Chapter 12

The reason the arts group teachers chose Ying Nian as the host was clear. Not only was she an excellent student, but she was also attractive, and most importantly, her demeanor was poised and confident. She was the perfect representative of the school’s students.

Ying Nian arrived at the venue early. The speech competition was scheduled to begin at two o’clock, but she was already there by five minutes to one.

The judges of the speech competition and various leaders from the city’s education bureau began arriving, accompanied by the principal of Seventh High School and other officials who showed them to their seats. The event started promptly at two o’clock. Ying Nian, along with a senior male student who was co-hosting, followed the rehearsed sequence to guide the event.

The competition rules dictated that contestants would compete in groups of three. After each group finished, their scores would be announced, with the highest and lowest scores discarded, and the final score being the average of the remaining scores.

Among the audience, there were a few students wearing uniforms from other schools—participants in the competition—but most of the seats were filled with students in Seventh High School uniforms.

Jiang Jiashu, who usually disliked attending such events, had come this time. He even greeted Ying Nian before the event started. Not only did he come himself, but he also dragged a few friends along to support her, leaving Ying Nian both amused and exasperated.

In addition, Guo Li was also seated in the audience. Although she didn’t greet Ying Nian, they briefly made eye contact as Guo Li sat in a relatively front position.

Everything proceeded smoothly.

When Xue Feifei took the stage, she passed by Ying Nian. Ying Nian remained calm, focused on the program sheet in her hand, not even sparing Xue Feifei a glance.

It wasn’t until the scores of the final group were announced that something unusual happened.

This was Ying Nian’s segment, and the male co-host didn’t take the stage. After announcing the scores, Ying Nian didn’t step down. The teachers in the audience gestured for her to leave the stage, but she ignored them.

“Normally, after announcing the scores, I should be stepping down, but I have something to say that will take up a few minutes of everyone’s time,” Ying Nian said, looking around the audience with a slight smile. “I’d like to start by apologizing to everyone.”

This unexpected move left all the teachers from Seventh High School stunned. The judges and the education bureau leaders, unsure of what was happening, reacted with a mix of confusion—some adjusting their glasses, others showing puzzled expressions—all turning their attention to the stage.

Ying Nian looked out at the audience and spoke with conviction: “The National High School Students’ Speech Competition has always upheld its principles, and has been held for many years. The first line in the participant handbook clearly states—’The principle of fairness and justice will never change.’ I believe that the judges and those who have participated in this competition are well aware of this.”

“What I want to say is that today’s competition has violated this principle; it is unfair!”

“As someone who has participated in this competition three times and placed in each of those years, I am here to challenge the judges and the leaders of the education bureau!”

These unscripted words were like a boulder dropped into the water, causing a huge ripple throughout the room.

Ying Nian noticed that her Chinese teacher, seated in the audience, looked momentarily panicked, while Xue Feifei, sitting among the contestants, was also stunned. Some teachers seemed to want to intervene and stop the situation from escalating, but Ying Nian’s sharp eyes caught their movements.

“To the teacher over there, please don’t unplug the microphone. I—”

Before she could finish her sentence, the microphone was disconnected.

Some people in the audience looked relieved, but then they saw Ying Nian smile. Unhurriedly, she pulled open the podium drawer and took out a medium-sized megaphone.

“BEEP—”

The shrill power-on sound echoed throughout the venue.

As the host, Ying Nian had arrived early, and with people moving around the venue before the event, no one had noticed when she took something out of her bag and placed it in the drawer.

Ying Nian, who was well prepared, apologized to the audience and her voice now amplified through the megaphone: “Since the teachers won’t let me use the microphone, I’ll have to use this instead.”

Several teachers from Seventh High School were dumbfounded, especially the one who had unplugged the microphone. Ying Nian noticed her Chinese teacher frantically signaling to other teachers, shouting things like “Pull her down quickly!”

