Chapter 65: Zhou Xie’s Rage
The video was filmed in an office. Wang Allen was ordering Zhang Jincheng to serve tea and water. At a certain moment, he suddenly pointed into the distance. Zhang Jincheng hesitated for a moment before walking in that direction. Immediately, Wang Allen signaled to the person next to him. That person opened Zhang Jincheng’s bag, took out a cowhide sketchbook, and flipped it open with a laugh. The design drawings were faintly visible.
A netizen asked: [Is it inspired by, or directly copied? Is it exactly the same as what you designed?]
Zhang Jincheng: [Directly applied. Exactly the same.]
The netizen asked again: [That’s a bit funny. Even when I copy homework answers, I know to choose a few different options. Wang Allen is someone who got into Floriman Academy legitimately; I don’t believe he would use such a stupid method of plagiarism.]
Zhang Jincheng: [Perhaps because I am of lowly status, he disdained using any tricks.]
When Wen Rong saw this exchange, he was suddenly enlightened.
So that was it!
He had always felt that the character shown by some people in the school was worse than that of ordinary people—like Zhao Zeyang, like Wang Allen. Now, in Zhang Jincheng’s answer, Wen Rong thoroughly understood. Because he carried no weight, they didn’t even bother to disguise their actions, just as straightforwardly as a human stepping on an ant.
Wen Rong, having grasped this new knowledge, curved his lips in a smile. He was happy that Zhang Jincheng had bravely stepped forward and couldn’t wait to tell the two seniors the news. “The President came out personally to accuse Wang Allen of plagiarism.”
“The President?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Let me see.”
Two heads leaned in toward Wen Rong simultaneously. Wen Rong swiped the screen to show Zhang Jincheng’s replies.
“Tsk tsk tsk. The President finally dared to go hard against Wang Allen.” Zhang Lin felt deeply gratified. Then he added, “We can’t fall behind. Qizheng, hack into the backend and ban the President’s account.”
Lin Qizheng: “On it.”
Wen Rong’s finger paused mid-swipe. “Huh?”
Zhang Lin crossed his arms, looking sagely. “Youngest, you clearly don’t understand gossip. Gossip needs to come to an abrupt halt. You need everyone to become curious.”
“But isn’t the President stating facts?”
Smack. Zhang Lin patted Wen Rong’s head. “Only entertainment-style information gets widespread dissemination. Look at how few people pay attention to social news; most are just watching entertainment gossip.”
Just as Zhang Lin predicted, Zhang Jincheng’s account was banned. The netizens, their curiosity piqued, went crazy, asking around and spreading the news everywhere. On Bluebook, it immediately skyrocketed to the number one trending topic.
Before the three could celebrate, the door to Room 100 was shoved open violently, and Zhang Jincheng entered with a dark face.
“President!” Lin Qizheng shouted excitedly. “You were so cool today.”
However, Zhang Jincheng didn’t seem happy. He cursed under his breath, “Fuck, my account was banned by Li Ao. I can’t post anything now.”
“What a rotten person. Just to protect Wang Allen, he won’t even let people speak.”
Culprit One, Lin Qizheng: “…”
Culprit Two, Zhang Lin, covering his forehead: “…”
Fresh from his Bluebook education, Wen Rong inexplicably felt that this was a moment to stay silent.
Zhang Jincheng cursed for a while longer before Zhang Lin hesitantly spoke up to explain. “President, actually, I told Qizheng to ban it.”
The soaring flames of rage were instantly extinguished. “You?”
“The Science App is directly controlled by Li Ao. We don’t know how he’s going to spin this against you next. It’s better to shift the battlefield to Bluebook. There are more people there, it’s harder to control, and the matter can spread much wider.”
Zhang Jincheng thought seriously for two seconds, then pulled out a chair and sat down. “Let’s discuss what to do next.”
Lin Qizheng typed furiously on his keyboard. “Continue accusing Wang Allen, of course. Since you had video surveillance, you should have brought it out earlier. We wouldn’t have had to go in such a big circle.”
Zhang Jincheng frowned slightly and didn’t answer. Wen Rong noticed his worry and spoke up proactively. “I’d like to ask, if it’s confirmed that Wang Allen plagiarized, what can the President get?”
“What?” Zhang Lin paused.
“I mean… I want to know what the President can gain from this right now.”
Lin Qizheng: “An apology, obviously!”
“What about those clothes?”
“Of course they can’t be sold anymore.”
“Can’t that piece of clothing belong to the President?”
The air instantly fell into silence.
Wen Rong asked a very innocent question, but it struck at the heart of the matter.
