“I heard the teachers are suspecting Jiang Ruotang of cheating because he improved too fast, so I came to clear things up.”

“Clear things up? What can you possibly clear up?” Mr. Wang said irritably.

He’d thought Lu Guifan was a good student—but now here he was, causing trouble too?

Even Jiang Ruotang was confused. What could Lu Guifan possibly say for him? Maybe he’d suggest Mr. Song give him another test on the spot?

But right now, his mind was spinning with anger—he’d need time to calm down.

“Teachers, these are all the scratch papers Jiang Ruotang used when he came to me with questions. They’re all in his handwriting. Even if I wanted to fake them, there’s no way I could’ve put this together in the last half hour.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Lu Guifan placed a thick stack of scratch paper and worksheets on Mr. Wang’s desk.

“These… are all Jiang Ruotang’s?” Mr. Wang picked up the papers in disbelief. Could this careless troublemaker really have written all this?

Even Jiang Ruotang was stunned. He thought Lu Guifan would’ve thrown them away—but he’d actually kept and organized them. So when Lu Guifan said he’d make a mistake book for him, he’d meant it.

Then Lu Guifan pulled up screenshots of his chat history with Jiang Ruotang over the past month.

“Mr. Song, look—this problem matches the first math calculation question from the exam. This one matches the third multiple-choice, and this one matches the fourth… Almost everything he got right on the exam are problems I specifically explained to him.”

“That’s true. The questions match, and the handwriting is definitely Jiang Ruotang’s.” Mr. Song nodded.

Lu Guifan had clearly analyzed Jiang Ruotang’s progress in depth, explaining everything with solid logic.

“And this one matches the physics question on electron motion in a magnetic field. Mr. Chen, here’s a draft where he also got stuck at step five, unable to determine the electron’s direction. He didn’t cheat—his test results reflect his real ability.”

Mr. Chen, the physics teacher, agreed—and even praised Lu Guifan: “You’re impressive, Lu Guifan. Great prediction on the test topics.”

The English teacher came over too, sounding envious: “If Jiang Ruotang worked this hard on English, he’d be in the top 200 by now.”

Jiang Ruotang looked at Lu Guifan. He was only eighteen, yet calmer and sharper than most adults—finding evidence and reasoning things out rather than pouring oil on the fire. Facing Mr. Wang, he was steady and composed. Most impressive of all, he’d linked the scratch paper and chat records to the exam questions so quickly—such thinking was rare for a high schooler.

Mr. Song turned to Mr. Wang. “Mr. Wang, you see? There are clear signs of his improvement in his daily work. Every problem connects back.”

Mr. Wang took a deep breath. He hadn’t expected to lose face this completely because of Lu Guifan. He couldn’t help but jab at him: “Lu Guifan, you’ve been tutoring Jiang Ruotang this thoroughly—did you switch your tutoring client to him? Keep this up, and it won’t just be a verbal warning!”

His meaning was clear: Are you getting paid by Jiang Ruotang? Working for him now?

Before Lu Guifan could explain, Jiang Ruotang couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Mr. Wang, we all respect your experience and the years you’ve put in—that’s why we call you ‘teacher.’ Even when you suspected me, wronged me, checked my phone, called my parents—I was just annoyed, but I never planned to insult you. But now, I have to ask—what the hell is in your head?”

“You… what did you say?” Mr. Wang’s face flushed red.

Zhao Yunshu pulled Jiang Ruotang close, patting his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

But Jiang Ruotang was blazing with fury now. “Yesterday you lectured us about that ‘Suspecting Your Neighbor Stole the Axe’ story—how suspicion is dangerous. Yet now that I’ve improved a little, you jump to accuse me of cheating? No proof, no witnesses—you just make wild accusations? You’ve labeled me already, and anyone who speaks for me becomes suspicious too? Are you trying to get the whole school to isolate me? If Lu Guifan charged me tutoring fees, he’d be rich by now! He’s such an honest guy, and you’re threatening him?”

Every word Jiang Ruotang said left Mr. Wang speechless. All he could do was point at Jiang Ruotang’s nose, stammering “You—you—you—” without being able to finish a sentence.

