Villain: Without morals, you can’t be manipulated!

Chapter 27: Oh! Caught Cheating, Kind of Embarrassing, Huh?

The more you hate someone, the more you tend to focus on their every move.

After the exam began, Wang Cheng occasionally glanced at Qi Lin out of the corner of his eye.

At first, Qi Lin’s behavior seemed normal—he was lying on his desk, apparently sleeping, just as he had during the morning exams. During the two morning exams, Qi Lin had submitted blank answer sheets, leaving the homeroom teacher, Mei Sanyuan, shaking his head in disappointment.

Mei Sanyuan wanted to reprimand Qi Lin but ultimately held back. After all, Qi Lin’s father had donated one million yuan to the school. A million yuan in 2002 was equivalent to ten million yuan twenty years later.

Qi Lin was a known underachiever, it wouldn’t be fair to judge him by the same standards as the prodigies at Huashi No. 1 High School. Mei Sanyuan could only hope to guide Qi Lin back onto the right path over time, fulfilling his responsibility as a teacher.

______

Halfway through the exam, Wang Cheng glanced at Qi Lin again and froze. From his perspective, Qi Lin had taken out a piece of paper and placed it on his lap.

Then, for the first time, Qi Lin began writing on the test paper.

“What the… this guy’s cheating!”

Wang Cheng gasped internally.

Having been repeatedly outsmarted by Qi Lin, and after seeing Lan Yuxi buy water for him earlier, Wang Cheng’s growing resentment had begun to take root.

Instead of immediately raising an alarm, he leaned towards Lan Yuxi and whispered, “Yuxi, Yuxi!”

Lan Yuxi, busy working on her test paper, looked up in confusion. After Qi Lin’s warning during lunch, she had decided not to cheat anymore. She had torn up and discarded the answers Qi Lin returned to her, choosing to rely on her strong performance in the morning exams to secure a spot in the top three of the school.

“What’s going on?” Lan Yuxi asked softly, her expression puzzled.

“Yuxi, I’ve uncovered a shocking secret—Qi Lin is cheating!” Wang Cheng whispered excitedly.

Lan Yuxi was taken aback.

Of course, she knew Qi Lin was cheating—she had given him the answers herself!

“Yuxi, what do you think would happen if I reported him? Could he be expelled?”

Wang Cheng grinned, clearly reveling in the idea.

Seeing Lan Yuxi ride in Qi Lin’s car and buy water for him had left Wang Cheng feeling deeply threatened. Although he wanted to use Qi Lin for a bit longer, he realized Qi Lin was no longer as gullible as before. It would be better to eliminate him now while he had the chance.

But Wang Cheng’s dangerous plan left Lan Yuxi pale with fear.

“No! You absolutely can’t report him!”

Lan Yuxi hurriedly tried to stop him.

The answers Qi Lin was using were written in her handwriting. If Qi Lin was caught, she would be implicated too. Besides, Lan Yuxi now understood what kind of person Qi Lin was. If he were caught, he’d definitely expose her involvement.

“Why not? Yuxi, are you trying to protect him?”

Wang Cheng’s smile faded, and jealousy clouded his judgment.

If Lan Yuxi hadn’t tried to stop him, he might have hesitated. But seeing her panic over Qi Lin only fueled his jealousy. Before Lan Yuxi could explain, Wang Cheng abruptly stood up.

“Screech!”

The chair scraped loudly against the floor, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Teacher, I want to report that Qi Lin is cheating!”

Wang Cheng pointed at Qi Lin as he addressed Mei Sanyuan.

Turning to Qi Lin, he added righteously, “Qi Lin, because you’re my brother and my friend, I can’t let you continue down the wrong path. You may hate me today for reporting you, but one day you’ll thank me for saving you from disaster.”

Even Qi Lin felt like applauding after hearing Wang Cheng’s self-righteous speech. However, Lan Yuxi was mortified. She covered her face with her hands, feeling icy cold inside.

For the first time, she realized Wang Cheng’s intelligence might just backfire on him. Cheating was a major offense at Huashi No. 1 High School. It hadn’t happened in years.

Mei Sanyuan’s expression turned serious as he strode over to Qi Lin’s desk.

“Qi Lin, is it true that you were cheating?”

Mei Sanyuan locked eyes with Qi Lin, his gaze stern and authoritative. Despite being shorter and slimmer than Qi Lin, Mei Sanyuan’s years as a teacher and his reputation as a top educator gave him an undeniable presence. Most students wouldn’t dare look him in the eye.

But Qi Lin stood up with a smirk, meeting Mei Sanyuan’s gaze head-on.

Seeing this, even Mei Sanyuan was momentarily taken aback. This kid was different from the others.

“Oh, I got caught cheating? How embarrassing!”

After a ten-second stare-down, Qi Lin scratched his head and grinned, looking genuinely amused.

Mei Sanyuan was speechless.

Caught cheating, yet showing no fear—if anything, he seemed proud. Mei Sanyuan couldn’t figure out what was going on in this kid’s mind.

And from the way Qi Lin was acting, there wasn’t a trace of embarrassment at all.