Chapter 29: Today’s Events, I, Tang Xiao, Have Taken Note Of

Wei Changhe was an experienced, tough figure in the world of education, and he immediately accused Ge Juan of “illegal detention” the moment he entered.

The students were all discussing the situation.

“Is this really illegal detention?”

“I’m not sure, but not letting him leave seems pretty wrong.”

“Yeah, everyone else gets to leave, but not him. It’s definitely a case of favoritism.”

“Is this guy really the principal? He’s so domineering.”

As soon as Wei Changhe arrived, Ge Juan and the invigilators were thrown into a difficult position.

They hadn’t prevented Tang Xiao from leaving because they had proof; they just wanted to conduct further investigations and questioning.

Who could have expected that they’d provoke the student’s principal?

The students might not have known Wei Changhe well, but Ge Juan and the other teachers did.

Because Wei Changhe had an influential family behind him—the Wei family.

And Wei Changhe himself had a fiery temper.

But Ge Juan wasn’t a pushover either, especially since they were in the right in this situation.

Ge Juan said, “Wei Changhe, stop spouting nonsense. We didn’t detain him. We’re just investigating Tang Xiao’s suspected cheating.”

Wei Changhe retorted, “Did you catch Tang Xiao cheating on the spot?”

Tang Xiao was a student of Wei Changhe’s, and he wouldn’t let anyone falsely accuse him.

Moreover, it was Wei Changhe who had arranged for Tang Xiao to participate in the competition, so he wouldn’t stand by while his student was bullied.

“Well… we haven’t found any evidence yet. We’re still investigating, which is why we kept him here,” Ge Juan admitted.

“So, you have no evidence?” Wei Changhe asked directly.

“This…” Ge Juan was speechless, and the other invigilators exchanged uncertain glances.

They hadn’t found any evidence yet, and that was exactly why they were conducting an investigation when he showed up.

At this moment, Tang Yuan stepped forward and greeted Wei Changhe.

“Uncle Wei, long time no see,” Tang Yuan said gracefully.

Wei Changhe’s arrival surprised her.

As a director of the Tang Group, of course, she knew Wei Changhe.

The Wei family in Yun Province and Jiang’an City was just as powerful as the Tang family.

Wei Changhe was also of her father’s generation—Tang Rushan’s contemporary.

She never expected Tang Xiao to have someone like Wei Changhe supporting him.

Tang Yuan couldn’t understand what made Wei Changhe support Tang Xiao.

She couldn’t make sense of it, but the fact remained.

Wei Changhe frowned, looking at Tang Yuan. “And who are you?”

Tang Yuan replied, “I’m Tang Rushan’s eldest daughter, Tang Yuan.”

Wei Changhe didn’t show any courtesy at all. He impatiently said, “Another person from the Tang family. How many of you are there? Don’t you just refuse to let go of Tang Xiao?”

“We’re not refusing to let him go. We just have reasonable grounds to suspect he cheated…” Tang Yuan began.

“No evidence, just suspicion. And you’re detaining him?” Wei Changhe interrupted her sharply.

Even though Tang Yuan tried to use her family background, Wei Changhe didn’t give her any face.

He was determined to protect Tang Xiao!

Wei Changhe then turned to Tang Xiao and asked, “Tang Xiao, did you cheat?”

Tang Xiao answered firmly, “No.”

Wei Changhe then addressed Ge Juan and the others, saying, “You hear that? He said he didn’t cheat.”

Ge Juan shouted, “Wei Changhe, stop messing around! Do you just believe him because he says he didn’t cheat?”

Wei Changhe retorted, “You suspect Tang Xiao cheated, and you’re taking Tang Yuan’s word for it, right? What gives you the right to trust her’s but not his?”

“So you can believe Tang Yuan, but I’m not allowed to believe Tang Xiao?”

“This…” Ge Juan didn’t know how to respond.

Why believe Tang Yuan and not Tang Xiao? Well, of course, it was because Tang Yuan had a higher status.

But that was something they couldn’t admit, because that would make it seem like they were just afraid of the power behind her.

Wei Changhe waved at Tang Xiao and said, “Stop zoning out. Let’s go.”

But Ge Juan wasn’t having it. “Go? The matter hasn’t been investigated thoroughly yet. He can’t leave.”

Wei Changhe replied, “Then call the police. Let them decide. If they don’t find any evidence of Tang Xiao cheating, I’ll see how you handle that.”

Wei Changhe actually threatened to call the police.

For a mere academic competition, was it really necessary to involve the police?

His words made Ge Juan and the others hesitate.

Yes, if the police came and found evidence of Tang Xiao cheating, everything would be fine.

But if they didn’t find any evidence, they might very well be guilty of illegal detention.

At that point, they would be in an even worse situation, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Ge Juan quietly asked the teachers who had been involved in the search earlier, “Did you really not find anything?”

The teachers exchanged looks, then shook their heads. “No, nothing.”

Trouble. Big trouble.

Should they take the gamble?

Ge Juan was already backing down. This was a gamble—there was no evidence, and she wasn’t sure whether they would win this bet.

Ge Juan looked toward Tang Yuan, silently asking her to decide whether to take the risk.

Tang Yuan was quickly weighing the pros and cons.

She had originally just wanted to deal with Tang Xiao easily.

But she hadn’t expected things to escalate this much.

She never imagined it would become so complicated.

Even Wei Changhe from the Wei family was involved now.

In the end, no matter whether Tang Xiao had cheated or not, if they pressed on, they would inevitably offend the Wei family.

Tang Yuan took a deep breath, making up her mind.

“Tang Xiao, since Principal Wei believes you didn’t cheat, we will trust him. You may leave.”

Ge Juan didn’t speak, clearly accepting Tang Yuan’s decision.

The room was filled with shocked murmurs.

“Ge Juan and Tang Yuan actually backed down.”

“I think they didn’t dare continue because they really couldn’t find any evidence.”

“They seemed so confident at first, but now they’re backing off? Did Ge Juan and the others really give in?”

“It’s embarrassing for Ge Juan, who was the loudest earlier.”

“It’s normal, she’s getting older, must be going through menopause.”

“Even Tang Yuan, the queen of the Tang family, backed down. Unbelievable.”

…

The contestants and students had no idea of the complicated reasons behind the situation.

What they saw was the result: Ge Juan and the others had given in.

Ge Juan also overheard the whispers, her face turning various shades of red with anger.

It was frustrating, but there was nothing to be done. This was the price of backing down.

At first, they had shown no mercy to Tang Xiao.

Now, getting laughed at by others was entirely their own fault.

“Alright, Tang Xiao, let’s go,” Wei Changhe called.

Tang Xiao walked down from the podium and, as he passed Tang Yuan, he glanced at her.

But Tang Yuan quietly said to him, “Tang Xiao, even though we didn’t catch you today, what you’ve done will eventually have consequences.

Also, academic competitions are for the truly intelligent, so you should put away those petty tricks.”

Tang Xiao replied, “You’ll know who the truly intelligent one is tomorrow. But as for what happened today, I’ve remembered it.”

His tone was light, almost emotionless, as if speaking about something unrelated to him.

Tang Xiao and Tang Yuan brushed past each other.

As she watched him walk away, Tang Yuan felt an inexplicable, mysterious sensation about him.

It left her in disbelief. Tang Yuan had been in business for many years, and she had met all kinds of people. What kind of person hadn’t she seen?

She had only felt this way with true ruthless people, with the strong.

How could Tang Xiao give her this feeling?

It was Tang Xiao, after all.

Tang Yuan looked at Tang Xiao’s retreating figure.

It must be an illusion. It had to be an illusion!