Wang Allen had indeed stolen Zhang Jincheng’s design drafts, but the subsequent production had nothing to do with Zhang Jincheng. The clothes couldn’t belong to Zhang Jincheng, and those design drafts couldn’t be used again, since they had been used by Wang Allen.
So, the compensation Zhang Jincheng would receive was far from enough.
“It doesn’t matter. Getting this out and venting this anger is good enough,” Zhang Jincheng said.
“Actually, thinking about it carefully, whether it’s the President’s design drafts being stolen or our software being stolen, it’s for the same reason: They can easily apply for and receive resources from the school, while we are always rejected.” Wen Rong opened his small notebook and wrote down this concept with a pen. Then he said, “I think this is the school’s problem.”
The weather grew colder. Even at high noon, the sky was a heavy leaden gray.
Zhou Xie didn’t like turning on the heater. The cold forced him to stay calm, especially at this moment.
“Because Zhang Jincheng’s account was banned, all public opinion has shifted to Bluebook. Should we contact Bluebook…”
“If anyone does it, it should be Wang Allen. Am I his dad? Do I have to wipe his ass for him too?”
After Zhou Xie spoke, he saw Li Ao smiling and asked inexplicably, “What are you laughing at?”
“What you just said sounded like Leon.”
“…”
“But such blatant theft, even getting recorded on surveillance… it really was too stupid.”
“There’s something even stupider.” Zhou Xie pursed his lips slightly. His hands trembled as he opened a drawer, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it to force himself to calm down. “Shi Jing just messaged me saying Wang Allen publicly declared his love to that special recruit in the cafeteria this morning, and now he’s clamoring for Wang Allen to be expelled.”
Li Ao paused. Zhou Xie exhaled white smoke from his lips, slowly obscuring his gloomy face.
“Just for a special recruit. Heh—”
Li Ao: “What do we do next?”
“Wang Allen’s plagiarism might affect the Science App’s reputation. Give Bluebook a call and prevent them from fishing in troubled waters for now.”
“Okay.”
Li Ao swiped on his Pad. Just as he was preparing to do as Zhou Xie arranged, a notification popped up from Bluebook.
[Is Character Linked to Education? Floriman Academy Sees Two Students Exposed for Misconduct in Succession]
According to this editor’s knowledge, a certain student from Floriman Academy was expelled for behavioral issues a few weeks ago. Now, Wang Allen is plagiarizing. This editor can’t help but wonder: Is this the student’s problem, or the school’s educational problem?
If it is the student’s problem, are there unspoken rules in the admission screening phase?
If it is the school’s educational problem, is the school still qualified to receive the Federation’s most comprehensive educational resources?
Floriman Academy always attracted attention. With a sudden voice condemning the Academy appearing, all the netizens felt a novelty. This blog post quickly overshadowed the Wang Allen plagiarism incident.
Of course, Li Ao felt that Zhou Xie had spoken a step too late; Bluebook had already made its move.
Floriman Academy pushing this software threatened to take a slice of Bluebook’s pie. Previously, Bluebook didn’t dare go hard against Floriman Academy, but now that they had a pretext, they would definitely use heavy tactics.
Things had gotten complicated.
Li Ao sucked in a breath of cold air. Just as he prepared to show the Pad to Zhou Xie, he looked up and saw Zhou Xie also looking at his phone. The eyes behind the black-framed glasses grew darker and darker, cold to the bone.
After a long while, Zhou Xie calmly stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray, then calmly flicked the ashtray.
Crash.
The ashtray fell to the floor, shattering into glass shards.
Zhou Xie stood motionless by the table like a wooden block.
“Cousin, someone posted a blog…”
“I saw it.”
“I’ll check who it is—”
Zhou Xie interrupted him. “No need. Looking at the tone, I know it’s that special recruit.”
Li Ao caught a glimpse of Zhou Xie taking off his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed it hard. He didn’t put the glasses back on, unreservedly revealing the hostility emanating from his entire body.
“Cousin…”
Zhou Xie’s lips moved slightly, hooking into a small arc. “That special recruit definitely hasn’t died before.”
Dark clouds covered the top of the Student Council building, blocking out the last of the daylight.
The office plunged into complete darkness. Zhou Xie opened the drawer again and took out a cigarette.
He flipped it around and tore off the paper at the tip.
Click—
The lighter sounded. A flame transferred, and the cigarette tip burned fiercely, like a torch.
When it finished burning, Zhou Xie took another and lit it again.
He seemed oblivious to the burn marks being left on the tabletop. He repeated this until he could take nothing new out of the drawer.
Zhou Xie seemed to be devoutly performing some terrifying ritual, entrusting his entire soul, until all human characteristics vanished from his body, leaving only an evil spirit.
“Investigate…”
The cold, raw voice paused briefly.
“Investigate Wen Rong’s entire background.”
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