14 : Tall

 Because Chen Zhoumu stumbled back several steps when he fell, both of them were stunned. Song Shi suddenly looked up.

He didn't need a mirror to know his ears were definitely bright red. He got up without even glancing at the other's face and quickly ran to the bathroom.

Chen Zhoumu looked at the other's flustered appearance, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily. The sensation of the other's breath hitting his face lingered.

He quickly adjusted his position, his heart pounding wildly.

The heat slowly spread to his neck. Chen Zhoumu looked down, covered his eyes, and muttered, "Damn."

Song Shi washed his face countless times, his right cheek rubbing red and swollen. He braced his hands on the sink, water running down his chin and pressing against it.

The feeling of what he had just touched on his face still lingered.

He rubbed his face irritably, thinking that he didn't want to see the other's face again for a while.

But the next second, the other person appeared at the door. Chen Zhoumu leaned against the toilet door: "Stop washing, your face will peel if you keep washing."

He took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

Song Shi took it without saying a word.

"I shower every day, I'm not that dirty," Chen Zhoumu explained.

Song Shi unconsciously looked down: "Cough, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Chen Zhoumu saw that she was still staring and walked forward: "What? Does Dr. Song want to check me out?"

"Get lost."

Song Shi threw the tissue into the trash can, and the scene from earlier flashed through her mind again.

Damn, what did that person eat to grow up like that?

Not far away, Shen Yihan put away her phone. Tang Ze just came out of the toilet and saw her holding her phone: "What are you filming?"

Shen Yihan looked at the video on her phone: "Nothing, there's a sweet and sour pork place nearby that you like."

*

The last exam was a choice between two subjects. Song Shi and her classmates were science students, so the afternoon exam was physics.

Half an hour before the second half of the exam, the proctor began to verify ID cards and admission ticket numbers. Song Shi's ID card was stuffed into her coat pocket.

It's been raining a lot lately, making it a bit chilly. He's prone to feeling cold, so he'd put on a jacket.

As he took out his ID card, something fell out of his pocket. Before he could even look down, someone behind him shouted, "Report! Someone's cheating!"

The moment the words left his lips, everyone in the exam hall looked over, and the proctors rushed over.

This joint exam was extremely important and couldn't be taken lightly, so upon hearing the commotion, the two proctors inside the classroom and the roving proctor outside all crowded around.

A bespectacled teacher picked up the item from the floor; it was a sheet of paper covered in physics formulas.

He looked sternly at Song Shi, who was sitting in his seat.

"Quiet! Everyone else, continue the exam."

He tapped Song Shi's shoulder. "Student, please come out for a moment."

Song Shi gave the person who had spoken a cold look and followed the proctor out.

"This isn't mine," he said, leaning against the wall, staring at the paper.

"We'll check the surveillance footage. Please write down your exam number and school. If it's not yours, we'll clear your name. If it is, all your exam scores will be invalidated."

Song Shi pressed the soft flesh in his mouth, looking at the words "disciplinary violation" on the pen handed to him. Wasn't this a clear case of them assuming the thing was his?

"I didn't cheat."

"Write down your information first. We'll investigate after the exam."

Song Shi took the pen expressionlessly and wrote it down.

The teacher in front of him scoffed, "No. 1 High School?"

"Then it's nothing unusual." The assistant proctor standing to the side sized up Song Shi.

Song Shi squinted at the person in front of him. The other person composed himself: "Go in and take the exam first, don't waste time."

After the last bell rang, people around occasionally glanced at the person sitting at the back of the exam hall.

Song Shi expressionlessly organized his things. The person in front of him turned around and looked at the composed Song Shi, asking, "Aren't you worried?"

Song Shi paused in his work without answering.

Shen Yihan nodded: "I transferred some things to you, as a favor to Tang Ze."

"What's your relationship with him?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

The two looked at each other.

Shen Yihan narrowed his dark eyes, looking at the person who was peeking out from outside.

"We're dating."

Song Shi was stunned for a moment, watching the other person's back, watching him naturally take Tang Ze's hand, the person being held struggled for a moment, then let her.

So his actions a few days ago were completely unnecessary?

*

In no time, the news that Song Shi was found cheating in the exam room spread to several schools.

It was already evening when they returned to No. 1 High School. He Xi watched Song Shi being called away by Jiang Man, then looked at the person who seemed to be doing nothing, tidying up someone's desk.

"Brother Mu, what exactly happened?"

Chen Zhoumu looked up at him. "What happened?"

"It's about the cheat sheet. Of course, I definitely believe Song Shi."

Chen Zhoumu rearranged the man's books. "Anyone with a brain can see that. With Song Shi's grades, why would he need to cheat?"

