“—Meng Huange, for the next exam, let me borrow your test paper for a bit.”
In a sense, this was the true reason why I ended up being constantly targeted by Ji Li during that period… No, more accurately, it was the main cause for being bullied.
To be honest, I was not particularly close to those girls. At most, it was just that we had been assigned to the same dorm room by the teachers of Baiying Academy. We weren’t even the kind of friends who’d naturally end up eating together.
So, at that time, I was genuinely surprised. I couldn’t understand why their tone was so assertive, even giving me the illusion that maybe I really did have the responsibility to hand over my test paper as if it were some kind of shared treasure for them to copy.
Of course, I refused their request immediately, because I hated giving others the wrong impression about my abilities.
“After that, just like I’ve mentioned before, my life at Baiying Academy wasn’t exactly pleasant. Still, it was just childish pranks at most. The thing that truly made me feel disgusted happened a bit later.”
Meng Huange slowly walked down the corridor of Baiying Academy, gazing at the vast sports field inside the campus, then spoke softly to Su Wanli.
“To be honest, the Fuli School I once attended was nothing like our current Baiying Academy. It was a very small school—no surveillance cameras, no cafeteria, no sports ground, just an old two-story building. Most of the teachers didn’t even have proper teaching qualifications, and some were even recent graduates from that very school.”
“Of course, I don’t look down on them. Every person who sincerely teaches at Fuli School deserves respect. But wherever there are people, there will be conflict. Even a small school has teachers who care deeply about their teaching results. Especially in a place with little discipline, their reputation is everything.”
“So, when a teacher told me that after finishing my questions, I could teach the others, and said I didn’t need to care too much about my personal ranking, that’s when I finally gave in… or perhaps compromised.”
Su Wanli pressed her lips together, and leaned with Meng Huange against the corridor railing, pretending to sigh as if nothing was wrong.
“I see.”
“Well, I didn’t directly reveal my answers to everyone. I simply finished as usual, got up as usual, and handed my test paper to the teacher. Then, just like we are now, I’d lean against the corridor outside the classroom, quietly looking up at the sky, listening as the teacher called my name and handed out my test paper for everyone to pass around and look at.”
Meng Huange turned around and glanced through the large classroom door toward Xiaohua Teacher at the lectern.
“At the time, I always had a question—since the teacher obviously had more accurate answer keys in his hand, if he really wanted to help others cheat and improve their scores, he could’ve used a much more efficient way. There was no need to use my test paper specifically.”
“I guessed at all sorts of reasons—maybe he was shifting responsibility, so that even if it was discovered in the end, it would just seem like students copying from each other; maybe he wasn’t skilled enough and couldn’t even tell what a real answer key was, so he had to borrow my test paper… In the end, I even wondered if he just didn’t like me and wanted me to feel humiliated this way.”
Looking at the calm and restrained expression of Meng Huange, Su Wanli could hardly keep up her own facade, unable to resist asking,
“…So, in the end, why did he do it?”
“Sorry, Miss Su, but even after I left that Fuli School, I never figured out why the teacher did that.”
Meng Huange smiled gently at Su Wanli and shook her head.
“But, after a long time had passed, I finally understood something.”
“What I shouldn’t have done back then was look for his reasons. I should have just exposed what he did to everyone. That way, the one who needed to search for explanations and defend his actions would not be me, but him.”
With just a few words, Meng Huange finished recounting a crooked piece of her past. She then walked lightly to the end of Class Four, Year Two’s corridor, gazing at the students inside the classroom.
“So, Miss Su, I can indeed see the hesitation and anger in your heart. But what I was thinking was never about how to please you. I just simply thought, maybe you and the past me shared the same desire.”
“What desire?”
“To let those who try to profit without effort reap what they sow, and to drag these shameful deeds into the sunlight.”
Meng Huange looked back into Su Wanli’s eyes, and there was a strange light flickering in the corner of her mouth.
“Miss Su, you’re different from me. You don’t have to worry about your classmates’ retaliation, nor about a teacher’s punishment, and you don’t need to care about anyone’s attitude.”
“So, when you suggested involving me and said you wanted to catch at least fifty cheaters, my first reaction wasn’t to wonder how to do it, but to secretly rejoice inside.”
“—Great. Now, I finally get to avenge my past.”
So that was the reason.
After hearing Meng Huange’s explanation, Su Wanli’s emotions became complicated.
As expected, what the system said was a complete lie. Meng Huange wasn’t just helping to please me—she, too, always held a grudge against those cheaters in her past.
“As for throwing stones at the Disciplinary Committee office that time…”
Meng Huange rubbed her nose and gave Su Wanli an embarrassed smile.
“Sorry, Miss Su. In order to maintain my image in your heart, I might’ve said something like ‘if you feel better, so will I’ back then, but honestly, that was just an excuse. The truth is, this is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid.”
“When I stood in the corridor outside the classroom, listening as my test paper was passed around inside, no matter how many reasons I tried to come up with for the teacher, there was only one thing running through my mind.”
“—And that was to grab an iron rod, smash all the classroom windows, and watch the expressions of fear appear on those people’s faces.”
After saying this, Meng Huange let out a helpless laugh and bowed deeply to Su Wanli.
“That’s all my real thoughts. I’m not helping you out of kindness—on the contrary, I just used your identity and feelings to fulfill my own childhood wish.”
“…Su Wanli, would you start to hate me for that?”
Well, things had taken an unexpected turn.
She had intended to confirm whether Meng Huange was only helping out of obligation, suppressing her distaste for her sake, but now it turned into Meng Huange coming to confirm whether Su Wanli would hate her for using her.
…Even saying it aloud sounded ridiculous. What was this situation supposed to be!
Su Wanli let out a deep sigh, pinned the Red Armband onto her own arm, and then strode forward to give Meng Huange a pat on the shoulder.
“Don’t get cocky, Meng Huange.”
“I wasn’t manipulated by your few words. It’s just that the thing you wanted to do in the past happens to be exactly what I want to do now. To think I’d get mad about something like this—what do you take me for?”
Upon hearing this, Meng Huange straightened up and smiled at Su Wanli.
“…So, you’re still willing to let me help with this round of patrolling, right?”
“I’m just looking for ways to get you to work a little harder. With an extra pair of sharp eyes, I can catch a few more sneaky bugs.”
As Su Wanli headed toward the next classroom, she waved at Meng Huange behind her.
“Hurry up, don’t waste time. If we keep dawdling, there won’t be enough time even after the English exam is over.”
Just as Meng Huange briskly caught up, ready to begin this official patrol with Su Wanli, a crackling electric current sounded from the broadcast in Baiying Academy.
The voice of Homeroom Teacher Li Zhengqi echoed solemnly in their ears.
“Attention, Disciplinary Action Notice, Disciplinary Action Notice—”
“Class Four, Year Two, Li XX; Class Five, Year Two, Wang XX; Class Seven, Year Two, Liu XX, Jin XX… A total of twenty students ignored exam discipline and blatantly engaged in test cheating during this morning’s Chinese exam. After verification by Disciplinary Committee Members, we now officially announce their disciplinary action.”
“We hope all invigilators and patrolling teachers in the upcoming subject exams will strictly enforce test discipline, promptly report and handle cheaters, and work together with the Disciplinary Committee Members to ensure the exams proceed smoothly.”
“If you are caught cheating by a Disciplinary Committee Member again, the school will deal with you severely, with no leniency!”
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