Hearing William Yan recklessly slap labels on him, Ian Song was furious: "Mr. Yan, I have nothing to do with those people outside school. Besides, that's just your own speculation. Please don't randomly accuse your students!"
Hearing Ian Song accuse him of making baseless claims, William Yan flew into a rage: "You still dare to talk back? Looks like you're truly beyond saving!"
Ian's tone turned cold as well: "Mr. Yan, I can't agree with what you just said. This isn't talking back—I'm simply defending myself!"
Seeing Ian still dare to talk back, William Yan jabbed a finger at his nose, exasperated: "Fine, very good! So you think that by mixing with those scum outside, you don't have to respect your teachers anymore, is that it?"
Ian's face flushed, and he defended himself in a deep voice: "Mr. Yan, I've said it before—and I'll say it again—I haven't mixed with those people outside. Please stop making baseless accusations!"
If the person in front of him weren't a teacher, Ian would have loved to slap him right then and there.
"I'm the one making baseless accusations? Since you still want to argue, I have nothing more to say. I'm going to report this to the principal and have you expelled! I was actually planning to give you another chance."
Seeing this, Ian was completely enraged: "Go ahead!"
After saying that, Ian walked back to his seat. He'd never revealed that his uncle was a deputy director in the Education Bureau, but the principal knew. Because of that, there was no way the principal would expel him.
Seeing Ian treat him with utter disdain, William Yan was so furious he was about to blow a gasket—he was absolutely beside himself with rage.
"If I don't get you expelled, I'll write my name backwards!" William Yan roared.
After saying that, William Yan stormed out of the classroom toward the principal's office, leaving dozens of students staring at each other in shock.
Back at his seat, Leo Li gave Ian a thumbs up: "Dude, you're awesome! You actually pissed off Old Yan—"
"—this much!" He then added with some concern, "Do you think he'll really go to the principal and get you expelled?"
"If it's going to rain, let it rain," Ian replied calmly. Suddenly, a thought struck him—he should probably tell his uncle about this. If things got serious, his aunt would definitely try to make trouble for him. His uncle cared about him, but if he really got angry, he'd hit him too.
Thinking this, he walked out of the classroom and took out his phone to call his uncle.
On the phone, he reported the whole incident to his uncle in detail. His uncle didn't say much—just told him to focus on his studies.
After hanging up, Ian felt much more at ease. Suddenly, he realized: Ever since my mental power increased by 10 points, my mind's been a lot sharper. If this was before, I never would've thought to call my uncle.
William Yan, still fuming, arrived at Principal Harold Zhu's office. Suppressing his anger, he reported Ian Song's situation to the principal, even showing him the video of Ian fighting. He suggested expelling Ian to set an example for the school.
But to his surprise, Harold Zhu just replied blandly, "Mr. Yan, go back to class for now. I'll think it over before making a decision."
Normally, William Yan would have noticed the principal's ambiguous attitude, but right now, all he could think about was expelling Ian Song. He pressed urgently, "Principal, there's nothing to consider. Troublemakers like Ian should be expelled early! You know how crucial this year is for the seniors—having a student like him around will definitely affect the others!"
"Mr. Yan, do you not understand what I'm saying? Go back to class!" Harold Zhu said more sternly, already growing dissatisfied with William Yan. Others might not know, but he was well aware that Ian's uncle was a deputy director in the Education Bureau—expelling his nephew would only cause trouble for himself.
Besides, he knew William Yan well—ambitious and profit-driven, treating top students and struggling ones very differently, and even accepting gifts from parents. If it weren't for his decent teaching skills, he would've lost his homeroom teacher position long ago.
William Yan froze, realizing his attitude was out of line. He apologized to the principal, then left the office in a gloomy mood.
He'd made a big scene in front of the whole class about expelling Ian Song, but now he'd failed. If he went back to the classroom too quickly, he'd lose face for sure.
