Seeing Director Harris glaring at him, Mr. Turkle
jumped to attention. Oh, yes, I see. Well, I think you've been in here long enough, Aiden,
he stuttered.
Then he fell at Aiden's feet. You're free to go, he whimpered. Just please, please just
don't hurt me.
Punishment for what? Director Harris asked forcefully. What happened? Mr. Turkle
trembled. Seeing that Mr. Turkle wasn't going to answer, a few students in the crowd
jumped in to explain what had happened that morning.
Cheating? Director Harris bellowed. That's ridiculous. Mr. Wiles had assured him that
Aiden was a genius.
Why would he need to cheat on an exam? He didn't believe it for a second. He turned to
the uniformed men standing beside him and issued a few sharp instructions. Find the
students who accused Aiden of cheating and bring them to me.
I'm going to figure out what's going on here. Mr. Turkle was a blubbering mess. He had
to lean his body against the wall for support.
Moments later, the students who'd accused Aiden of cheating arrived, escorted by
Director Harris' men. They looked around at the crowd before their eyes fell on the cold
face of Director Harris. Their muscles tensed.
Mr. Turkle winked at them several times in succession, but the students were too
anxious and confused to understand what he was trying to communicate to them. When
asked to explain what had happened, they repeated exactly what they'd said before.
Again, they made sure to mention that they had proof.
Aiden had given them each a note. Director Harris listened to their story and then asked
them to hand over the evidence. He took the notes, looked at them briefly, and then
handed them to one of his men.
Check it out, he said. The man immediately put on a pair of glasses and some white
gloves. Then he took some small, fragile-looking instruments out of his pocket and began to closely examine the pieces of paper.
It looked like he was using some kind of magnifying glass. The frame was covered with
several rings of black metal, which the man adjusted slightly as he worked. The handle
of the instrument was covered in small buttons.
When the man pressed one of the buttons, different colored lights flashed out.
Occasionally, the man would stop and write something down. Aiden watched the man's
movements very carefully.
He was very interested in the tool the man was using and wondered how it worked.
Watching the investigation process. Detective ability, plus one.
Current progress, one out of ten. Current level, beginner. Researching precision
instruments.
Mechanical capacity, plus one. Current progress, one out of ten. Current level, beginner.
There was total silence in the room as the crowd of people watched the man work.
Before long, the man put down his tools and reported his findings to Director Harris. The
investigation is complete, sir, he said.
After thorough analysis, I found that the handwriting on these notes is inconsistent with
Mr. Dale's. The notes are forgeries. What? Someone in the crowd gasped.
The notes were forged? It was clear now that Aiden hadn't threatened these students at
all. It was all just a lie. A complete fabrication.
As this sunk in, more and more people in the crowd turned their gaze on Aiden's
accusers. Director Harris also turned toward them. How could you do that to your own
classmate? He asked coldly.
Why would you do such a thing? No one spoke for a moment. Why? Tell me! The group
of students looked at each other nervously. They weren't sure what to do.
If you don't tell me the truth right now, Director Harris warned, I'll take you back to FBI
headquarters for interrogation. This got everyone's attention. The students bowed their
heads and tried to hold back tears.
The students were shocked and frightened. They
could not help glancing in one particular direction in the crowd. Aiden's sharp eyes were
surprised to detect panic in this crowd of old acquaintances.
At that moment, one such old acquaintance had seen the expressions on the students'
faces and decided to make himself scarce. He planned to slip away quickly. Nathan!
Aiden's cold voice barked a warning.
He saw Nathan Harris jump, like an eagle preparing to strike, directly onto the person in
front of him. Quick as lightning, Nathan's hand grabbed the boy's collar and then,
pushing hard with both hands, he threw the boy down in front of Aiden. The boy fell to
the ground and let out a gasp of pain.
Aiden looked down at him from a commanding position, his mouth curling into a sneer.
Chad! So you've come back like a bad spirit! After the end of the party, Aiden had begun
to be wary that Chad might be out for revenge. But after a few days, he had relaxed his
vigilance.
