Chapter 57
The dispute on the Internet has not stopped. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the official Weibo account of Wenhua Academy of Fine Arts also issued a statement saying that the school had held an emergency meeting and was studying how to deal with the Feng Yadong case. The lawyer appointed by Lin Qinhe on behalf of Taoxi also posted a lawyer's letter to Feng Yadong on Weibo, stating that he would help the client to sue.
The situation developed in a direction that no one had expected and escalated. Perhaps due to the pressure from the school and the lawsuit, at around ten o'clock in the morning, Feng Yadong's small Weibo account, which was flooded with saliva from netizens, finally posted a Weibo response.
He admitted on Weibo that the painting was not his original work, but there was someone who gave him the painting and asked him to submit it to the competition. He was just deceived, and the person who submitted the painting anonymously and accused him of plagiarism was not him. The whole Weibo post tried to clear himself of the charges, and finally @ed a Weibo account, implying that this person was the person behind the scenes.
When netizens clicked on this Weibo account, they found that it was a certified account, and the profile was the vice president of the Wenhua City Qinghua Association.
"Brother Xi, do you know this person named Guan Fanyun?"
Bi Chengfei resisted the urge to surf the Internet for the entire morning, and finally had some time to gossip during lunch break. He saw that some netizens had already found out that the woman whose Weibo was full of selfies was named Guan Fanyun.
Tao Xi was also browsing his phone, but he didn't have time to gossip. Instead, he was anxiously waiting for Lin Qinhe's reply. The national mathematics competition was held in the morning, and it should have just ended. He looked at the WeChat dialog box and said absentmindedly, "I know him. I'm in this association too."
Bi Chengfei imagined a story in his mind about a vice president who was jealous of a talented member and therefore slandered and framed him. He continued to browse Weibo, and after a while, he suddenly opened his mouth wide:
"I saw someone found out that Guan Fanyun is the girlfriend of the chairman of Mingwei Technology!"
Guan Fanyun's Weibo is full of selfies and content showing her affection. Eager netizens followed the clues and found out her boyfriend. Many people speculated based on her age that Guan Fanyun was not his girlfriend but his mistress.
"Mingwei Technology?" Tao Xi didn't react.
"You may not know this, but Mingwei Technology is a large medical company, and its chairman is..." Bi Chengfei covered his mouth and leaned closer to Tao Xi and whispered, "The father of Yang Duole from Class 2 next door."
Tao Xi said "Oh" and didn't react. He continued to look at Lin Qinhe's WeChat frame. The interface suddenly jumped into a call reminder. He was startled and stood up from his seat with his phone in hand and ran to the corridor outside the classroom.
"Have you finished the exam?"
Lin Qinhe seemed to be a little noisy, and he said "hmm" without saying how he did on the exam. Instead, he said to him, "I'll go back to Wenhua City in the afternoon and pick you up from school in the evening."
Tao Xi was stunned for a moment and asked, "Don't you have an interview in Beijing this afternoon?"
Lin Qinhe's trip to Beijing was very packed. In addition to the competition in the morning, he also had two interviews with American professors in the afternoon. He planned to return tomorrow.
"I've moved the interview to later."
Tao Xi felt something was wrong. Lin Qinhe was not the kind of person who would mess up his plans so easily. He thought for a moment and said, "Are you in such a hurry to come back? If it's my business, you really don't have to worry. I've almost dealt with it."
Lin Qinhe seemed to have walked to a quieter place, and his voice became clearer and deeper: "Taoxi, I want to take you to see your grandparents tomorrow morning."
Tao Xi took a deep breath, her fingers unconsciously clenched around the phone, and asked softly, "Why? Didn't we agree to go on Saturday?"
Whenever he thought of that scene, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Lin Qinhe was silent for a while, and only said: "I don't want anything to happen again."
Tao Xi heard some self-blame in Lin Qinhe's voice. He bit his lip, hesitated for a while, and replied, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
After hanging up the phone, he opened Weibo and found Guan Fanyun’s Weibo account. He discovered that the Weibo content had been cleared and the ID had turned into a string of garbled characters.
Feng Yadong's revelation about Guan Fanyun was within his expectations, and he was even more curious about what Guan Fanyun would do.
Guan Fanyun must have done the thing to slander Yang Zhengming for plagiarism just to please Yang Duole. Now that the situation has developed to this point, there is no turning back. Will she protect Yang Zhengming's "son" and block all this for him?
And Xu Ziqi, who has always disliked him and has been trying hard to curry favor with Yang Duole, will she flatly deny stealing his paintings and cover it up for Yang Duole when faced with questioning from school leaders?
Tao Xi put the phone back in his pocket, went back to the classroom, and then walked to the corridor. He stopped a boy who was about to enter Class 2, handed him a folded note, and said, "Can you give it to Xu Ziqi in your class for me?"
