Chapter 59
Preparations?
What preparations?
Could Chi Lin be monitoring the grading system?
Impossible…
But these kids were full of surprises, and Chi Lin was particularly… unpredictable. What if she had proof?
Ms. Hu, replaying the day’s events in her mind, couldn’t sleep.
Lu Ke called her, his voice filled with anxiety.
“Ms. Hu, what’s going on with Chi Lin’s score? She seemed so confident. Did you really change it? Tampering with student grades is a serious offense.”
You think I don’t know that?
Ms. Hu hung up without answering.
If not for his stupid bet, she wouldn’t be in this mess.
She regretted getting involved in their childish games.
And Lu Ke, usually so reliable, had choked during the exam!
She couldn’t understand Chi Lin’s sudden improvement, but it was definitely… suspicious.
No one would believe a failing student could suddenly become the top student.
Even if she revealed the truth, no one would believe Chi Lin could get a 146.
They won’t suspect me, she reassured herself.
Winter break had started, but the tutoring centers wouldn’t open for another week, so the students, freed from the pressures of school, were enjoying their temporary freedom.
Wei Zhuoning, Chi Lin, and Lin Xiaozhi had arranged to meet at the mall, starting with coffee at a cafe.
Wei Zhuoning, preoccupied with Chi Lin’s bet, had been losing sleep and even weight, her anxiety growing with each passing day.
She had expected Chi Lin and Lin Xiaozhi to share her concern, but they both arrived looking cheerful and relaxed, their outfits stylish, their moods light.
Are they that heartless?
“Hey,” Wei Zhuoning interrupted their conversation. “Aren’t you two… worried?”
“Worried about what?” Lin Xiaozhi asked.
Wei Zhuoning pointed at Chi Lin. “The English exam!”
Lin Xiaozhi, taking a bite of her waffle, offered it to Wei Zhuoning.
“With us here, there’s nothing to worry about. Here, open wide.”
Wei Zhuoning, glancing at Chi Lin, said, “I can feed myself.”
Chi Lin, used to their antics, said, “Just… ignore them. Pretend they’re not here.”
“What do you mean, ‘ignore them’?” Lin Xiaozhi asked. “Don’t you and Lou Mi do this at home?”
Chi Lin: “…Of course not.”
“You’re not progressing fast enough,” Lin Xiaozhi teased.
Chi Lin: “…”
“Anyway, send me your AirPoint code. I have something for you.”
“AirPoint?”
“Yeah, for file sharing. Give me your phone.”
Lin Xiaozhi showed her how to use AirPoint and sent her a file.
Chi Lin’s eyes lit up as she read it. “You actually found it! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” Lin Xiaozhi said, winking. “A New Year’s gift.”
Wei Zhuoning, watching their exchange, feeling excluded from their inside jokes and secret gifts, sulked, devouring her waffle in silence.
A New Year’s gift? She asked for it earlier?
We’ve been friends for years, and you stole my first kiss, and I’ve never gotten a gift from you…
“Someone’s hungry,” Lin Xiaozhi said, noticing her empty plate. “Want another one?”
“No,” Wei Zhuoning said firmly. “I’m full.”
Full of resentment.
Lin Xiaozhi shrugged and continued her conversation with Chi Lin, ignoring Wei Zhuoning.
Wei Zhuoning: “…”
“Look at this,” Chi Lin said, projecting a video onto the table.
The video wasn’t very clear, but it captured the entire exam, including Chi Lin completing the test and submitting it.
“Is that… you taking the English exam?” Wei Zhuoning asked.
“Yes,” Chi Lin replied.
“So that’s what you meant by ‘preparations,’” Lin Xiaozhi said. “I thought you were talking about the… other thing I was investigating.”
“That’s also important, but it’s… secondary. Proving my real score is the first step.”
“How did you record this?” Wei Zhuoning asked.
Chi Lin pointed at her eye. “I borrowed a contact lens camera from my sister.”
“I think I saw those advertised… Wait, you anticipated Ms. Hu changing your score?”
“Not exactly anticipated, but I had to be prepared.”
“You’re so smart, A Lin,” Wei Zhuoning said, admiringly.
She felt a pang of guilt for having called Chi Lin an idiot before.
