Chapter 22

The students in class 10D5 performed exceptionally well, achieving almost perfect scores. All judges, except Mr Woods, did not hesitate to give a score of ten out of ten. They assumed that Mr Woods was a professional, so it was normal for him to judge a little more strictly and not pay much attention. The average score of this class is still the highest. When the results are announced, the entire class 10D5 bursts into tears. Thuy happily hugs Ngoc Lam. The homeroom teacher is also happy because this result will be recorded in her teachers' emulation process. Rewards are given immediately afterwards. The class treasurer deducts reward money as the homeroom teacher says to buy milk tea for the whole class.

Thac plans to refuse to go with the class, for he is afraid his bad mood may affect the general atmosphere. As soon as he lifts his feet, K and M call him back, asking the teacher for permission to talk to him. Ngoc Lam and other classmates leave together, and she intentionally ignores M looking at her. M smiled sadly. Really? Ngoc Lam? She knew that K and M wouldn't let Van Thac completely collapse, so she dared to act so harshly on him.

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Mr Woods also returns to the Conservatory of Music. As soon as he steps into the hallway, Luyen and Thuyen are standing there waiting.

"Hello, teacher." Both greet simultaneously.

Mr Woods clearly understands what they are here for. Before either of them can open their mouths, the man orders, "You two, come with me."

Luyen and Thuyen go to the opera department with him. At this time, a woman is accompanying a male singer on the piano in the theatre room. Mr Woods secretly tells the two friends to stay outside and find a private place to hide. After giving instructions, the teacher opens the door. He stands quietly to one side, staring at the male singer's face. No one knows what is in his mind.

As soon as the male singer finishes, Mr Woods steps up. At this moment, we can see that the singer's face is the person named Thanh who met Ngoc Lam the day before and called her "Murderer".

"Phuong, I need to talk to you." Mr Woods says it directly.

The woman is called Phuong, who once went to Ngoc Lam's school and had an argument with Mr Woods, using her eyes to signal Thanh to leave. Mr Woods keeps waiting silently, his eyes following Thanh's every step until he leaves the room.

"Are you here to blame me for what happened at that high school? At that time, I was-" Mrs Phuong stands up and speaks to Mr Woods in a very confident manner.

"It was you who did it!" Mr Woods is sick of hearing her beating around the bush, so he claims the fact.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Phuong sneers, "I left that morning and never came back to do anything!"

"I didn't do it yourself, but you threw the stone and hid your hand." Mr Woods affirms straight away. "Ngoc Lam school's camera has recorded everything. You sent Thanh to torture her. Am I right?

Ms Phuong sees that she cannot deny it; certainly, Mr Woods has something up his sleeve. The woman just stands still there smiling.

"Too many people have been hurt." Mr Woods softly, "Do you still want to cause more damage?"

"Hurt? Who was hurt? The woman peels off her elegant appearance and looks at Mr Lam distortedly, "While we have not overcome this pain, are there people preparing to reappear as if nothing had happened?"

The woman takes out a piece of paper from the piano and shows it in front of Mr Woods.

"By the way, the Rector has approved your job transfer. You want to be a hero, don't you? In the remotely mountainous areas, all the children do not have enough food to eat. They will be extremely happy if a good man like you shows up!"

Teacher Lam suppresses his anger and gets the decision. The woman smirks at him and then walks out of the room.

"Hola"

"The cuckoo calls the eagle."

Luyen and Thuyen wait until Mrs Phuong is not around, then sneakily poke into the theatre room. Mr Woods gazes at the two of them and immediately calls them in.

Thuyen studied piano before playing the violin. He quickly sits in front of the piano and plays a few notes. Luyen brings out two chairs, one for the teacher, and one for him.

"That old woman is afraid that you will destroy the dictatorial plot of her and her husband, that's why she is trying her best to push you away." Luyen looks at the paper in Mr Woods' hand.

"What is in that old hag's mind that she forces an old man like you to climb the mountains and wade through the streams to school there? She is killing you without a sword." Thuyen says while he is playing the piano.

"Have you recorded it?" Mr Woods asks

Luyen and Thuyen look at the teacher and smile "he he" then quickly take out the cell phones from their pocket.

Before entering the room, Mr Woods called Luyen's number, reminding Luyen to put it on recording mode. Thuyen stood next to him and also turned on the camera to record. The entire content of the recent conversation is saved.

"Are you going to use this"

"To ovethrow that despicable couple?"

Mr Woods shakes his head. During the conversation, Ms Phuong did not admit or confirm anything, so this recording has no value to be trustable evidence. But he still needs it. Mr Woods tells Luyen to send it to his phone and then looks at the two friends.

"You two, I have a favour to ask."

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Van Thac sits huddled on a stone chair. K and M seemed to have something to do, so they told him to wait.

The aftereffects of the last stage are in his mind. Now he realizes how stubborn and stupid he was. The things that once made him believe suddenly are now crumbled. Now, he doesn't know what to do.

"I'm so bad." Van Thac says to himself.

A head appears under the seat of the stone bench he is sitting on.

"You're not, son."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

K squeezes his way out from under the bench, and in the one next to him, M is doing the same.

Thac clutches his heart. Thac is in pain. Thac collapses.

"Don't scare me anymore. I will have a heart attack and die."

K smiles and gives Thac a bottle of water. Thac politely receives it.

"How do you feel now, son?"

It's true that after shouting, Thac feels a little relieved.

"I'm sorry." After calming down, Thac seriously admits his mistake to his teacher. "I shouldn't be too complacent. I- I'm so stupid."

K pats Thac's shoulder gently and sits next to him. In the opposite row of benches, M is sitting there.

"You are kind-hearted and want to help Ngoc Lam," M says. "Unfortunately, her situation is a bit particular."

Pausing for a moment, M continues.

"Thac, do you want to listen to the story from the past?"