A small temporary stage was made beside the school gate and Mr. Wang Hao and Mr. Long Chen were standing on it holding mics in their hands.
A lady was holding a tray with some envelopes on it by the side.
"Ahem, Attention everyone!! I am Long Chen, principal of Lotus City High School and this is Mr. Wang Hao, Dean of Education of our school."
The noise level was lowered, and all the reporters went to the stage to cover the ceremony.
"We are here to happily announce that the top 3 scores of this year's College Entrance Exam are students of our Lotus City High School. Please give them a round of applause."
*Clap**Clap**Clap**Clap**Clap*.....
All the students and parents started clapping amazed by this news.
Principal Continued, "We would like to congratulate all the students for passing the exam and especially reward students who scored exceptionally in this College Entrance Exam.
"First up, #3 with a score of 670 points out of 750, Gu Tianchen broke the record for the highest score of Lotus City. Please come up and receive the award"
.....there was sudden silence on the ground.
Gu Feitian dropped his phone, Zhao Lang on the other hand fainted and almost fell. Thankfully Gu Jing'er was attentive enough to catch her in time.
"Gu Tianchen? Where is he?" he looked at Wang Hao but even he did not know the answer. He glanced at the crowd and saw Gu Family there so he whispered something to the principal.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Gu Tianchen is not here at the moment so we would like to request his parents Mr. Gu Feitian and Mrs. Zhao Lang to come up and accept the reward."
Only a small section of the audience clapped this time, mostly those who came late and did not see Gu Family's campaigning.
Gu Feitian felt the world spinning but after Gu Ling tugged him, he held Zhao Lang's hand and went up the stage to accept the reward. He was walking like a crab.
Although the situation turned worse, it was still salvageable. After all the score was still there and so was the record that was broken.
"Next up, Congratulations to Ms. Zhu Yiting for scoring second highest core in the city. She scored 685 points out of 750. She refreshed the city score record which was just broken. Hearty congratulations to Miss Zhu Yiting and her family"
Zhu Yiting went up with her parents who took their time giving a speech. Sharing their secrets with the parents but most of it was bragging and highlighting their business.
5 minutes later ceremony continued.
"Finally, We would like to congratulate this student who made history right at this place."
"He not only scored the highest score in the city but refreshed the record again. He also made the name of our city in the whole province by taking 2nd spot of top scorers in the whole province."
The audience went silent again, but this time due to joy, pride, and shock.
Long Chen continued, "He scored a record-breaking 735 points out of 750 points. Placing at #1 in the city and #2 in the Province. He is also ranked 15th on the national level. Let us welcome this amazing child.."
By this time Lei Feng was already walking towards the stage while holding Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu's hands intending to take them on the stage.
Gu Feitian lost all interest in the score, he just wanted to go back and handle the mess so he was instructing his people to remove the banners and van.
The three sisters were standing there watching while supporting their mother, Gu Ling insisted on staying because she wanted to contact the topper, so they could ask him to speak for Ancient Group.
What happened next left them flabbergasted.
"Please welcome!! Student Lei Feng on stage!!!!!!!"
Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu went up the stage with Lei Feng and shook hands with the Principal and Mr. Wang.
Lei Feng accepted the envelope with a cheque amounting to 100,000 yuan.
He thanked his teachers and both Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu like his parents and proceeded off the stage.
Just as he was about to go down there someone shouted
"You must have cheated!!!!!!"
No need to guess, it was Zhao Lang who shouted this sentence.
Earlier when she heard Lei Feng she thought it was just the same name but when he boarded the stage, she was truly shocked. Even scared.
"How can you top the school? You must have cheated. Yes, You cheated."
Everyone was amazed by the sudden development. Reporters saw another controversy to gain ratings.
At this moment Zhao Lang came to the front and started accusing again, "I know him, he is my son. How can he score so high? He must have cheated."
She talked shamelessly like a shrew.
Lei Feng who was descending the stage suddenly looked towards her, his eyes turning colder by the second. He went back up the stage.
The Principal looked at Wang Hao asking if she is the mother then who were the ones who came up?
Wang Hao could only tell they are the guardians as per student Lei Feng.
"Mrs. Zhao Lang please mind your words. We are live on television. Every word you speak can ruin a child's image" Principal advised.
Lei Feng took the mic from Wang Hao's hand and came towards the end of the stage and said, "I do not have any relation with this woman. She is just bad-mouthing me because I scored more than her son."
Gu Feitian and the daughters were running towards the stage as well to control Zhao Lang before she spoke anything that might put them in a bad position,
"Then why did you only score 550 marks in the final spirit exam if you were that good?" Zhao Lang retorted.
"It is called controlling the score. Can't you see I got the same marks in every subject?" Lei Feng said with a sneer.
"No, you must have cheated. My son had the best teachers, the best study material, best supplements. How could you score higher than him?"
"Madam, these things play a role in exams but nothing is more important than hard work. Also, you keep accusing Student Lei of cheating. Please restrain yourself or we will sue you." Principal interjected in between trying to make both sides back out.
Lei Feng closed the deal with an irrefutable sentence.
"Please tell me from whom did I cheat? I scored 735 points which is 65 points more than your son and 50 points more than #2 spot."
That was a mic drop. Zhao Lang was tongue-tied.
But no logic can stop a crazy woman. When Lei Feng came down the stage she ran towards him.
Lei Feng came down and started answering the reporters,
"Excuse me are you the lost child Gu Family recognized as their son?"
"No, I have no connection with Gu Family. I am an Orphan. Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu here are the closest kin I have here."
This triggered the approaching Zhao Lang who shouted "You ungrateful bastard..." while fighting the crowd.
But, she was stopped mid-way by Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu.
Zhao Lang said "What sort of school is this? Allowing such smelly people to enter the school. Move aside I want to talk to my son."
"We are Xiao Feng's neighbors and we are closer to him than your family who turned a healthy boy into a malnourished patient." Uncle Xu said
"We might not be as rich as you but we know the meaning of the word 'family' much better than you. I won't allow you to hurt him anymore." Aunt Xu stepped up face to face with Zhao Lang.
By this time Gu Feitian caught up and forcefully dragged her away from the reporters.