Believe in the Blatant Lie

Sir Dao entered the classroom with a face that couldn't be painted. He always looked like a raisin that had been dehydrated a couple more times than the ordinary, but today, he appeared even more dehydrated. 

It seemed like Kai wasn't the only one who noticed the shift in the old man's attitude since the class turned quiet as soon as he entered the room. 

The old man placed down his belongings on the table, calmer than they had anticipated. The action made them even more nervous, wondering what had gotten the old man's panties in a bunch. 

"First, let us rationalize the answers on your assignment," he said, turning around to write on the board. 

One brave soul raised her hand and asked a question. 

"Aren't you going to give us back our papers, sir?"

Sir Dao turned around a subtle glare in his eyes. The girl swiftly zipped her mouth shut and didn't pry any further.

Sir Dao wrote down the answers on the board and rapidly discussed the rationale behind each answer. A lot of the students weren't able to follow his speed, but Kai was able to understand him perfectly. 

Kai smirked to himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest, when he realized he got all the questions right except for one number. To be frank, it was an ambiguous question, so it seemed like the presented options were all plausible. 

"Now, I'm going to commend the students who excelled in the assignment," Sir Dao said, retrieving the stack of papers from the table. 

"Unfortunately, nobody got a perfect score for this particular assignment," he said, sounding a bit disappointed. 

The class immediately turned to Haobin, making their designated class representative insecure under their gazes. Kai couldn't care less about it, though. What was important was that he was able to show Sir Dao that he wasn't an empty can! 

"The highest score is nineteen," Sir Dao continued. "And we have two people who achieved such scores." 

"Haobin and Bao, congratulations to the two of you," Sir Dao said. 

The class clapped for their two smartest students, already expecting the results. 

Meanwhile, Kai frowned in confusion since he was sure he also got nineteen out of the twenty marks. Did he miss a number by mistake? 

"Haobin, pass these papers to your classmates," Sir Dao instructed. 

Haobin quickly obeyed the old man's instructions and handed out the papers quickly. 

People who copied from their seatmates and got higher than they had anticipated rejoiced when they received their papers. 

Haobin shook his head in disappointment. However, as he got to Kai, a small smirk emerged from his lips before handing him the piece of paper. 

Kai's frown deepened when he saw the large 'zero' on top of his paper.

Bao craned his neck and bit his lip in anxiousness. He couldn't imagine getting such a score! His mom would kill him when that happens. 

"Hey, it's alright," Bao said. "It's just an assignment. You should come earlier when we have other assignments so you can copy my work." 

Kai, however, didn't respond and continued comparing his answers to the ones written on the board. 

"Can I see your paper for a moment?" he asked Bao. 

Bao nodded, giving it to his friend.

'He must be in denial,' Bao thought. 

"We have the same answers, though," Kai muttered. 

Bao pursed his lips. 'Now, he's in a state of bargaining.'

"Sir," Kai stood, holding his and Bao's paper together. 

Sir Dao rose from his seat and raised one eyebrow. 

"Yes, Kai?" he nonchalantly asked.

"Bao and I have the same answers, but I got a mark of zero," Kai bluntly confessed. 

His classmates looked at him with wide eyes, appalled by his courage to speak against Sir Dao. 

"Ah," Sir Dao said. "I see that you've noticed. I wasn't planning on telling this to the entire class, but since you bravely asked, I might as well share it." 

"You and Bao have the same answers," Sir Dao calmly remarked. "The fact that the two of you are sitting together isn't really a coincidence, is it?" 

Kai frowned, and Bao also got confused. 

Bao looked at the papers in Kai's hands and saw that they, indeed, had the same answers. 

"Are you saying that I cheated, Sir Dao?" Kai asked, trying to match the old man's calmness.

In his past life, Kai couldn't deny that he was a loser. However, he always spoke his mind, which became one of the reasons why he wasn't liked by his classmates. 

Of course, his overall appearance contributed to their dislike, too, but Kai didn't want to acknowledge that. 

"Well, you're the one who said it," the old man smiled. 

"I didn't cheat," Kai said, defending himself since he knew he didn't do anything wrong. 

Bao subtly nodded by his side. There was no way Kai copied his answers. 

"Right, Bao?" Kai asked, turning to his classmate. 

Bao, feeling nervous about the attention that was suddenly placed on him, started shaking. 

"H—he d—didn't," he stammered. 

Kai sighed since that only seemed to make the situation worse. 

"Did he threaten Bao? Poor kid," a boy chimed. 

Others started murmuring in agreement, causing Kai's frown to deepen even more. 

He knew he wasn't liked…he was more so feared. However, the way they spoke of him was very dehumanizing. 

"There's only two ways this could go," Sir Dao said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

"You're either going to accept your score…" 

"...or you'll see me after class."