Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Hearing that the surveillance cameras were working again, the grade head hurried over to check.
She saw that the monitor indeed showed the scene on the third floor. While surprised, she quickly remembered her business and asked the two support staff, “When did the surveillance cameras start working? Can we see the footage from the last exam?!”
“Yes. Judging from the time, it should have been after school last night… It suddenly started working late at night.” The support staff said while adjusting the cameras, “Maybe a sudden power outage in the school building after school fixed the short circuit in this line?”
The two teachers weren’t very knowledgeable about wiring, but that didn’t dampen their joy at the cameras suddenly working.
“It’s good that everything looks normal, otherwise I would have thought something supernatural had happened, hahaha!”
The support staff tried to ease the tension between them, but the grade head didn’t care how the video worked.
She only cared about what she could see on the screen. She had the two support staff pull up the surveillance footage from today’s Chinese exam, first setting the time to the “near the end of the exam” point that Tang Hongbo had mentioned.
The camera panned across the students answering questions, and Yan Han, though among them, was easy to spot.
Even though everyone was wearing the same uniform, and most students had their heads down, Yan Han, with his long arms and neck, slender upper body, and neat short hair, still stood out.
In the fast-forwarded footage, Yan Han didn’t make any improper movements until the exam bell rang.
He diligently answered the questions from beginning to end; in fact, it was clear from the video that both his hands remained on the table the entire time.
“Tang Hongbo, you said you saw Yan Han cheating. When exactly did you see it?” the grade head asked in a stern voice.
She was now brewing her anger.
“This… I really don’t remember. I didn’t check the time, teacher…” Since learning that the surveillance cameras were working, Tang Hongbo’s face had turned deathly pale, as if coated with cement dust.
He didn’t go into the monitoring room; he stood at the door, leaning against the wall, as if he might collapse at any moment.
The grade head gave him a sharp look, then instructed the support staff, “Adjust the time forward a bit more.”
“Adjust it again.”
“…Adjust it forward!”
Her voice filled with rage, the grade head abruptly turned to Tang Hongbo, saying, “The time we see now is an hour since the papers were handed in, and Yan Han still hasn’t made any of those hand gestures you mentioned. What’s going on? Tang Hongbo, you better explain yourself!”
Tang Hongbo’s face was now deathly pale, his lips trembling. He wanted to speak, but due to extreme panic and shock, his throat was shaking, and he couldn’t utter a sound.
Before he could even make a sound, he was interrupted by another voice.
Yan Han said, “Teacher, can we play it again?”
“…What do you want to see?” Although the grade head asked this, she still gestured for the support staff to play the last hour’s worth of time again.
“Although the high-speed magnification makes it a little harder to see clearly, Yan Han’s hand never left the desk. If it had, it would have been very obvious. We couldn’t have mistaken it,” said the teacher who had checked Yan Han’s paper earlier, assuming Yan Han wanted to check it again because he was worried others hadn’t seen it clearly.
He was a physics teacher who taught other classes and hadn’t taught Yan Han, but he had heard of this student and always looked down on him, thinking that such a “famous” student couldn’t possibly be a good student; he was just trying to gain fame. Until he saw the student’s test paper, the fact that all the questions were answered correctly along with the neat handwriting were the reasons that changed his mind.
Now, seeing the student’s serious attitude during the exam, he completely sided with Yan Han. He didn’t believe that a student who took the exam so seriously would cheat.
Unexpectedly, Yan Han said, “This time, I want everyone to see what Tang Hongbo did.”
As soon as he said this, the others naturally found Tang Hongbo according to their exam seats.
In the video, Tang Hongbo was engrossed in writing his Chinese exam paper. His attitude was very serious; he even finished writing the essay ten minutes before the deadline, then hurriedly flipped the paper to check for spelling mistakes in his earlier poems and other passages.
Because of his seriousness, it was clear that Tang Hongbo never glanced in Yan Han’s direction.
Yan Han turned to Tang Hongbo at the door and asked, “According to you, you saw me stuffing things into the desk behind you, and then you hesitated about whether to give me a chance or tell the teacher. But why is there absolutely no evidence of that in the video?”
The grade headmaster impatiently said, “Tang Hongbo, what’s going on? Tell the truth now!”
Tang Hongbo tried to explain, but this time he couldn’t think of a reason.
He hadn’t expected the surveillance, which he had just checked before school ended yesterday, to suddenly start working! Because he hadn’t expected the monitoring device to be working, he hadn’t even bothered to act; and he hadn’t even looked up at Yan Han during the Chinese exam.
As the top student in Class 10, he valued every exam.
Even monthly exams were opportunities for him to test his abilities and adapt to the exam environment. He was always serious, so how could he possibly be spying on Yan Han!
