Chapter 44 Cheating
The air in the second semester of senior year seemed to have solidified into a gelatinous mass even before the early spring outside, thick with the scent of gunpowder and ink. The countdown to the Gaokao (college entrance exam) dwindled day by day, like a sword of Damocles hanging overhead. However, amidst this taut tension, a sudden uproar erupted in Shenghua High School's senior year (A) class, like a drop of water in boiling oil, instantly igniting the pot.
During the last study session of the morning, the silence was so quiet that only the rustle of pens across paper and the occasional rustle of a page turned. Gu Ye and Chu Yan sat side by side, whispering about the solution to a crucial physics problem. Gu Ye's fingertips touched Chu Yan's spread-out draft paper, his thoughts clear and organized. His expression had lost its former impetuousness, replaced by a focused sharpness. On the opening exam, he had placed twelfth in his grade—a position that had seemed unattainable a year and a half earlier, but now firmly within his grasp.
"So, we use critical point analysis here..." Gu Ye's voice was calm and confident.
Chu Yan nodded slightly and was about to add something when the front door of the classroom was flung open. A boy poked his head in with a mixed expression of excitement and strangeness on his face. His voice was deliberately raised, instantly breaking the quiet of the study session:
"Gu Ye, your homeroom teacher, Teacher Li, wants to see you and asks you to go to the office right now."
The whole class's attention was instantly focused.
Gu Ye's thoughts were interrupted, and he frowned slightly, looking at Chu Yan in confusion. Chu Yan's eyes were calm, and he nodded to him almost imperceptibly. Gu Ye put down his pen, stood up and walked towards the door.
The moment Gu Ye's figure disappeared outside the door, the boy who reported the news immediately turned around and shouted to his deskmate in an almost excited, threatening tone:
"Holy crap! Do you know what happened?! Someone reported it directly to the principal's office! They said Gu Ye cheated on the opening exam! The results are fake!"
"boom--!"
The quiet classroom was like a bomb was thrown into it, and it exploded in an instant!
"Cheating? Really?"
"No wonder! I was saying it, climbing from the bottom of the class to the twelfth grade wouldn't be that fast, right?"
"Bullshit! Haven't you seen how hard Gu Ye has worked this semester? He practices exercises until midnight every day, and his notes are thicker than anyone else's! He cheated? Who did he copy from? Chu Yan? How could Chu Yan let him copy?"
"That's hard to say. Maybe some high-tech means were used."
"That's right! Some people are so proud of themselves that they don't care about their reputation anymore!"
"Watch your mouth! Gu Ye relies on strength! You are just jealous!"
Discussions, doubts, defenses, and gloating whispers mingled like a boiling cauldron of oil. Some wore expressions of disdain, as if they had already seen through the truth; others frowned, clearly unconvinced; and many more whispered excitedly, exchanging various unverified "rumors." Gu Ye's remarkable progress over the past six months now became the biggest source of doubt, repeatedly weighed and questioned by countless scrutinizing eyes.
Chu Yan remained seated, as if the surrounding commotion had nothing to do with him. With a calm expression, he picked up the phone on the table and tapped the screen a few times. An encrypted message was silently sent. He mentally pokes the system: "Check it out."
The system's electronic sound immediately rang out, with a long-lost eagerness to try [Target locked: report letter from the principal's office, monitoring coverage, communication records of related persons... scanning] The old partner who had experienced countless storms was very familiar with handling this low-level frame-up.
At this moment, a girl who was usually quite noisy and had always been jealous of Gu Ye's rapid academic progress suddenly turned her attention to the calmest person in the center of the storm. As if she had found the most authoritative evidence, she shouted at Chu Yan, "Chu Yan, tell me, did Gu Ye cheat? He's your deskmate, you should know something, right?!"
In an instant, all eyes in the classroom were focused on Chu Yan.
Chu Yan slowly raised his head. His eyes, which always held a gentle smile, were now as calm as a bottomless, cold pond. He looked at the questioning girl, his eyes devoid of any emotion, yet carrying an invisible pressure that made her subconsciously shrink her neck.
