Chapter 162: Not Counted as Shen Qing's Achievement

"He likes you, did you know that?" Nie Huan leaned in close to Shen Qing, whispering into her ear.

Shen Qing was momentarily startled, then nodded.

"And you?"

"I don't know."

Nie Huan was not surprised by the answer. Shen Qing never lied, at least never to her. If she said she didn't know, then she truly didn't know.

As soon as Chu Yu and Fatty stepped into the classroom, they saw Nie Huan and Shen Qing huddled together, their faces almost touching. From their angle, it looked as though Nie Huan was kissing Shen Qing.

"Holy shit, Chu Yu, you're done for." Fatty was completely stunned!

As expected, the moment Sister Qing returned, Chu Yu's position was gone.

Chu Yu froze, standing blankly in his tracks. He had no idea how he even managed to make it to his desk.

"You said you don't know, which means you didn't say you don't like him. That must mean you like him just a little bit." Nie Huan's words drifted into Chu Yu's ears, making his heart skip a beat.

Could Sister Huan really have confessed to Sister Qing?

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow and shot Nie Huan a sidelong glance. "You really know how to apply what you've learned on the fly."

***

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the joint entrance examinations were fast approaching.

Early that morning, Xie Mingming was summoned to the conference room for a meeting. The long rectangular table was packed full. The moment he walked in, everyone's eyes fell upon him.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Xie Mingming felt a bit uneasy, sensing that it was nothing good.

Director Yan sat at the head of the table. He glanced at Xie Mingming and said with a smile, "Mr. Xie, please take a seat."

"Right." Xie Mingming found a spot and sat down.

A middle-aged male teacher spoke up first, "Mr. Xie, the ten-school joint examinations are just a couple of days away."

"Yes, I know."

"About Shen Qing's grades..."

Xie Mingming paused. "Just say it. What are you all trying to do?"

Director Yan smiled faintly. "Mr. Xie, the ten-school joint examination concerns the school's reputation. The teachers of the senior year department have unanimously decided to remove Shen Qing from the joint examination roster."

"What?" Xie Mingming gasped in shock, standing straight up.

"Don't be alarmed, Mr. Xie. Shen Qing can still take the exam; it's just that our school won't count her scores."

"But Director Yan, isn't that unfair to Shen Qing?"

A teacher couldn't help but chime in, "Mr. Xie, we don't need to remind you how poor Shen Qing's grades are. Besides, she only came here to study to get a high school diploma anyway. She's a public figure now, and the joint exam scores will be made public. If netizens compare her scores with other students, how much backlash do you think she'll face?"

"I..." Xie Mingming choked, unable to think of a rebuttal.

"Mr. Xie, Shen Qing has been on leave for nearly a month. Having not studied or read books for so long, she probably can't even score a hundred points now."

"That's right. Even the students at the very bottom of the senior year scored nearly four hundred points on the last monthly exam. There's no way Shen Qing can achieve that score, right?"

Xie Mingming bit his lip and looked at Director Yan. "Director, perhaps Shen Qing has made significant progress this time and won't let us down? She is quite clever. Look at how she even earned a military merit; her studies shouldn't be a problem."

"This..." Director Yan found the situation difficult.

"Mr. Xie, no matter how strong her learning ability is, she can't improve by two hundred points in just two days, can she?"

"I might believe it for the national college entrance exam, but there really isn't time for Shen Qing to prepare for this joint exam."

"Mr. Xie, the roster for the joint examination is about to be submitted. Shen Qing can still take the test just like before, except her score won't be attributed to our school. This is for the best for everyone."

Director Yan looked at Xie Mingming's ashen face. "Mr. Xie?"

Xie Mingming pressed his lips together and remained silent for a long moment before speaking in a rather cold tone, "Since you've all already made up your minds, I have nothing more to say."

The teachers present exchanged glances. Xie Mingming added, "Director Yan, I have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."

Director Yan was momentarily stunned. Before he could speak, Xie Mingming walked out of the classroom with a rigid face.

"Were we being too harsh?" a teacher asked.

When they made this decision, no one had informed Xie Mingming in advance.

An older teacher adjusted his glasses and said, "You wouldn't think that if you considered Shen Qing's grades."