Chapter 61 - Slander
Chapter 61 - Slander
When it was almost time to get off work on Friday, Duan Yunhong sent a message to Ning Fei asking if they wanted to go out for dinner together in the evening and that he would pick him up if they did.
Ning Fei replied to him: [Not sure, still in the classic slander bureau. 】
Duan Yunhong: [What slanderous bureau? Who messed with you? 】
Ning Fei: [You’ll have to ask your nephew. 】
Duan Yunhong: [Ji Xingzhe? What did he do? 】
Duan Yunhong: [Are you in school? 】
Ning Fei didn't reply again.
Because just after he sent the previous message, the middle-aged man opposite him slammed the table and said sternly: "Ning Fei, what time is it? Why are you still looking at your phone? Is this how you set an example in front of your students?!"
Ning Fei quickly tapped the phone twice and leisurely placed it on the desktop: "I have already made a dinner appointment, I should at least tell them, otherwise it would be impolite for them to keep waiting for me, right?"
"If you hadn't been delaying and refusing to admit it, how could it have dragged on until now?" the middle-aged man said, "You leaked the test paper to the students to cheat, which was wrong in the first place. Now you are still stubborn and refusing to admit it, which is making the mistake even worse!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the side and said, "Lin Shengjia's grades had only gotten worse, but now he has learned to cheat. Instead of trying to persuade him to turn back, you helped him leak the test questions. Once this punishment is written down, it will follow him for life. What school or unit will dare to accept him in the future? Is this the education major you studied abroad?"
Lin Shengjia had been scolded many times and was furious: "I said I didn't cheat!"
The middle-aged man asked, "How do you prove that you didn't cheat?"
"Then what evidence do you have to prove that we cheated?" Ning Fei was the calmest person present and would not fall into the "self-proof trap" at all. "Director, you said that someone reported us for cheating. Didn't this 'reporter' submit any evidence, but you believed him and pressed our heads to ask us to admit that we cheated?"
"If there was no cheating, how did Lin Shengjia improve his score from 28 to 65 in less than a month?" The head teacher slammed the table again, "You were present when your English group prepared the test papers, and you also gave a lot of ideas. You knew the direction of the questions very well, right? You live across from Lin Shengjia, and you know his parents, right? The average score of your class has improved significantly compared to the ranking in the last monthly exam. Isn't it because Lin Shengjia's grades have improved that the average score didn't fall much, right?"
"There's no clear logical chain, so what kind of evidence is this? As an English teacher, I can't participate in setting questions? I can't live wherever I want? My classmates can't do well in the exam? Our class's overall ranking has improved, so does that mean that all the children in my class cooperated with me to cheat?" Ning Fei sneered, "Director Ma, just because you said three parallel sentences, I have to admit to a false accusation."
Director Ma: "...Huh? What are you talking about? What's your attitude?!"
"Okay, okay, stop arguing." The vice-president, who was also in the office to manage the situation, finally spoke to mediate, "How about this, Teacher Ning, Student Lin, although there is no substantial evidence now, this matter is indeed quite controversial. If you don't give others an explanation, you will also be discussed behind your back, right?
"I suggest that the English group prepare a backup paper under the guidance of Teacher Ning. If Lin takes the test again with the backup paper, and the result is similar to this one, wouldn't it prove that Lin did not cheat?"
"We were framed, and we were asked to prove ourselves. Then we were wrongly accused for nothing?" Ning Fei did not comment, but asked, "If it is proven, what compensation will we get?"
Director Ma's eyes widened: "You still want money?! You are really obsessed with money. You even give private lessons to students to make money, right?"
In this era, giving extra lessons to students is not against the rules. Ning Fei calmly replied: "I give extra lessons to students. Does it have anything to do with this matter? I didn't ask for money. Why did Director Ma's first reaction think of money?"
The vice principal asked, "What compensation do you want?"
"It's not me, it's us." Ning Fei leaned back in his chair and said leisurely, "If Lin Shengjia can do about the same in another exam, then Director Ma should make a public statement at the school meeting on Monday. First, make it clear that I didn't leak the questions and Lin Shengjia didn't cheat. Second, apologize for slandering me and Lin Shengjia."
"What? Apologize?" Director Ma said immediately, "Why should I apologize? I just received a report and dealt with the matter. Besides, this matter has not been publicly investigated. If it were publicly announced, the impact would be even greater. It is like this. If you hadn't been dithering and refusing to cooperate with the investigation, it wouldn't have dragged on for so long!"
Lin Shengjia couldn't help but say, "You are investigating based on your preconceived ideas. If I deny it, you will say I am lying. So if I don't admit it, I am just procrastinating and uncooperative?"
Director Ma said angrily: "Your attitude means you are not cooperating with the investigation!"
"He was wronged, but he can't get angry. But Director Ma can get angry and use his position as the dean of teaching to pressure others? What kind of old feudal thinking is this?" Ning Fei's voice turned cold. "As teachers and educators, you know how fast news spreads among students. If it is not handled publicly, even if Lin Shengjia can prove that he passed the exam on his own, there will still be people talking about it behind his back. If he is forced to transfer schools because of this, it will be a stain on public opinion; if I am forced to resign because of this, it will be a stain on my career.
"In that case, I will have to discuss this educational method with my teachers, famous educators at home and abroad, and my fellow students from all over the country, teachers, educators, and backbones of the Education Bureau. I will then write a paper and send it to the Education Bureau to ask for their guidance. Who knows?"