The boy agreed and quickly entered the classroom.
Tao Xi leaned on the railing of the corridor, lowered his head and browsed Weibo for a while. Not long after, Xu Ziqi came out, looked at him stiffly, and looked around. Seeing that no one was passing by, he said with a sullen face: "What do you mean?"
Tao Xi's eyes fell on Xu Ziqi's tightly clenched fingers. Without saying anything, he turned and walked into an empty classroom at the end of the corridor. Xu Ziqi hesitated behind him for a while, then followed slowly.
There were few tables and chairs in the empty classroom. There was a broken chair with a broken leg on the edge of the wall. Tao Xi glanced at the chair, and after Xu Ziqi closed the door nervously, she said in a dull tone:
"Xu Ziqi, I remember I told you a long time ago not to touch my things casually."
When Xu Ziqi saw the chair, she obviously remembered something. She subconsciously took two steps back and glared at him angrily, "Who touched your things?! Don't slander others casually!"
Tao Xi took a step closer, stared at Xu Ziqi's dodging eyes, and said, "You may not know, I have a bad habit. As long as it is something I put there, I remember it clearly, how it was placed, and where it was."
Xu Ziqi stood there stiffly, pursed her lips, and after a moment of silence, she turned her head away and said, "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Then let me help you recall it." Tao Xi put his hand in his pocket and held the phone, tilting his head as if thinking, and continued, "On December 17, Pan Yan asked for a day off and went back home. I returned to the dormitory very late, and you were the only one in the dormitory at that time, right?"
Xu Ziqi's face froze for a moment. The date was written on the note. He was panicking, but he tried his best to remain calm. "What does this mean? Isn't Pan Yan often alone in the dormitory?"
Tao Xi smiled softly and said calmly, "Didn't you notice? Every time I finish painting, I always cover the easel with a piece of white cloth. But when I went back that day, I found that the cloth had been moved. Pan Yan was not there. Who do you think moved it?"
Xu Ziqi suddenly lowered her eyes, her emotions surging fiercely, and after a while she calmed down again and sneered, "Can this be considered evidence?"
Tao Xi didn't respond, but suddenly asked: "You haven't contacted Yang Duole yet, right?"
Xu Ziqi had a gloomy face and said nothing. Ever since the turn of events last night, he panicked and sent WeChat messages and called Yang Duole, but there was no response. Today, Yang Duole did not come to school at all, and he had to go to the Political Education Department later to answer questions from Director Feng.
Tao Xi walked closer and said in a slower tone, "Xu Ziqi, I know that Yang Duole asked you to do this. Besides you, there was also his father's girlfriend. Now she has been exposed by Feng Yadong. Do you think she will only give you up for Yang Duole?"
Xu Ziqi's fists on the sides of her legs suddenly clenched, and she remained silent with a frozen expression.
"This matter has become a big deal, and the school is also investigating. Do you think you can still keep it secret?" Tao Xi's eyes fell on Xu Ziqi's pale face, and her voice turned cold. "In the end, it was found that you provided them with my paintings. How do you think the school will deal with it? Will it be a disciplinary action or expulsion?"
Xu Ziqi's eyes trembled violently, she swallowed and quickly retorted: "I didn't know they would do that with your paintings!"
Tao Xi held the phone tightly in his pocket and asked distrustfully, "You really don't know?"
Cathy Xu blushed and quickly argued, "I just mentioned to Yang Duole that you were going to participate in CAC. He said he wanted to see how you painted and asked me to take a picture for him, so I agreed. I really didn't know he would do that."
Tao Xi sneered in his heart, knowing that Xu Ziqi was trying to distance himself from the matter. He said nothing more and turned to leave. Xu Ziqi caught up with him and grabbed his arm, saying in a pleading tone: "Tao Xi, I really can't leave Wenhua No. 1 Middle School. My parents will go crazy if they know!"
Tao Xi stopped, broke away from Xu Ziqi's hand, looked at him coldly, and said, "When you were planning to slander me, why didn't you think about the fact that I can't leave Wenhua No. 1 Middle School?"
Xu Ziqi opened her pale lips but said nothing.
In the afternoon, Tao Xi attended class with everyone else as usual. At around five o'clock, just after an English class, Zhou Qiang came in from the back door and asked him to go out.
Tao Xi followed Zhou Qiang out of the classroom. Zhou Qiang led him to the office building and said, "Director Peng from the Political Education Department met with Xu Ziqi at noon. His words were no different from the recording you gave me. Then Director Peng went to find Yang Duole, but Yang Duole was not in school. He asked for leave last night."
Tao Xi sneered in his heart. At this time, is Yang Duole still just hiding cowardly?