Ying Nian’s expression became serious as she unfolded the petition she had written herself and began to read it out, word by word:

“To the Judges of the Speech Competition and the Leaders of the City Education Bureau, I am Ying Nian, a first-year student at Seventh High School. In this speech competition, our school’s teachers have stripped students of the right to register independently and have instead decided the participants through private evaluations. I have objections to this.”

“I believe the following points are unreasonable: First, the specific criteria for evaluation were not clearly stated.”

“Second, stripping students of the right to register independently infringes upon the rights of many students at our school.”

“Third…”

“…”

“In summary, the actions of certain responsible teachers at our school severely violate the principles of ‘fairness and justice’ that the National High School Students’ Speech Competition upholds. As one of the students who has been deprived of this right, and out of my love for public speaking and a desire to defend my own rights, I hereby request that the judging committee conduct a thorough investigation.”

Ying Nian spoke clearly, and finished everything she had written on her petition before the teachers could react. As several teachers rushed onto the stage, she calmly added a final statement:

“As the initiator of this inquiry, I am willing to be the first to undergo investigation by the judging committee. I have achieved several awards in this competition, and if there is even the slightest evidence of fraud in these achievements, I am prepared to accept any punishment, including the revocation of awards and expulsion.”

The venue fell silent for a couple of seconds.

Jiang Jiashu was stunned by Ying Nian’s bold move, but he quickly regained his composure and started clapping vigorously, and proclaimed loudly, “Well said—!” He immediately turned to the group of friends he had dragged along, whispering urgently, “Don’t just stand there—start clapping too!”

Ying Nian’s friends, snapping back to reality, joined in with enthusiastic applause and cheers:

“…That’s right!”

“Well said!”

“…”

With this group leading the way, the venue erupted in applause. Some students even whistled, and the long, piercing sound echoing under the ceiling.

Guo Li was among those clapping.

In the past, despite competing alongside Ying Nian and even when Ying Nian had defeated her with overwhelming superiority, Guo Li had never applauded her.

But today was different; she hadn’t expected Ying Nian to be so bold.

After reflecting on it, Guo Li realized that if she had been the one on stage, she wouldn’t have been able to say those words. Privately approaching the principal was already the furthest extent of resistance she could imagine. To stand in front of so many important figures and challenge “authority” without fear—this was something that not just Guo Li, but probably no one else in Seventh High School, would have dared to do.

She was convinced.

This time, she genuinely admired Ying Nian.

…

The judges, leaders from the education bureau, and school officials all headed to the conference room. After being “caught” on stage, Ying Nian was also taken there. The door to the conference room was closed, and Ying Nian waited around the corner, facing a storm of reprimands from her Chinese teacher.

“You’ve caused such a big scene! You’ve ruined the entire competition! Do you have any idea how much this will affect our school?!” the teacher scolded.

Ying Nian remained silent.

The teacher continued, “Don’t think that just because you have good grades, you can do whatever you want! I’ve seen plenty of students like you—”

“But I haven’t seen many teachers like you,” Ying Nian suddenly interjected.

The teacher, infuriated, demanded, “What did you just say?!”

Ying Nian met her gaze fearlessly, “I said, as a teacher, your actions are damaging to the ethical standards expected of your profession.”

“You think I’ve damaged my professional ethics? Just because I didn’t let you participate in the competition?”

“First of all, you violated the rules of the speech competition—that’s a fact. Secondly, I don’t care if Xue Feifei’s family is donating a track or whatever. But when you bring up the fact that my father once donated computers to the school and use it to slander me, I can’t stand for it. So I’m standing up for myself.”

A strange expression flashed across the Chinese teacher’s face. She paused for a moment, then tried to regain her composure. “What are you talking about, bringing up baseless accusations like this! Disputes between students should be resolved privately. You’re causing this much trouble over such a trivial matter—what are you thinking…”

As the teacher continued to berate her, Ying Nian found herself too weary to argue back.

