Chapter 46: Got caught

A crowd had formed at the back of the classroom.

More than a dozen students of varying heights were gathered around the wall, pushing and shoving to read the printed papers posted on it.

Their clamorous voices were a mix of complaints and relief.

Following a long row of student IDs and names was a column of classroom numbers and another column of teachers’ names.

Several such white sheets were posted on the wall.

According to Qiuhua High School’s teaching and examination system, in addition to the three mandatory subjects of Chinese, Math, and English, students had to choose three out of eight other subjects, including Physics, Chemistry, and Geography, as their college entrance exam subjects.

A student’s college entrance exam score was composed of the scores from these six subjects.

Based on the students’ choices, the school would group those who had chosen the same three subjects into one classroom.

Of course, the number of students choosing different subjects varied, and the classrooms couldn’t be evenly distributed.

The school could only try its best to place students with a high degree of overlapping choices in the same class.

The examination method had also changed accordingly.

Exams for different subjects would be held in different classrooms, and candidates needed to arrive at the examination room before their chosen subject’s exam began.

There was more than one examination room for each subject, so students still had to pay attention to their assigned classroom.

And on those few white sheets were the records of each student’s classroom and proctor for each subject in this mid-term exam.

“Lu You, good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Zheng Zong, having finished checking the exam arrangements, squeezed out of the crowd and ran back to his seat excitedly.

“Bad news,” I said without hesitation.

It was my consistent style to mentally prepare for the worst first.

“Then I’ll start with the good news. The good news is that we’re in the same room for the English exam. I’ll be counting on you to be magnanimous, disregard our past grievances, and save my life.”

“That’s not exactly good news for me. And you’re counting on me to save you? Has your brain gone haywire again?”

“Hey, that’s where you’re wrong. Have you forgotten that I’ve been copying your English homework all this time? I’ve noticed that the accuracy of your recent English homework has been really high. I believe in you, Lu You. Help me out, please.”

“Tell me the bad news first.”

“Promise me first. I’m begging you, Lu You. Save this child.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll see what I can do. Now, hurry up and tell me the bad news.”

Zheng Zong’s shameless face was also the reason he had been able to copy my homework all this time.

I didn’t like wasting time on such matters.

“The bad news is, the proctor for our English exam is Teacher Mo.”

“Pretend I didn’t say what I just said. How dare you pull such a stunt with Teacher Mo proctoring? Do you not cherish your precious life at all?”

“That’s why I made you promise me first. The great Lu You can’t go back on his word.”

I rested my forehead in my hand, my brain aching from Zheng Zong’s cleverness, which he only used for crooked means.

“Fine, fine. I’ll see. I’ll try my best to help you.”

‘Compared to confiscating the test paper on the spot, a reminder or a warning seems more like what Sister Yuan would do if she caught me cheating.’

‘She’ll probably still be partial to me.’

‘But afterwards, it’s almost certain she’ll use this to threaten me into doing something.’

‘The events of the past few days still leave me with lingering fear. Being forced like that by Sister Yuan was, after all, quite uncomfortable for me. What’s more, I can’t guarantee she won’t do something even more outrageous this time.’

The ceiling fan above whirred softly, bringing waves of coolness, quietly alleviating some of the summer heat for the students engrossed in their work.

The intense light projected onto the white test paper in front of me was slightly dazzling.

The questions weren’t too difficult and were still within my capabilities, but that fixed gaze was making me fidgety.

Zheng Zong’s seat was separated from mine by an aisle.

He had already turned his head down and mouthed words at me several times.

I really admired this guy’s courage to take risks.

Cheating right under Sister Yuan’s nose was no different from pulling a tooth from a tiger’s mouth, especially since she was paying extra attention to our area.

After writing the last word, I glanced at Zheng Zong, who was anxiously mouthing words at me.

After a moment of internal struggle, the guilt of breaking a promise finally triumphed over my fear of Sister Yuan.

I tore off a small corner of my test paper, copied a few lines of letters from my answer sheet onto it, crumpled the small piece of paper into a ball in my palm, and, waiting for a moment when Sister Yuan was looking elsewhere, I tossed it towards the front right.

The paper ball hit Zheng Zong’s face and then fell to the ground.

Zheng Zong grinned maliciously and gave me a thumbs-up.

Just as he was bending down to pick up the paper ball, a black sneaker suddenly appeared and stepped on it.

Sister Yuan picked up the paper ball, flattened it to take a look, then turned to glare at me with dissatisfaction.

I shrank my head, avoiding her gaze, my heart rate soaring under the pressure of the impending crisis.

The black sneaker paused for a moment by Zheng Zong’s seat, then began to approach me.

When it arrived in front of me, I raised my head tremblingly.

A sharp flick of a fingertip hit my forehead.

A faint pain spread from it.

I panicked and was about to open my mouth to explain, but Sister Yuan left in silence.

The exam ended surprisingly peacefully.

My test paper was not collected early as the regulations stipulated.

Zheng Zong wasn’t disappointed that he hadn’t managed to copy my answers; he just kept expressing his joy at having survived the ordeal.

Listening to him describe his recent psychological journey with a mix of amusement and exasperation, I knew very well that Sister Yuan’s judgment was merely yet to come.

As the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the students’ way home, I, as expected, found myself in Sister Yuan’s office.

“Should I call you brave or foolish? Daring to pull a clever trick while Teacher Mo Yuan is proctoring. Xiao You, did you already anticipate that I would protect you?”

Sister Yuan wasn’t angry like a normal teacher who had caught a student cheating.

Her tone was more mocking.

“No, no, I just… wanted to help a classmate. Zheng Zong really wants to get a good grade to make his parents happy. I couldn’t bear to see him disappointed.”

“You should know that if you want to get good grades, you have to study seriously. I won’t waste any more time on platitudes. How do you plan to thank me for my partiality this time?”

My chin was lifted by Sister Yuan’s slender fingers, forcing my eyes to meet her strange gaze.

Looking at the corner of her mouth, which was tilted up on one side, I had a feeling that she had already figured out the reward she wanted from me.

“I’ve been teaching here for a few months, and this is the first time the diligent Teacher Mo has been so derelict in her duty. Don’t you think you should thank me properly, Xiao You?”

“How about I wash your feet, Sister Yuan? Can we not do any lewd stuff? I… I really don’t want to be…”

My voice gradually grew weaker, and the last few words died in my mouth.

Under her long, black-feather-like eyelashes, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and that usual mischievous smile appeared on her face.

The sounds of merriment outside had faded away, and the empty school fell silent.

“Alright, fine.”

“Really? You really won’t do any lewd stuff, Sister Yuan?”

I was a little surprised and quickly confirmed it again.

“Mhm, that’s right. I’ll keep my word.”

Sister Yuan’s unexpected agreement made me let out a sigh of relief.

I hoped she wouldn’t go back on her word.