He had not expected that Chad would get involved in such a dirty trick. I… I don't
understand what you're talking about! Chad's eyes were shifty and he was not willing to
admit anything. Nathan Harris immediately turned to the students and asked gently,
Was this guy telling you what to do? Don't worry.
If you tell the truth, I can keep you out of jail. But, once you're in jail, you're on your own.
Several students trembled at this and, without hesitation, started to reveal the truth.
Yes! Chad paid us to slander Aiden! He offered us a thousand dollars each! And he said
that if we didn't help him, he would tell the principal to throw us out of the school!
Theodore Turkle's face momentarily turned ugly. He was regretting conspiring with this
student. It wasn't worth it! On hearing these confessions, a fierce discussion broke out in
the crowd.
Everyone was staring at Chad, their eyes full of contempt. A show-off like Chad stooping
to slandering a classmate to get him expelled. This kind of behavior made everyone at
Otis, teachers and students alike, simply furious.
They were glad that Aiden had made the winning move, his skill enabling him to walk out
of the trap safely. If any of them had been tricked by Chad, they'd have dragged him
down into the dirt by now. Chad, you are the lowest of the low! Clear out of Otis! We
don't have to be in the same school as you! Chad, attacked by the crowd, looked
flustered.
Seeing the anger among the Otis teachers and students, he retorted, You can't talk to
me like that! My aunt is on the board of governors! Theodore Turkle had already
despaired. He closed his eyes and castigated countless idiots in his heart. Oh, so your
aunt is on the school board! Nathan Harris' face softened into a thought-provoking smile.
Maybe we should check her out too! Chad turned pale, as he realized that he had said
something wrong. He looked around, but Theodore Turkle was silent. Principal, help me,
sir!
In the face of Chad's cry for help, Theodore Turkle,
however, pretended not to know him.
Realizing Turkle was not going to help, Chad became angry and shouted, You stupid old man! It was your idea! Are you still going to pretend that you don't know me? I'll tell
them all your dirty tricks! The onlookers were so numbed by the shock of the day's
events that this outburst felt nothing out of the ordinary. Nathan Harris' mouth twitched
upwards. He was enjoying the fun and quietly gave Aiden a thumbs up.
How could this boy always become the focus of attention? Even ordinary high school life
was full of excitement when he was around. Harris admired him. Theodore Turkle knew
that the situation was disastrous.
He was doomed to ruin today. Chad's incessant complaints irritated him, and he fought
back. You're useless! No good for anything! You're just a loser! Chad looked stricken.
He felt like punching Turkle and looked ominous. The anger from the two of them filled
the small, cool-down area as they hurled insults at each other. Aiden shook his head,
disgusted at the sight of them.
He turned and left the area. The security guards who had held him earlier were quick to
apologize now. Nathan Harris waved over several of his men and watched Theodore
Turkle and Chad being taken to the FBI-camouflaged Hummer, where the legendary FBI
treatment awaited them.
After this incident, Aiden became a celebrity at Otis High. As did Chad, in his own way.
For the nephew of a board member to be expelled was enough to have him go down in
the history of the school forever.
That day, Theodore Turkle and Chad got in the FBI Hummer, left Otis, and never came
back. The Otis School Board urgently hired a new principal. It is said that Kathy
Fortenberry lost her formal influence.
But of these things, Aiden knew nothing. From that day, he found the classroom was no
longer the right place for him. The teachers were unable to teach him anything new, so
far had his ability in various subjects developed.
In fact, they somewhat dreaded having to teach him now. Some students saw him as an
idol, and he was constantly besieged by well-meaning fans wanting selfies with him. This
made him so uncomfortable that he asked for time off from school so he did not have to
come into the classroom, but would just sit major examinations.
The school did not hesitate to agree. Aiden's reputation had grown so much that it
threatened to overshadow everything else in school. To tell the truth, the school did not
know how to deal with him and was more than happy for him to study at home.
Thus, Aiden gained his freedom. He had time to do what he wanted to do, like spending
more time in the library, acquiring more knowledge, and occasionally helping Serena. He
could look after the restaurant business in the store, and even redevelop the firewall.
However, in the corner of junior-senior class, a beautiful girl often looked at the empty
table next to her and missed its former occupant. Aiden is so strong. I will try to catch up
with him.