Chapter 175: 175, Cheating Chapter 175: 175, Cheating The summer breeze was gentle, and brilliant sunlight enveloped the earth. Despite the unbearable heat, the school entrance was more bustling than usual as parents continuously dropped off their children.
Some parents, after dropping off their kids, immediately found a shady spot to wait for the exam to end. This was the first graduation exam of the children’s lives, so naturally, the parents took it very seriously.
“Xiao Ning, your grandparents will be waiting for you over there,” Yang Lisheng pointed to the opposite sidewalk, where a good number of parents had already gathered.
“Okay,” Song Yan Ning nodded. She had tried to persuade her grandparents that morning, but they insisted on coming with her. Fortunately, they were both wearing the bracelets sent by Qin Yushen; otherwise, they might have succumbed to the heat, even if they didn’t suffer from heatstroke.
“Xiao Ning, don’t be nervous during the exam, make sure to do well,” Li Meixiang said with a smile as she ruffled Song Yan Ning’s hair. She was quite confident in Xiao Ning. The main reason they accompanied her was that other children had their parents with them; they didn’t want Xiao Ning to feel lonely and affect her mood during the exam.
Song Yan Ning nodded, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m going in.”
As they watched Song Yan Ning enter the school and disappear from sight, Yang Lisheng and Li Meixiang withdrew their gazes and walked towards the opposite sidewalk.
Yu Xiaoyan watched as Song Yan Ning entered and a cold smile crossed her lips. Today, she was determined to embarrass Song Yan Ning and make her lose face in front of everyone.
Song Yan Ning walked to her seat, arranged her exam materials, and checking her watch, saw she still had about ten minutes before the exam started. She leaned on the desk and closed her eyes to rest.
Yu Xiaoyan kept an eye on Song Yan Ning, noticing her resting on the desk, and scoffed. We’ll see if you’ll still be this relaxed later.
Hearing the bell, Song Yan Ning opened her eyes, waiting as the exam papers were passed from the front row to her.
Upon receiving the exam paper, Song Yan Ning glanced at the questions and quickly began to write her answers. The questions were too easy for her, hardly requiring much time.
In less than ten minutes, Song Yan Ning had completed the entire paper. As per the school rules, one couldn’t hand in their paper earlier than half an hour into the exam, so she set the paper aside and closed her eyes to rest again.
“Teacher!” Yu Xiaoyan suddenly raised her hand.
The proctor approached Yu Xiaoyan, “What’s the matter?”
“I want to report Song Yan Ning for cheating. I just saw her peeking at some cheat sheets she brought,” Yu Xiaoyan pointed at Song Yan Ning. Before Song Yan Ning had arrived, she had planted the cheat sheet inside Song Yan Ning’s desk. Over the years, she had mastered imitating Song Yan Ning’s handwriting, making it nearly identical.
It was well-known that Song Yan Ning often skipped class yet always performed well in exams; she definitely must have cheated. Even if the cheat sheet hadn’t been planted, Song Yan Ning surely had one hidden on her.
The proctor looked at Song Yan Ning, who continued to rest with her eyes shut, feeling somewhat annoyed. Song Yan Ning was known to have a significant background, hence the school overlooked her frequent absences. Always topping the exams, unless she was a genius, something fishy was definitely going on.
“Song Yan Ning, take out your cheat sheet,” the proctor walked up to Song Yan Ning, looking at her sternly.
Song Yan Ning slowly opened her eyes, glanced coldly at the smug Yu Xiaoyan, then turned to the proctor, “Are you just taking her word for it and concluding I cheated?”
“What kind of attitude is that?” the proctor grunted displeased.
Song Yan Ning stood up, “Then what kind of attitude do you expect from me?”
“You get out, you’ll score zero for this exam,” the proctor pointed angrily toward the door, yelling at Song Yan Ning. She had never encountered such an arrogant student.
Song Yan Ning sneered, “Zero? Have you found my cheat sheet? Are you certain I cheated? I suggest you don’t abuse your power; you might regret it.”
“You!” The proctor trembled with rage.
Another proctor approached, “Teacher He, don’t disturb the other students.”
“I wish I didn’t have to, but a student reported her for cheating, and she refuses to admit it,” Teacher He said angrily.
Hearing this, Teacher Gao looked at Song Yan Ning, “Did you cheat?”
“No, and I didn’t need to,” Song Yan Ning replied coolly and confidently.
Teacher Gao nodded, turning to Yu Xiaoyan, “You said she cheated. Can you provide any proof?”
“Of course, I saw her slip the cheat sheet into her desk,” Yu Xiaoyan said confidently.
Teacher Gao turned to Song Yan Ning, “Could you let me check your desk?”
He wanted to resolve this matter quickly to avoid disrupting the other students’ exams.
“Go ahead,” Song Yan Ning stepped aside.
Teacher Gao walked over and bent down to check, straightened after a while, and shook his head, “There’s nothing.”
“It’s impossible, I clearly saw it,” Yu Xiaoyan said in disbelief.
Teacher Gao, looking displeased, glanced at Teacher He, “You check again.”
Teacher He nodded, stepped forward, and after a thorough check, shook her head. Had she wronged Song Yan Ning?
She scrutinized Song Yan Ning; today, Song Yan Ning wore a dress without pockets—it couldn’t hide a cheat sheet.
Turning to Yu Xiaoyan, “Yu Xiaoyan, since you saw it, you search for it.”
“Okay,” Yu Xiaoyan responded, quickly walking to Song Yan Ning’s desk and began searching. “How come it’s not here? It was right here.”
Yu Xiaoyan turned the entire desk inside out but still couldn’t find the cheat sheet she had written. She was sure she had placed it inside the desk; it couldn’t just disappear.
After searching again and again and still finding nothing, she had to give up, “Teacher, I can’t find it. Could it be on Song Yan Ning herself?”
Song Yan Ning watched Yu Xiaoyan with a cold laugh, “Yu Xiaoyan, stop playing the innocent; you put the cheat sheet in your own pocket. Do you really think nobody saw?”
“Don’t slander me; I would never cheat,” Yu Xiaoyan reached into her pocket, and the next moment, she froze. How could it be? When did something get in there?
Song Yan Ning smiled, looking at Teacher Gao, “Teacher, can I hand in my paper now?”
“Yes,” Teacher Gao nodded. Regardless of whether Song Yan Ning cheated or not, they found no evidence, so she wasn’t considered to have cheated.
Song Yan Ning picked up the exam paper from her desk and walked to the front podium.
“Yu Xiaoyan, take out what’s in your pocket,” Teacher Gao said sternly. From Yu Xiaoyan’s expression, he knew there must be something in her pocket.