Lu Guifan turned his face slightly. This was the first time he’d ever seen Jiang Ruotang truly lose his temper.

Not for himself.
Not for Bai Yingchuan, whom he’d once adored.
But for Lu Guifan.

A sudden cough broke the silence. Song Qinghe looked toward the door in surprise.
“Principal Han… you’re here…”

Everyone in the office turned to look. Mr. Wang froze. When did the principal arrive? How much had he heard?

Principal Han stepped in, followed by Jian Sha and Bai Yingchuan.

Actually, Jian Sha had meant to speak up for Jiang Ruotang too. But halfway there, she’d received a message from Lu Guifan:
[Please go get Principal Han. If possible, bring Bai Yingchuan too.]

Jian Sha, quick-witted as ever, immediately understood Lu Guifan’s reasoning.

If she, a mere English class rep, went to ask, the principal might have politely refused to interfere—just to save face for Mr. Wang. But with Bai Yingchuan going, Principal Han would have to weigh Bai’s media influence. If Bai Yingchuan made a public comment, it could damage Beicheng Guangyao’s reputation. So, no matter what, the principal would at least come take a look.

Jian Sha had rushed back to the classroom and said:
“Hey, superstar—don’t dare go head-to-head with Mr. Wang? Then go call the principal instead. D’you dare? I’ll back you up if the teachers or your mom give you hell.”

Zhao Changfeng at the back was stunned, secretly giving Jian Sha a thumbs-up.

Sister Sha’s the boss. She even chases favors like a debt collector.

“Fine.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Bai Yingchuan stood up.

Lin Lu tried to stop him but knew it was pointless. Bai Yingchuan wasn’t going to sit down now—not after lying low and playing dead so many times. He wouldn’t be the class joke again.

Just as Lu Guifan had expected, when Jian Sha first told Principal Han about the situation, he hadn’t thought much of it—just another student-teacher conflict.

But the moment he saw Bai Yingchuan behind her, Principal Han immediately stood up to check it out.

When Principal Han arrived outside the grade office with Jian Sha, he happened to hear Jiang Ruotang’s accusations and understood roughly what had happened.

With Jian Sha and Bai Yingchuan watching, Principal Han cleared his throat and asked:
“Mr. Wang, I heard Jiang Ruotang’s complaints. Tell me—did he cheat in this monthly exam?”

Mr. Wang’s anger, so close to boiling over, instantly dropped to rock bottom. He was jolted awake.

Even if he hated to admit it, he had to answer:
“At present… no, he did not cheat.”

Principal Han nodded.
“Then you called him in for questioning—not just once—and after all his hard work and progress, you offered no praise, only suspicion. Mr. Wang, did you think to offer him the slightest apology?”

Mr. Wang froze. In all his decades of teaching, he’d never apologized to a student. Even if misunderstandings happened, students were supposed to humbly accept their teachers’ discipline.

The other teachers in the office, including Song Qinghe, all showed approving expressions.

Lu Guifan and Jian Sha exchanged glances—relieved. The principal had made his stance clear.

Principal Han sighed.
“Mr. Wang, after so many years of teaching, you should know—trying to maintain your authority by standing high above students won’t work. When you make a mistake, you must set an example by admitting it. If you doubted Jiang Ruotang’s progress, you could’ve asked Mr. Song or Mr. Chen to give him similar test questions. If he couldn’t solve them, then you could suspect him. But you assumed dishonesty from the start and dismissed all his hard work. What will the other students think when they hear this?”

Mr. Wang calmed slightly but couldn’t help voicing his grudge:
“If he hadn’t been obsessed with chasing stars all day—dragging other students down with him, flaunting his family’s wealth to throw all kinds of distracting events—I wouldn’t have misunderstood him so easily.”

Jiang Ruotang was speechless.
So your bias is my fault now? Isn’t this just blaming the victim?

Standing behind Principal Han, Bai Yingchuan smiled faintly.
“Forgive me for asking, Mr. Wang—but which celebrity is Jiang Ruotang supposedly obsessed with?”

