It was already 7 p.m. by the time Fu Zhi found out that Lu Yumo had been caught by the police.
Xu Wei took out her purse with tears in her eyes as she scolded Lu Jingqing. “I told you he’s a man of straw. You didn’t believe me, and now I have to use my own money to bail him out!”
She was crying very hard, but no one could tell if she felt sad for her money or her son.
Fu Zhi made a call to the research institute. “My eldest brother was caught by the police because he thought he was smart. Hurry up and call those people to release him.”
The person on the other side of the line answered very quickly. Then, before he hung up the phone, he said, “It’s been confirmed that the special drugs developed in the laboratory were replaced by someone. The culprit was found, but he was not one of the core research members. We made him sign the confidentiality agreement, and he was dismissed from his duty.”
‘Since the real culprit has been found, it seems like I misjudged Li Nanli,’ Fu Zhi thought.
*
Fu Zhi rested at home that day. When she returned to school on Friday, she was summoned to the academic affairs office.
The spacious office was full of people. Other than Director Liu and the class teachers, the vice-principal and a group of public relations staff were also in the office.
Everyone was wearing a serious expression on their faces, and the atmosphere was tense.
“You see, Ms. Fu Zhi...” Director Liu took the initiative to speak up first. He had mixed feelings about the thing he was about to say next. He took a deep breath and then continued with a stern expression. “I’m sure you’re aware of the rumor posted about you in our school forum, right?”
“Of course, she’s well aware of it,” Qian Wenrui chimed in. She glanced at Fu Zhi contemptuously and sneered, “She’s a student who entered the school through the back door. I strongly believe that she must have used a dirty trick to get chosen by Professor He. Right now, the news about her is everywhere on the internet. Our school...”
“Ms. Qian!” Ma Mingquan shouted, making Qian Wenrui stop talking.
Then, the vice-principal stepped forward. He thought for a moment before he began to speak. “It has been more than 100 years since No.1 High School started operating, and because of you, our reputation is now at risk. In the past two days, I’ve received plenty of anonymous letters from parents and students, all of them demanding that we expel you from the school.”
Many parents would rather choose to believe that the rumor about Professor He was true rather than not, especially now that the wellness of their children was in jeopardy. After all, not everyone was able to give up such a great educational opportunity.
Fu Zhi raised her head and replied coldly, “So? Why are you telling me this?”
Then, without giving them a chance to say anything, she added, “Did you guys open the back door for me?”
The vice-principal frowned. He had not expected that Fu Zhi would be this tough.
Indeed, he had investigated the entire incident and he knew there was no shady deal involved. However, that still could not change the fact that Fu Zhi’s father was the reason she had been able to enter No.1 High School.
Besides, according to Qian Wenrui, she had cheated in the school entrance examination.
Most importantly, Professor He had gone into seclusion to continue his research once he had gone back to the capital. The research would last for more than a month, and the school authorities could not get to him at all.
Therefore, no one could currently help Fu Zhi clear her name!
“Right now, everyone on the internet is saying that you don’t deserve this opportunity, and Professor He went back to the capital in anger after this whole thing exploded. No matter how we try to explain, even if we let you retake the paper with new questions, nobody will believe us. They will just think that we’re covering up for you.”
The vice-principal added, “We can’t allow anyone to tarnish our school’s reputation. Initially, every teacher in the school agreed to expel you, but since your parents want you to receive a proper education, I’m going to give you a second option. Let Lu Chuwan replace you and attend the meeting with Professor He instead.”