Chapter 376: Leaked Questions
Ye Ci was shocked. Subconsciously, she looked up and saw Ye Ming walking in with a gloomy face. There was a storm brewing on his face, and his eyes were filled with fury.
His expression this time was even scarier than when he had found out that Ye Ci had been caught cheating and rushed to the Capital from Yunzhou.
Ye Ci felt uneasy and fear rose in her heart.
“Dad… Why are you–”
Ye Ming walked over and took her phone without saying a word.
Ye Yiming also heard the commotion and asked repeatedly, “Uncle Ming? What’s wrong?”
Ye Ming did not speak and immediately cut off the phone call with a sullen face.
The unease in Ye Ci’s heart grew stronger.
“Dad…”
Ye Ming suddenly threw the phone away!
Bang!
He had used so much force that the phone fell to the ground and the screen completely shattered!
Ye Ci’s entire body shrank.
If Ye Ming’s slap had landed on her…
Her tears kept flowing.
It was due to fear, but also due to a feeling of grievance.
Ye Ming’s anger towards her in these past two days had been more than it had been in the past ten years!
The slap earlier had already broken her heart.
However, that had been because she had been caught cheating. He had been so angry that it had caused him to act impulsively.
But now, what was the reason??
Ye Ming’s voice was filled with uncontrollable anger.
“Ye Ci! I think you’re crazy! How could I, Ye Ming, have a daughter like you?!”
Ye Ci was stunned by his harsh reprimand.
Hurried footsteps were heard.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Yuan had been resting in the cubicle because Ye Ci had said that she wanted to be alone. Hence, she had stayed there.
When she heard the sound of the phone hitting the ground, she had realized that something was wrong and quickly come over.
When she saw how furious Ye Ming was, and the badly smashed phone on the ground, Su Yuan’s eyebrows raised.
“What’s wrong? Hubby, Xiao Ci is suffering right now. Don’t be so angry at her–”
“You don’t know what she has done!”
Ye Ming interrupted Su Yuan’s words abruptly. He was obviously extremely angry!
He raised his hand and pointed at Ye Ci, enunciating each word clearly.
“Not only has your own future and reputation been ruined, are you going to implicate the Ye family now?”
Ye Ci was completely dumbfounded.
“Dad, what… what are you talking about?”
What did he mean by implicating the Ye family?
Could it be because of the disciplinary notice and the summary of the results that had just been revealed?
However, in the end, it was still her who would be affected the most!
The Ye family’s reputation might suffer somewhat because of this, but from what Ye Ming had said, it was clearly about more than that–
Ye Ming looked at her with a livid expression.
He suppressed the anger in his heart and said to Su Yuan, “You go out first.”
How could Su Yuan feel at ease enough to leave this situation?
She took a step forward, intending on pulling Ye Ming with her, but she met his extremely cold gaze.
“I said, go out! Didn’t you hear me?!”
Su Yuan immediately stopped in her tracks. Her face had become flushed due to her extreme embarrassment.
She had married Ye Ming to raise her social status. Therefore, throughout all these years, she had always behaved in a gentle and careful manner.
Not to say that she was completely obedient to Ye Ming, but she could be considered more or less so.
At the very least, when Ye Ming was angry, she definitely did not dare to talk back.
All she could say was, “Alright, then why don’t you talk things over with Xiao Ci now… I’ll wait for you outside.”
With that, she left.
Only Ye Ci and Ye Ming were left in the room.
Seeing this, Ye Ci could feel that something was wrong. It was as if something was grabbing her heart and was slowly sinking.
Ye Ming stared at her.
“Are you still saying that you don’t know? Don’t you know what happened to the cheat sheet that you brought into the examination room?”
Ye Ci felt uncomfortable being scolded, and her voice became shrill.
“Dad! I told you, that cheat sheet was given to me by Ning Li–”
Ye Ming suddenly sneered.
“How can you still say that at a time like this? That cheat sheet contained the actual questions of this year’s National Physics Competition’s final exam! Are you still insisting that it was Ning Li who harmed you? Are you still saying that she was the one who gave you that cheat sheet?”
