Ye Jianming mortgaged the villa to the bank and secured a loan to host this lavish banquet. He invited a large number of reporters to flaunt the Ye family's glory and attract business partners.
Now, it was all ruined!
The reporters didn't care about the Ye family's reputation; they were having a field day photographing the exam papers.
Reporter A: "Hahaha, I thought today's news would be a bit bland, but now there's something to write about."
Reporter B: "A pauper student pretending to be a genius to extort the top student. This headline will surely hit the front page."
Reporter C: "It involves one of the four major families, the Lu family. It'll definitely trend. My KPI for this month is secured."
Reporter: "Hahaha."
Ye Jianming felt his vision blur as he overheard their oblivious chatter.
It's over!
The Ye family is finished!
The more delighted he had been by Yu He's perfect score yesterday, the more regret he felt now.
Cheating, plagiarism!
And it was all exposed in public!
Not only was their family shamed, but Ye's villa was mortgaged to the bank! They had also offended the Lu family!
If he had known this would happen, he would have preferred Yu He to skip the exam from the start!
"Patriarch Ye, are you alright?" a teacher from the publicity department supported Ye Jianming, who was about to faint.
Just then, Yu He returned from the faculty building and was spotted by Ye Zisu.
"Dad, where is Yu He?" Ye Zisu prompted.
Ye Jianming followed her gaze and roared, "Yu He, get over here!"
The teacher from the publicity department frowned at his loud voice, thinking he seemed fine.
Yu He heard her name being called and saw a crowd. She couldn't be bothered and planned to take a detour. However, Ye Zisu wouldn't let her go, running over to grab her. "Your cheating exam paper is up!"
Cheating?
Yu He's beautiful brows furrowed. She had no idea what scheme Ye Zisu was up to now and followed her.
"You unfilial daughter! Who gave you the nerve to cheat! Kneel down and admit your mistake!"
Ye Jianming's hand swung down, aiming to slap Yu He.
The onlookers gasped, surprised by the Ye family patriarch's severity.
However, before the slap landed, Ye Jianming's hand was caught by a fair, slender one.
"Who said I cheated?" Yu He's gaze was cold as she looked at Ye Jianming.
"Yu He, kneel down quickly and apologize to everyone. I lent you Senior Lu's exam paper for your review, how could you copy all his answers?"
Ye Zisu put on a worried expression, seemingly concerned for Yu He, but her words confirmed Yu He's alleged cheating.
How could Yu He copy?
Someone kindly lent her an exam paper for review, and she shamelessly plagiarized it!
"Such arrogance even when cheating, refusing to admit it. Disgusting."
"Cheater, may your whole family die."
"We thought a genius had appeared, but it turns out it was a cheat."
"Peh! Don't compare her to a genius; it's an insult to the word 'genius'."
"Cheater, get out of Kaiwei!"
"Poor places breed wicked people. She dared to target Senior Lu, it was clearly premeditated."
"..."
A torrent of insults followed. Yu He released Ye Jianming's hand, her cold eyes fixed on the exam paper on the notice board, her expression indifferent.
Next to the exam paper was a notice criticizing Yu He for her egregious cheating during the entrance exam.
The criticism note had no signature, indicating it wasn't from the school.
Cheating?
Heh, it wasn't clear who was the real cheater!
"Who is this Lu Chenyu?" Yu He turned and asked.
Her aloof demeanor, devoid of any remorse, further fueled Ye Jianming's anger.
He truly regretted his hasty decision yesterday to host this "banquet."
"You're still making excuses for cheating! Apologize quickly!" he roared, raising his hand again to hit Yu He.
"Patriarch Ye, please communicate civilly and refrain from physical violence."
The teacher from the publicity department quickly stopped Ye Jianming and then turned to Yu He. "Student Yu He, what exactly is going on? Do you need to explain to everyone?"
They had thought Kaiwei had finally produced a perfect-scoring genius after decades, only to discover it was a case of cheating.
A genius turned into a cheat, and the fact that all the subject teachers had reviewed the papers and found no plagiarism caused such a huge embarrassment.
It wasn't just the Ye family that was embarrassed; the school was even more so.
Therefore, Yu He had to explain herself clearly, as it concerned the school's reputation.
"..." Yu He saw everyone's eyes on her, yet no one answered her question: Who was Lu Chenyu? She felt somewhat speechless.
Even more speechless was the fact that Ye Jianming condemned her for cheating without even asking.
"Who did this?!"
At this moment, an angry male voice echoed from the back of the crowd.
The watching students parted, and a few female students shrieked, "Senior Lu is here!"
A handsome boy with refined features strode forward, his long legs carrying him, a frown creasing his brow, an expression of impatience on his face.
The moment Ye Jianming saw Lu Chenyu, he immediately stepped forward, bowing and greeting him.
Regardless of whether the banquet was a bust, the relationship with the Lu family must not be strained.
"Senior Lu, you're finally here. It's this brat who cheated using your exam paper, corrupting the school's ethos. Hurry and expel her from Kaiwei Academy!"
A student pointed at Yu He and said.
Lu Chenyu glanced over. The girl was tall, with exquisite features and skin like congealed fat. A flicker of surprise flashed in her displeased eyes.
He had heard yesterday that a poor girl from the mountains had scored perfect marks in four subjects, surpassing his reputation as the top student.
His father had even told him to find an opportunity to meet her. He was resistant; a village girl from the mountains must be dark and rustic...
He hadn't expected her to be so beautiful.
But no matter how beautiful, she was just a pretty face!
When he arrived at the school gate, a classmate had already informed him that Yu He had plagiarized his exam paper and it had been posted on the school's notice board.
That's why he had rushed over.
Because some of his exam papers were not meant to be seen!
"You are Lu Chenyu?" Yu He glanced at the boy indifferently.
Lu Chenyu nodded, his expression arrogant and dismissive.
Yu He's beautiful peach blossom eyes shifted to the exam paper on the notice board, and she asked, "Did you do this exam paper yourself?"
Her question immediately displeased the other students.
"What are you implying? Didn't Senior Lu do this exam paper himself? Who else could have done it?"
"Senior Lu has always been Kaiwei's top student. You cheated, and now you're making excuses."
Lu Chenyu did not retort. He went to the notice board first and carefully examined Yu He's exam paper.
The problem-solving approach and essays were almost identical, but the handwriting was different.
It seemed he had overthought it. Angrily, he tore down all the exam papers and, with a darkened expression, asked Yu He, "Where did you get this exam paper from?"
Seeing his anger, Ye Jianming became even more convinced of Yu He's cheating and regretted it immensely!
Not only had he disgraced the Ye family, but he had also offended the Lu family!
"Brother Chenyu, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have privately lent you my previous exam papers to Yu He. I truly didn't expect her to do this. I'm so sorry..."
Ye Zisu apologized with red eyes, her pitiful appearance eliciting sympathy.
"Zisu, this isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize for her," Lu Chenyu comforted her before turning to Yu He.
"Don't you have any shame? Are you in such a hurry to let the entire school know about your great achievement of cheating?!"