CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 CHEATING

Wangjiang First Middle School.

Zhang Minmin was anxious every day, fearing her little schemes would be exposed by Zhang Tingyu.

After waiting for several days without any action from Zhang Tingyu, Zhang Minmin’s uneasy heart gradually calmed down.

She thought, after all, they were both from the Zhang Family, Zhang Tingyu wouldn’t be so cruel as to expose her, but she became more cautious nonetheless.

On the contrary, Tang Yue and Zhang Tingyu were becoming closer. In the recent exams, the two of them were neck and neck, either Tang Yue ranked first, or it was Zhang Tingyu.

Impossible, how could she improve so quickly?

In English, she believed Tang Yue indeed wasn’t bad, and wondered if it was just talent. Despite studying the same material, Tang Yue always seemed to do better than her.

As for Tang Yue’s good exam results, Xu Zhenzhen was the first to disbelieve. She particularly couldn’t accept that Tang Yue could score so high every time.

Especially after the stealing money incident, Xu Zhenzhen felt isolated by her schoolmates, not having anyone to talk to, even Tian Tian, who previously had a good relationship with her, began to distance herself.

Seeing Tang Yue becoming increasingly popular in class, and with her help, Yang Qingqing becoming closest to Tang Yue and improving her grades the fastest, everyone liked to play with Tang Yue, or ask her how to do their homework.

Tang Yue would always patiently answer. In First Middle School, mentioning Tang Yue, everyone said she was beautiful and had a kind heart.

The jealousy in Xu Zhenzhen’s heart blazed ever stronger.

On the weekend, Xu Zhenzhen was dragged by Liu Li to buy clothes from Tang Mingli. She always used buying clothes as an excuse to chat with Tang Mingli, trying to get closer to him subtly, which Xu Zhenzhen saw through crystal clear.

She was contemptuous of her aunt’s behavior deep down, but she also really enjoyed her aunt’s money. She happily picked out clothes, but her happiness faded as she picked because she saw Tang Yue selling clothes next to her, one piece after another, and the money continuously went into Tang Mingli’s pocket.

Xu Zhenzhen remembered that recently Tang Yue had changed and was not like before, which made her feel even more uncomfortable at heart, even new clothes couldn’t make her happier.

She couldn’t help it; she saw Tang Yue wearing the same clothes and looking better than her.

"Tang Mingli really is a blockhead," Liu Li complained. She hadn’t been sparing with the flirtatious glances towards Tang Mingli, but he either ignored her or was strictly professional, talking only about the clothes when it came to selling them.

As for anything else, Tang Mingli played deaf and dumb, acting as if he didn’t hear a thing.

"Cool uncle, looks like you’re quite the ladies’ man," Tang Yue teased him.

Tang Mingli replied with a pained expression, "Stop it, that classmate’s aunt of yours, whatever perfume she’s wearing, it’s so choking. And that makeup, she looks like a painted clown. Plus, those clothes, wearing so little, you can tell she’s not from a good family."

"Pfft~"

Tang Yue couldn’t help but laugh. If Liu Li knew that her cool uncle not only didn’t remember her name but also found her heavily done makeup distasteful and was choked by the cheap perfume, she wondered if Liu Li would be angry enough to spit blood.

"Cool uncle, you better stay away from her in the future," Tang Yue advised.

Tang Mingli with a disgusted face said, "Tell your classmate not to come here again."

He would rather lose this business than deal with Liu Li.

"Ahem," Tang Yue cleared her throat, "Cool uncle, if you keep ignoring her, she’ll definitely get the hint and back off."

She had to talk to Xu Zhenzhen about this?

She really didn’t want to, fearing it’d be a waste of saliva.

Winter arrived, and she bundled up more, Tang Yue wearing a woolen coat and bell-bottoms, both specially brought for her by Tang Mingli when he stocked up, even claiming they were the latest fashion.

Tang Yue couldn’t help but shake her head, eyeing those bell-bottoms and instantly recalled the future popularity of skinny jeans.

Tang Yue couldn’t bear to refute Tang Mingli’s kindness, plus she now had no time to make clothes for herself, so she made do.

Even so, at school, Tang Yue became a trendsetter in clothing. Whatever she wore was always the loveliest—simple, elegant, and easily emulated, affordable for everyone if they bit the bullet.

Her clothes bore no resemblance to those of Zhang Tingyu, who obviously wore particularly pricy garments. As such, her classmates at most just envied her, never considering dressing like her.

Every time Tang Yue wore something new, it wouldn’t be long before others sported the same outfit at school.

Whenever Tang Mingli saw this, he would buy lots of similar or identical styles when shopping for Tang Yue’s clothes.

Tang Yue felt both helpless and yet recognized Tang Mingli’s shrewd business sense in this respect.

On this day, during an exam, Tang Yue always finished her paper the fastest. She reached into her pocket for a tissue to wipe her runny nose—it was easy to catch a cold in deep winter.

As she reached into her pocket, she felt a lump of something hard and pulled it out with confusion, staring at the small, densely-written cheat sheet. She subconsciously tried to pull it back, but the teacher spotted it right then.

"What’s this?" The teacher snatched the cheat sheet and furiously said, "Tang Yue, we thought you’d been doing quite well lately, but how could you cheat?"

The teacher was fond of Tang Yue and felt heartache upon seeing the cheat sheet, thinking this smart student improved her grades by cheating, which made her heart wrench.

"I didn’t," Tang Yue countered, tearing out a tissue to wipe her nose before saying, "Teacher, I just wanted to wipe my nose; I had no idea this thing was in my pocket."

"You’ve disappointed me deeply," the teacher said, not listening to her and commanded, "Come to the office after class."

As soon as the test ended, the news of Tang Yue’s cheating spread throughout the entire school.

Some thought it was too much for Tang Yue to cheat and score high.

Others believed Tang Yue wouldn’t cheat.

Yang Qingqing and Zhang Tingyu were among those who trusted her.

In the office.

Senior High School’s teachers were all there, some skeptical about Tang Yue cheating, others thought strict punishment was necessary.

Tang Yue kept silent, waiting for the stance of her homeroom teacher, Qin Hong.

"Tang Yue, is this cheat sheet yours?" Qin Hong compared the cheat sheet with her handwriting; it matched hers but was smaller.

Aiming not to wrong any student, Qin Hong seriously inquired.

"No," Tang Yue answered without hesitation, not recognizing the cheat sheet and refusing to admit to it.

"Then why does the handwriting match yours?" Qin Hong’s voice held no suspicion, as if asking a routine question.