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Chapter 8: It Was Clearly Shen Tan Who Plotted Against the Set Square

Shen Huan was a middle-aged man with graying hair and was 55 years old.

Shen Tan was the only son he had had in middle age, and he spoiled him terribly, never willing to let a single hair on his head be harmed.

Therefore, the moment Shen Huan heard Shen Tan run over crying that Mr. Liu had hit him, he stormed back with the boy to demand justice.

As for the other middle-aged man beside Shen Huan, he walked straight to the lectern after entering the classroom and picked up Lu Li’s test paper to examine it.

“Mr. Liu, you have been an outstanding teacher for many years; how could you strike a student?” Shen Huan narrowed his eyes, his face dark, “The Ministry of Education has long required teachers to instruct with civility and cultivate virtue; is there anything that cannot be settled with words?”

“Alas, your behavior is simply outrageous; it undermines our school’s ethos and violates professional ethics! Write a self-criticism report and wait to be suspended.”

Upon hearing this, the students were all stunned and looked anxiously at Mr. Liu.

Mr. Liu was the best teacher they had ever had, and they did not want him to leave.

Even Shen Tan showed a surprised expression.

Although he was unhappy that Mr. Liu had taken Lu Li’s side, Mr. Liu usually treated him well and looked after him.

He only wanted Mr. Liu to admit his mistake and make Lu Li pay a price; he had never intended for Mr. Liu to be suspended.

But things had reached this point, and he had nothing more to say.

Mr. Liu rose slowly and offered no explanation.

When he had lifted his hand against Shen Tan, he had already been prepared for suspension.

At that moment, Lu Li suddenly spoke up, “Director Shen, one should not act on hearsay. You say Mr. Liu hit Shen Tan; may I ask what evidence you have?”

Shen Huan shifted his gaze to Lu Li and let out a cold laugh, “My son is the most honest child; how could he possibly lie?”

“I repeat, you must base your actions on evidence.” Lu Li spread his hands and looked at Shen Tan with a smile, “Classmate Shen Tan, please show the proof that you were beaten in front of everyone.”

“Fine! I never bend the rules for anyone.” Shen Huan tilted his eyes and said coolly, “Shen Tan, show it to your classmates and make him concede!”

Shen Tan’s mouth twitched, and he covered his backside while looking at his classmates in embarrassment.

How was he supposed to show that…

If he had to bare his butt in front of the class, he would rather die.

He looked timidly at Shen Huan, shook his head, and kept his hands on his rear.

Shen Huan was no fool and quickly realized that his son had been smacked on the buttocks, so taking off his pants was out of the question.

That made Shen Huan even angrier.

Although Mr. Liu had not struck any vital area and had chosen the thick, well-padded buttocks, it was still enough to infuriate Shen Huan.

Which teacher in the school did not know that Shen Tan was Shen Huan’s precious baby?

Hitting Shen Tan’s butt was the same as slapping Shen Huan’s face!

Seeing Shen Huan’s expression shift back and forth, Lu Li laughed again, “Fine, very well; you cannot produce physical evidence, so let us look for eyewitnesses.”

Lu Li fixed his eyes on Shen Tan, “Tell me, who actually saw Mr. Liu hit you?”

Shen Tan stood there speechless; he no longer wished to pursue the matter with Mr. Liu and only wanted to deal with Lu Li.

But Shen Huan would not let it go and shot Shen Tan a fierce glare.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Shen Tan could only mumble, “He hit me right here in class, and the entire class saw it.”

“The entire class saw it?” Lu Li burst out laughing and turned to the students, “I just happened to miss it. Which of you saw it? Please raise your hand and testify for Classmate Shen Tan.”

Mr. Liu had always taught without discrimination, cared deeply for his students, and never looked down on anyone because of grades or background, so he was greatly loved; at this moment not a single person stepped forward to accuse him.

Shen Huan cleared his throat softly, “Students, do not be afraid. If Mr. Liu did something wrong, he should be punished… that is justice. Your active reporting is a good deed, a virtuous act, and the entire school will commend you with certificates and scholarships.”

Shen Huan simply did not believe that there was not a single student in this class who disliked Mr. Liu.

They surely kept silent because Mr. Liu had long held authority in the class and they were afraid of offending him.

