Chapter 76: If the Law Holds No Sway

“This child got a perfect score?”
Director Chen was stunned for three seconds, then couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter! The very newspaper that had always been so aggressive in attacking him had now slapped itself in the face! Out of so many examinees, they happened to pick the champion! Finishing the test in fifteen minutes—by implication, they suggested the child had simply guessed the answers to the multiple-choice questions, but who would have thought he’d achieve a perfect score!

Old Kang was all smiles as well. “When I heard there was a perfect score, I wanted to see which school the student was from. I found in the database it was from Dongfeng Town. I slapped my thigh in surprise and then found the photo on the admission ticket. The more I looked, the more familiar the child seemed. Finally, I remembered—it was the very photo published in that article!”

Although a narrow strip of mosaic obscured the eyes, it didn’t really affect recognition. Besides, the school uniform was clearly embroidered with: Dongfeng Town No. 2 Middle School.

The two of them laughed together, but as the laughter faded, their expressions grew serious. The Olympiad math competition, finished in fifteen minutes, and still a perfect score—was that even possible?

“Quick, have someone check if this child is from Starry Sky, and also look into the other students trained by Starry Sky!”

With the leak scandal brewing, could this perfect score have been the result of cheating?

“Starry Sky Education is just a commercial training institution, not an official school. There’s a lot of mobility, so we don’t have a detailed record of every student they’ve trained. But I’ve looked at all those who registered through Starry Sky. Their scores are decent, but nothing particularly outstanding compared to other training organizations—except for this kid. He stands out by far! He scored over twenty points higher than the runner-up, Fu ChenyI!”

Clearly, Old Kang had already done his homework. Director Chen drummed his fingers on the desk, weighing the pros and cons. Fifteen minutes to complete a two-hour Olympiad math paper and achieve a perfect score—this was simply too incredible to believe! Coupled with Starry Sky’s offer of a hundred-thousand-yuan scholarship, it was almost certainly cheating! Starry Sky must have somehow obtained the exam ahead of time, then used the hundred-thousand-yuan prize to draw attention, and finally created a star spokesperson with the high-profile perfect score!

But… if that were the case, why would Starry Sky announce the paper in advance and invite suspicion? Having a student achieve a perfect score was enough to attract attention!

“Sir, is it possible that after Wen Xiaocheng finished the test, he returned to Starry Sky and wrote down the entire paper from memory?”

Word for word from memory? Remembering the answers was possible, but surely not the entire text of the questions without a single error.

“But what if he’s just that much of a genius? Just because we can’t do it doesn’t mean he can’t!”

“Exactly! He must do it!” Director Chen slapped the desk, making up his mind. If the top scorer’s perfect mark was achieved through cheating, that scandal could never get out. Instead, he must be packaged as a genius! Just like Lei Feng or Lai Ning, they needed a positive role model to promote positive energy!

“Dongfeng Town No. 2 Middle School, let’s go! We’ll pay them a visit!”
They had pinned all their hopes on this one student—it was only right to investigate. The coming media battle would depend on this child!

“Boss, should we inform the others?”

“Keep it simple for now. Let’s see for ourselves first. I want to test him in person!”

……

Qiu Zeyian was, in a sense, someone who had suffered for the revolution.

Though only a minor division chief—hardly ranking in the hierarchy—within a small county, his status was akin to that of a local tyrant. Principals of the few schools in the county, no matter their own standing, had to greet him with smiles. The thing that consumed most of his attention each year was arranging school placements for the children of middling officials. The top leaders would never let their children stay in the county; they’d already sent them elsewhere. Only those in the middle tier would use their influence to secure a good school for a relative. When Chief Qiu made such an arrangement, it was considered a favor!

Upon hearing his son had been bullied, Qiu Zeyian smoked three cigarettes in quick succession.

He’d always known Qiu Hui acted like a king at school—like father, like son! At least within their small domain, the Qiu family didn’t fear anyone. He even saw Old Niu’s indulgence of his son as a mark of his own prestige. But now his son had been beaten, and by none other than that brat from the Wen family!

He called Old Niu’s office. Old Niu was polite and obsequious on the phone. At the mention of Wen Xiaocheng, he was full of righteous indignation; when Qiu Hui came up, he was all loving concern. Sorry, sorry, my fault, entirely my fault—I didn’t look after Hui well enough. It only happened during a brief lunch, but luckily Hui wasn’t seriously hurt, and Wen Xiaocheng took quite a beating too. The school had already decided to give him a major demerit and make him publicly apologize!

“Someone like him, we should be considering expulsion.”

“If it weren’t for the law, I’d have expelled him long ago!” Old Niu’s voice was even louder than Chief Qiu’s. “That troublemaker has been a headache for me! But what can I do? The Education Law and the Law on the Protection of Minors tie our hands. That kid, maybe because of his father, has picked up some legal knowledge from somewhere. He knows the threat of expulsion is just that—a threat. It doesn’t scare him anymore. We tried to persuade him to leave, but he refused. If we forcibly expel him, he’d probably sue us immediately. Unless you as a leader issue a directive, if I had the slightest backing, I’d get rid of that kid no matter what!”

This was just a soft rebuff, which made Qiu Zeyian frown. A few years ago, schools did expel minors for various reasons. Then one child took the school to the internet, causing an uproar. A lawyer stepped in to provide legal aid and fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court—eventually winning. Since then, no matter how much trouble a student under eighteen caused, few schools dared expel them; most just tried to persuade them to leave. So Old Niu’s concerns weren’t unfounded.

That lawyer back then was Wen Xue, just a young woman who had only recently obtained her law license.

“Special cases require special handling. The son of a murderer—who knows what he’s capable of? As principal, you need to shoulder your responsibilities!” There was a hint of threat in his words. The so-called responsibility meant expelling Wen Xiaocheng even if it meant bearing the consequences. The earlier reference to “as principal” was an unspoken warning: if you don’t do as I say, your time as principal may be up.

“If the law didn’t stop me, I’d have beaten you to death by now.” On the other end of the line came the voice of a teenager. “Remember, keep a tight leash on your son. If he’s still alive, it’s only because he knows when to back down—the same goes for you!”

“Wen Xiaocheng! That’s outrageous!” Principal Niu’s frantic voice could be heard in the distance, clearly having just had the phone snatched from him.

“Principal Niu, how can you let a petty bureaucrat talk to you like that? I can’t stand it! Who are you? A model teacher! And who is he? A public servant, meant to serve the people! He should bow his head and serve humbly, while you’re a scholar who rides the blue ox through Hangu Pass, a man of integrity who won’t bend for five bushels of rice! We can’t let this bad atmosphere flourish!”

“Qiu, show some respect! Our principal isn’t someone a lowly section chief can push around. I’m telling you—” Before he could finish, the phone was snatched back by Fat Niu.

“Chief Qiu, please—” But the line had already gone dead.

……

As luck would have it, when Qiu Zeyian called the principal’s office, Xiaocheng happened to be there turning in his written apology, and so the whole mess unfolded.

——————

Did the justice-fueled Wen Xue end up becoming a lawyer as everyone expected? Can you guess what the others are doing now?