After Transmigrating into a Book, I Saved the Cheap Shou - Chapter 9

“Hey, have you guys heard? There’s a huge scandal in the first year!”

“What is it? We’re already being crushed by homework every day. Hurry up and share some juicy gossip.”

“Your servant obeys.” The gossip guy pretended to bow like an ancient official. A group of people gathered around him as he continued, “I heard someone in the first year cheated on the exam.”

“Huh? Someone actually dared to cheat at our school? Don’t the teachers monitor really strictly?”

The gossip deliverer looked satisfied with everyone’s reactions and deliberately built suspense: “And the most important part… the cheater is from Class 1!”

“Oh my god, is he crazy?!”

“I heard about it too. Apparently it’s an Omega?”

“So what happened to him in the end?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? He’ll probably be sent to Class 15.”

“Ah, a fragile little Omega sent to Class 15 — that den of wolves and tigers. He’ll be eaten alive until not even scraps are left!”

Gu Jingning’s hand paused while writing, leaving a deep scratch on his notebook. This was obviously about Su Chen. Just as expected, after the mid-term exams, Teacher Zheng had started to make her move.

“Ning, do you want some… Eh? Class is about to start. Where are you going? Ning!” Gu Jingning ignored Lin Mo calling from behind. He grabbed his phone and quickly left the classroom, heading straight for the first-year building.

—

In the original plot, although the story focused heavily on the romance between the gong and shou, Qingyang was still one of the top high schools in the country. The school promoted survival of the fittest among students, with extremely uneven distribution of learning resources. The difference between elite classes and the worst classes was like heaven and earth. Because everyone wanted to get into a good university, students fought desperately to enter the top classes.

That was why the school cracked down hard on cheating. To prevent people from using dishonest methods to take spots that belonged to hardworking students, anyone caught cheating would be immediately demoted to the last class.

Su Chen was clearly a Class 1 student who occupied the best learning environment, yet because of “cheating,” he had robbed others of the opportunity they dreamed of. Many students thought Su Chen was incredibly stupid, while others were secretly happy that a spot in Class 1 had opened up.

When Gu Jingning arrived at the office, a large crowd had already gathered outside to watch the show.

“He was the top entrance scorer? I bet his grades were bought.”

“No way. I heard his family is really poor and he works part-time after school. I saw him working as a cashier at a convenience store last time.”

“Damn, I’ve hated him for a long time. An Omega surpassing a bunch of Alphas? Shouldn’t Omegas just be pretty decorations?”

“Hey! What kind of straight Alpha cancer bullshit are you spouting?!” An Zhixia had been standing outside the office, worried about Su Chen, but the surrounding gossip made her angrier and angrier.

“I’m not wrong…” The Alpha refused to back down, but was immediately surrounded and attacked by a group of Omegas. The crowd thinned out, conveniently opening a spot so Gu Jingning could clearly see what was happening inside the office.

—

Half an hour earlier.

Inside the office, Su Chen kept his head lowered while Teacher Zheng passionately ranted about how heartbroken she was when she discovered the cheat sheet in Su Chen’s desk.

“Teacher Zheng, calm down first. Have some water.” The academic director handed her a cup, comforting the dramatic, tearful Teacher Zheng. Then she turned to the bowed-head student and asked, “Su Chen, do you have anything to say about this note?”

She remembered this student clearly — a high-achieving Omega who had left a strong impression. She had hoped he would get into a good university and bring more glory to Qingyang. She never expected her promising seedling would do something like this.

“How could such a good student resort to cheating?” another teacher couldn’t help muttering.

“I didn’t cheat…”

“Heavens above! Su Chen, even though I was only your homeroom teacher for a few weeks, you can’t lie just because you cheated!”

“Teacher Zheng! The student hasn’t even said two sentences yet. Why are you wailing?” Teacher Chen was disgusted by Zheng’s obviously fake performance. As Class 1’s homeroom teacher, he had observed Su Chen’s character and believed his student wasn’t the type to cheat. Unfortunately, he had no evidence. Still, he asked, “What about the classroom surveillance? Has it been checked?”

A teacher beside him replied, “We just confirmed it. From three days ago until Teacher Zheng found the note in the desk, no one touched Su Chen’s seat.”

The air in the office seemed to freeze. The teachers’ distrustful gazes stabbed into him like needles. Under the suffocating atmosphere, Su Chen took a deep breath, calmed himself, and looked straight into the academic director’s eyes. “I did not cheat.”

Then he glanced at the “evidence” on the table. “The formula written on that note — teachers can compare it with my exam paper. I didn’t use that formula at all.”

Teacher Zheng slammed the table and stood up emotionally. “Impossible! That’s a commonly used formula within this exam’s scope. How could you solve the questions without it?”