In the office, Jiang Man looked at the photo on her phone. It showed the contents of the cheat sheet—dense physics formulas. She looked at the man standing opposite her. "This isn't yours."

Song Shi glanced down. "No."

Jiang Man seemed relieved. "Okay, I'll handle this. Don't let this affect your mood."

Song Shi paused. "You believe me?"

Jiang Man smiled. "You're my student. If I don't believe you, who else can I believe? I just need to confirm that this wasn't written by you."

Her phone had been bombarded with messages the moment the joint exam ended, all about Song Shi being caught cheating. She noticed the handwriting did resemble his.

But she trusted the boy. With Song Shi's dazzling grades, he didn't need to do such things.

However, this only proves that Song Shi's grades weren't faked; being caught carrying cheat sheets during the exam would still be blown out of proportion.

Song Shi took out his phone and opened Yu Tangze's chat history. The latest message was a video, forwarded to him by that girl using Tangze's account.

He handed the video to Jiang Man.

Jiang Man was shocked for a moment before recovering: "Give me the video, and I'll show No. 3 Middle School who's truly shameful."

Because of the post, all the examiners finished grading all the papers within two days after the joint exam, and the matter of Song Shi bringing cheat sheets was put aside.

After all the results are released, the teachers will bring out a report card and a ranking list.

Jiang Man looked at the report card in her hand.

First place: Chen Zhoumu, total score 743, Xiacheng No.1 Middle School.

Second place: Shen Yihan, total score 739, Xiacheng No.1 Middle School.

Third place: Chi He, total score 728, Xiacheng No.3 Middle School.

Fourth place: Ji Huayi, total score 699, Xiacheng No.3 Middle School.

On the other report card, she saw Song Shi's score.

Chinese 138, Math 150, English 144, Science 278, total score 710. Logically, he should be ranked fourth, but he wasn't on the joint exam ranking list. This confirmed that Song Shi had cheated.

Jiang Man took out her phone and made a call.

He Xi sat in the classroom, frowning as she browsed the online forum. Today was the day the results were released, and the Song Shi matter was still unresolved.

Sure enough, it was a complete mess online.

This morning, the official website of No. 3 Middle School posted a message: "[Due to Song's violation of exam cheating, the teachers have decided that all of his/her scores will be invalidated and he/she will not be included in the joint exam ranking. This is a warning. All students are requested to abide by the rules!]"

Attached was a surveillance video showing Song dropping the cheat sheet in the exam room.

[1st Floor]: Before the exam, everyone was saying how awesome he was. So this is how he got there!

[2nd Floor]: I thought he was so amazing, but it turns out he got there purely by cheating.

[3rd Floor]: I knew someone who can transfer to No. 1 Middle School couldn't possibly have good grades. So what if he/she is handsome? No. 1 Middle School is going to lose

face this time. [4th Floor]: Making conclusions before even investigating?

[5th Floor]: Even if Song's scores don't count, isn't first place still our No. 1 Middle School's? And second place too.

[6th Floor]: Why the hell are you making conclusions? Did he put the cheat sheet in his/her own pocket himself, or was someone else framing him?

[7th Floor]: Still trying to argue? They checked the security footage, and he fell out on his own. You guys from No. 1 High School say he's incredibly good at academics, but who knows if he used these kinds of methods to get his grades

...

Zhang Jingxiao was so angry she was about to faint from scrolling through the posts. Everyone was talking about Song Shi's past grades, but anyone who searched his previous schools would know it was impossible.

She registered a new account.

[Bujuexiao]: Does Song Shi, with such good grades, need to do these things? Anyone with a brain can figure that out.

[178th Floor]: What are you even thinking about? Cheating is cheating. You got caught, what's there to argue about?

[Bujuexiao]: He got 89 in physics. Even if it were an open-book exam, you couldn't get that high a score.

[199th Floor]: Exactly, Song Shi's multiple-choice score is higher than your total physics score.

[230th Floor]: But that doesn't excuse the fact that he didn't bring the cheat sheet.

Before the incident could even gain traction, the official website of No. 1 High School posted two consecutive messages: 【Clarification [Video]】 and 【Apology [Video]】.

The first video was a zoomed-in shot of Song Shi standing under the teaching building of No. 3 High School. A person in a white T-shirt bumped into him, and the camera zoomed in again.

The person stuffed something into Song Shi's pocket, and the video stopped at that moment, clearly showing a crumpled piece of paper.

The second video consisted of two surveillance videos. One was a continuation of the previous one, and the surveillance angle clearly showed a corner of the crumpled paper peeking out, with an "X" on it, matching the one on Song Shi's cheat sheet.

The second video showed Song Shi being called out, and everyone heard the conversation between the two teachers.

"No. 1 High School?"

"Then it's nothing unusual."

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