There’s no point in debating with someone who doesn’t share your values; some things are simply a waste of words when said to the wrong person.

“Listen carefully,” the Chinese teacher lowered her voice, “when you go in there, you need to tell the judges and leaders that everything you said was just you speaking out of anger, without any evidence! Do you understand?”

Ying Nian raised her eyebrow. “Teacher, can you be reasonable? Let me put it this way: you want me to lie and go against my conscience? That’s not going to happen.”

“You—!” The teacher was furious, raising her hand in anger.

“If you hit me, my parents will definitely hold you accountable. I suggest you think this through,” Ying Nian replied calmly, completely unfazed.

The teacher’s expression shifted several times, her voice trembling with suppressed anger as she continued to threaten, “If you don’t resolve this, you’ll stay here and stand in place until it’s sorted out. You’re not going anywhere!”

“Fine. I’ll stay right here and stand. I won’t go home tonight, or even tomorrow. I’ll stand here until I can’t stand anymore,” Ying Nian said, with a straight back, her gaze clear, and her demeanor unyielding, as if she were ready to face any consequence without fear.

The teacher, at her wits’ end, looked as though her face was about to twist with frustration. She seemed like she wanted to say something else, but just then, the door to the conference room suddenly opened. A teacher stepped out, saw them standing in the corner, and called them over.

—The call was mainly directed at Ying Nian:

“Ying Nian, come in. The judges and the leaders from the education bureau have some questions for you.”

The Chinese teacher became a bit flustered. “Ask her? What does she know? Let me go instead, I—”

“The leaders from the education bureau specifically asked for her,” the teacher who came out to relay the message shook their head and gestured for Ying Nian to come. “Hurry up and come in.”

Ying Nian smiled faintly, remaining calm and composed as she stepped forward.

…

As one of the spectators who witnessed this “big drama,” Jiang Jiashu was once again stunned by Ying Nian.

He was completely in awe. His cousin wasn’t just bold; she was practically a fearless warrior! Within just a few short minutes, her actions had spread throughout the entire school.

Even students who weren’t on campus at the time heard about the shocking incident through various group chats.

[Ying Nian is amazing!]

These four large words became the headline in the school’s online forum. Below it, the thread was flooded with comments from students, all expressing their amazement. Even the younger students from the junior high department, upon hearing the news, flocked to join the excitement, eagerly posting replies:

[Our senior is awesome!]

[Our senior is awesome 1]

[Our senior is awesome 2]

[…]

The number of replies quickly broke into the hundreds, and the post instantly became a hot topic.

Jiang Jiashu, unlike the others who could watch the drama unfold with ease, felt more concerned. After spending some time with Ying Nian, they had developed a bond, a camaraderie of sorts. When he didn’t see her come out of the conference building for a long time, he quickly found a quiet spot to call for reinforcements.

As soon as the call connected, his loud voice nearly burst the eardrum of the person on the other end—

“Uncle! Ying Nian is in trouble! Come quickly!!!!!!”

…

This incident, later referred to by younger students as the “Speech Battle,” lasted a total of seven days. The judges of the National High School Students’ Speech Competition, in conjunction with the local education bureau, launched a city-wide investigation aimed at restoring fairness and integrity to the competition.

The investigation confirmed that there had been inappropriate interactions between Xue Feifei’s parents and her homeroom teacher—who also happened to be Ying Nian’s Chinese teacher. As a result, Xue Feifei’s eligibility to compete was revoked, and a new internal selection process was scheduled. After a new representative was chosen, the inter-school competition would proceed.

The Chinese teacher was dismissed, and in the end, the school did not accept the “donation” from Xue Feifei’s parents.

Additionally, the entire first-year Chinese teaching group, who had been swayed by the Chinese teacher, faced criticism and disciplinary action from the school leadership.

From that point on, a seven-word saying began circulating at Seventh High School:

—”Never, ever, mess with Ying Nian!”