She placed both hands on the exam paper and glared at him fiercely. “At worst, we’ll both go down together.”
Sun Maocai jolted violently. The fat on his face twitched with rage. “You… you’re threatening me, damn it?”
Song Qiaoan suddenly smiled faintly, then clutched her stomach again and put on a pained expression. “How could I, teacher? I just need to go to the bathroom.”
Sun Maocai’s chest rose and fell heavily. He gritted his teeth so hard they creaked, staring at her for a long moment before forcing the words out through clenched teeth: “Get back quickly! Don’t you try anything funny!”
“Yes, teacher.” Song Qiaoan obediently responded and quickly left the classroom.
She calculated the timing in her mind. That official Zhang would likely inspect the teaching buildings one by one if she waited near the restroom, she would definitely run into him.
As expected, not long after, she saw several men in neatly pressed Zhongshan suits walking toward this direction. Some carried cameras, others notebooks, occasionally speaking in low voices while taking notes.
The man leading them, wearing glasses and with an elegant scholarly demeanor, should be Secretary Zhang.
Seeing this, Song Qiaoan quickly squatted by the wall, buried her face in her arms, and began to sob softly, her shoulders shaking.
The group quickly noticed her and walked over.
“Hey… what’s wrong, girl? What happened? Why aren’t you in the exam?”
“I…” Song Qiaoan lifted her head. Tears still clung to her face. She looked at them timidly and shook her head in panic, stammering, “N-no… it’s nothing… I’ll leave right away.”
During exams, every minute counted. No one would waste time like this so a girl hiding here crying couldn’t possibly be “nothing.”
Secretary Zhang exchanged glances with his colleagues, all of them seeing the same doubt in each other’s eyes.
He gently stopped her as she tried to leave. “Wait, child. Don’t be afraid. Tell me what happened.”
Song Qiaoan shrank her neck and said nothing.
A stern-looking man stepped forward, adopting the authoritative tone of a teacher scolding a student.
“What class are you from? What are you doing sneaking out during an exam?”
He looked her up and down. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to cheat?!”
Having been a teacher for many years, his first instinct in situations like this was that students used “going to the bathroom” as an excuse to sneak out and peek at notes.
He had seen this trick too many times.
Usually it was lazy male students but he never expected this quiet-looking girl to be doing the same disgraceful thing.
“I’ve really seen everything today. A girl like you cheating? Have you no shame? Do you deserve the parents who worked so hard to send you to school?”
In those days, educational opportunities were rare. Many families favored boys, and many children dropped out early to work in the fields.
Even boys rarely got to study let alone girls.
Most classes had very few girls, and those who did attend usually came from better-off families. Yet this girl, though clean-faced, wore coarse cloth clothes with patches on her sleeves. Clearly she wasn’t from a wealthy home.
Her parents must have sacrificed so much to send her to school how heartbreaking it would be if she was caught cheating.
Everyone shook their heads, their gazes turning from confusion to contempt.
“Ah… the pitiful often have hateful sides too,” someone sighed softly.
The man angrily extended his hand. “What cheating tools did you use? Notes or books? Hand them over!”
Song Qiaoan shrank back, sobbing. “Teacher… I didn’t cheat…”
“Still denying it?! At this point, do I need to search you myself? You young girls really have thick skin!”
He immediately began searching her pockets.
But they were empty.
Nothing at all.
Finding nothing, the man looked embarrassed, especially with Secretary Zhang watching behind him.
“You hid it pretty well. You look honest, but your mind is full of tricks!”
He shoved her shoulder and checked her back, sleeves, and cuffs but still found nothing.
“Nothing?” he said angrily. “Then why did you come out? Don’t tell me you have accomplices outside?!”
“N-no… I didn’t do anything…” Song Qiaoan cried, shaking her head in fear.
“If you did nothing, why are you guilty? You’re clearly hiding something!”
Just as he was about to press further, Secretary Zhang interrupted.
“That’s enough, Comrade Wang Lei. Don’t wrongly accuse a student without evidence.”
“Yes, leader. I was too impulsive.” Wang Lei immediately lowered his head and stepped back.
Secretary Zhang sighed and looked at her gently yet sharply.
“Don’t be afraid, child. Tell me your name, your class, and your exam number.”
“I…” Song Qiaoan’s lips trembled. She hesitated for a long time but couldn’t say a single word.
Wang Lei couldn’t help himself again.
“What’s so hard to say? If you didn’t cheat, why can’t you even state your basic information?”
Others chimed in as well, their suspicion returning.
“Exactly. If you’re innocent, why go silent now?”
Their earlier sympathy faded again. The girl must be hiding something.
Wang Lei, emboldened, threatened, “If you don’t speak, we’ll have to take you in for investigation. If the police get involved, it’ll be serious.”
“Given your age, even if you don’t go to jail, you’ll be sent to juvenile detention.”
Secretary Zhang raised a hand to stop him, then crouched down.
“Don’t be afraid, child. If something happened, tell us. We’ll help you.”
At that moment, Song Qiaoan was already crying hard, tears streaming down her face.
“I didn’t want this… It’s my father and my stepmother… they forced me to take the exam for Song Jiabao…”
“They said if I refused, they would sell me to human traffickers… sob…”