An Wen pretended not to hear the other students' comments. She walked to her desk and sat down, but her classmates were still staring at her.
Zeng Xiuman turned around and asked, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine," An Wen replied.
"Why would she need to worry? She was placed in the advanced class right after she transferred to this school. Coming from such an influential background, the school would never dare to provoke her." Zou Yingying scoffed.
An Wen was a good-looking person who was usually gentle and quiet. Most of her classmates in the advanced class were fond of her, but they no longer felt the same way after hearing that she had cheated during the examinations.
Regardless of their appearance, cheaters did not deserve to stay in the advanced class.
"An Wen, did you really cheat?" Shi Jing suddenly asked.
"Shi Jing, the headteacher and our teachers have already said that she cheated. Why are you still asking that question?" Zou Yingying angrily spat.
"Our class teacher previously made a rule that any of our classmates who cheat during the examinations must leave the advanced class, regardless of how the school handles the matter." Shi Jing asked worriedly, "An Wen, have you seen our class teacher yet?"
"You don't have to bother seeing the class teacher. Anyone in this class who cheats must leave!" one of their classmates yelled.
"An Wen, you should request to be transferred to another class on your own," someone else suggested.
"Since the school won't reveal anything about this cheating incident, we'll help you conceal it if you willingly transfer out of the advanced class," Shi Jing said.
Tang Rui unexpectedly piped up, "An Wen, did you really cheat?"
Shi Jing and the other students were shocked. She asked, "Tang Rui, what are you trying to say?"
A female student immediately stood up and angrily said, "Why should we hide this for her sake? If she's bold enough to cheat in this class, she should just get out. Do you feel sorry for her just because she's kind of pretty? Why don't you feel sorry for the rest of us who stayed up late just to study?"
"You're right!" Another girl sneered coldly.
"Yes, she's right," An Wen said before she glanced faintly in Shi Jing's direction and said, "The rules of the advanced class state that cheaters must leave the class. This is completely reasonable. Those who cheat will end up disrupting the exams while making them unfair. An incident like that would definitely cause a lot of anger in a school with extremely competitive students. The other students would certainly be unsatisfied if the cheater wasn't punished."
"Are you saying that you're going to leave the advanced class on your own because you regret your actions?" Wu Yufei could not help but ask.
"I said that cheaters should leave the advanced class. Why should I leave when I never cheated?" An Wen's tone did not give anything away while a mysterious look seeped through her pretty and innocent eyes.
The students in the advanced class were nearly deceived by An Wen's expression. For some reason, they almost believed her when she said those things.
"Are you still refusing to admit it?" Zou Yingying scoffed rudely.
"What am I supposed to admit?" An Wen said suspiciously, "Today has been such a strange day. First, the headteacher called me to his office. He suspected that, because I finished the examinations so quickly, I knew the questions in advance. However, the school did not reveal this matter because it was merely a suspicion. How did everyone find out about this as soon as I left the office?"
"In the first place, you shouldn't have done it if you didn't want everyone else to find out," Zou Yingying replied.
"You're right, other people will inevitably hear about the malicious acts that you've committed. Someone has brazenly spread rumors and accused me of cheating even though the school has yet to finish investigating. The person who made these false allegations against me will definitely be severely punished once they've been discovered. After all, they slandered a student and tarnished the school's reputation."
"What do you mean? Why would that tarnish the school's reputation?" Wu Yufei asked, confused.
"The culprit lied and said that the school had made a decision when the case was not even settled yet. These rumors will definitely give the school a bad name once they've discovered that I was innocent all along. The culprit harmed a student by spreading false information without properly investigating the matter. Do you think that parents will have enough confidence to send their children to this school without any worries? I'm going to defend my rights and sue the school if anything happens to me!"
...