The air conditioner in the principal's office hummed softly, its cool air sending a chill down Han Feng's neck. Mu Xiaoxiao sat beside her father, her eyes red-rimmed, her fingers twisting the hem of her skirt, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice. Mu's father, dressed in a suit and tie, had eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses that gleamed with a ruthless, venomous light.
"Han," Mr. Mu adjusted his glasses, his voice gentle like an elder advising a naive child, "it's normal for young people to have misunderstandings, why make it like this?"
The dean of students chimed in, "Yes, Han Feng, classmates should be tolerant of each other. Mu has already realized her mistake, hasn't she?" He then winked at Mu Xiaoxiao.
Mu Xiaoxiao immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Han Feng: "Han Feng, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things in the group..." Her voice was choked with emotion, and tears still clung to the corners of her eyes when she looked up.
System warning: Performative behavior detected.
"Mu Xiaoxiao's true emotions: Anger 89%, Fear 72%"
Special Notice: Cheating detected during the math midterm exam.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes. In his previous life, Mu Xiaoxiao had indeed cheated on this exam—she stuffed a piece of paper filled with formulas into her pencil case, and then "accidentally" let the proctor discover it.
"Han Feng," the principal finally spoke, "the school hopes this matter can be resolved peacefully. Mu is willing to issue a public apology, what do you think..."
"Option Trigger"
[Option 1] Admit defeat and agree to reconciliation (Reward: Title "Coward"; one skill will be randomly selected)
[Option 2] Resolutely refuse reconciliation (Reward: All skills +1, but will face retaliation from the Mu Group)
[Option 3] Feign reconciliation, but actually let Mu Xiaoxiao cheat during the exam and get caught by the principal (requires prediction points, reward is Academic Mastery)
Han Feng slightly curled the corners of his lips. Option 3, without a doubt.
"Since the principal has said so," I said with a sincere expression, "I am willing to accept Mu's apology."
A hint of triumphant joy flashed across Mu's father's face, but he quickly regained his amiable demeanor: "Excellent! Young people should be this magnanimous." He stood up and tried to pat Han Feng on the shoulder, but Han Feng pretended to straighten his collar to avoid it.
Mu's father could only give an awkward smile.
A system notification sounded as I left the office:
Mu Xiaoxiao's cheating method in the midterm exam has been detected, and a note with formulas written on it will be attached to her calf.
Anticipating the start-up —
Han Feng saw Mu Xiaoxiao pretending to pick up a pen to peek at formulas during the exam; he saw her throw the slip of paper filled with answers at his feet; he saw the shocked expression on the proctor's face when she picked up the slip of paper from under the seat...
After making his prediction, Han Feng's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.
Turning to look at Mu Xiaoxiao, he saw a smug look of confidence flash in her eyes.
Two hours later, the math midterm exam began.
Han Feng sat in the third row, with Mu Xiaoxiao diagonally in front of him. Before the exam papers were handed out, Han Feng noticed that she kept touching the inside of her calves, and the proctor was none other than the grade head—the bald teacher who had once arrested Zhou Zihao.
The exam was harder than expected, and sighs soon filled the classroom. While working on the second page, Mu Xiaoxiao "accidentally" dropped her pen. As she bent down to pick it up, Han Feng coughed softly.
Director Wang immediately looked up and saw Mu Xiaoxiao about to bend over: "Mu Xiaoxiao! Put your hands on the table!"
Mu Xiaoxiao froze for a moment, then slowly straightened up, her face flushed red. But this was just the beginning.
Fifteen minutes later, she bent down again, this time quickly tearing off the sticky note from her lap. Just as she was about to tuck the note into her sleeve, Han Feng forcefully pushed the table.
\"Bang!\"
The loud noise made the whole class look up. In her panic, Mu Xiaoxiao's note floated into the aisle.
"What's this?" Director Wang strode over, picked up the note, and his face instantly turned ashen. "Mu Xiaoxiao! Stand up!"
Mu Xiaoxiao stood up trembling like a leaf, and Director Wang grabbed her sleeve—there were two sticky notes filled with formulas inside.
"No...it's not mine!" Mu Xiaoxiao cried out, "Someone framed me!"
Director Wang sneered: "Trapped you in your clothes?"
Just then, Mu Xiaoxiao suddenly pointed at Han Feng: "It was him! It must have been him! Han Feng was the one making all those noises to frame me!"
"The system has detected an emergency."
Option generated: 1. Remain silent and let Mu Xiaoxiao frame you. No reward.
2. Rebuttal, providing examples to explain why you cannot cheat. Reward: +10 experience points
3. A fatal blow: directly tell the director the location of the remaining cheat sheets. Reward: Experience +30. Mu Xiaoxiao is expelled from school.
Han Feng chose option three without hesitation.
"Director Wang," Han Feng said calmly, "we can examine her calves."
Mu Xiaoxiao's face turned deathly pale instantly. When Director Wang forcibly examined her and discovered the traces of tape remaining on her legs, she completely broke down.
"Han Feng! You'll get what's coming to you!" she screamed hysterically, completely shedding her facade of a well-behaved girl. "My dad won't let you get away with this!"
"Option complete! Reward: Academic Mastery Lv.1"
"Mu Xiaoxiao unlocks the special achievement 'Social Death' - Reward: +10 Experience Points"
"Mission reward: Experience +30 Congratulations, host, your current level has increased to level 2. All skills +1 reward."
Current level 2, experience 0/500
The principal's face turned ashen: "Mu Xiaoxiao, come to my office. Cheating on the exam and then falsely accusing a classmate is an extremely egregious offense!"
Her expression instantly crumbled.
---
Three days later, the disciplinary notice was posted at the school gate:
"Mu Xiaoxiao, a student in Class 3 of Grade 11, was found guilty of cheating on the midterm exam. According to Article 12 of Chapter 5 of the school regulations, she is given a demerit and suspended from school for two weeks..."
Han Feng stood in front of the announcement, listening to the discussions among his classmates.
"I heard her dad donated a lab building so she wouldn't be fired..."
"He always acted so aloof, but it turns out he got all his grades by cheating."
"She even falsely accused Han Feng of harassing her before; that's so malicious."
Han Feng didn't pay much attention to this at the time. Since his rebirth, he had become indifferent to Mu Xiaoxiao's mischievous behavior.
"The most important thing right now is to claim the lottery prize. The draw was yesterday, and I need to use this time to improve my skills. The first step is to make money," Han Feng said calmly.
At this moment, Wang Hao came over and said, "Han Feng, are you really determined to ask Mu Xiaoxiao for help?"
"Otherwise what? Do you think I'm joking with her?" Han Feng never gave his friend any face, and rolled his eyes at her.
"No, I just didn't expect you to have really come to your senses. Come on, let's celebrate tonight." Wang Hao pulled Han Feng away.
"Maybe next time. I have things to do today, I have to go home now." Before Wang Hao could react, Han Feng quickly left. He was in a hurry to get back and claim his prize.
Unbeknownst to him, a conspiracy against him was quietly unfolding.
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