Chapter 196 Getting Slapped in the Face!

That's extremely harsh; it's practically an insult directed at someone.

Jiang Wanqiu's face darkened as she said, "As a teacher, you should speak with evidence. To convict a child without evidence and then publicly insult a student's parents, Teacher Zhang, is this your kind of conduct?"

The argument in the office grew louder and louder, soon attracting students carrying their workbooks down the corridor and teachers from the next office.

A crowd of onlookers gradually gathered at the doorway and windows.

"What's all the noise about! What kind of behavior is this!"

An anxious voice came from behind the crowd. Upon hearing Liu Lanhua say that something had happened, Principal Wang rushed over.

When he saw that it was Jiang Wanqiu standing in the office, his heart skipped a beat.

Upon seeing the principal, Teacher Zhang seemed to have found a pillar of support, and her arrogance intensified: "Principal, you've come at the perfect time! You be the judge! This student who openly cheats and whose parents even come to the school to cause trouble cannot be allowed to stay! I suggest that Ping An be expelled immediately to uphold the school's reputation!"

Principal Wang was in a real bind. He knew that Zhao Wenchang had just been promoted and was riding high, and he didn't want to offend this new darling.

He quickly stepped forward, trying to smooth things over: "Hey, Teacher Zhang, Comrade Jiang, calm down, let's talk this out..."

"Principal," Jiang Wanqiu said to the principal, "Teacher Zhang's only reason for concluding that Ping An cheated is that his usual behavior is not good and doesn't match his perfect score this time. Is that right?"

Before anyone could answer, she continued, "That's easy. To ensure fairness and to prove my son's innocence, I demand a retest on the spot!"

Jiang Wanqiu said, "Right here, right now! If Ping An doesn't score above 95, I'll apologize to Teacher Zhang in front of everyone without hesitation, and then immediately withdraw him from school! But if he does score..."

She paused, then looked at the homeroom teacher:

"Teacher Zhang, you must apologize to my son Ping An in front of the entire school!"

Ms. Zhang was caught in a dilemma. If she backed down in front of so many colleagues and the principal, how could she maintain her position at the school?

Besides, she was convinced from the bottom of her heart that Ping An had cheated. How could a poor student who had been expelled suddenly become enlightened?

"Fine!" she agreed through gritted teeth, a fierce glint in her eyes. "I'll give you a test! But to prevent the questions from being leaked, I'll set them myself!"

“Sure,” Jiang Wanqiu readily agreed, then added, “By the way, to make it more convincing, please also invite Hu Xiaohu, the student who claimed to have been plagiarized yesterday, to take the exam as well. That way, everyone can compare and see who has the real talent.”

Soon, Hu Xiaohu was called out of the classroom by his homeroom teacher. When he saw the tense situation in the office, especially the grim-faced Jiang Wanqiu and Ping An, his legs began to tremble.

Teacher Zhang pulled him to her side and comforted him, "Xiao Hu, don't be afraid. You usually study so well, this is a good opportunity to show everyone what real talent is!"

Two tables were pulled apart, some distance apart, with Ping An and Hu Xiaohu each on one side.

Teacher Zhang picked up a pen and paper and began to compose questions on the spot.

She was indeed up to no good, deliberately choosing some difficult problems and obscure words that weren't in the textbook or were even beyond the syllabus.

Principal Wang watched from the side, his brows furrowed, inwardly sighing that the teacher had gone too far, pushing a child to the brink of death.

Jiang Wanqiu whispered to Ping An, "Ping An, don't be afraid, just perform normally."

Ping An raised her head, looked into her mother's trusting eyes, and nodded vigorously.

The exam has begun.

The once chaotic office instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were fixed on the two small desks.

Ping An received the test paper, glanced at it briefly, picked up a pencil, and began to scribble on the paper.

Meanwhile, Hu Xiaohu was biting his pen, his face flushed red, and his forehead covered in sweat.

He couldn't understand most of the questions on the test paper, and he was so anxious that he scratched his head and couldn't write a single word for a long time.

Half the time had passed, and Ping An had finished writing on the front side. He gently flipped it over and continued answering.

Teacher Zhang's expression shifted from certainty to doubt, and then to a subtle hint of panic.

She couldn't sit still any longer. She quietly walked up behind Ping An, intending to find fault with him, but as soon as her gaze fell on the test paper, she froze.

His eyes widened even more.

Ping An not only solved all the difficult problems she deliberately set for him, those math problems that were beyond the curriculum, but his solutions to several of them were even more concise and ingenious than the standard answers she taught!

How...how is this possible?!

In the brief moment she was lost in thought, another restless figure in the office finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Hu Xiaohu was so anxious that he scratched his head and cheeks, and almost bit the pencil stub in his hand to pieces.

As time ticked by, his test paper was still mostly blank. His eyes darted around, and taking advantage of everyone's attention being on Ping An, he quietly leaned forward, stretching his neck as far as he could, like a duck stealing food, desperately trying to peek at Ping An's paper.

Jiang Wanqiu never looked away. She crossed her arms, watching coldly, a half-smile playing on her lips. She didn't say anything to stop him, just watched quietly until Hu Xiaohu's neck was almost stretched to its limit before she slowly opened her mouth.

