968 Online Uproar
After hanging up, the man immediately released a statement saying that Yao Tang was one of the key persons in charge of the exams. He made a point of clarifying that while she had chosen which questions were coming out on the tests, they were all posited and submitted by tenured professors from all around the country.

Needless to say, the statement caused an uproar online.

“What the hell? Yao Tang is a student, too, isn’t she? How could she be involved in the exam papers? What gives her the right?”

“It’s no wonder that No. 1 High School did so well this year. Yao Tang must have leaked the questions to the school beforehand.”

“I heard that the top student of No. 1 High School is from Class 12. I’ve always been confused, since it was the last class in their grade. Then I read somewhere that Yao Tang didn’t take the college entrance exams. I think it all makes sense now.”

“How could they permit such a thing? Don’t they have standards for the people in charge? Yao Tang is a third year high school student herself! Why would they let her anywhere near the exam questions? Is she even qualified?”

People on the Internet were clamoring for answers. They refused to believe that Yao Tang was fit for the role she had played, and suspected that there was something fishy about the entire setup.

Because, no matter how talented or hardworking Yao Tang was, there was no way she could be better than everyone else in her age group, right?
Surely her awards were not enough to put her on the same level as experienced academics with several degrees to their name.

They should have assigned a reputable professor to choose the questions, not some student who, by all rights, should have taken the exams as well.

Even without the possible conflict of interest, how could they have given such an important task to a mere student?

When the public outrage reached the students of No. 1 High School, an online debate ensued.

The campus was split into two factions. One group felt that Yao Tang’s brilliance was quite obvious, based on her grades and academic achievements, and the fact that she was the one authorized to choose the exams’ questions served as an acknowledgment of their school. All in all, she had brought honor and recognition to the school’s name.

Meanwhile, the other group believed that there was something to be said about Class 12 having top-scoring students, and it had to do with Yao Tang’s involvement in the exams. They were already aware of her remedial classes, and were now convinced that she had done something underhanded to boost her classmates’ performance.

The argument had blown up to the point that Principal Kong’s attention was called. He called for an emergency faculty meeting in his office.

Principal Kong slammed a fist against his desk and scowled at the teachers before him. “How can you let this matter go out of hand? You hold authority over the students!

“How can you question Yao Tang’s abilities when you have witnessed them first-hand? Do you honestly think that she is the kind of person who would leak the questions and encourage her classmates to cheat?

“I’m telling you, that child is more steadfast than most adults! She knows the importance of the college entrance exams better than anyone. She would never jeopardize its validity, not even for her friends.

“But you people! How can you call yourselves educators when you are so easily swayed by online comments? Don’t you have opinions of your own? Write me a letter of remorse, all of you! Five thousand words each!”

The teachers exchanged a miserable glance upon hearing this, but none of them dared to speak up. They simply waited to be dismissed and quietly returned to their respective rooms.

They had somehow found relief in Principal Kong’s words and confidence in Yao Tang. In contrast, the conflict among the students only worsened, and a lot of them started to target Class 12 and sling mud at them online.

“It doesn’t make any sense for Class 12 to be at the top of the grade. If it weren’t for Yao Tang tutoring you after class, I doubt you would even qualify for the college entrance exams. Just come clean and admit that you cheated already!”

“Class 12 has disgraced our school.”

“I refuse to recognize the test results of Class 12.”

At that same moment, Yao Tang’s classmates huddled around her in their classroom. They were up to date with the recent posts flooding the school forum.

She looked at them and offered a tight smile. “I’m sorry about this.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Lin Xin said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You were chosen to be in charge of the questions by esteemed professors. That means that they acknowledged your capabilities. Otherwise, they could have just done it themselves.”

“Right,” another classmate chimed in. “Besides, you would have never given us the real test questions in advance right?”

Yao Tang shook her head. “Of course, not. They recruited me at the last minute, too.”

Meng Yang scoffed. “I expected us to deal with students from other schools getting jealous of No. 1 High School. I never expected that we would have to put up with our own schoolmates who are jealous of our class!”