With enough reward, some brave soul was bound to step forward.

Tang Yang suddenly stood up, “I saw it!”

Delighted, Shen Huan said, “Excellent! Young man, very good! Tell us, did you see Mr. Liu hit Shen Tan?”

Under the angry stares of his classmates, Tang Yang motioned for them to calm down, lifted his chin, and said smugly, “I saw it. Shen Tan took a dislike to that set square and tried to damage school property, but he tripped over it and landed on it hard, ending up on his rear! If you don’t believe me, pull down Shen Tan’s pants and see whether there’s a set-square imprint on his butt!”

Shen Huan: “???”

Everyone could not help laughing and crying; so Tang Yang was actually friendly fire covering for Mr. Liu!

Shao Linlin let out a huge sigh of relief; if Tang Yang had not spoken fast enough, she would have rushed up just now and hit him with a deadly scissor kick!

She remembered her father once saying that anyone who betrayed brothers in arms should be cut to pieces and die a miserable death!

She hated traitors the most!

The other students followed suit, adding their own embellishments:

“What nonsense is Tang Yang spouting? I clearly saw Shen Tan trying to molest the set square, but he was clumsy and got himself stuck.”

“You’re the one talking nonsense. It’s obvious the set square couldn’t stand Shen Tan’s shamelessness and rushed over to beat him up!”

“…”

“Students…” Mr. Liu, standing to the side, listened with his mouth agape and secretly wiped away tears of laughter.

Lu Li could not hold back his laughter; his classmates must all be excellent cooks, otherwise how could they add so much spice to a story?

The more Shen Huan listened, the more absurd it sounded, and his mood grew irritable; he knew he could no longer go after Mr. Liu, so he turned his gaze on Lu Li instead.

It was all because this kid cheated, causing my son to be beaten! Now he was stirring things up again and keeping me from dealing with Mr. Liu!

Fine, since you’re so capable, let me see how you handle my next move!

“This student, your name is Lu Li, correct? Cheating is no small matter. Surely you’ve learned that a man without credibility cannot stand and that honesty is a citizen’s second ID,” Shen Huan said sarcastically.

He changed his tone, “At such a young age you choose not to learn properly but to cheat! You should be grateful this isn’t the college entrance exam, or I could have you arrested and sentenced right now!”

Whoa, a moment ago he accused Mr. Liu of ruining school ethos, and now he’s saying I’m breaking the law…

Are you some kind of bureaucrat who loves labeling people? Lu Li curled his lips in disdain.

He spread his hands and used the same tactic, “Director Shen, you claim I cheated… what evidence do you have?”

Shen Huan chuckled; he had been waiting for Lu Li to say that!

He stepped aside and invited the other middle-aged teacher beside him to come forward.

The man was impeccably dressed; behind thick lenses his shrewd eyes gleamed darkly. He put down Lu Li’s test paper and said flatly, “This paper is impossible to finish in 40 minutes, yet, Student Lu, you not only completed it but got everything right.”

Lu Li let out a light laugh, “Teacher, there are always people better than you; just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t. Looking at the sky from the bottom of a well only limits your vision.”

Dai Ming froze for a moment; he had been a mathematics professor for over 20 years and had never expected to be lectured by a high school student. Staring at Lu Li, he found it amusing:

“Student Lu is indeed right. How about this: I will set a problem and you will solve it. If you get it correct, I will testify that you did not cheat.”

When Tang Yang heard this, he objected, “That makes no sense. What if the problem you set is very difficult and Lu Li can’t solve it? Just because he could do the problems on that paper doesn’t mean he can solve every problem in the world!”

“You needn’t worry about that at all.” Dai Ming chuckled. “Allow me to introduce myself: I am Dai Ming, a professor in the mathematics department at Yongning University, and I wrote the test paper you just took. I can guarantee on my honor that the problem I am about to set will be fair and will not exceed the difficulty of that paper. Since Student Lu could solve every question on it, he should certainly be able to solve the new one I give. If this Student Lu can solve it, I will vouch that he did not cheat, but if he cannot… sorry, cheating carries penalties, and I hope he will bravely admit his mistake and accept punishment.”

When he had finished speaking, Dai Ming looked at Lu Li with a warm smile. “So, young man, do you dare to answer my question?”

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