“Who else? Right here in the room,” Mr. Wang snapped.

Bai Yingchuan lowered his gaze with a self-deprecating smile.
“Funny… ever since I transferred here, I haven’t noticed him being ‘obsessed’ at all. Are you sure you’re not mistaken, Mr. Wang?”

Jian Sha chimed in:
“I can vouch for that! My seat’s right across the aisle. Since Bai Yingchuan arrived, Jiang Ruotang’s never so much as looked his way unless Bai spoke to him first. Between classes, when others gather to chat with Bai, Jiang’s either sleeping or doing practice problems. To him, Bai Yingchuan might as well be a nobody. Saying his supposed ‘star-chasing’ caused your bias? That’s pure injustice. As the saying goes, ‘A prodigal son who turns back is worth more than gold’—and Jiang’s been working hard for half a semester now. You seriously haven’t noticed, Mr. Wang? Can I ask who’s been whispering nonsense in your ear?”

Mr. Wang stiffened, suddenly realizing that since Bai Yingchuan transferred, Jiang Ruotang really hadn’t done anything crazy.

Bai Yingchuan looked calm, but inside his heart felt like it was being pricked by needles. Jian Sha’s words might’ve just described Jiang Ruotang’s determination to focus on studies, but every nobody, every undeserved misfortune, every prodigal son turned good—stabbed like arrows into his chest. Each one reminded him: You are a bad habit Jiang had to quit. A harmful distraction from his bright future.

Principal Han turned to Jiang Ruotang.
“On behalf of the school, I apologize to you and your mother. I hope you’ll keep working hard and keep improving. And I hope all our teachers will strive not only for students’ academic progress, but also to understand and care for them—not suppress them with authority. Tonight, all teachers will stay for a meeting to reflect on today’s incident. Jiang Ruotang, Lu Guifan, Jian Sha, Bai Yingchuan—you can return to class. You’ve already missed the first period this afternoon.”

Jiang Ruotang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The principal had spoken—he couldn’t keep fighting Mr. Wang forever.

Too bad Cai Ji was still left in the office—the principal probably wanted to hear more from him.

Once they reached the corridor, Jiang Ruotang softly hooked his arm around Zhao Yunshu’s and whispered:
“Mom… thank you.”

“No need. But that classmate—he’s Lu Guifan? Your class rep?”

“Yeah.”

“Every time you or Changfeng mentioned him, I thought he was some stiff little nerd. Never imagined he’d be this handsome in person.”

“You think he’s handsome too?” Jiang Ruotang was surprised—they actually shared the same taste.

In his past life, Zhao Yunshu had only praised Lu Guifan’s refined air when they’d met in the hospital. She’d never called him handsome like this.

To Jiang Ruotang, handsome was an emotional word. It meant stunning.

Zhao Yunshu grinned.
“Of course. The way he stood up for you just now—so handsome it made my legs go weak.”

Ahead of them, Lu Guifan sighed, stopped, and turned.
“Thank you for the compliment, Auntie.”

Zhao Yunshu paused for barely a second, then smoothly continued piling on the praise, copying Jiang Ruotang’s own flowery words.

“That wasn’t praise—my son’s words are the real praise. Says you’re the Chen Jingrun of math, the Einstein of physics. He absolutely worships you—not just your brilliant mind, but your righteous soul too.”

“Mom… don’t exaggerate!” Jiang Ruotang didn’t expect Zhao Yunshu to have this side to her.

“What exaggeration?” Zhao Yunshu laughed, patting Lu Guifan’s shoulder.
“I just hope you, as class rep, can help pull Changfeng up a little too… maybe improve him a bit?”

Jiang Ruotang couldn’t help laughing. So this was why Zhao Yunshu had buttered him up so long—the real aim was here.

“Mom, class rep barely dragged me into the top 250 of the grade. If he has to pull Changfeng too… wouldn’t that undo a whole month’s hard work in a single day?”

Even Lu Guifan couldn’t help but laugh.

Jiang Ruotang always had such golden metaphors.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Zhao Changfeng—still waiting for news—sneezed several times in a row.