"Instead of worrying about whether the twelfth-place student in the class cheated," Chu Yan's voice was low, but it clearly penetrated the noise, with an almost indifferent look down on him, "I suggest you use this concern for yourself and do a few more questions. Maybe next time you take the exam, you won't have to rely on second-guessing others to find your mental balance."
Those few words were like ice water poured over her head, choking the girl, her face flushing red. She opened her mouth, unable to utter a single word. The classroom instantly fell silent. Chu Yan ignored her, stood up, and walked out of the classroom, leaving behind a dead silence and countless complicated gazes.
The atmosphere in the office was as depressing as the low pressure before a storm.
As soon as Gu Ye pushed the door open, he saw his homeroom teacher, Mr. Li, sitting behind his desk, his face more serious than ever. Surrounding him were the head teacher and two other senior teachers from other classes. Their gazes fell on Gu Ye, scrutinizing, probing, and with a subtle hint of sympathy.
Teacher Li saw Gu Ye come in and took a deep breath, as if to cheer herself up, or to calm herself down. She pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and tried to keep her voice steady, but she couldn't hide the solemnity in it:
"Gu Ye, you're here. I have something very serious to ask you." She paused, looked at Gu Ye's clear yet dazed eyes, and spoke with difficulty: "Someone reported you for cheating on the opening exam and submitted the report directly to the principal's office."
"Cheating?" Gu Ye's mind went blank. He repeated it subconsciously, as if he didn't understand the meaning of the word. His hands and feet felt cold. "I didn't. Teacher Li, I..."
"Teacher knows!" Teacher Li interrupted him immediately, her tone soothing, "Teacher believes in you! We've all seen your hard work and progress over the past six months! But..." She sighed and pointed to the printed report on the desk. "The other party has provided some so-called 'suspicious points,' and the principal's office is under a lot of pressure. We must thoroughly investigate and give everyone an explanation. So, to prove your innocence and silence the gossip, teacher needs you to do a new set of equally difficult backup papers right here, in front of several of us teachers. Are you willing?"
Gu Ye looked at the genuine trust and helplessness in Teacher Li's eyes, then glanced at the serious gazes of the teachers nearby. The humiliation and anger surging in his heart were suppressed with all his might. He understood. This wasn't a question of trust or distrust; it was a battle he had to face to prove himself.
He pursed his lips tightly, his jawline tense, but his eyes were remarkably firm. He didn't say another word of defense, but nodded heavily: "I do. Let's start now."
A flicker of relief flashed in Teacher Li's eyes, and he quickly pulled out a sealed set of spare exam papers. Gu Ye pulled up a chair, sat down, took his pen, took a deep breath, and cast his gaze upon the exam paper, instantly blocking out all external gazes and noise, completely immersed in the sea of questions. The scratching sound of the pen tip scraping against the paper echoed with a sense of desperate determination.
When Chu Yan reached the office door, he saw this scene: Gu Ye sat in the center of the "proctoring circle" formed by several teachers, his back straight, his head bowed, his hair covering his forehead obscuring his expression. Only his hand, knuckles pale from the effort of gripping the pen, and the swift, ferocious movement of the pen, silently spoke of the turmoil within him. The teachers watched in silence, the only sound in the office being the scratching of the pen across the paper.
Chu Yan did not go in, but just leaned quietly against the wall of the corridor, his eyes looking through the glass window on the door and falling on the figure who was writing furiously.
[Found it.] The system's voice echoed in Chu Yan's mind, a hint of cold sarcasm. [Gu Yaozong, a member of the Gu family's side branch, Gu Yu's henchman. He bribed a junior student to commit perjury and even attempted to tamper with the surveillance cameras. His methods were crude, but his purpose was clear—he wanted to expose your Gu Ye's true colors, completely discredit him in front of Gu Hongyuan, and give Gu Yu some vent. Typical Gu family consumable mentality, judging others by one's own standards. Absolutely foolish.]