Lin Xiaozhi, glancing at her, thought, I’ve been tutoring you for weeks, your grades have improved, and you’ve never called me smart. And you call her “A Lin”? You’ve never called me “Xiao Zhi.”
“What was that other file?” Wei Zhuoning asked, curious.
Chi Lin showed her. It was a collection of bank statements and receipts.
Wei Zhuoning: “??”
Lin Xiaozhi explained, “It’s proof that Ms. Hu has been illegally tutoring students and selling exam questions. If this gets out, even her brother-in-law won’t be able to save her.”
“You… investigated her?”
“Of course,” Lin Xiaozhi replied.
“How?”
“I have my ways.”
Money talks, Wei Zhuoning thought. The daughter of privilege had resources.
“Wait, let me just… write this down,” she said, pulling out her phone. “Do you mind if I use this in my novel?”
Chi Lin: “…No, I don’t mind.”
“Make me a glamorous, powerful character,” Lin Xiaozhi said.
Wei Zhuoning: “…”
Lin Xiaozhi, stirring her coffee, asked Chi Lin, “Do you think Ms. Hu will confess?”
“Not without some… encouragement,” Chi Lin replied, her expression suggesting a plan.
“Encouragement?” Lin Xiaozhi, seeing her mischievous glint, knew what was coming. “Tell me everything!”
“Wait,” Wei Zhuoning said. “I need to take notes.”
Chi Lin: “Should I just… record it?”
Wei Zhuoning: “Holy shit, that’s a great idea!”
Lin Xiaozhi: “Language!”
.
Ms. Hu had another sleepless night, her head pounding.
She woke up feeling groggy. Her mother knocked on her door, saying she had a package.
“A package? For me? I didn’t order anything,” she said, confused.
“It has your name on it,” her mother said. “Cash on delivery.”
“What?” Ms. Hu opened the package, her eyes widening. “Did you pay for it?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t just accept random COD packages! It could be a scam!”
Ms. Hu pulled out a folder, her blood running cold.
It was… her bank statements, and copies of her tutoring materials, with her handwritten notes.
She panicked. Who had sent this? How did they get this information?
She immediately thought of Chi Lin.
It has to be her!
Besides the tutoring materials, there were also screenshots from a video, showing Chi Lin taking the English exam, her name and class clearly displayed on the tablet.
Chi Lin had recorded the entire exam…
How…?
Ms. Hu had been watching her closely during the exam, and she hadn’t seen Chi Lin using any recording devices.
How had she done it…?
You have three days, Ms. Hu. If you don’t restore my original score, I won’t be the one leaving this school. It will be you.
Ms. Hu had initially dismissed Chi Lin’s threat as an empty boast.
How could a student force a teacher to leave?
Now, she understood.
She understood the rumors about Chi Lin’s… unusual abilities.
This girl was dangerous.
.
Lu Ke continued messaging and calling Ms. Hu, but there was no response.
Worried, he went to her house with Chong Zhiwen.
Ms. Hu’s mother answered the door.
“You’re Xinying’s students, right? Xiao Lu?” she asked.
“Yes,” Lu Ke replied. “Is Ms. Hu home?”
“She asked me to give you this,” she said, handing him a USB drive.
Lu Ke, confused, took the drive.
“Where’s Ms. Hu? We want to see her,” Chong Zhiwen said.
Ms. Hu’s mother shook her head and closed the door.
“What is this?” Lu Ke asked, plugging the drive into his phone.
It contained a single video file.
It was Ms. Hu, apologizing to Lou Mi.
Chong Zhiwen: “What the hell?!”
Lu Ke: “Why is she apologizing? I scored higher than Chi Lin! This makes no sense!”
“Has she lost her mind?”
Lu Ke, furious, continued banging on the door until Ms. Hu’s mother called the police.
He couldn’t understand Ms. Hu’s behavior.
Two days later, when the final exam scores were officially released and shared with the parents, Lu Ke saw Chi Lin’s revised English score:
146.
A sixty-point increase?!
Why had her score been changed?
He bombarded Ms. Hu with messages and calls, but she still didn’t respond.
Three days later, Ms. Hu’s apology video appeared on the school forum, posted anonymously, but clearly her own voice and words.
“As a teacher, I realize I’ve made a mistake. I shouldn’t have said those hurtful things. I apologize to Chi Lin and HighTowerMiyuki…”
Comments:
“What did Chi Lin get on the exam? I heard Lu Ke is really good at English.”
