"Do you know that bringing weapons to school is a violation of the rules? It's clearly stated in Shenghua High's regulations that students are not allowed to bring any dangerous items onto campus. Violations like this will result in disciplinary action!" The disciplinary director's expression was stern.
"I didn't bring any weapons," Jian Yiling replied.
"You didn't bring any? Are you seriously saying you didn't?" Qiu Jie retorted, exasperated. "We all saw it just now—you had a whole set of knives! And now you're playing innocent? Who do you think you're fooling?"
The disciplinary director was well aware of Jian Yiling's situation. To him, she seemed innocent now, but he remembered that this was the same girl accused of pushing her own brother down the stairs. He tried to reason with her, saying, "Jian Yiling, if you hand them over now, I can deal with this leniently. But if you continue to resist, I'll have to call your parents."
Jian Yiling calmly took out the package of surgical tools she had earlier pulled from her desk.
"Yes, that's it! Teacher, that black bag contains the weapons!" Qiu Jie eagerly pointed, feeling vindicated.
"Hand that over, Jian Yiling," the director demanded.
"It's candy," Jian Yiling stated plainly.
"Candy?"
Qiu Jie rolled her eyes. "Who are you trying to fool? You think I've never seen candy before? That's clearly a knife!"
The director, speaking with a touch of patience, said, "Jian Yiling, if you keep lying, this will be more serious than just bringing weapons to school. It's one thing to make a mistake, but making the same mistake repeatedly will eventually make people unwilling to forgive."
He was indirectly referring to the incident where Jian Yiling was accused of pushing Jian Yunnao down the stairs.
Without further explanation, Jian Yiling lifted one of the "surgical knives" and popped it into her mouth.
The entire class froze in shock. What was she doing? Her deskmate, panicking, blurted out, "Jian Yiling, don't do anything reckless!"
Then everyone heard a "crunch" as the supposed surgical knife snapped in her mouth.
It broke! Just like that, it broke! And the broken edges weren't metal at all.
Licking the candy casually, Jian Yiling explained, "It's candy. Made from a mix of sugar, glucose, and malt syrup, shaped and crafted into a knife through pulling and blowing sugar techniques."
This kind of candy art might look sharp, but it couldn't cut anything in reality.
Jian Yiling was describing "sugar art," a recognized art form. In international pastry competitions, sugar sculpting is often a required skill. While it's common to see sugar sculptures of animals, flowers, or people, Jian Yiling had taken it a step further by crafting hers into the shape of surgical knives.
Making a sugar knife look simple, but it's quite challenging. First, the color has to be just right. She had to use edible coloring to achieve a metallic hue without transparency, even in thin layers.
Jian Yiling picked up another "surgical knife" and, with a swift motion, struck it against the desk. The blade shattered into sugary crumbs.
The entire class was dumbfounded.
No one looked more foolish than Qiu Jie, who had brought the director in for nothing.
So it was candy? Real, edible candy?
In that instant, Qiu Jie felt like a complete joke.
The director's face grew dark. It was clear he hadn't anticipated this turn of events.