Ye Ci was stunned.
She had heard every word of Ye Ming’s words, but how could she not understand it when they were connected?
The actual questions…
The actual questions!?
“Impossible!”
Ye Ci seemed to have been greatly stimulated, and her first reaction was to deny it.
“How could the questions on it be the actual questions!?”
Ye Ming pointed at her.
“You should ask yourself this!”
Ye Ci’s mind was in a jumble.
“How could it be… How could it be!?”
The note that she had secretly stuffed into Ning Li’s clothes had been questions that she had casually copied from the Winter Camp’s course work.
In fact, it had not mattered what it was. As long as there was something written on it, it could have proven that Ning Li had cheated.
She knew that the note that she had been caught in the exam with, was not the one that she had prepared for Ning Li.
Both cheat sheets had been different.
However, she had always thought that the one that Ning Li had given her would be similar to hers.
But… how could it have contained the actual questions?
Ye Ming gritted his teeth.
“Back then, I even asked you if everything had been deleted. What did you say!?”
After Ye Ci had been caught cheating, this was actually what he had been the most worried about.
However, at that time, Ye Ci had repeatedly promised that she had deleted everything, so he had believed her.
At that time, all he could think about was that Ye Ci was being punished for cheating, which would definitely affect the Ye family’s reputation, and he had only wanted to suppress the matter as soon as possible.
Who would have known that even until now, it would result in an explosion!
On the cheat sheet that Ye Ci had been caught with, in the examination room, were the original questions of the final exam paper with a miniature seal!
Ye Ming’s questioning stunned Ye Ci completely.
After a long while, she finally found her voice.
“Dad, where did you hear this news from?”
Ye Ming sneered.
“The National Organizing Committee has already sent out an investigation notice on the official website! Tell me how I found out!”
The blood drained from Ye Ci’s lips, and her legs went limp as she collapsed onto the sofa.
…
At 5 pm, just as the scores were posted together which caused a huge public discussion, a piece of news was quietly and quickly uploaded.
[ School incident 2-3: Shocking News! According to the rumors, the cheat sheet that Ye Ci had brought in on the day of the cheating contained the original questions of the physics competition test paper! This cheating incident might also involve the competition examinees and internal personnel leaking the question! Attached is a screenshot of the investigation notice posted by the National Competition Organizing Committee on the official website. ]
Under the text, there was a picture attached.
It was an investigation notice that clearly stated that there had been an incident of leaking the questions in the competition.
Although there was no name in it, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was referring to Ye Ci and her cheat sheet.
The organizing committee said that the incident of leaking the questions was already under investigation. After the results were out, they would immediately announce it to the public and deal with it strictly.
Once this matter had come out, the entire Internet was in an uproar!
It turned out that Ye Ci had not just cheated!
She had also participated in this leak incident!
Very soon–
The entry for the #National Physics Competition Leak Problem Ye Ci# rushed to the top of the hot searches.
Within just 20 minutes, the search volume had exceeded 10 million, and the black and red word “Explosive” was affixed at the end!
Chapter 377: Let’s Owe It First
Cheating and leaking questions were two completely different things.
About the former, most people would just gossip about it, join in the fun, and discuss a few things.
However, the matter of leaking questions was not the same.
This matter was extremely bad and involved a great deal.
If not, the organizing committee of the competition would not have issued such a serious statement.
Compared to the previous statement about bringing cheat sheets into the examination room to cheat, the matter of leaking the questions was truly stepping on the red line of fairness in the competition and the examination!
Therefore, once this news broke out, it quickly became the top trending topic and attracted the attention of the whole nation!
...
The Lu family.
Ning Li looked at her phone indifferently.
On Weibo, the top trending list and the front page, everyone was discussing the matter of the questions being leaked.
Ye Ci was only a senior high school student. How could she have gotten hold of the actual questions for the National Physics Competition Exam?
Obviously, there had been other people helping with the operation.
As for who this person was...
Her father, Ye Ming, of course, was the most probable person.
