Chapter 26: Lu Dingquan Became a Creepy Uncle

Jiang Ning just took a gamble, and she guessed right. Zhou Mansha really did use lipstick to mark the students.

The art troupe took this year’s recruitment very seriously. Unlike last year, all the candidates drew their numbers before going on stage this time. The judges scored based on the numbers, not the names, to ensure fairness and justice and prevent any backdoor deals.

Zhou Mansha came up with this plan, thinking it was flawless and wouldn’t be caught.

When she rushed to the rest room to question Shuangtao, Shuangtao pretended not to know, making Zhou Mansha both angry and resentful, so her words were a bit harsh.

She didn’t expect to be played by a little girl!

“You’re so young and already playing these tricks. Do you think everything will be fine once you get into the art troupe? Little girls like you won’t have a good future in the art troupe. As long as I’m here, you can just wait!”

Shuangtao looked panicked and fearful, obviously scared by the teacher’s scolding. She pleaded softly, her voice choked with tears, “…Teacher Zhou, I, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have argued with you in the small class that day.”

Zhou Mansha remained unmoved, her face cold and gloomy. “Admit it, you did it on purpose, didn’t you? Did you eavesdrop on what Jianhong and I were talking about?”

“I only heard a little bit, I didn’t mean to…” Actually, Shuangtao hadn’t heard anything.

Zhou Mansha laughed angrily, her eyes filled with hatred. “You’re so young, but you’re so cunning!”

Shuangtao’s eyes suddenly changed, and she burst into tears. “Teacher, my mom said we were being disrespectful by not coming to your door with gifts. I heard them say that even those with the highest scores might not be admitted, it depends on the teachers’ overall opinion. Teacher Zhou, please don’t hold this against me. My mom said she’ll definitely invite you to dinner later to make you happy…”

Zhou Mansha was impatient and rudely interrupted. “Don’t say these useless things. Cheng Shuangtao, where’s your sister? Let her come here, I want to talk to her!”

However, as soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt that the noisy rest room had become silent.

Zhou Mansha saw Cheng Shuangtao, who was crying, but there wasn’t a single tear on her face.

She took a deep breath and slowly turned her head.

In the corridor outside, the director of the Jin Fan Art Troupe stood there, his face ashen as he looked at her.

.

Jiang Ning handed the popsicle to Shuangtao. “Congratulations on getting first place.”

Cheng Shuangtao’s face was no longer filled with fear and timidity. Achieving first place with her skills filled the little girl’s eyes with bright confidence. She took the popsicle and said sweetly, “Thank you, sister. Is it already so early for popsicles this year?”

She then looked at Jiang Ning with admiration. “Sister, you actually found the art troupe director! That’s amazing!”

In the little girl’s eyes, the director was a big shot. She couldn’t believe that he actually cared about her and didn’t side with Zhou Mansha.

Outside the theater, dusk was settling. The clouds in the sky floated like silk, and the evening temperature cooled down, but the popsicle was still delicious.

Jiang Ning took a bite of the popsicle and said slowly, “Consider it your teacher’s bad luck. She ran into me today.”

She went to the art troupe director as Shuangtao’s cousin, and since Shuangtao was indeed a good seedling, and she got the highest score in the exam, the director was very appreciative of her talent and immediately took this matter seriously.

In the conversation between Zhou Mansha and Shuangtao, there was no concrete evidence that she was bribing teachers to manipulate the scores, but her private tutoring business was undeniable. It was heard loud and clear.

Currently, the policy strictly prohibits teachers or staff from running private tutoring businesses. Although Zhou Mansha had a background, and the deputy director of the art troupe usually took care of her, the director wouldn’t fall for that.

Moreover, this incident had been brought to the forefront. As an ordinary administrative staff member in the troupe, she dared to privately insult and threaten a student! Abusing her power!

This was a serious ideological problem.

Zhou Mansha was immediately called in for a talk by the director. She stood there, her face turning pale as she was surrounded by many people watching her.

Jiang Ning didn’t intentionally target her. Who told her to do something disgusting and get caught by her? Zhou Mansha’s fate was entirely her own doing.

This matter was considered settled.

Jiang Ning initially just helped the little girl with her makeup, but she didn’t expect things to get so exciting.

Leaving the theater and turning at the intersection, she seemed to see a familiar figure rushing into the theater’s main entrance.

It vaguely looked like Meng Yuanbin.

Jiang Ning withdrew her gaze and walked home with Shuangtao. They were both hungry.

A drop of cool rain fell on her face. She looked up at the sky. “Oops, it looks like it’s going to rain.”

She reminded Shuangtao, “Let’s hurry up.”

But Shuangtao suddenly looked over and whispered cautiously, “Sister, don’t look. There’s a man across the street who’s been staring at us. He seems to be looking at you.”

Jiang Ning: “Huh? What kind of man?”

She kept her gaze forward and didn’t look over there, listening to Shuangtao.

Shuangtao, who was closer to her, observed again and said nervously, “He’s tall and strong, with a beard. He doesn’t look like a good person! What should we do, sister?”

It was getting late, and it was past the time when people got off work, so there weren’t many people on the street. It was easy to feel a little scared.

The little girl’s startled and jittery tone made Jiang Ning feel a little nervous too. She took Shuangtao’s hand. “Let’s go quickly. It’s okay, there are people ahead.”

They quickened their pace.

After walking a short distance, Shuangtao glanced over again and whispered in fright, “Oh no, sister! That creepy uncle is still staring at you… It’s over, he’s coming over!”

“Sister, let’s run!”

Just as Shuangtao was about to call for help in fear, Jiang Ning felt something was wrong. She stopped her hurried steps and suddenly turned around.

The man who was striding towards them appeared in front of her, calling her name:

“Jiang Ning.”

Jiang Ning’s slightly widened eyes, which were filled with alertness, instantly shifted from tension to silence.

“…”

Okay, Lu Dingquan became a creepy uncle.