Reputation Restored

“The human heart can be so ugly sometimes. These people are bitter and jealous. After all, we got our marks through our own efforts. We all know that nobody leaked the questions to us or anything like that.”

Several students also voiced their agreement with Lin Xin’s words.

“Yes, whatever others may say, I know that I have a clean conscience.”

“I spent a lot of nights studying for the college entrance exams. I never cheated, so what’s there to be afraid of?”

“That’s right. They can slander us all they want, but my exams score has already been released. They can never take that away from me.”

Yao Tang was immensely gratified to see that instead of blaming her, her classmates all expressed their support. Her efforts to help them had not been in vain, after all. Then again, while she might have not leaked the questions themselves, she had still given a lot of lectures beyond what was discussed in class. It certainly gave Class 12 an advantage over the others in their grade. Still, those sessions were all aboveboard, and nothing like the cheating claims on the Internet.

The class didn’t take the issue to heart, and soon put it out of their minds. They turned their attention to picking which restaurant to go to and went on to have a great dinner. They even went to karaoke afterward and caught the light night screening at the movies. By the time they parted, it was already two in the morning.

At that point, the online comments had already changed directions. The council in charge of the exams had spoken up on Yao Tang’s behalf.

“Yao Tang simply set the key points and finalized the questions. She was never privy to the questions beforehand, so she couldn’t have known what the answers were, let alone share them with other students. More importantly, the selection process is a very private session, and we are not allowed any communication with the outside world while it transpires. Let us be the ones to say to you all, Yao Tang was never involved in any cheating shenanigans.

“As for her qualifications, we speak as one when we say that we admire her for her genius. In fact, we are severely lacking compared to her, despite our years of honing our knowledge. If you have any more questions, feel free to come to us directly.”

After the official statement was issued, the professors in question used their personal accounts to rally behind Yao Tang one by one.

Their purpose was straightforward—if seasoned academics like them recognized Yao Tang’s abilities, then how could mere students who had yet to prove themselves question her credentials?

The students were understandably terrified by this response. Most of these professors came from prestigious universities that they had been eyeing to attend, be it for their bachelor’s degree or their post-graduate one. They couldn’t afford to offend these figures of authority and make a bad impression.

And so, Yao Tang’s reputation was restored well before the day was out. Anyone stupid enough to still say something bad about her was immediately attacked by the netizens.

Yao Ran, who was holed up in her apartment, had watched it all unfold online. She gritted her teeth as she scrolled past the most recent update. When the issue had first broken, she had even made a few alternate accounts to slander Yao Tang and push the narrative that she had cheated.

But now, professors from the top universities were defending her. Only a fool would continue to condemn Yao Tang.

Yao Ran threw her phone aside and stared at the ceiling in a daze. “Why do I always lose to you?” she muttered. “At first, I thought that you didn’t take the college entrance exams, but it turned out that the top universities were already competing for your registration. And now, I learn that you were even in charge of setting the questions. And I only scored 550 points! Am I really that bad?”

Yao Ran opened a bottle of wine and drank her sorrows. She needed a plan on how she could maximize the one million she had left.

Just a few months ago, she was still living a carefree life, with her tuition and living expenses amounting to a few thousand per month. She had no shortage of designer clothes and branded accessories.

How could she possibly live like some commoner after that? She would have to work really hard to survive, not to mention close the gap between her and Yao Tang.

Yao Ran fell into a deep sleep shortly after. She had a dream, and in it, she finally passed the exams. She even scored higher than Yao Tang. Her lips curled into a smile.

Yao Tang had now become an obsession.

The next day, Yang Ming woke up to learn that his engagement with Meng Ling was canceled. He was initially outraged, not because he had feelings for the girl, but because he felt insulted by the rejection. Girls were supposed to chase after him, not push him away. Meng Ling should be honored that he had even considered her to be his future wife.