Mr. Jack Yuan strode briskly down the hallway, clutching the exam paper, barely able to contain his eagerness to confront Director Ben Lu and give that troublemaker from Senior Year Class 32 a thorough scolding.
Ideally, Ben Lu would drag that kid into the Academic Affairs office and make him apologize on the spot!
Just imagining it made Mr. Yuan even more impatient.
Outside the Academic Affairs office.
He paused, straightened his expression, reached out, and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Director Ben Lu’s voice came from inside. He was reading the newspaper, but when he heard the door open, he looked up, saw who it was, and quickly stood up with a broad smile. "Ah, Mr. Yuan, what brings you here?"
"Did the exam go smoothly this morning? Was there any cheating?"
Seeing Mr. Yuan walk in, Ben Lu’s heart sank.
If a student really got caught cheating by a Pearl Academy teacher, it’d be a huge embarrassment. If word reached the principal, who knows how angry he’d get.
"Director Lu, there weren't any cheaters among the students."
Jack Yuan shook his head.
Hearing this, Director Ben Lu relaxed a little. "So what brings you here, Mr. Yuan?"
"Oh, right. For lunch, the principal has already arranged a meal in the school cafeteria, specially prepared by chefs from Pearl Academy. We can eat soon."
Jack Yuan's expression turned cold as he listened. "Director Lu, I'm actually here to report something to you."
"Just now, while I was proctoring, one of your students did something outrageous—he called me a dog right in front of everyone! Tell me, what kind of student does that? It's simply lawless, with no respect for authority!"
The more Jack Yuan spoke, the angrier he became, his face flushed red.
Being called a dog in public—this was a first for him, and he was fuming inside.
"What! There's actually a student that bold?" Ben Lu's face changed dramatically, and he slammed the desk hard.
Bang! The sound echoed through the office, startling Mr. Yuan, who was standing nearby and caught off guard by the outburst.
"Mr. Yuan, rest assured! Capitalview First High has always prioritized the all-round development of our students. Here, a student's character is always our top concern!"
"I absolutely will not tolerate any student behaving like this! To insult a proctor in public—it's outrageous!"
"A student like that needs to understand that our school's values cannot be distorted! He must know that insulting a teacher is wrong, and the consequences are serious!"
Ben Lu looked furious, his words ringing out as he faced Jack Yuan. "This time, your school sent proctors like you here, giving us great honor!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Yuan! I'll handle this personally!"
Ben Lu spoke with conviction, his anger making Jack Yuan feel comforted. Jack looked moved as he gazed at Ben Lu. "Then I'll leave it to you, Director Lu!"
"You can count on me!" Ben Lu nodded vigorously, standing up to leave. Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Jack Yuan and asked, "By the way, Mr. Yuan, what's the student's name?"
"I'll go find his homeroom teacher right now and have him bring the student here to apologize to you in person!"
Jack Yuan replied angrily, "That student is from Senior Year Class 32. His name is Evan Lin!"
"Lin... Lin what?"
Ben Lu, who had just stepped out, froze in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at Jack Yuan.
"Evan Lin, Senior Year Class 32! That's the one—he called me a dog right in front of everyone! Absolutely lawless! He does whatever he wants!" Jack Yuan fumed.
But just then, Jack Yuan noticed that the director who was so determined to seek justice a moment ago had now pulled back and stopped in his tracks.
Ben Lu coughed awkwardly, his face suddenly embarrassed as he retreated behind his desk and sat down.
"Director Lu?"
Jack Yuan was stunned, not understanding why Ben Lu had suddenly lost his earlier bravado.
"Well, Mr. Yuan, I just remembered I have something else to deal with. As for your issue, maybe you should go to the principal's office and talk to him directly?" Ben Lu kept his head down, tidying his desk, clearly avoiding eye contact.
"Director Lu! What do you mean by this? Are teachers at Capitalview First High just going to shield their students like this? Let me tell you, with teaching methods like yours, you'll never produce real talent!"
"They'll end up sliding straight into a life of crime under teachers like you!"
Jack Yuan grew more agitated, his face turning red.
Ben Lu felt wronged—he could handle anyone else, but dealing with Evan Lin? That was wishful thinking.
He actually sympathized with what happened to Jack Yuan, but hearing him press so aggressively made Ben Lu feel even more uncomfortable. "Mr. Yuan, that's not fair."
"What's wrong with teachers like me? I believe in evidence for everything. Besides, today is the Hundred-School Joint Exam. I don't want to disturb our students' focus and affect their performance."
"Please leave, I have other matters to attend to."
Ben Lu had just given him the boot.
"Fine, fine, fine!"
Jack Yuan's face changed, and he repeated "fine" three times. "I'm going straight to your principal. I want to see if all the teachers at Capitalview First High are this unreasonable!"
Fuming, Jack Yuan spun around and left. As soon as he was gone, Ben Lu let out a long sigh, clearly troubled.
Unable to deal with Evan Lin, and now having offended a proctor from Pearl Academy—this was a major loss for him.
Principal's Office.
There were two people inside.
Principal Damon Deng poured a cup of tea for the woman sitting across from him, smiling warmly. "Director Autumn Zheng, how was the proctoring this morning?"
Autumn Zheng accepted the tea with a gentle smile. "Your students are all very well-behaved. No wonder Capitalview First High is considered the top school in Jinnan."
"Haha, Director Zheng, you're too kind." Principal Deng shook his head, clearly pleased by the compliment.
"Principal Deng, there's actually one more thing I wanted to discuss during this visit."