"Am I really powerless against one failing student?" The more William Yan thought about it, the more bitter he felt, and his resentment toward Ian grew even deeper.
"Wait, I can call Ian's guardian! If I embarrass his family, he'll definitely get it when he goes home!"
With that thought, William Yan sped toward the office and found Ian Song's guardian's phone number. As far as he knew, Ian's parents had died in a car accident, and he was now living with his uncle.
"No wonder that kid's such a troublemaker—his parents died too early, so he missed out on a proper upbringing!" William Yan thought maliciously.
He found the number and dialed.
Once the call connected, William Yan spoke in a harsh tone: "Are you Ian Song's guardian? I'm his homeroom teacher, William Yan."
"Hello, Mr. Yan. What can I do for you?" came Yvonne Yang's voice on the other end.
"How do you raise Ian Song? He's fighting at school, hanging out with delinquents, and his attitude toward teachers is downright terrible. You'd better come to the school, or I'll recommend to the principal that he be expelled!"
Based on his usual experience, other parents would be shocked at the threat of expulsion, rushing to the school to apologize and beg the teacher for mercy.
But Yvonne Yang was an exception. She'd never liked Ian Song and secretly wished he'd get expelled so he could go work, saving her a lot of money.
Besides, as the wife of a bureau director, she was used to flattery. Being scolded by William Yan put her in a foul mood, so she replied coldly, "Mr. Yan, do whatever you want. If you actually expel him, I'll be grateful."
Click!
The call disconnected, leaving only the busy signal beeping in the receiver.
William Yan was stunned, his face alternating between pale and flushed. In all his years of teaching, he'd never encountered such a brazen parent—especially that last line, "If you actually expel him, I'll be grateful," which he took as pure sarcasm.
"Damn it!"
William Yan slammed his palm onto the desk, his fury nearly bursting out of his chest.
But with the principal's ambiguous stance and the guardian refusing to cooperate, there was really nothing he could do about Ian Song.
"No way, I can't just let that kid off. Even if he doesn't get expelled, I'll make sure he can't show his face in Class 9!"
With that thought, he got up and headed toward Class 9.
"Ian Song!"
Ian, who was memorizing his textbook with his Photographic Memory, frowned and stood up, glaring coldly at William Yan.
The other students, seeing this scene, all assumed Ian was about to be expelled.
William Yan sneered, "Go stand in the hallway. From now on, whenever it's my class, you don't need to come in. Also, cleaning the blackboard and sweeping the classroom are your responsibility from now on."
Ian's face darkened, but in the end he said nothing. Suddenly, he realized William Yan must have failed to convince the principal and was venting his frustration on him.
Thinking this, he gave William Yan a faintly mocking smile, then calmly picked up his Grade 12 Chinese textbook and a stack of review materials and walked out of the classroom.
Seeing Ian's smile, William Yan felt deeply uncomfortable. He glanced at Ian's books and materials and sneered, "If you'd worked this hard earlier, your grades wouldn't be so trash!"
Hearing this, Ian suddenly thought of an idea. He stopped and said to William Yan, "Mr. Yan, do you dare to make a bet with me? Next month's exam—I'll definitely score over 120 in Chinese!"
"Are you joking?" William Yan sneered.
"If I don't get 120, I'll withdraw from school myself. But if I do, you have to bow and apologize to me in front of the whole class. Deal?"
William Yan was furious at Ian's words, but before he could respond, Ian pressed on: "What, you scared?"
"Fine, I accept! Just get ready to be kicked out of school!" William Yan snapped, certain Ian couldn't possibly score 120 in just over ten days.
The other students, hearing Ian's bold words, had mixed reactions—some thought he was amazing, some thought he was too arrogant, and of course, some who disliked him were just waiting for him to crash and burn.
Ian ignored all the strange looks and walked out of the classroom with confidence.
Honestly, Chinese exams are all about memory. With Photographic Memory, if he couldn't score 120 in the upcoming monthly test, he figured he might as well crawl under a rock from embarrassment.