A flicker of understanding and cold sarcasm flashed across Chu Yan's eyes. Gu Yaozong and Gu Yu only saw Gu Ye's leap in grades, thinking only of the shortcut of "cheating." They chose to ignore every late night Gu Ye had endured over the past six months, every problem set he'd worked through, every drop of sweat he'd shed. They used their own filthy minds to try to understand a heart struggling through the mud to blossom.
He sighed silently as he looked at the young man in the office, stubbornly standing tall under silent pressure, fighting for himself with his pen. Gu Ye, now you should truly understand: in this world where the strong prey on the weak, sometimes you can't just stay out of it. Because in the eyes of some people, your very existence, your excellence, is already the greatest "original sin." Even if you don't fight, they won't let you go.
An hour and a half passed in oppressive silence. Gu Ye put down his pen and handed the test paper to Teacher Li. His face was pale, beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, and his wrists were slightly sore and trembling from the long hours of writing.
Teacher Li and several other teachers immediately gathered around to correct the papers on the spot. The air in the office froze. As the red lines fell, Teacher Li's tense expression gradually relaxed. Finally, he breathed a long sigh of relief, a smile of relief spreading across his face.
"Excellent! Excellent!" She showed the corrected test paper to the other teachers, her voice filled with excitement and relief. "Gu Ye's results on this backup paper are not only completely in line with his level on the opening exam, but his solutions to some of the difficult questions are even clearer and more fluent! This is sufficient to prove that his results are authentic and valid. This malicious report is pure slander!"
She turned to Gu Ye, her eyes full of affirmation and apology: "Gu Ye, you have been wronged. The teacher will definitely deal with this matter seriously and restore your innocence!"
Gu Ye's tense body finally relaxed. He nodded, his voice a little dry: "Thank you, Teacher Li, and thank you, teachers." He stood up and walked out of the office with a somewhat unsteady step.
In the corridor, the early spring sun streamed through the tall glass windows, bringing a touch of warmth. Gu Ye had just stepped out of his depressing office when he saw Chu Yan leaning against the wall, his hands tucked into his school uniform pockets. The sunlight highlighted Chu Yan's handsome features, and he looked calm, as if the previous commotion had nothing to do with him.
Gu Ye opened his mouth, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something. Thousands of words were stuck in his heart, and in the end, they turned into a silent and bitter silence.
Chu Yan looked at his slightly trembling hands and pale face and sighed silently. He walked forward and spoke calmly, breaking the silence: "Gu Yaozong."
Gu Ye suddenly raised his head, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. He said hoarsely, "I guessed it. No one except the Gu family would be so mean and impatient."
Chu Yan hummed, his tone indifferent: "Just a clown. Let's go back to the classroom."
He turned to leave, but Gu Ye stood there motionless. He looked at Chu Yan's back, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
"Chu Yan," Gu Ye's voice was low and firm, "I will make them pay the price."
Chu Yan paused, tilting his head slightly. The sunlight cast a deep shadow on his face. He looked at the fire in Gu Ye's eyes that had been tempered to a harder state, and a barely perceptible smile of approval appeared at the corner of his lips. He raised his eyebrows, and his smile was filled with a sense of control and composure:
"Don't worry." He uttered these two words with a firm tone, "They have already paid the price."
The message he'd sent to the housekeeper that morning must have already become a financial bullet aimed at Gu Yaozong's father's pitiful business. The Chu family's housekeeper was an expert at making those who offended their young master feel the pain silently. This was just interest.
Gu Ye looked at Chu Yan's confident smile, and his tense heartstrings inexplicably relaxed a little. He nodded and stopped asking questions. He believed Chu Yan.
The two walked side by side towards the classroom. The afternoon sun stretched their shadows long. The uproar in the classroom about "cheating" had not yet completely subsided, but at this moment, the noisy voices seemed to have been left far behind them.
"Before the college entrance examination," Chu Yan's voice was calm, with an unquestionable determination, "It's such a waste to focus on an idiot."
Gu Ye grumbled, "Hmm," the last shred of gloom in his eyes replaced by determination. He clenched his still-sore wrist, his knuckles turning white again from the force. Right now, the most crucial battleground lay at the tip of the pen, on the test paper, in that June that would determine the future.
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