Chapter 40: The Cold and Dark Guardian
Pei Heng looked back and found that it was an acquaintance. He was from the same school as him and was the third in the school who had received his invitation letter. This time he won the second prize.
Jiang Tongxue's palms were sweaty and his voice was trembling.
But he still mustered up the courage, pointed at Ying Gong on the stage, and shouted, "I'm No. 15 Jiang Tongxue. I'm reporting No. 13 Ying Gong for cheating by replacing his entry during the competition. The calligraphy he wrote on the spot is not the one shown on the big screen! This piece was prepared in advance!"
Faced with so many people in the industry and the live broadcast camera, Jiang Tongxue was a little nervous.
But when he heard that Pei Heng was second, he couldn't help it. This opportunity was given to him by Pei Heng. If the first place did not belong to Pei Heng, perhaps he could keep his mind off it, but he really couldn't help it at the moment.
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar.
The live camera immediately turned to Jiang Tongxue and Ying Gong.
The judges were also alarmed.
Several judges immediately discussed in a low voice and asked the staff to find the original entries and check them carefully.
Ying Gong was now pale, his eyes looking around in panic, not daring to look at anyone, especially Pei Heng.
Pei Heng raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled at Ying Gong like a sly cat, "What a coincidence."
"I saw it, too."
For some reason, Ying Gong didn't dare to look Pei Heng in the eyes. He felt very guilty, as if he had stolen something from him.
Ying Gong quickly looked away, but his eyes couldn't help but look at the chief judge in the audience.
The chief judge received his gaze and his expression became even uglier, but he knew it was not convenient for him to step forward.
He forced himself to remain calm and winked at a judge next to him who was on good terms with him. The judge understood, cleared his throat, picked up the microphone and tried to calm the situation.
"Hey, classmate, and Pei Heng, please calm down. The rice paper, brushes, and ink used in the competition are distributed uniformly according to the number of contestants and strictly controlled. There is absolutely no possibility of extra copies. Accusations without evidence seriously question the fairness of the competition!"
Pei Heng tilted his head in confusion when he heard this, looking at the judge who had spoken. "You haven't even started the investigation yet, and you're already insisting that there's no possibility of cheating?"
"I'm not someone who can't stand losing. If the investigation proves that I wrongly accused the contestant, I will apologize."
But if…” he drawled softly, “he really did cheat, that would be a different matter.”
Pei Heng stood on the stage among so many equally outstanding contestants, yet he easily attracted everyone's attention.
It is so dazzling that people can't help but be convinced, and it makes people unable to refute it.
Ying Gong was crushed by Pei Heng's oppressive gaze. Unable to hold back any longer, he gritted his teeth and retorted, "You're the sponsor's son. You can't stand losing, so you deliberately teamed up with people from your school to slander me, just to bring me down!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was another low exclamation at the scene.
Pei Heng suddenly laughed, tilted his head slightly, and looked at Ying Gong with a playful look in his eyes. "Oh, how did you know I'm the sponsor's son?"
"Even the judges might not know the specific information of the sponsors. Have you researched me in advance?"
Yinggong was struck by lightning and realized that he had let the cat out of the bag in a hurry.
He looked at the chief judge for help, his eyes full of despair.
The invited media reporters were so excited that they almost jumped up.
A cheating scandal broke out during the live broadcast of a national competition, which also involved the identities and backgrounds of the players and suspected insider trading. It was simply explosive news.
The live camera switched frantically between Pei Heng, Ying Gong, the chief judge and the whistleblower Jiang Tongxue. Industry insiders and onlookers watching the live broadcast online were already in an uproar.
Ying Gong was still making a final struggle, his voice weak, "You...you have no evidence! Your words are useless!"
At this tense moment, Ling Yue flashed out from the backstage passage.
He had a blank expression on his face, holding a crumpled piece of rice paper in his hand.
Ling Yue ignored everyone's gazes, walked straight to the front of the stage, held up the wrinkled piece of rice paper, faced the judges' seats and the nearest live camera, and spoke in a calm voice.
"Evidence. Yes."
The paper was covered in ink stains and had sloppy handwriting, which was completely different from the neat and beautiful "first prize work" displayed on the screen!
As soon as Ling Yue held up the evidence, all the live broadcast signals at the scene were cut off and the screen went black instantly.
The chief judge stood up suddenly, maintaining his dignity, "Member, please calm down and hand over the evidence to the jury."
"The organizers will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give everyone a satisfactory explanation."
He stretched out his hand, wanting to take the paper.
Ling Yue retracted his hand, his eyes cold, "Here you go. It's useless."
The chief judge's face darkened. "Who do you want to give it to?"
"Of course it's for me."
An old but majestic voice came from the entrance of the venue.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man with silver hair and a vigorous spirit, supported by Professor Yan Ke and walking slowly in with a rosewood cane.
Wherever he went, judges and staff stood up in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Mr. Ji!"
"It's Mr. Ji!"
This old man is a leading figure in the calligraphy world. Even the president of the Calligraphers Association has to respectfully call him teacher, Ji Huaiyuan.
Yan Ke, who was following behind Mr. Ji, cast a soothing look at Pei Heng on the stage.
Pei Heng blinked, feeling a little tired of standing.
He simply turned around, walked slowly back to his seat and sat down, and took a cup of milk tea from Shen Shi.
Pei Heng adjusted his sitting posture, supported his chin with one hand, and watched the increasingly exciting drama below the stage leisurely.
He looked relaxed, ready to watch the fun.
The other party had to kneel down to answer his questions.
How can you remain so calm even in the midst of such a crisis? Do you think you are the one ruling the country from behind the scenes?
Ling Yue ignored the shocked judges in the audience and handed the rice paper to the seated Mr. Ji. "It's in the backstage lounge. Ying Gong didn't have time to deal with it, so he just hid it in his bag."
"At noon, Ying Gong appeared in the cafeteria, then hurried away, going through a side door to the judges' lounge on the top floor. He left fifteen minutes later."
"Three minutes later, the chief judge left the lounge and answered a phone call in the corridor. The content of the call was to the effect that first place was secure."
Chief judge: “…”
Yingzhao: “…” No.
"You're following me?"
He didn't even notice it! This person must be a ghost!
Ling Yue was calm and cool, "We just happened to be going the same way."
Ying: “…”
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