“One hundred and forty-six. Highest in Class 6, top 5 in the grade.”
“How did she improve so much in just a month? Did she cheat?”
“Shut up, you idiot. The entire class can vouch for her. She studied hard.”
“We all hate HXY. We studied with Chi Lin every night, even on weekends. She improved because she’s smart and hardworking. Get it?”
…
Class 6 had never been so united. Even Ms. Qi, using an anonymous account, defended Chi Lin against the cheating accusations.
Then, someone posted about Ms. Hu’s illegal tutoring and selling of exam questions.
“Anyone surprised? She’s been doing this for years.”
“Do you have proof?”
“Not posting it here, but the school can easily find out.”
Chi Lin and her friends discussed the anonymous post in their group chat.
Lin Xiaozhi: “It doesn’t matter who posted it. She’s made a lot of enemies. This is just… karma.”
Wei Zhuoning: “It wasn’t you?”
Lin Xiaozhi: “…Do you really think I have that much free time?”
The grade level director held a meeting with all the homeroom teachers and department heads, discussing the significant improvement in Class 6’s English scores.
“What happened?” he asked. “Such a dramatic increase.”
Ms. Qi, not mentioning the bet, said, “Chi Lin organized study sessions for the entire class. They studied together every night, even on weekends.”
“Chi Lin… I remember her,” the director said. “She’s quite… memorable.”
Of course, she is, Ms. Qi thought. She’s caused so much trouble. Chi Lin was famous throughout the school.
The director paused, then said, “What’s wrong with Hu Xinying? Class 6’s grades haven’t improved at all after a year with her. And Class 7 too, always last place. And this sudden improvement in Class 6’s English scores… it’s because of that bet, right? They were trying to prove her wrong.”
So he knows, Ms. Qi thought. She didn’t have to report Ms. Hu’s incompetence.
“Hu Xinying isn’t working out,” the director said, shaking his head. “Lao Lu wanted to promote her to eleventh grade, to teach the advanced classes, but… I don’t think so. I won’t approve it.”
Lao Lu was Ms. Hu’s brother-in-law, the eleventh-grade director.
“What will you do with her?” Ms. Qi asked.
“Transfer her to ninth grade,” the director said. “I don’t want her in my grade anymore.”
…
The news of Ms. Hu’s demotion spread like wildfire through the Class 6 group chat, even before the official announcement.
As they celebrated with emojis and red envelopes, they noticed Lu Ke and Chong Zhiwen had left the group.
Gao Xiang: “Sore losers.”
“They ran away before even posting the apology video. Cowards.”
“Don’t let them back in next semester.”
“Let them suffer in ninth grade with Ms. Hu.”
“Chi Lin deserves all the credit for getting rid of that witch! Chi Lin! @Chi Lin! Where are you?!”
They called out to Chi Lin, but she didn’t appear.
“She never talks in the group chat.”
“Did she mute us?!”
“We’re so pathetic!”
As they lamented their abandonment, Chi Lin suddenly appeared, not just appearing, but bearing gifts.
“Red envelope! Grab it!”
Chi Lin, with Lou Mi’s help, had just sent her first digital red envelope. It was claimed instantly.
Lou Mi, watching over her shoulder, said, “Your classmates’ reflexes…”
Wei Zhuoning, checking the group chat, instinctively clicked the red envelope and gasped, seeing the amount: over 50 yuan!
Mom! We can afford meat tonight!
Chi Lin sent a message to the group: “Thank you for helping me with my studies. Party at my house on Wednesday at 5 pm. Barbecue and drinks. Costume party theme.”
A dozen students immediately replied with enthusiastic confirmations.
Gao Xiang: “Sister Lou! I’m coming!”
Chi Lin, looking at their excited messages, turned to Lou Mi, a worried expression on her face.
“Is this… okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay. Parties are more fun with more people. I’ll ask Xie Buyu and the others too. A little pre-World Cup celebration.” Lou Mi stretched. “And your mom will be thrilled. It’s your first time inviting friends over.”
Chi Lin just hoped Peng Ziyuan wouldn’t embarrass her in front of her classmates.
“Sister,” she said, “let’s play a game.”
“What kind of game?”
“We choose each other’s costumes for the party. Deal?”
Leave a Reply