Jiang Lai felt that she had been too tolerant before, which made people think they could step on her whenever they wanted.
So she simply put down her bag, sat down, and acted as if she didnât care.
"The notebook was given to me by Teacher Hu. If you have the guts, go report it, oh right, if youâre really that capable, donât go to the directorâs office, go straight to the principal!"
Zhou Juan turned and rushed out without hesitation.
People behind her couldnât stop her at all.
On the side, Li Huihui couldnât hold back a gloating smile. She was eager to go home but now wasnât in a hurry, just staying in the dormitory waiting to see Jiang Laiâs embarrassment.
Sure enough, it wasnât long before Jiang Laiâs name was called over the schoolâs loudspeaker.
"Jiang Lai from Class 4 of Grade 1, please come to the principalâs office immediately."
"Jiang Lai from Class 4 of Grade 1, if you hear this broadcast, come to the principalâs office immediately."
In the dormitory, some were watching the commotion while others were genuinely worried.
In the end, everyone rushed together to follow, and after Jiang Lai went in, they all crowded at the door waiting for the final result.
Inside the principalâs office, Zhou Juan furiously pointed at Jiang Lai and spoke loudly.
"We all paid the same tuition fee to come here, and some of us have even put in more effort! Itâs all to get a fair chance to compete for university, and now such unfair and unjust things are happening in our school. Principal, you must rectify this unhealthy practice in the school!"
The principal wore a stern face, looking at Jiang Lai.
"Our school has clearly stipulated that after class, students and teachers cannot conduct any tutoring outside of school! This matter is indeed serious. Jiang Lai, tell us what exactly happened."
Jiang Lai, who had been silent, slowly raised her head, her brows furrowed, with what seemed to be suppressed grievances and anger in her eyes, making the principal confused.
"Explain clearly whatâs going on. If you violate school rules, no one can help you in the end. The school will not want a student who takes crooked paths!"
"Principal, I want to ask, did just accepting a notebook from Teacher Hu as a reward make it an unhealthy practice or a crooked path?"
"Is it just about receiving a notebook? A teacher giving a student preparatory notes is a violation of school rules, is considered private tutoring!"
"Right! And I suspect thereâs a problem in the math competition group too. She gets first in math every time, and as soon as she joined the competition group, she became the leader. Itâs obvious that someone is giving her special privileges behind the scenes! Such people should be expelled!"
As soon as Jiang Lai heard this, she directly pulled the notebook out of her bag, opened it, and slammed it on the table, hitting the white pages forcefully, staring at Zhou Juan, her face full of cold indifference.
"Oh, then how should slander and defamation be dealt with? Principal, this is the preparatory notebook Teacher Hu allegedly gave me for private tutoring. You can take a look, but if you find any evidence that Teacher Hu gave me special privileges, I will immediately withdraw from school!"
The principal looked at these blank pages and first frowned in confusion, then looked at Zhou Juan with eyes full of anger.
"Is this the preparatory notebook you mentioned?"
Zhou Juan was utterly shocked, unable to believe it, pointing at the notebook repeatedly.
"This is it... thereâs no mistake, itâs exactly the same notebook, Teacher Hu brings it to every class, I couldnât have mistaken it! She must have torn out the front pages!"
"Principal, this is a new notebook which I received as a reward from Teacher Hu after getting first place in the last monthly test, to encourage me to stay humble and keep working hard. Itâs a token of a teacherâs kindness to a student, a trophy I earned through burning the midnight oil and diligent study! And now it has become evidence for people to accuse me of getting special privileges.
As a student, itâs truly disheartening, Principal. Iâve been striving hard just to earn greater honors for the school, and now my efforts have become a joke. The whole class probably thinks I got these results through special treatment, and all my hard work has turned into a laughingstock. Principal, you must give both Teacher Hu and me an explanation for this matter."
Jiang Lai spoke firmly, standing in front of the principal, bearing the malice of being slandered without showing any panic, her every word brimming with confidence and composure.
Zhou Juan was dumbfounded.
When Teacher Hu pushed the door in and looked at her with eyes full of disappointment and helplessness, she knew she couldnât stay in this class anymore.
"It was me... I made a mistake. Who told Teacher Hu to give her an identical notebook? At that time, not just me, everyone thought it was, and Jiang Lai didnât explain, just let me misunderstand her! This canât be entirely blamed on me."
"Principal, I donât want to stay in a school with someone who so easily smears peopleâs reputations."
The principal frowned.
He was very angry now.
Not only had he been deceived, but most importantly, Teacher Hu was the esteemed graduate he had painstakingly recruited from another schoolâthe most solid and hard-working young talent since the resumption of the college entrance examination. Now he was being maligned as a teacher with poor conduct by a student.
"Zhou Juan, as a classmate and roommate, you slandered and were jealous of a good classmate like Jiang Lai. As a student, you casually trampled on Teacher Huâs reputation. Such negative conduct will not be allowed to foster in our school! The annual parent-teacher meeting is coming up, and now, you are to publicly reflect and apologize to Jiang Lai and Teacher Hu in front of the entire schoolâs staff and students, and parents!"
"Principal, why, it was Jiang Lai who misled me, she deliberately..."
"Zhou Juan, do you want to be expelled?"
A simple sentence completely shut Zhou Juan up. No matter how angry or unwilling she felt inside, she could only grit her teeth and endure, lowering her head to apologize to Jiang Lai.
Jiang Lai looked down at her with a cold, indifferent tone.
"Alright, alright, I donât want to stay in the same dormitory with you anymore, you can move out yourself."
Teacher Hu sighed repeatedly, his voice full of disappointment.
"Zhou Juan, I used to think you were a hardworking, promising child. In the future, focus more on your studies, donât envy or be jealous of othersâ excellence, adjust your mentality and keep striving."
Just like that, after returning, Zhou Juan moved out of the dormitory and went to stay in the neighboring classâs dorm by herself.
Jiang Lai rushed to go home for dumplings. After packing up and saying goodbye to Teacher Hu, she turned around and hopped onto Cheng Lieâs bike in the bike shed.
"Some classmates just asked what relationship we have, why do I always ride your bike home during breaks."
Cheng Lie pedaled the bike, pretending to be calm as he asked.
"So, what did you say?"
"I said, youâre my sworn brother."
Sworn brother...
Cheng Lie couldnât help but think of the love song he recently heard, where the girl shyly calls her lover âbrotherâ by the river.
He smiled, not feeling cold even against the chilly wind.