CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53 PLAGIARISM

Rong Zhi sat upright, his back straight as bamboo, his lowered eyes and penmanship forming a pleasing scene.

Old Li glanced up by chance and came to a conclusion in his heart.

Twenty minutes later.

Rong Zhi put down his pen, flipped the test paper front and back to confirm there were no mistakes, then returned it to Old Li, "Teacher, I’m finished writing."

Old Li’s tea-drinking motion halted, nearly choking him; he coughed twice and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, surprised, "Finished writing?"

Not to mention the difficulty of the questions, but observing Rong Zhi from start to finish without even asking for scrap paper, writing directly on the test paper, could it be he submitted some scribbled nonsense?!

Old Li’s suspicious gaze fell on the test paper.

Regardless of whether the answers were correct, the vigorous and graceful handwriting on the test paper earned his admiration.

They say handwriting reflects the person; just seeing a few characters, even if the answers were wrong, improved his mood for marking.

Seeing him start to grade the paper, Rong Zhi tidied up the desk, his voice light and cool, "Teacher, I’ll return to the classroom first."

Old Li waved his hand, "Go ahead."

Meanwhile, at Jing University.

"Lu Si, the assessment results will be out in half an hour, are you nervous?" a familiar classmate Zhou Xixi asked Lu Si.

Lu Si was sorting out design drafts, upon hearing this, finished the last stroke, a gentle smile appearing on his face, "Not nervous."

Zhou Xixi nodded, smiling as he patted his shoulder, "Exactly, after all, Little Zhao Hecheng didn’t earn his name lightly, this time you’re sure to get a spot."

"Pfft."

As the words fell, a light scoff came from before them.

"Shi Yao, what’s the deal?" Zhou Xixi looked displeased at the girl who made the sound.

Shi Yao wagged a finger, lips curving up with a hint of mockery, "Laughing at some people overestimating themselves, without the skills, they shouldn’t take on such work. Is Little Zhao Hecheng a name just anyone can bear?"

Zhou Xixi frowned, "Shi Yao, who are you being sarcastic about here? The title fits Lu Si rightfully, and you being sour won’t change that."

"Me, sour about him?" Shi Yao seemed to hear a funny joke, the disdain in her smile growing, "Just a reputation boosted by others, does he really think he’s got the skills?"

"If he’s really that good, then why did I hear he didn’t even get an A this time on his experiment?"

The Engineering College’s assessment scores are divided into two kinds: written exams are graded on a scale of 100, and experiments are level-graded.

Zhou Xixi hadn’t spoken yet, Lu Si furrowed his brows, puzzled, "Where did you hear that from?"

Shi Yao rolled her eyes at his words, "The whole department’s talking about it!"

"Lu Si, let me tell you, if you don’t have the skills, don’t flaunt the reputation. Look at Rong Qichuo, his experimental score is rumored to be an S+, and his mechanical design was rushed to the Engineering College for research overnight!"

"His scores surpass yours by a lot without being as high-profile as you."

Lu Si was a bit surprised.

Rong Qichuo got an S+?

But his highest experimental score before was only an A+.

Did he suddenly have a breakthrough?

He wanted to ask further, but the teacher had already entered the classroom, with Lin Qiming at his side.

They were here to announce the scores and the openings in the Engineering College.

Lu Si momentarily set aside his thoughts, looking at the two on stage with some excitement.

The teacher scanned the students in the tiered classroom, and upon seeing Rong Qichuo sitting upright, nodded with satisfaction before speaking, "I know you are all eager to hear the results, so I won’t keep you waiting."

He connected to the computer and opened the score sheet.

Lu Si looked directly at the top three.

The list showed rank, name, and two scores.

1. Rong Qichuo. 92. S

2. Chen Zijie. 89. A+

3. Zhou Xixi. 88. A+

...

22. Lu Si. 98. None

Lu Si’s gaze kept moving downward, and upon seeing himself ranked twenty-second with the capitalized ’None’ in the experimental score column, he was instantly shocked silent.

Why was it ’None’??

Everyone in the classroom had heard of Lu Si’s name, and seeing this result, all turned to look at Lu Si.

Either shocked or disdainful, they were all astonished.

The teacher on the stage also glanced down, meeting Lu Si’s bewildered eyes, he sighed slightly in his heart and then sternly said, "Lu Si, come to my office with me."

After speaking, he didn’t announce the openings for the Engineering College and left the classroom with Lin Qiming.

Lu Si furrowed his brows, he didn’t believe it; he knew his mechanical design well enough that, though he might not get an S+, achieving an S was definitely possible. Combined with his exam scores, he should’ve been in the top three.

Harboring endless questions, Lu Si walked out of the classroom under various gazes.

In the office, Teacher Chen, who had called Lu Si, laid out two photos and analysis data on the table.

Lu Si knocked on the door, Teacher Chen looked up, "Come in."

He pointed at the two sets of data, saying, "Take a look first, and if you find anything wrong, speak up."

Lin Qiming was sitting to the side, tapping away on his phone as if chatting with someone.

Lu Si nodded, lowered his gaze, and picked up the two sets of data. A glance revealed that the parts used in the early stages and the calculations were extremely similar, only differing in minor adjustments.

Moreover, Lu Si was very familiar with the analysis data of this piece.

"Is this my Protective Heart Device?" he puzzled aloud.

Because Old Sir Lu suffered from heart disease, often suddenly experiencing pain, and being old suffered a lot, Lu Si aimed to research a mechanical design beneficial to the elderly that alleviated heart pain.

He conducted extensive research, and during the experimental exam, he used his limited parts to make a simple Protective Heart Device.

The data of the Protective Heart Device was ingrained in his mind, impossible to forget.

Yet, the one on the left was his Protective Heart Device, what was the one on the right?

"Figured it out?" Teacher Chen rapped on the table, speaking seriously, "The data of another student’s work that participated in the assessment is similar to yours by over ninety percent, do you have anything to explain?"

Lu Si froze at the words.

What did this mean? Plagiarism?

"This is my simplified version of the Protective Heart Device," Lu Si placed his own data on the table, "As for the other one, teacher, I have reason to suspect that student of plagiarizing my work."

"What a coincidence." Who knew, just as he finished, Teacher Chen spoke, "He said the same thing and even showed us the final draft of the work."

Teacher Chen brought out the Protective Heart Device’s final draft.

Lu Si glanced at it, immediately shocked internally.

This was his design draft! Yet the handwriting wasn’t his!

Lu Si’s hands were trembling.

"No, impossible..."

And at this moment, there was another knock on the office door, Teacher Chen raised his voice, "Come in."

"Teacher, you called for me."

It was Rong Qichuo who entered, he glanced at the data on the table, then at Lu Si, understanding dawning on him, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.

"So the one who plagiarized my work is Lu." he said with a half-smile.

Lu Si’s heart shook, loudly refuting, "I didn’t plagiarize! The Protective Heart Device is originally my work! I have its drafts, the dates on them can prove it was my design!"

Teacher Chen wasn’t unreasonable, so he immediately let Lu Si return to the dorm to fetch the drafts.

Rong Qichuo watched Lu Si’s departing figure, a look of ambition and disdain flashing in his eyes.

Lin Qiming looked up, glancing between them, fingers ceaselessly tapping on the keyboard — [Teacher Rong, I’m still at Jing University, something came up here. I’ll come to fetch you as soon as I’ve dealt with it!]