Director Ma took a while to react: "...You, you are threatening us?! When did we force you to resign?!"
"I'm just talking about the most likely scenario." Ning Fei looked at the vice-president. "Principal Li, this matter should have been made public by the top leader in charge - that is, you. This would be more authoritative. Asking Director Ma to speak is the best choice I think to reduce the impact."
Vice Principal Li hesitated for two seconds: "But Xiaoning, your request is indeed a bit excessive..."
"How about this, I won't ask Director Ma to apologize. Just let him make it clear that the whistleblower made a mistake, and the school has confirmed that this did not happen after investigation. I thank Lin Shengjia for his patience and cooperation, and I also congratulate him on his academic progress. Okay?" Ning Fei said, "By the way, I must say that I hope everyone will have evidence before raising objections to anything in the future, otherwise it will be slander. You can educate the whistleblower privately this time, but if there is a next time, I may consider suing him."
"Oh, Teacher Ning, why did you file a lawsuit? Things that happen abroad may not necessarily apply in China. It's normal to have some friction in school, why make a big deal out of it?" The vice principal decided, "Then how about this, as long as Lin takes another exam and his grades do improve, Director Ma will publicly announce the result of the matter at the school meeting, okay?"
Director Ma was full of disbelief: "Principal Li, this, I..."
"Oh, there's one more thing." Ning Fei said, "Because we have to make a new test paper, I'm afraid that the level of this test paper will be different from the monthly test, and it will be bad if Lin Shengjia's normal fluctuation in grades is misunderstood. I suggest that we randomly select two students from each class in the whole grade to do the test paper. It doesn't matter whether their original scores are high or low. The difference between the final score and the monthly test score is a reasonable median. Lin Shengjia's score error is within this range, or very close to it. Even if he has indeed improved on his own, is that okay?"
Director Ma is a liberal arts teacher and didn’t understand at first.
The vice-principal understood, but he also fully realized how difficult Ning Fei was. Although Ning Fei didn't have much of a family background, his resume was impressive. The vice principal was really afraid that he knew someone in the education field, so he decided to smooth things over: "Okay, then I'll ask the other members of the English group to prepare a test paper next week, and gather the children in a study room during an evening class to take the test. Is that okay?"
Director Ma was somewhat dissatisfied: "Mobilizing so many troops..."
"I suggest that we take the exam on Monday night, the sooner the better, otherwise the rumor will have spread throughout the school. I'm an adult, I don't care, but what about Lin Shengjia? He's just been happy about his test improvement for a few days, and now he's being discussed for cheating. What will the child think? What if other children misunderstand and stay away from him, isolate him, and there's school bullying, what will happen to the reputation of our prestigious school?" Ning Fei paused, his tone meaningful, "Besides, the school doesn't even have a psychologist. If something bad happens, Principal Li..."
"Alright, stop exaggerating. I'll tell you something happened later. I'll ask the English team to work overtime and try to have the exam on Monday and Tuesday, okay?" The vice principal waved his hand, "You all go now. Keep this a secret and don't spread it! We are a key high school, how can we let such rumors spread? Student Lin, don't feel psychologically burdened. If you are innocent, the school will definitely clear your name. Don't think that others are targeting you. If you have really made progress in your studies, then you should keep the desire to continue to improve."
"Keeping a desire to improve and study hard is premised on a good educational environment for children. If they are accused of cheating as soon as they make progress, who can be motivated?" Ning Fei was also annoyed by the vice-principal's self-righteous and condescending remarks, and continued to find trouble for him, "Also, you said someone reported it, but you didn't let me ask who reported it. Then may I ask what is the reporting process? What caused you to think that this might be true and you want to investigate? If there is no standard process and no requirements for evidence, then I will report this and that. Does the school have to investigate everything like this? If everyone reports every day and the school investigates every day, then what kind of school is this? Just change it into a detective agency."
Before the vice principal could say anything, Director Ma jumped up and said, "Ning Fei! There are students here, and you are always looking for trouble. Is this how you teach and educate people?!"
"I'm telling the truth. If there is a standard, bring it out and have a look. What's there to debate about?" Ning Fei sneered and stood up. "Besides, how do I teach and educate people? The results of the classes I teach are obvious to all. If Director Ma has doubts, then the whole grade can retake the exam together. After the exam, please ask Director Ma to explain clearly at the school meeting how the school suspected that both students and teachers cheated because the students taught by one teacher had improved, which led to a meaningless retake for the whole grade..."
"That's enough! Ning Fei, stop talking nonsense and take Lin out." The vice principal finally lost his patience and drove him out again. "You have just arrived at the school and you don't know the school's situation well. The education you learn abroad is only on paper after all. It may not work in China. You should wait until you have completed the probation period before talking about it."
Ning Feigang picked up the phone and said, "Are you threatening me, Principal Li?"
The vice principal said in a high-handed tone: "I'm not threatening you. I'm just advising you to adapt to the school environment and not to cause trouble for everyone all the time. If you really can't adapt, don't force yourself."
"Okay, I'll remember it. But it doesn't matter if you can't remember it..." Ning Fei chuckled and turned the phone interface to show the vice principal and Director Ma, "I recorded it. I'll listen to it slowly when I get home."
The vice principal and Director Ma were both shocked: "You...!"
Neither of them had a mobile phone yet, they had just seen it. How could they have known that this thing could actually record? !
Ning Fei had already put his arm around Lin Shengjia's shoulders and turned to walk out: "Have a nice weekend, both of you, don't forget our new papers!"
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