Zhou Qiang had never thought that this matter would involve Yang Duole from Class 2. He continued with a headache: "Director Peng had no choice but to contact Yang Duole's parents. Now they are here and are in the conference room..."
Before he could finish his words, he noticed that Tao Xi suddenly stopped, frowned tightly, and a nervous look appeared in his eyes.
Zhou Qiang thought Tao Xi was afraid to face her parents, so he comforted her, "Don't be nervous. Yang Duole was wrong in this matter. His parents are definitely here to have a good talk with you and apologize to you. They won't embarrass you."
Tao Xi took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
When Yang Zhengming arrived at Wenhua No. 1 Middle School in the afternoon, Luo Zhengyin and the two elders of the Fang family had not arrived yet. He was received by Director Peng in a conference room. He couldn't help but light a cigarette and took a few puffs in an upset state. His usually gentle and warm face was covered with a layer of heavy frost.
Guan Fanyun called him at noon today, and when she saw that she had been exposed, she told him the whole thing - Yang Duole had no idea what deep hatred she had with that classmate named Tao Xi, and gave her the photo of Tao Xi's painting submitted to CAC, and asked her to copy a painting based on that painting. She then found a college student she knew who had no background, and hired him for a large sum of money to submit the copied painting to the Jincai Cup competition in his own name.
The purpose of doing this is obvious. His son has some kind of illness and wants to ruin a classmate's competition by accusing him of plagiarism. To put it more deeply, he wants to ruin this classmate's future in artistic creation.
"Zhengming, I have no grudge against Tao Xi. I did this because of your son. You can't just ignore it! Now someone is going to sue me. I can't completely cover up this for your son. Can you think of a solution?"
At that time, Yang Zhengming's forehead was throbbing with veins. He forced himself to calm down, interrupted Guan Fanyun's noisy crying, and asked her to clear all the content on the social platform first and not to make any response on it.
He felt unbelievable and furious at Yang Duole's behavior. He wanted to drag the boy back and beat him up immediately. He never expected that Guan Fanyun would be so ridiculous as to let Yang Duole do whatever he wanted!
Yang Zhengming finally managed to calm down and quickly learned about the incident online. He realized that the matter had become a big deal and it was too late to resolve it by suppressing Feng Yadong.
In any case, he planned to go to school to find Yang Duole and ask him clearly, but soon he received a call from Yang Duole's class teacher, who told him about Yang Duole in a tactful tone and asked him to take Yang Duole to school. Only then did he know that Yang Duole had not been to school at all. He had to call Luo Zhengyin, who he hardly contacted. As a result, Luo Zhengyin said that Yang Duole was in a bad mood and went to a friend's house.
How could Yang Zhengming contain his anger? He had always been dissatisfied with the two elders of the Fang family and Luo Zhengyin for spoiling Yang Duole too much, allowing him to be willful and make a big mistake today. So he couldn't help but tell Luo Zhengyin about the good things Yang Duole had done. Who would have thought that Luo Zhengyin happened to be visiting the two elders at the Fang family, and the matter was also known by the two elders. The three of them were shocked and anxious, and they didn't believe that it was Yang Duole who did it.
The door of the conference room was pushed open. Yang Zhengming saw Luo Zhengyin helping Fang Zuqing and Ye Yurong come in, but he didn't see Yang Duole. He asked in a deep voice, "Where is Yang Duole? Why don't you bring him here?"
Luo Zhengyin said tiredly: "I drove to Lele's friend's house to pick him up and asked him about it. Lele denied it and didn't want to come to school with me, so I didn't bring him here."
At that time, she was afraid of hurting Yang Duole, so she asked carefully and tactfully, but Yang Duole reacted violently and denied it while crying. She was so distressed that she didn't dare to ask again, and advised Yang Duole to go to the school to explain it properly. Yang Duole still refused to agree and refused to leave his friend's house. She had to give up and picked up the two old people who insisted on going to school to come together.
Yang Zhengming thought that these two people were ridiculous. Just when he was about to say something, he heard Fang Zuqing leaning heavily on his crutches. His serious face turned pale and he asked him harshly, "Is it your lover who did this? How many times have I told you not to let her mess with Lele?"
His wife Ye Yurong was also anxious, but she was also worried about her husband's health. She gently advised, "Sit down first and ask the school teacher if there is any misunderstanding. I believe Lele is a good child and would never do such a thing."
Luo Zhengyin hurriedly helped Fang Zuqing sit on the sofa, calmed the old man down, and echoed: "Le Le also said that it was not him who did it. Maybe there really is some misunderstanding."
She has been feeling uneasy ever since she received Yang Zhengming's call. Thinking about Yang Duole's abnormal behavior recently and his hostility towards Tao Xi, she actually had some doubts in her heart, but Yang Duole's denial dispelled her doubts. She didn't believe that the child she raised would do such a thing.