“Why is Teacher so anxious? Wouldn’t it be clear if we just let other teachers compare it?”

Ten minutes later, the first-year math teacher finished checking and said, “Student Su indeed did not use that method. He used a theory that is only taught in second year.” He pushed up his glasses and praised, “Even though it’s second-year material, Student Su has already mastered it. The answer is also completely correct. Amazing! Did you learn this yourself?”

“Senior Gu, who supervises self-study in our class, taught me.”

“Ah, it was Jingning. No wonder you learned it so well.”

Seeing the atmosphere gradually warming up, Teacher Zheng couldn’t sit still. “You still can’t prove this note isn’t yours, can you, Su Chen?”

“Teacher makes a fair point. But would I go through all that trouble to copy a formula I don’t even need? If I was going to risk getting caught, why wouldn’t I copy several more?”

“But this note was found in your desk!”

“……” Indeed, he had no direct evidence to prove the note wasn’t his, even though all the clues pointed to his innocence.

The atmosphere fell into silence.

The academic director pondered for a moment before finally speaking, “Su Chen, the teachers believe you. However, Teacher Zheng really did find the note in your desk. According to school rules, we can only cancel your score for this exam and you cannot remain in Class 1.”

“Teacher, I…” I really didn’t cheat.

He clenched his fists tightly. It was the same again. He didn’t understand why Teacher Zheng was so hostile toward him. To get into Qingyang, he had given everything — staying up late every night to study, working part-time to earn living expenses, all so his mother could have an easier life and bear less burden. Now, because of a ridiculous and clumsy frame-up, he had to carry the crime of cheating.

Class 15 was Teacher Zheng’s class. If he was transferred there, his old nightmare would return. He didn’t want to go back to that life, but it seemed he had no choice.

Just as despair was about to drown him, he heard a teacher’s startled cry.

“W-what is this? The computer is out of control!”

On the screen was a flashy background with colorful text that read:
“The deleted segment by some shady person. Left behind by a righteous citizen. No need to thank :)”

Then the screen showed Class 1’s classroom from yesterday evening. A few seconds later, Teacher Zheng appeared. She sneakily walked to Su Chen’s seat, took something out of her pocket, and stuffed it into his desk.

“This is impossible! I clearly…”

“Evidence! Haha! Teacher Zheng, here’s the evidence you wanted!” Teacher Chen happily slapped Teacher Zheng’s back. As an Alpha, he deliberately used extra force on the frail Beta, making her grit her teeth in pain. “Tsk… but isn’t that person you, Teacher Zheng?”

“No, that’s not me!”

As if even the heavens wanted to punish this immoral teacher, the next second the camera switched to another angle. Teacher Zheng’s clear front profile appeared on screen. The note in her hand was zoomed in by some kind-hearted person, with a ridiculous caption: “The culprit is actually…”

“Teacher Zheng, you’d better explain yourself clearly.” The academic director’s face darkened. “You actually directed and acted this out yourself to frame a student!”

“This is slander! It’s a fake video! Director, you can’t possibly believe a video from an unknown source!”

Teacher Zheng continued desperately defending herself behind them, but Su Chen could no longer hear anything.

His gaze was fixed on the screen. The grievance, disappointment, and shattered dignity that had been pointed at by thousands of fingers — he never wanted to experience it again.

As if by telepathy, he turned his head toward the corridor. The bell for class had already rung, and there were no more students outside, but he still caught sight of someone rushing toward the corner.

He wouldn’t mistake who it was. Su Chen smiled softly.

—

Gu Jingning ran back to his classroom while frantically typing on his phone.

[Gu]: What the hell was with that ugly-as-hell PPT?!!!

[Black Wings]: Aiya Boss~ I saw a teacher framing a student and got so angry that I wanted to make her lose face~

[Black Wings]: pouting.jpg

[Gu]: …Never mind. I’ve already transferred the final payment. Check it.

[Black Wings]: Received, Boss! If there’s anything like this again, remember to find me~~ヾ(≧▽≦)o

In the original story, this framing incident was what caused Su Chen’s life to collapse, forcing him to rely on the scumbag gong. Gu Jingning couldn’t stop the plot from happening, but he could use his money ability to settle it.

While running, he couldn’t help but jump excitedly and give himself a thumbs-up for being so clever.

When he breathlessly pulled open the classroom door, what awaited him was the English teacher’s “kind” smile and the piece of chalk in her hand that had just snapped in half.

“Sweetie, you’re thirty minutes late.”

Gu Jingning gave an awkward laugh, quietly closed the classroom door, and obediently went to stand in the corridor as punishment.