Chapter 117: Zhang Ye’s Reputation Crisis?

Many people began to despise him!

But many clear-minded people refused to believe!

Big Sis Zhou said angrily, “Little Zhang cheated? Bullsh*t!”

“Does Little Zhang even need to cheat?” Auntie Sun was also enraged, “Who reported it? Who is so mean?”

Seeing how Zhang Ye was being defamed, Xiao Lu’s eyes turned red, “We did have ideas! But it was all nonsense! Teacher Zhang relied all on his own ability during the preliminary round!”

Hou Ge also stood up, “Who is so insidious!?”

Zhao Guozhou’s expression sank, “Cheating? Even a fool can see through it. Can ideas from a group of people match that miraculous couplet of Elder Qian? Anyone who knows a bit of literature and couplets would know that this isn’t about having strength in numbers!”

Tian Bin asked, “Someone is setting a trap for Zhang Ye, right?”

“It must be.” Zhao Guozhou inhaled, “They really have vicious intentions!”

Hu Fei suppressed his anger and said, “Some people from the Beijing Writers’ Association have already been reduced to such means?”

Hou Di also thought through it, “It must be them messing with things. They were the ones who reported! The staff who went up just now was from the Beijing Writers’ Association! When he finished speaking, the people from the Couplet Organization were enraged. The judging Teachers seemed to even order him to come down, and stop talking nonsense. The matter is already very clear. This bunch of people from the Writers’ Association are serious in destroying Teacher Zhang’s reputation. By accusing Teacher Zhang Ye for cheating during a live webcast, even if only half of the people believed, Teacher Zhang’s reputation would be gone in the future. Also, by reporting him, they can prevent Zhang Ye from taking part in the final round. Without him, Big Thunder from the Beijing Writers’ Association would probably win the championship!”

Dafei cursed angrily, “Those bunch of grandchildren!”

Only Zhang Ye remained silent. He closed his eyes, but his breathing was hurried. Everyone could tell that Teacher Zhang Ye was enraged, too!

……

The male host immediately tried to save the situation, “Then let’s first wait for the Teachers to come up with a decision after some discussion.”

However, the female host was very angry, “Teacher Zhang Ye cheated? I’m the first to not believe in it. I saw the preliminaries, too. I was not too far away. Is exchanging a few words with friends considered cheating? Then all the contestants who used a cellphone during the preliminary round should be considered as having cheated! Just being able to send the question through a phone and get someone to answer… Isn’t that also possible? Then there’s no point to this year’s Couplet Competition. We have all cheated!”

The male host nearly cried as he signaled his partner with his eyes. He was thinking, “What are you doing? Don’t you think it’s messy enough already? And why is your logic so crooked!?”

The female host ignored him, “Let’s wait for the result!”

……

The situation became more and more messy!

There were people cursing at Zhang Ye, and there were others supporting him!

In the end, even the female host had chimed in to publicly support Zhang Ye. The situation was nearly on the brink of them losing control. Everyone knew that something had to be done!

Offstage, the people from the Beijing Writers’ Association were chatting.

“Such a cheat is undermining the fairness. He has to be severely punished!”

“That’s right. But that isn’t enough to convince the masses. I think we should just cancel his qualifications!”

“Judges, how can anyone be convinced if you do not disburse appropriate punishment to an immoral person like Zhang Ye? The participants backstage are now having their objections, too!”

The woman from the Couplet Organization said with a cold face, “Immoral? What do you mean by immoral? The results aren’t out yet. We are still discussing it. Who let you people from the Writers’ Association go up onstage? Who allowed you to reveal the entire situation? You haven’t even verified the situation! Do you think by just revealing it, those things will become facts?”

A minor Leader from the Beijing Writers’ Association said, “Why is it our problem now? My colleague happened to be fast to speak. It is a bit inappropriate, but it is a fact that Zhang Ye cheated. We can see clearly from the live footage!”

Actually, the Couplet Competition had been held for more than ten years. Every year it was about the same. The preliminaries were held in an open area. There was no limitations to contestants using their phones or interacting with others. This was because they believed that everyone had a basic quality to them. They would not lower themselves to cheating. No cheating had ever occurred. Although Zhang Ye discussing the couplets with others was not in accordance with the rules, usually, no one would say a thing. Who knew that such a situation would happen this year? This was the first time that someone had reported such a violation. And the conclusion was given onstage before there was any conclusive investigation!

There was definitely something underhanded about it!

The people from the Couplet Organization could tell!

The youngest among the three judges was also 58 years old. They were very experienced, so how could they not see what the people from the Beijing Writers’ Association were trying to do?

The second judge, the old granny said, “Is the video proof? Just seeing them interact is proof? Then flip through the video. I believe this isn’t the only occasion where a contestant chats with others during the preliminaries. Oh, so you don’t allow the contestants to talk?”

A person from the Beijing Writers’ Association said, “But they were discussing the question!”

Elder Qian firmly said, “Even if they discussed it, my question can’t be matched just from some planning. Are you underestimating me? I am absolutely sure that the second half of the couplet was matched by Zhang Ye. It was all his own wisdom!” After he said that, he announced, “Carry on with the competition!”

The person from the Beijing Writers’ Association, who had went onstage to speak nonsense, stared, “But, Zhang Ye…”

“I said to carry on with the competition! Did you hear what I said?” Elder Qian stared at him, “If you aren’t convinced, why don’t you be the first judge! I’ll give you this seat of mine!”

That person stopped speaking.

A person from the Couplet Organization said, “I’ll let the hosts know.”

Not long later, the male host announced, “There was no evidence for the report of Teacher Zhang Ye’s cheating. The competition will carry on.”

……

Online.

The comments left below the live video feed exploded.

“What? There is no evidence?”

“There’s a conspiracy! There definitely is a conspiracy!”

“That Zhang Ye must have cheated! There’s no smoke without fire!”

“I also saw it. In the preliminary round footage, there really was a scene of him discussing with a few people. It was coincidentally captured when filming Big Thunder’s matching of the couplet. I believe there are scenes the camera got directly, but they did not upload it. They were all cut! So despicable!”

“Boycott Zhang Ye! I already did not find him pleasing to the eye!”

“No way. Teacher Zhang’s literary skills are so good; is there a need to cheat?”

“It is impossible to judge a man’s heart from his face. How can he have such abilities at such a young age? I guess those past poems of his were written by someone else!”

“Didn’t that person from the Beijing Writers’ Association already announce that Zhang Ye was cheating? The Writers’ Association is, after all, an authoritative source. How can it be fake?”

“Not necessarily.”

“We will know if he’s a mule or a horse just by testing him.”

“Right, let’s watch the finals. Without any ability, even if he cheated to pass the preliminaries, he would not be placed in the finals. Haha, waiting to see Zhang Ye make a fool of himself!”

There were also Zhang Ye’s fans who helped speak up for him, but soon they were drowned by the criticisms. With this scandal, about 80% of the people watching the live webcast were against Zhang Ye!