After all, the Ye family was considered one of the top wealthiest families in Yunzhou, and Ye Ming had been in the business world for decades. He had no lack of means and connections.
If it had not been him, then who else could it have been?
Although there was no evidence yet, such an extremely private matter involved huge benefits. Other than Ye Ming who had the closest relationship with Ye Ci, there was no one else who came to mind.
Within a short period of time, #Ye Ming#, #Yunzhou’s Ye family# were also trending one after another.
Having started from Ye Ci, now even the Ye family had been dragged out from behind her.
A large amount of information about Ye Ci and the Ye family appeared, and even Ye Ming’s life history had been scrutinized intensely within a short period of time.
Looking at the rapidly increasing search volume, reading volume, and discussion rate, Ning Li raised her eyebrows slightly.
It was such a pity that she could not see the Ye family’s reaction at this moment with her own eyes.
Ye Ci had given her a “small surprise” and in return, she had given her a “gift package”, the kind with many gifts.
She did not know whether they liked it or not.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door.
“Li.”
It was Lu Huaiyu’s voice.
Ning Li put away her phone and got up to open the door.
“Second Brother.”
Lu Huaiyu leaned against the door frame:
“It’s time to eat.”
Ning Li thought for a moment and suddenly raised her hand to pull on his sleeve.
Lu Huaiyu raised his eyebrows slightly,
“What’s wrong?”
Ning Li pulled him gently and looked behind him.
Lu Huaiyu leaned forward and smiled.
“Grandpa and the others are in the living room. They won’t be able to hear you. Just tell me.”
Ning Li shook her phone and asked softly, “Second Brother, did you do this?”
Even though her question was vague, but Lu Huaiyu knew what she was asking.
The summary of the results had been something that she had prepared long ago.
The investigation statement of the organizing committee of the competition had also been within her expectations.
Previously, there had been a lot of arguments on the internet. She had not made a sound because she had been waiting for such an opportunity.
This series of solid attacks was enough to make Ye Ci and the entire Ye family extremely anxious.
However, the progress of all of this had been much smoother than she had expected, and the storm that had been stirred up had gotten even greater.
This included the series of revelations that were related to the Ye family. Whether it was true or not, it was overwhelming and did not give the Ye family any chance to catch their breath.
Beneath the huge heat, it was as if there was an invisible hand that was forcefully and resolutely attempting to pull the entire Ye family down.
And this person...
Lu Huaiyu smiled.
“What did I do? I merely helped them complete their KPI for this year ahead of time. Their vice president just called and said that he wanted to treat me to a meal.”
Ning Li, “...”
Lu Huaiyu rubbed her head.
“This matter was already a hot topic. I was just taking advantage of the situation.”
If he had not made a move, this matter would not have developed so quickly. After all, public opinion needed time to ferment.
Now, with just a gentle push, he had easily taken away the Ye family’s last bit of leeway.
It had neither been a big nor small effort.
To him, it was a piece of cake.
If he had not guessed that Ning Li had other plans, he would not have waited until now.
Seeing his little girl being criticized for an entire day and night, he had already held on to his patience for long enough.
“Oh.”
Ning Li finally let go of his hand. It looked like tiny lights were flickering in her beautiful and clear peach blossom eyes as she looked at him.
“Thank you, Second Brother.”
Lu Huaiyu’s eyelids drooped slightly, the sleeves of his shirt having been slightly wrinkled by the young girl’s slender and fair fingers.
His thin, scarlet lips curved.
“Is that all?”
Ning Li was stunned.
Didn’t... didn’t he just say that he barely did anything?
In the blink of an eye, why was he asking for favors?
However, he had helped, especially regarding blocking her personal information and dealing with the Ye family...
“Then, how do you want me to thank you, Second Brother?”
Ning Li asked with uncertainty.
She owed Lu Huaiyu many favors, but he rarely mentioned it.
It wasn’t that she did not want to pay him back, but she really had not had the chance yet.
Lu Huaiyu had been born into an aristocratic family, and he was outstanding in all aspects.
There was nothing that he lacked.
So, what could she do to help him?
