Chapter 276 - Have You Seen the Exam Paper in Advance?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Ci was startled and was not quite sure why Li Guangyuan had called her over at this time.

‘Is it to ask about my health? Or my half-done paper? Or is it…about the results of the last test?’

In an instant, countless speculations surfaced in her mind, but she still responded, “Yes, Mr. Li. I’ll be right there.”

Ye Ci was about to follow Li Guangyuan and had just taken two steps out, but she then backed up, folded the papers on the table, and stuffed them in her book before she left.

After Ye Ci went out, the students started discussing.

“What did Mr. Li call her for?”

“I don’t know… Maybe because she’s sick?”

“She said that she had gastroenteritis. That’s not very serious, so it shouldn’t be a big deal, no?”

Zhang Yanyan glanced over at Ye Ci’s desk.

She hid her paper so tightly… Is she afraid of letting people see her score?

Ning Li got a perfect score and was not afraid of letting others see her paper.

Ye Ci had only done half the paper but had covered it up so tightly. How interesting...

...

At the office.

Ye Ci went over only to find that the other two lecturers were also present.

Generally, these three teachers would not be in school at the same time, especially Xijing University’s physics professor, Zhu Jingyuan. He had the least classes and would usually leave right after his class.

What was going on today?

“Ye Ci? Have a seat first.”

The one who spoke was the teacher from Capital Fifth High, Zhao Ping.

He had an elegant temperament and was considered the most amiable one among the three teachers.

The feeling of uneasiness in Ye Ci’s heart grew stronger.

It looked like Li Guangyuan was not the only one who had called her here, but these three.

She sat down in the chair next to her.

Li Guangyuan put down the class materials and poured her a glass of water.

“Don’t be nervous. I called you over today because there are some things we want to ask.”

Ye Ci held the disposable cup.

The water inside was warm, but her hands felt cold.

She nodded.

“What do you want to ask me?”

Li Guangyuan and the other teachers looked at each other and seemed to be deliberating how to speak.

Zhao Ping lifted his chin at Li Guangyuan.

It was more appropriate for Li Guangyuan to talk about this matter.

Li Guangyuan thought for a moment before he looked at Ye Ci and asked, “Ye Ci, how do you feel about the winter camp these days? Can you keep up with the course content?”

This question was not meaningful.

They had collectively marked Ye Ci’s two test papers.

Thus, they were clear on her level.

At first, they had doubts about whether Ye Ci had deliberately done poorly on the test.

After all, she had gotten fifth place in M Province, so it had been impossible to get that score.

However, after a few days of observation, they unanimously confirmed that she was clueless.

Ye Ci consistently used the wrong formula and mixed up the steps, so it was too obvious.

They had encountered students who deliberately tested poorly, but judging from the information Yunzhou Second High had sent over, Ye Ci would not do so.

She had always performed very well before.

Besides, Ye Ci had already gotten the fifth place in the province, so why would she deliberately flunk her tests here?

These results would be included in her final assessment. If it was bad, it would inevitably have some impact on the audit from major universities.

There was no benefit to deliberately failing the tests.

Ye Ci’s face stiffened. “It’s...a little difficult to keep up.”

She really could not give another answer in front of these teachers.

Li Guangyuan paused for a moment and finally said, “Ye Ci, how did you get fifth place in your province?”

Ye Ci’s heart jumped. “Mr. Li, what do you mean by that?”

Li Guangyuan waved his hand.

“Don’t misunderstand. We’re just curious because it’s quite strange.”

He said as he took out two papers from the drawer.

“These two papers...one is the preliminary test paper, and the other is the answer sheet of your last test. You only did the types of questions that coincided with the preliminary test, but the other questions were either blank or wrong. Don’t you have anything to say about this?”

Ye Ci was breaking out in cold sweat.

Her face turned red for a while.

What she feared most had really happened.

When the results of the first test came out, Ye Ci had secretly compared it with the preliminary test papers.

She knew that what Li Guangyuan had said was true.

From that time on, she had been afraid that they would catch this.

However, since nothing had happened after a few days, she thought that it could be swept under the rug.

Unexpectedly...

Ye Ci put the glass of water on the table next to her and forced herself to calm down. She asked, “Mr. Li, are you suspecting me of cheating in the preliminary round?”

Li Guangyuan and the others had not expected her to say it so directly, so they were a little stunned.

Ye Ci took a deep breath and continued, “I can guarantee that I didn’t cheat in the preliminary exams! If you still have doubts about this matter, you can investigate it. The examination rooms are all monitored, so if I really did anything I shouldn’t have, it should be caught on camera. In addition, I only went to school and home before and after the exams. I did not do anything other than concentrate on preparing for the exams. You can also check on this.”

She became more confident as she spoke.

“I’m willing to cooperate with any investigation procedures, but if my innocence is proven, I hope that you all can apologize to me.”

Her voice was calm, but it also carried a hint of suppressed anger and grievance.

She sounded like she had been wrongly accused.

‘What did I have to be guilty about? I didn’t cheat during the preliminary round. I only looked at the notebook that Ning Li gave me, which happens to be highly similar to the paper from the preliminary round… In that case, it would be Ning Li who had cheated…’

Seeing her attitude, Zhao Ping comforted her.

“Ye Ci, take it easy. We believe you. The physics competition invigilation is extremely strict, so if someone had done something, it wouldn’t have taken so long to be discovered.”

Li Guangyuan looked at the two papers in his hand.

He had deliberately asked Zhou Fei to check it out before.

However, Zhou Fei had said that Ye Ci did not cheat.

Zhou Fei applied to re-watch the preliminary exam surveillance video with Yunzhou Second High’s school leaders. Throughout the exam, there was indeed nothing unusual about Ye Ci.

Ye Ci had completed that test independently.

If she did not cheat on the spot, it was likely that she had gotten the test paper from other sources in advance.

Thus, they had also checked on Ye Ci’s activity half a month before the exam and found that there was indeed no evidence that she had done such a thing.

Li Guangyuan had then put this aside, intending on waiting for these exam results to see if he had been overthinking it.

However, that half of Ye Ci’s test paper really could not convince him that she could have gotten fifth place in her province at her level.

“Ye Ci.”

Li Guangyuan put the paper down and pointed at the paper. He asked in a deep voice, “Did you see the preliminary exam paper in advance?”