Tuesday.
Today, the early self-study period was homeroom teacher William Yan's class, so as soon as the bell rang, Ian Song dutifully picked up his textbook and walked out to the corridor.
William Yan glanced at him indifferently and then ignored him.
But as soon as he approached the lectern, William Yan caught a foul stench. He scanned the room, found nothing unusual, then noticed four students sitting near the lectern all subtly covering their noses—they had clearly smelled it too.
Ever since William Yan entered the classroom, Zach Zhang and three other boys had been secretly watching him. Seeing William's 'constipated' expression, they couldn't help but find it amusing.
William Yan was annoyed, unable to figure out what was causing the stench. After searching in vain, he had to give up for the moment.
He placed his textbooks on the lectern, planning to grab a piece of chalk to update the countdown to the college entrance exam on the upper left of the blackboard. Absentmindedly, he opened the lectern drawer—and was instantly hit by a wave of stench so strong it nearly knocked him out.
He quickly shut the drawer and started retching.
Seeing William Yan's miserable state, Zach Zhang and his three friends struggled hard not to laugh.
While retching, William Yan wondered who could have put feces in the lectern drawer. Suddenly, his gaze landed on Ian Song, who was standing in the corridor, seemingly absorbed in his book.
Could it be him? I don’t allow him into the classroom during my class, and I make him clean the blackboard and sweep the classroom. He must hold a grudge, and he’s always the last to leave. So he has motive and opportunity.
After analyzing the situation, William Yan was almost certain that Ian Song was the one who put the feces in the lectern drawer.
Little bastard!
Ian Song must have resented how I disciplined him and decided to take revenge in this way.
At that moment, William Yan’s anger flared. He banged the blackboard brush on the board to quiet the class, then told the boy sitting nearest the door, "Go call Ian Song in."
The show’s about to start, the four boys thought, watching the scene unfold.
Ian Song was puzzled. Why did William Yan call him in? Had he had a change of heart and decided to let him attend class? But when he saw William Yan’s grim face, he realized he was mistaken.
"Ian Song, did you do this?" William Yan almost roared.
Ian Song frowned, completely baffled. "Mr. Yan, what are you talking about?"
Playing dumb, huh? William Yan’s teeth ground audibly as he pointed at the drawer and snapped, "Tell me, was it you who put the feces in the lectern drawer?"
"What? There’s feces in the lectern drawer?" Ian Song exclaimed, no wonder he’d smelled something foul when passing the lectern earlier that morning.
The other students were shocked to hear about the feces in the drawer. The four sitting closest to the lectern all pinched their noses and leaned back.
"Still refusing to admit it, huh?" Seeing Ian Song’s continued denial, William Yan grew even angrier and turned to the class: "Who was the last to leave the classroom yesterday?"
"It should have been Ian Song—he had to clean the classroom."
"Yeah, it was Ian Song."
"When I left, Ian Song was the only one still in the classroom."
The students all chimed in at once.
William Yan was very satisfied with their answers, and stared coldly at Ian Song: "Anything else to say?"
"I was the last to leave, but I definitely didn’t put the feces in the drawer," Ian Song protested, exasperated. Even if he hated William Yan, he’d never use such a disgusting method for revenge. He wondered who the real culprit was.
If it wasn’t you, then who?
Seeing William Yan’s accusatory look, Ian Song got annoyed and raised his voice: "I’d like to know who did it too."
William Yan was so furious he laughed: "Still being stubborn? Come with me to see the principal. I don’t want to teach a student like you for even one more day!"
"Fine, let’s go. If you stand upright, you don’t fear a crooked shadow!" Ian Song retorted coldly, uncomfortable at being wrongfully accused.
Principal’s Office.
Principal Harold Zhu was entertaining two officials from the Campus District Precinct: Deputy Chief Harvey Hu and Instructor Mason Meng.
After some polite small talk, Harvey Hu got to the point: "Principal Zhu, here’s the situation. Two nights ago, your student Ian Song..."
At first, hearing Harvey Hu mention Ian Song, Harold Zhu thought he was in trouble. But when he learned Ian had helped the police catch fugitives, Harold’s face broke into a wide smile.
"Chief Hu, Instructor Meng, what brings you here today?"
This time, Mason Meng spoke up: "We have two things. First, there’s an 80,000-yuan reward for helping catch fugitives—60,000 from above, 20,000 pooled by our precinct. We want to hand the money directly to Ian Song. Second, we brought a commendation certificate, and we hope to present it to Ian in front of the whole school to promote the spirit of youth bravery."
Harold Zhu was delighted to hear this and immediately agreed: "Chief Hu, Instructor Meng, don’t worry—I’ll arrange everything right away."
Just then, William Yan arrived outside the principal’s office with Ian Song.
Seeing two police officers in the office, William Yan was puzzled—he had no idea why they were meeting with Principal Zhu.
Harold Zhu noticed William Yan bringing Ian Song and beckoned them in: "Mr. Yan, Ian, come in."
Seeing Ian Song, Harvey Hu gave him a subtle wink. Ian immediately guessed they were here to deliver the reward and certificate—he’d expected it to take longer, but was surprised at how quickly the Campus District Precinct acted.
"Chief Hu, Instructor Meng, let me introduce you—this is Mr. Yan, Ian Song’s homeroom teacher. Mr. Yan, this is Chief Hu."
Hearing that the man was a chief, William Yan quickly greeted him: "Hello, Chief Hu."
"And this is Instructor Meng," Harold Zhu added, gesturing to Mason Meng.
"Hello, Instructor Meng," William Yan quickly greeted him as well.
"Haha, Mr. Yan, you’ve really produced an outstanding student—Ian Song has made a huge contribution this time!" Harvey Hu said with a big smile.
"What contribution did he make?" William Yan blurted out.
Harvey Hu’s face darkened. "Mr. Yan, what do you mean? Three days ago, Ian Song helped our police catch two Class‑A fugitives!"
"That’s impossible, isn’t it?" William Yan looked skeptical, which annoyed Harvey Hu.
"Mr. Yan, watch your attitude!" Harold Zhu snapped, his face dark. He wondered why William Yan was so tactless.
Harvey Hu’s face grew even darker. He grabbed a briefcase, pulled out a bulging envelope and a certificate, and waved them in front of William Yan, sneering: "This is the 80,000-yuan reward for Ian Song, and this is the commendation certificate signed by the city bureau. We’ve already arranged with Principal Zhu to announce Ian’s achievement and present the reward and certificate in front of the whole school!"
Hearing that Ian Song was getting an 80,000-yuan reward and public praise in front of the whole school, William Yan felt extremely uncomfortable. He realized that once Ian was held up as a positive example, the school would use him for publicity—and it would be nearly impossible to expel him. Determined, he said to Harold Zhu: "Principal, I have something to report. Ian Song’s behavior is really out of line!"
Harold Zhu’s face darkened instantly. He was furious—family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public! He was about to make Ian Song a role model, but William Yan was picking a fight, undermining him.
He quickly said, "Mr. Yan, whatever you have to say can wait. I’m about to convene the whole faculty and student body to publicly commend Ian Song."