Yang Zhengming, who had been silent all the time, put out the cigarette and pinched his frowning brows with his hand. He knew that these three people didn't believe it at all, but he knew very well in his heart that although Guan Fanyun was stupid, she would not fool him about such a thing.
"Forget it, let's wait until Director Peng comes over."
Director Peng quickly entered the meeting room, greeted the four parents politely, and poured water for each of them.
Fang Zuqing could not help but ask him about the whole story, and Director Peng calmly explained in detail how Taoxi CAC's paintings were slandered for plagiarism and then turned around.
"But what does this have to do with my grandson?" Fang Zuqing asked with a straight face. He didn't know this student named Tao Xi at all, and as he was old he didn't understand much about things on the Internet.
Director Peng had dealt with many student disputes and knew that parents would always protect their own children. He did not get angry when he heard this, and told the story about Xu Ziqi admitting that it was Yang Duole who asked him to take pictures of Tao Xi's paintings, and Feng Yadong revealing that he was instructed by Guan Fanyun.
Fang Zuqing fell silent after hearing this, his skinny right hand tightly grasping the crutch. Ye Yurong sighed lightly and said nothing.
Luo Zhengyin frowned when he heard the name Guan Fanyun, glanced at Yang Zhengming with an unsuspecting look, and asked in a cold voice: "Could it be that Guan Fanyun asked Lele to do it?"
Yang Zhengming didn't expect Luo Zhengyin to still be optimistic, and said impatiently: "Fan Yun doesn't know Tao Xi very well, why would she harm him? She showed me all the chat records with Lele, and it was indeed Lele who asked her to do it."
He held back and didn't tell Guan Fanyun what she said about Yang Duole asking her to borrow money and asking her to help teach Tao Xi a lesson at a classmate's birthday party, for fear that the old lady would not be able to bear it.
Perhaps it was because he heard Yang Zhengming's protection for Guan Fanyun from this sentence that Fang Zuqing angrily shouted at Yang Zhengming: "Look at the woman you found. If she hadn't been there to give advice, would Lele have understood these methods?!"
Yang Zhengming supported his forehead in annoyance. Over the years, it was difficult for him and Fang Zuqing to have a calm conversation. The old man's resentment and anger towards him was not a one-day thing. He remained silent and let the old man vent his anger.
Luo Zhengyin was still in disbelief. He was stunned and puzzled for a long time, as if he had suffered a great shock. He murmured, "How could Lele..."
Ye Yurong looked solemn, her heart was in turmoil. Knowing that Luo Zhengyin couldn't bear it, she held her hand and sighed softly, saying, "The child was confused for a moment and made a mistake. We adults are also at fault for not teaching him well. Director Peng, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
Director Peng had been feeling a little embarrassed, but when he saw someone finally noticed him, he hurriedly said, "This matter has become a bit serious now, and the follow-up decision still needs to be made by the school leaders. My personal suggestion is that Yang Duole apologize to Tao Xi, and then see if you can discuss it with Tao Xi and see what he says."
Yang Zhengming understood what Director Peng meant. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Shouldn't we invite Tao Xi's parents as well? Perhaps it would be more appropriate for us parents to talk together."
Fang Zuqing rarely agreed with Yang Zhengming: "Yes, children sometimes can't make up their minds."
Director Peng said in embarrassment: "Taoxi is a student sent here through the remote live broadcast project between our school and Qingshui County. His parents are not here and we don't have their contact information."
Luo Zhengyin came back to his senses, with a look of worry on his face. He nodded and said, "I know Tao Xi. He is indeed from Qingshui County."
The other three fell silent, because Qingshui County was a place they all did not want to recall. They did not expect that the child involved in Yang Duole's incident was actually from Qingshui County.
Finally, Yang Zhengming said to Director Peng: "Thank you. Let's discuss it first and then tell you."
"Okay, if you want to see Tao Xi, I can bring him over."
Director Peng said goodbye and walked out, closing the door of the conference room. Hearing the faint sound of quarreling coming from inside, he shook his head outside the door.
Tao Xi was taken by Zhou Qiang to the door of the conference room. His hands, hanging by his sides, were clenched together so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He already knew from Zhou Qiang that the parents coming this time included his father, grandparents, and Lin Qinhe's mother.
He had originally planned to visit his grandparents with Lin Qinhe tomorrow, but he never expected to meet his relatives first in such an occasion.
Tao Xi stood up straighter and cleared his throat. Zhou Qiang knocked on the door of the conference room, and every knock hit his heart.
Soon footsteps were heard from inside, and then the door was opened.
Tao Xi saw Yang Zhengming smiled kindly at him with a tired face and said:
"Tao Xi, come in."
The author has something to say:
August is too busy, I may update every other day, but there are not many chapters, it should be finished soon
The next chapter will reveal my true identity
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