Lu Huaiyu looked at her.
Due to the difference in height, she raised her small face and slightly widened her eyes. Her crimson red lips were slightly parted.
She was caught off guard, soft and sweet.
It seemed that this question really troubled her.
Lu Huaiyu’s eyes darkened before he then smiled.
“I can’t think of anything at the moment. You can just owe it to me first.”
Ning Li blinked, only able to nod in response.
“Okay.”
Lu Huaiyu raised his brows slightly, and the smile at the corners of his eyes deepened.
The young girl had agreed so quickly. It was like she really had no fear of being abducted.
...
The Lu family’s dinner tonight was exceptionally sumptuous.
It was rare for Old Master Lu to bring out the rare wine that he had been saving for a long time.
“This is to celebrate our Ah Li getting first place in the national competition! Ah Li, Grandpa has been keeping this wine hidden for a long time. You won’t be able to get this from anyone else! Do you want to give it a try?”
“No–
“She’s not allowed to.”
Chapter 378: Was Not For Him
Ning Li was just about to refuse him, but Lu Huaiyu, who was sitting across from her, was even faster.
He looked at Old Master Lu.
“Grandpa, did you forget that Ah Li is only seventeen?”
Old Master Lu suddenly felt guilty and withdrew his hand that was about to pour the wine.
“Ahem! Oh, it’s just that I’m happy because Ah Li did so well in the exam! Besides, it’s not that much. It shouldn’t be a big deal to just take a sip…”
Lu Huaiyu’s expression remained unchanged.
“Dr. Yan said that you can only have one cup at most.”
Old Master Lu, “…”
Even though Ah Li had done so well in the exam, he still would not even allow anyone to drink two glasses!
Lu Huaiyu raised his hand and brought the bottle of wine over to him.
Old Master Lu looked at the poor little wine glass in front of him. The wine was clear and bright, but… It was too little!
He sighed deeply.
The air was filled with the strong and clear smell of wine.
Ning Li took another look at the bottle of wine.
For Old Master Lu to be so fixated on it, it must be a good wine.
Lu Huaiyu raised his eyebrows when he saw her gaze.
“You can’t drink it no matter how much you look at it.”
Ning Li recovered her senses and defended herself by saying, “I didn’t want to drink it…”
It wasn’t important whether she wanted to or not. What was important was that her taste in wine was really…
Lu Huaiyu placed the wine further away and took a glass of juice from the side.
“Children should drink this.”
Ning Li pressed her lips together slightly.
This thought had not occurred to her at first, but when Lu Huaiyu had said this…
She asked, “Then, can I drink it at eighteen?”
Old Master Lu also felt sorry for Ning Li.
“Ah Li, don’t listen to him! This kid and his brother aren’t that obedient either!”
Lu Huaiyu leaned against the back of the chair and looked up at Ning Li. He saw that the young girl’s eyes were filled with dissatisfaction. After a while, he smiled.
“Yeah.”
“You can drink it… when you turn eighteen.”
Ning Li took a bite of the shrimp.
Eighteen it was then.
There were only a few months left anyway.
“Then Second Brother, you can’t go back on your word.”
If Lu Huaiyu continued to insist on something like that…
Lu Huaiyu laughed.
“I always keep my word.”
…
Ning Li stayed at the Lu family home that night.
Old Master Lu was in a good mood, so he insisted on playing chess with Lu Huaiyu, even allowing Ning Li to watch from the side.
Ning Li sat down next to Old Master Lu.
Old Master Lu chatted with Ning Li as he played.
“Ah Li, you guys will be taking the college entrance exam in three months, right?”
As he spoke, he placed down his chess piece.
Ning Li nodded.
“That’s very fast! When you’re done with the exam–”
Before Old Master Lu could finish his words, he saw Lu Huaiyu move a white piece on the opposing side to directly block his path.
He hurriedly said, “Hey! No, no! I made the wrong move just now! Let’s start again!”
Lu Huaiyu did not move.
“Grandpa, you should not regret making your move.”
Old Master Lu looked anxiously at the board.
