Chapter 23 The First Glimmer of Light

"You're openly helping her clear her name, but are you actually trying to prove she plagiarized? There are only so many ways to solve a problem, and if her solution matches Lu Siyuan's, all the excuses in the world won't help her."

As a teacher, Chen Jie naturally hoped that Shen Mianmian hadn't plagiarized, but he couldn't ignore the students' suspicions either.

He stood up and walked toward Shen Mianmian. Everyone shut their mouths, waiting to watch the show. Chen Jie stopped at the desk and said, "Lu Siyuan, let me see your homework."

Lu Siyuan didn't make a sound and handed his notebook to Chen Jie, adding a remark that surprised the teacher.

"She didn't plagiarize from me."

Chen Jie knew very well how securely he had kept his work covered up until now.

This guy was actually speaking up for her? Grateful, Shen Mianmian blinked at him, and Lu Siyuan smugly turned his face away.

Chen Jie gave Lu Siyuan a look without speaking, opened the notebook, and his expression suddenly changed. Looking back and forth between Shen Mianmian and the notebook, his eyes were filled with surprise.

The kid had really caught on.

"Teacher, did Shen Mianmian plagiarize?" Wang Jingjing glared at Shen Mianmian, waiting for Chen Jie to announce the verdict.

Chen Jie saw how the students were ganging up on Shen Mianmian, but without physical conflict, he had no right to intervene. However, now he could prove Shen Mianmian's innocence.

"Shen Mianmian didn't plagiarize." He held up the notebook to show all the students, "Out of the four big problems, Lu Siyuan left one unsolved, while Shen Mianmian solved them all."

A student who had been at the bottom of her class from elementary to junior high had suddenly improved after being taught by him for half a year. This was both an affirmation and a testament to his ability.

At that moment, Chen Jie felt incredibly thrilled.

"Shen Mianmian really solved all of them on her own?"

"The sun must be rising from the west."

"That's unbelievable."

"It's like a blind cat running into a dead mouse!"

Voices of skepticism and amazement rose at the same time.

Wang Jingjing refused to believe that Shen Mianmian could have pulled it off and said excitedly, "It must be that Lu Siyuan told her the answers."

Chen Jie looked at Wang Jingjing with displeasure, "Why can't Shen Mianmian get the answers right? Why do you all need to prove Shen Mianmian plagiarized before you can feel at peace?"

Wang Jingjing's face turned red with embarrassment.

Chen Jie continued, "You are all the flowers of our nation, the future pillars of society. I hope everyone will not discriminate against any student and respect each other. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Aside from a few who were against Shen Mianmian, the rest of the students answered in unison.

Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of class. Chen Jie said to the class president, Cao Hongkun, "Bring the homework notebooks to the office later."

He then looked at Shen Mianmian, "Come to the office."

With such difficult problems all being solved correctly, this was certainly no coincidence. Chen Jie decided he needed to have a talk with Shen Mianmian to help her improve even more.

Under everyone's gaze, Shen Mianmian followed Chen Jie out of the classroom.

Being called to the office was a common occurrence for students, happening almost every two to three days, mostly for reasons like fighting or not paying attention in class.

The teachers were not at all surprised and continued with their own tasks.

Li Qiumei saw Shen Mianmian following behind and asked Chen Jie, "Shen Mianmian didn't do her homework properly again, did she?"

Before Chen Jie could respond, she began lecturing Shen Mianmian, "You aren't studying properly, yet you're dressed warmly enough. With these grades, you're just wasting money continuing your education. It's not easy for your parents to earn a living. After this semester, you may as well not return to school. Save the money for your sister instead! Your sister is doing well in her studies; if she's nurtured properly, she could get into a good university."