"Teacher Zhang."

Teacher Zhang suddenly snapped out of her daze and followed Jiang Wanqiu's gaze, only to catch Hu Xiaohu's sneaky look.

Jiang Wanqiu's gaze returned to Teacher Zhang's face, which was a mixture of red and blue, and she asked slowly, "You see, is this what you call real talent?"

Teacher Zhang was both embarrassed and annoyed by Jiang Wanqiu's question. She turned around abruptly and shouted at Hu Xiaohu, "Hu Xiaohu! What are you looking at! Can't you write it yourself?! Sit up straight!"

Hu Xiaohu was so frightened by the roar that he shrank back instantly, his neck shrinking back like a quail, no longer daring to move, and just keeping his head low.

"Time's up!" Principal Wang, seeing that it was almost time, quickly ended the exam that had been making his heart race.

Ping An gently put down her pencil, stood up calmly, and handed in her test paper.

Then look at Hu Xiaohu, who stood up slowly. His test paper was covered with blank pages, and the writing was messy and illegible.

Teacher Zhang reluctantly began grading the papers.

In the office, a group of teachers instinctively gathered around, craning their necks.

"Swish—" A bright red checkmark.

"Whoosh—" Another one.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

One red checkmark after another landed on the paper, crisp and clean.

With each additional checkmark, Teacher Zhang's expression grew increasingly grim.

Even the teachers watching began to murmur in surprise.

"Oh my god, you got this bonus question right?"

"Look at this solution, it's much simpler than what we taught!"

"This child... is incredibly bright!"

The chatter was making her feel uneasy.

With the last stroke of her pen, she hesitated to write the hundred-point mark in the upper right corner of the paper.

Seeing this, Jiang Wanqiu sneered, "Teacher Zhang, why aren't you moving? Can't you figure out how many points are on the test you set?"

Hearing this, Teacher Zhang reluctantly wrote down the bright red 100.

"Great! Great!" Principal Wang couldn't hold back any longer and led the applause. "This child is a genius! A true genius! Our school almost buried a promising talent!"

The applause was sparse, but it made Teacher Zhang feel somewhat ashamed.

Jiang Wanqiu persisted, asking, "Teacher Zhang, my son's paper is finished. What about Hu Xiaohu's?"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, even if she didn't want to, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and pick up Hu Xiaohu's appalling test paper, scribbling on it haphazardly a few times.

She wrote a glaring "38" at the top of the page.

Jiang Wanqiu stepped forward, took the two contrasting test papers from her hand, and held them high to show everyone in the office.

"Everyone, take a look!" Her voice was clear and bright. "One paper has a score of 100, and the other has a score of 38. I just want to ask Teacher Zhang, do you think my son Ping An has gone mad or is stupid? Why would he leave the questions he knows how to do and insist on copying someone who can only get 38 points?"

She paused, then said, "The facts are right before our eyes! My son Ping An not only did not cheat, but some of the 'good students' you mentioned have been lying and slandering their classmates from beginning to end!"

"I..." Teacher Zhang was still trying to find excuses for herself, "Maybe...maybe the questions were too difficult this time, and Hu Xiaohu...he didn't perform well..."

"Didn't perform well?" Jiang Wanqiu interrupted her directly, "Teacher Zhang, at this point, are you still going to deceive yourself? Don't forget, we have a bet!"

Seeing this situation, Principal Wang knew that he could no longer smooth things over.

His face darkened, and he walked up to Teacher Zhang, his tone more serious than ever before: "Teacher Zhang! You have disappointed me greatly! The most basic principle of being a teacher is to be truthful and factual! You acted on your own assumptions without evidence, and almost ruined a promising student! You must take responsibility for this! Apologize to Ping An and Comrade Jiang!"

Outside the window, the music for the morning exercises started playing. On the playground, students from each class were lining up, making a lot of noise and creating a lively atmosphere.

Looking out the window, Jiang Wanqiu suddenly spoke up: "Principal, a verbal apology isn't sincere. If you're going to do something, go to the school's broadcasting station and clear my son's name in front of the entire school!"

Upon hearing this, Ms. Zhang's legs went weak. In front of the entire school... how could she ever face anyone again?

Principal Wang glanced at her and said, "Let's do as Comrade Jiang says!"

Inside the radio station, Teacher Zhang gripped the cold microphone, her palms drenched in sweat. Under Principal Wang's stern gaze, she reluctantly brought the microphone to her lips and began to speak, albeit indistinctly:

"Hey... about... about Zhao Ping'an from Class 2, Grade 3, the exam... it was... I made a mistake..."

The students on the playground were making a lot of noise, and hardly anyone could hear them clearly.

Jiang Wanqiu frowned and snatched the microphone from her hand.

She stood in front of the microphone, took a deep breath, and her clear and firm voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, instantly resonated throughout every corner of the campus, reaching the ears of everyone clearly:

"Class teacher Zhang has wrongly accused Zhao Ping'an of cheating without any evidence!"

"Facts have proven that Zhao Ping'an achieved excellent scores in both Chinese and Mathematics based on his own abilities! He is a role model for us and deserves to be number one!"