“My piece hadn’t even been placed properly, yet you already placed yours! How can this work?”
He winked at Ning Li.
“Ah Li, don’t you agree?”
Ning Li, “…Yes.”
Old Master Lu looked at Lu Huaiyu proudly.
“Did you hear that? Even Ah Li said so! Quick, take away that piece of yours!”
Lu Huaiyu turned his gaze slightly, and his gaze fell on Ning Li.
Ning Li did not look away.
“Second Brother, Grandpa Lu’s chess piece just now had indeed not been placed properly yet.”
Lu Huaiyu looked at her for a while, before smiling.
“Alright.”
As he spoke, he slowly took back the chess piece.
Old Master Lu held the chess piece in his hand and stared at the chessboard for a long time before he hesitantly placed it in a position.
Ning Li looked at the position where he had placed the chess piece. She wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, she refrained from saying anything.
Lu Huaiyu asked, “Are you sure this time?”
Old Master Lu immediately raised his hand and awkwardly changed to another position.
Snap.
Ning Li looked away.
Lu Huaiyu raised his eyebrows.
“You’re not changing it this time?”
Old Master Lu rubbed his hands together.
“I’m not changing it! This is it!”
Lu Huaiyu and the slender fingers of the pavilion held a chess piece and fell to the side.
Snap.
Old Master Lu was stunned for a moment.
“Aiya! That’s not right! I saw wrongly just now! I didn’t want to put it there. You, you pick up the chess piece first!”
Lu Huaiyu continued to hold himself in a laidback manner.
“What did you say just now?”
Old Master Lu’s voice suddenly stopped and his lips moved soundlessly.
After a long while, he said, “Ah Li didn’t see the previous two steps clearly just now. Shall I play it again for her?”
Ning Li, “…”
Lu Huaiyu seemed to have expected this. Hearing this, he looked at Ning Li.
“Is that so?”
Ning Li coughed lightly.
“… Yes.”
Lu Huaiyu obeyed and picked up his chess piece.
“Alright, let me show you again.”
…
On this night, Ning Li finally saw what a sneaky chess game was like.
In this one game of chess, Old Master Lu regretted his moves eleven times.
It was amazing.
The key was that Old Master Lu always used her as an excuse.
In the end, she wished she could play the game herself.
After a long back and forth game of chess, Old Master Lu finally won and went to rest in satisfaction.
Lu Huaiyu patiently sorted the pieces back and placed them back into the container.
The light in the study was warm, the light reflected onto his cold face. The light and shadow intersected, like a frozen scroll that could only be seen from afar and could not be touched.
Ning Li sat beside him, resting her chin on her hand. She was lost in her thoughts as she observed him.
On this day in her previous life, she had been in a state of chaos.
In the long time that had followed, she would occasionally dream.
What she saw in the dream, was a solemn and quiet examination room. She saw a piece of paper falling from her sleeve over and over again. She heard the countless doubts and insults that had overwhelmed her from all directions.
Now, however, she was at the Lu family… Eating, playing chess, and chatting.
It was peaceful and so very precious.
Lu Huaiyu suddenly looked over at her.
“What are you thinking about?”
Ning Li came back to her senses and her eyes lit up.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about the chess game with Grandpa Lu. It was quite interesting.”
Lu Huaiyu could hear the slight sarcasm in her words. He chuckled.
“Grandpa usually doesn’t play chess like this.”
Ning Li didn’t believe it. “Really?”
Lu Huaiyu stood up and placed the chess container on the bookshelf.
“Of course it’s true.”
It wasn’t that Grandfather Lu was a good chess player. However, under normal circumstances, Lu Huaiyu would rarely give in to him like this.
“I only gave in a little more today.”
Lu Huaiyu said.
Ning Li nodded in understanding.
“Oh… I think it’s okay to give in occasionally, but today…”
She coughed lightly and changed the euphemism.
“Second Brother, it’ll be easy to allow Grandpa Lu to become a crooked player this way.”
Lu Huaiyu paused and laughed lazily.
“It’s not like I made way for him today.”