anything like that!"

Zhao Mingjun was exceptionally clear-headed at that moment. He loudly questioned, "Then why did you insist on having the teacher search my bag and coat for your iPod based solely on Liang Wei's one-sided account?"

Under the intense gaze of the crowd, Chen Yizhong finally lowered his head and remained silent.

Seeing Wang Zhaoxing's grim expression, Mao Guanying sighed helplessly and said, "It seems the matter is clear now; we wronged Zhao Mingjun. Teacher Wang, this is your student; you decide how to handle the situation afterward!"

Wang Zhaoxing took a deep breath, turned to Zhao Mingjun, and said, "Zhao Mingjun, I apologize to you. It was my oversight, and I hope you can forgive me. Chen Yizhong and Liang Wei, you two come with me to the office. I must deal with this matter seriously!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Wei felt a strong sense of unease. His family's circumstances were not as good as Chen Yizhong's; if Teacher Wang got angry and called his parents to the school, he would be in big trouble.

Thinking of this, Liang Wei hurriedly said with a sob in his voice, "Teacher, I was wrong, I didn't mean to! I was just... just confused for a moment, I wanted to play a joke on Zhao Mingjun! Really! I didn't expect it to have such a bad impact, I apologize to Zhao Mingjun! I'm sorry!" As he spoke, Liang Wei even bowed to Zhao Mingjun.

Watching from the side, Song Ce couldn't help but burst out laughing, and sarcastically remarked without any mercy, "Are you kidding me? Accusing someone of being a thief? That kind of joke is really outrageous."

Wang Zhaoxing glared at Liang Wei, filled with remorse. He had trusted Liang Wei simply because of his good grades, consistently ranking among the top twenty in his grade. He had subconsciously placed his faith in Liang Wei and Chen Yizhong, never expecting that they would conspire to betray him and cause him to lose face in front of Mao Guanying.

“Zhao Mingjun, look, we’re all classmates, and we’ll be spending more than two years together. Since Liang Wei has already admitted his mistake and apologized to you, what do you think…” Wang Zhaoxing tried to smooth things over and calm things down.

Song Ce smiled faintly, interrupting him coldly: "Teacher Wang, and then what? They framed Zhao Mingjun without any evidence, and they think they can get away with it with a flimsy apology? Isn't that apology far too cheap?"

"Song Ce! This has nothing to do with you. The teacher is asking Zhao Mingjun for his opinion!" Wang Zhaoxing said angrily.

“Teacher Wang, Song Ce’s idea is my idea!” Zhao Mingjun straightened his back and stood on Song Ce’s side without hesitation.

"Zhao Mingjun, do you... do you really have to make things so tense? What exactly do you want?" Wang Zhaoman said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Mingjun subconsciously looked at Song Ce, but Song Ce simply stood aside and watched him, as if letting him make the decision himself.

Zhao Mingjun took a deep breath and mustered his courage to say to Wang Zhaoxing, "Teacher, I need Chen Yizhong and Liang Wei to write me a letter of apology. The letter must state that they conspired to frame me for stealing, and you, Teacher Wang, must witness and sign it. Of course, if they are willing to apologize to me in front of the whole school during the flag-raising ceremony on Monday, that's fine too, then I don't need to write a letter of apology. Also, if any rumors spread in the school that I am a thief, I will assume it's their doing, and I will post this letter of apology on the school bulletin board."

Everyone was stunned by these words; they hadn't expected Zhao Mingjun to make such a request.

Liang Wei was the first to come to her senses, and she cried out with a wronged expression, "Zhao Mingjun, I've already apologized to you, why are you still holding a grudge against me?"

“Teacher, listen to this.” Song Ce spread his hands and said helplessly, “Zhao Mingjun wanted to forgive the two students, but they didn’t appreciate it! I think we should call the police and let them handle this matter.”

Upon hearing the words "call the police," Liang Wei was so frightened that he dared not utter another sound.

Wang Zhaoxing felt that everything was going wrong today, and he was feeling very frustrated. He turned around and yelled at the two of them, "Do you want to embarrass yourselves in front of the whole school? Go and write an apology letter right here in the activity room! Read it to Zhao Mingjun after you finish writing it! Only after he forgives you can you go back to the classroom!"

Mao Guanying, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement. He glanced at his prized students and then said to Chen Yizhong and Liang Wei in a serious tone, "I think you two should skip your classes this afternoon and just reflect on yourselves outside the activity room!"

Wang Zhaoxing: "..." Do you have to be so obviously biased?

Although he was inwardly grumbling, he couldn't say it aloud. Looking at Song Ce's calm and composed demeanor, Wang Zhaoxing experienced a feeling of frustration for the first time with a student.

Ultimately, this farce came to an end after Chen Yizhong and Liang Wei handed the apology letter to Zhao Mingjun.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you for the nutrient solution, little angel! [Lop-eared rabbit head]