After a long time, An Hao’s emotions finally settled down before she gently pushed Qin Jian away.
"Don’t be sad, get on the car first! I’ll figure something out when we get back," Qin Jian said, looking down at An Hao.
An Hao nodded obediently and followed Qin Jian out of the school gate and into the car.
The atmosphere in the car was very quiet; Qin Jian drove with focused attention while An Hao, exhausted, leaned against the passenger seat backrest, gazing absent-mindedly at the scenery outside. The wind from the window brought in waves of heat from outside.
"Do you still have your cheat sheet?" Qin Jian suddenly asked.
An Hao opened her eyes and took the cheat sheet out of her skirt pocket: "Yes, I didn’t throw it away."
Qin Jian looked at the geographical information on the cheat sheet and the frown that had creased his brow suddenly smoothed out: "An Hao, I have a question for you."
"Mhm," An Hao nodded, her expression a bit perplexed, not yet understanding his intent.
"What is the longitudinal span of China’s territory? How many kilometers is it from east to west? What is the latitudinal span of China’s territory from north to south? And how many kilometers is that?" Qin Jian asked, testing her on this geographical knowledge.
"The longitudinal span is over 60 degrees, crossing 5 time zones, approximately 5200 kilometers. The latitudinal span is close to 50 degrees, at about 5500 kilometers," An Hao replied without hesitation.
Qin Jian nodded; these facts were, of course, well known to him.
The moment he saw the cheat sheet, he noticed the mistakes on it.
Whoever copied this cheat sheet got the answers for several questions mixed up.
And it was clearly not An Hao; she knew the facts very clearly and was naturally not stumped by them.
"Why are you asking me this question?" An Hao asked, puzzled and perplexed.
Qin Jian spread his hand and passed the note to An Hao: "Take a look for yourself."
Ever since Song Yueqin accused her, her mind had been blank and suppressed.
The situation arose so suddenly at that time that she didn’t react in the moment.
So she had never thought to look at the cheat sheet, but now Qin Jian was giving it to her, urging her to examine it closely.
With just a glance, An Hao spotted the problem.
It was the very question Qin Jian had just asked, but the answer on the cheat sheet was reversed.
The chaos in An Hao’s mind was as if cleaved by a bolt of lightning, and an idea instantly surged into her thoughts.
If Song Yueqin had the cheat sheet on her, it meant she intended to cheat. If she planned to cheat, she would not let a chance to do so slip by.
She must have cheated!
Once she cheated, she would certainly have gotten that question wrong!
But An Hao herself had not cheated at all, so there was no way she would have the wrong answer.
Furthermore, if Song Yueqin had cheated, then her answer would be identical to the content on the cheat sheet, unlike An Hao’s.
Besides the fill-in-the-blank questions, all the essay questions were answered in her own words.
Song Yueqin was annoyed with her and wanted to ruin her, acting impulsively by giving her the note.
But she had inadvertently handed over the evidence as well.
Now it wouldn’t be An Hao who suffered but surely Song Yueqin herself.
All they had to do was compare the answers on both their tests to the content on the cheat sheet to determine who cheated.
An Hao’s mind suddenly cleared, and a smile appeared on her face.
This was a case of trying to harm others only to harm oneself.
Perhaps Song Yueqin hadn’t anticipated such an outcome in her momentary impulse.
But everyone was shocked by the sudden event, incapable of serious thought.
Due to time constraints and pressure from the leadership, the three proctoring teachers immediately concluded that An Hao was the cheater, so they didn’t compare the test papers on the spot.