Chapter Twenty-Three: The Principal’s Praise

Seeing the situation unfold, Vice Principal Li could do nothing but cast a deep, meaningful glance at homeroom teacher Liu, knowing he had truly offended Liu this time. Meanwhile, Director Tian’s face was dark as night; not only had he failed to carry out Vice Principal Li’s instructions, he might have also angered the principal himself.

Director Tian found himself caught between two sides, losing more than he gained. Furthermore, Liu and the other teachers had now been offended by Tian as well.

Time passed in silence.

A sudden, crisp sound broke the quiet. Principal Gu nodded repeatedly, exclaiming, “Excellent, excellent!” He continued to praise Zhou Xuan’s essay, then turned to the language teacher, Chen, saying, “Mr. Chen, take a look at Zhou Xuan’s composition. It’s so well-written, it hardly seems possible for a middle school student to have produced this!”

Mr. Chen took the test paper and read it carefully, smiling as he said, “Principal, Zhou Xuan has always had strong writing skills, but recently he’s improved by leaps and bounds. He participated in the city’s essay competition and has already made it to the semifinals.”

“That’s right, Principal. When the preliminary round was graded, even Ms. Li Yun from the city—who is a renowned language teacher—praised Zhou Xuan’s essay and said it was outstanding,” added homeroom teacher Liu.

Principal Gu knew Ms. Li Yun well; she was an exceptional language teacher, famous throughout Tianfu Province, and even a member of the Chinese Writers’ Association. Receiving her praise was no easy feat.

“Very good, indeed!” Principal Gu commended Zhou Xuan with a face full of satisfaction. “I hope Zhou Xuan achieves great results in the semifinals!”

“However, good writing isn’t enough. He needs to improve in other areas of language as well to score high marks,” Principal Gu continued.

“Absolutely. In the last quiz, Zhou Xuan ranked first in the entire grade for language,” Mr. Chen said as he marked papers, “His current test is also excellent; he’s barely lost any points so far. All that remains is reading comprehension and the essay. But…”

Mr. Chen glanced at Director Tian, then at Vice Principal Li; seeing their stern expressions, he decided not to continue.

“But what?” Principal Gu noticed Mr. Chen’s hesitance, then looked at Vice Principal Li and the others. “Speak freely. There’s no need to hold back.”

With Principal Gu’s encouragement, Mr. Chen looked at Director Tian and continued, “I just feel this test is rather unusual.”

“What do you mean, unusual?” the principal asked, puzzled.

“Well, the test covers the usual middle school language knowledge, but the questions are unusually obscure,” Mr. Chen explained. “Typically, most of a test consists of standard knowledge, with only a small portion covering rare topics. It’s impossible for an entire test to be made up of obscure material—if it were, the students would be lucky just to pass.”

Hearing this, Principal Gu immediately understood. He turned to the English teacher, asking, “Is it the same with the English test?”

Mr. Wang, the English teacher, looked at Director Tian and Vice Principal Li’s increasingly grim faces, then confirmed, “Yes, Principal. The English test is just like the language test—filled with unfamiliar questions that most students simply couldn’t answer.”

At last, Principal Gu realized the truth: Vice Principal Li and Director Tian had deliberately targeted Zhou Xuan. Regardless of Zhou Xuan’s actual abilities, they were intent on framing him as a cheater.

Utterly despicable! How could such people be appointed as principal and academic director?

Principal Gu thought of how he had devoted his life to the rise of Second Middle School, only to discover such treachery right under his nose. For the sake of their own interests, they were willing to sabotage a student who excelled both academically and morally—a student who could very well become the top scorer in the upcoming entrance exams.

Principal Gu had not felt so angry in years. He raised his head, his face cold as ice, and confronted Director Tian and Vice Principal Li: “Vice Principal Li, Director Tian, what is the meaning of these test papers?”

“Um…” Vice Principal Li, seeing Principal Gu’s harsh expression, sensed trouble. “You’ll have to ask Director Tian. He arranged for the papers to be created.”

Director Tian silently cursed Vice Principal Li, thinking he was truly unreliable and regretting ever trusting him.

“Well then, Director Tian, explain yourself. Even if you wanted to assess Zhou Xuan’s true abilities, what is the point of making the test so obscure?” Principal Gu pressed him sternly.

“Principal, please let me explain. Vice Principal Li approached me with suspicions about Zhou Xuan’s grades and wanted to investigate,” Director Tian replied, glancing at Vice Principal Li. “During the investigation, we learned about Zhou Xuan’s months of diligent study and were deeply impressed. We even considered sharing his story with all the students to inspire them.”

“But, in order to ensure the authenticity of the situation and our responsibility to all students, we felt another test was necessary. Because we had so much confidence in Zhou Xuan, we made the questions a bit more challenging.”

Director Tian had unexpectedly come up with such a plausible explanation; Zhou Xuan, who had just finished his math test, couldn’t help but admire it—these administrators were truly cunning.

“But this also helped us see Zhou Xuan’s real abilities. We never imagined he could score so highly on such difficult questions,” Director Tian said awkwardly.

Principal Gu’s expression did not soften. “So, you’re saying you did the right thing?”

Director Tian defended himself, “Considering your busy schedule, Principal, we were just about to report Zhou Xuan’s results to you as soon as they were available!”

The other teachers listened with silent disdain. Who could believe such nonsense?

“Principal Gu, I’ve finished the math test,” Zhou Xuan said, unwilling to hear any more of Director Tian’s shameless excuses.

Principal Gu looked at Zhou Xuan, instantly adopting a warm and friendly expression. “Zhou Xuan, I’m sorry you had to endure this.”

Zhou Xuan was pleasantly surprised by the principal’s apology. “Principal, you’re too kind.”

“It’s only right. Because certain colleagues made mistakes, we nearly lost a genius from our school. As principal, I bear responsibility,” Principal Gu said.

Zhou Xuan looked at the principal, a man in his fifties who had spent his life dedicated to his students, and replied respectfully, “Principal Gu, you are the teacher I respect most. Your character is an example for us all.”

Hearing Zhou Xuan’s words, Principal Gu was even more pleased. “Zhou Xuan, you’re outstanding as well. I hope you continue working hard to achieve even greater results!”

The principal’s praise meant Zhou Xuan had achieved most of his goals. “I won’t let you down, Principal. But let’s finish dealing with this matter—I still need to attend evening self-study.”

Zhou Xuan’s words left the teachers speechless; was evening self-study really more important than talking with the principal?

At that moment, the math teacher finished grading Zhou Xuan’s test—another perfect score.

Principal Gu turned to Zhou Xuan. “You may go back now, Zhou Xuan.” He cast a sharp glance at Vice Principal Li and Director Tian. “I’ll deal with the issue here.”

“Thank you, Principal,” Zhou Xuan said, glancing triumphantly at Vice Principal Li before leaving.