After all… all the evidence against Yan Han for cheating was fabricated.
Yan Han hadn’t cheated at all.
His pale face flushed red again, but Yan Han didn’t press him further. Instead, he continued to ask, “Teacher, can you move the surveillance footage back a bit?”
“Since when do you want to see it?” the logistics teacher asked.
Yan Han slightly curled his lips, his handsome face appearing cold and cruel because of this expression. Then he said, “I want to see exactly when this note was placed in the desk.”
The logistics teacher understood what he meant and simply switched the video to the time when the surveillance suddenly stopped working last night and started playing it on fast.
At this moment, the head of the grade simply closed the door to the monitoring room and personally blocked the doorway, making it clear that no one could leave or enter until they figured out what was going on.
Trapped in the monitoring room, Tang Hongbo’s eyes widened in terror.
The video quickly shifted from darkness to dawn; nothing seemed amiss overnight. Then, around 6:10 AM, under the watchful eyes of everyone, a student appeared alone in Class 14’s classroom.
The video showed him heading straight for the desk where Yan Han was taking his exam.
Reaching the desk, he glanced towards the front and back doors to make sure no one was around before crouching down and slipping several pieces of paper into the desk drawer behind Yan Han.
To ensure they weren’t hidden deep enough, he carefully checked them again, placing them at an angle that wouldn’t be noticed unless someone specifically searched the room.
As soon as he straightened up, the logistics teacher expertly paused the video, giving the shifty-looking student a close-up.
The shot wasn’t very clear, but Yan Han was certain he didn’t recognize the student in the school uniform.
The school building opened promptly at 6:10 AM, but few people went that early.
Even Yan Han, who had recently started studying early, usually studied in his dormitory. Students on duty usually didn’t arrive at the building until after 6:30 AM, and since it was exam day and there was no duty, this person’s early appearance in the building was highly suspicious.
However, Yan Han’s focus wasn’t on the student who had hidden the note.
He was confident the teachers would find him soon.
One teacher said, “Every classroom is locked. It’s obvious he had a key to Class 14; he’s from Class 14!”
Class keys weren’t for everyone; only the students on duty that week and class officers had them.
To investigate who this student was, all they had to do was ask the class monitor of Class 14 who had the key. Besides, the entire building’s surveillance cameras were now operational; finding this person would be a piece of cake.
Another teacher in charge of administration, sitting next to the grade head, immediately went out to make a phone call.
The physical evidence had now been overturned, proving that these notes had absolutely no connection to Yan Han. But thinking about it the other way around… since the physical evidence was forged, it was clear that the previous witness testimonies were also highly questionable.
In the dimly lit monitoring room, under the watchful eyes of several pairs of people, including Yan Han and the grade head, Tang Hongbo’s legs went completely weak.
“Even if time was tight and the surveillance footage wasn’t complete, it’s already proven that these cheat sheets didn’t belong to Yan Han…” The grade head began, “Tang Hongbo, so all that stuff you told me before, like seeing it with your own eyes and that it would be too late if we didn’t catch her, was all made up? You kid…”
“Not only made up,” Yan Han said expressionlessly, “I didn’t even know there were cheat sheets in the desk behind me, so how did Tang Hongbo know?”
His words reminded the other teachers that Tang Hongbo’s actions were no longer limited to simply framing a classmate!
Considering his previous confident statements, if he wasn’t certain something would be found in the desk behind him, how could he have been so certain?
So it was clear that Tang Hongbo knew from the beginning that a classmate would put cheat sheets in their desk beforehand, thus framing someone else!
“Tang Hongbo!” The grade head was completely enraged this time. Her gaze towards Tang Hongbo was filled with scrutiny and shock, her tone a mixture of anger and disbelief: “I can’t believe a student like you could be so vicious! Come on, tell me, what grudge does Yan Han have against you? You, or rather, you all, planned such a huge conspiracy to deal with a classmate!”
The other teachers were equally shocked: “I can’t believe this child is so young… and already so malicious. This whole operation was clearly premeditated! If the surveillance cameras hadn’t suddenly started working, Yan Han would have been in deep trouble.”
“Exactly, what’s wrong with kids these days? What will they be like when they grow up in society!”
Normally, teachers wouldn’t comment on their students in front of others, but this was just too horrifying. After learning the truth, even the adults present felt a chill run down their spines.
The support staff were still whispering among themselves, but the physics teacher spoke quite rudely. He roared, “If students like this stay in school and graduate smoothly, what kind of people are we sending to society! Director, I think this matter must be dealt with seriously!”
Actually, the dean’s expression said it all, even without his words.
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