CH 85

Miaomiao felt that they had to help each other all the time out of necessity, regardless of the parley’s outcome.

Surprisingly, Zhou Yuan also concurred and said, “I could only do my best, but I cannot guarantee if any of my methods would be successful.”

“You’re able to, at least, concoct a simple method, whereas I’m unable to come up with anything at all.” Miaomiao sighed in vexation. She thought to herself, ‘Zhou Yuan doesn’t know that this quandary had given me so much trouble some time ago.’

Before their evening study session, there was a class meeting, and Miaomiao was called out before it could begin.

It turned out that the principal wished to speak with her.

When Miaomiao arrived at the principal’s office, she saw the headteacher and Li Jiao, the class president of the next class, awaiting her arrival in the office.

Miaomiao already conjectured what was happening. She entered the office.

The principal recognized Miaomiao. After all, she was the monitor of one of the school’s key classes.

“Hua Miaomiao, did you give five poverty grant places from your class to Class 5 last year?”

The headteacher peered at her.

“Yes. It’s because we had too few applicants from our class last year, and there were vacancies. I’m under the impression that the poverty subsidy is meant to help students, who have difficulties, and plus there were no class restrictions. I believe that any student, who needs assistance, should apply. Since their class was short five places, I granted them these five places.”

“Then, do you know what their class did with those five places?”

The headteacher and Li Jiao looked at her, particularly the headteacher.

The smile on Miaomiao’s face disappeared. She clearly understood that the principal had cognizance of the issue. The headteacher definitely wasn’t the person who filed a complaint with him. Someone from Li Jiao had to have done it.

The headteacher was actually relieved.

Hua Miaomiao had a great personality and was very good at what she did. He was sure that she would answer carefully.

Miaomiao said slowly, “I heard that they split the money in private.” 

Although she had known what had transpired, she still feigned ignorance, but she decided that she couldn’t keep this under wraps anymore when the principal questioned her.

Originally, she advised the headteacher to pay close attention to the students’ applications. But he didn’t do that last year, and he didn’t do it this year either. His insouciance and incompetence led to the students from their adjacent classroom with poverty certificates being unable to apply for assistance.

She just told the truth.

Miaomiao delineated everything that she knew, and then she returned to class.

Currently, she was in a surly mood. Although it was mainly the headteacher and Li Jiao’s problem, she was also concerned. She had no idea what was wrong.

“What’s the matter?” Zhou Yuan asked her.

Miaomiao had no intention of divulging this matter to Zhou Yuan. After all, it had nothing to do with him.

Miaomiao shook her head, “It’s nothing.”

Evening arrived, and the headteacher began with his self-study class. After he had entered the classroom, he glanced at Hua Miaomiao, and then he said, “Who’s on duty today, and why didn’t you wipe the blackboard? The classroom is too noisy. What is the class president doing? Are you still disciplined enough to take the college entrance exams?”

All of a sudden, the classroom fell silent. Simultaneously, the bell rang.

Miaomiao was about to go up and wipe the blackboard, but Zhou Yuan decided to do it himself. He stood up, walked up to the blackboard, and wiped it with a couple of strokes.

The headteacher handed out some papers, “Students, start studying by yourselves. Hua Miaomiao, come outside for a moment.”

Hua Miaomiao had a feeling that this would happen. She walked outside.

The headteacher stood near the flowerbeds, which lined the exterior of the building. When he saw Hua Miaomiao coming out, he immediately asked, “Why didn’t you tell me privately that their class was splitting the money?”

“I had no evidence, and our two classes have a terrible relationship. Their class won’t just waltz outside and confess, you know.” They aren’t foolish enough to confess their deeds after taking the money.

“Then, how come you could talk about it now? Hua Miaomiao, if you go out into society, you’ll be beaten to death. How could you be so vicious? You’re only pretending to be a model citizen, aren’t you?”

The headteacher was fuming, and he grew angrier and angrier. He hissed, “I have never seen a student who’s so insouciant and unreasonable before. I thought that you were a good student in the past, but I never expected you to be such a person. No wonder why so many people hate you! Hua Miaomiao, everyone will consider you to be the scourge of society if you continue like this!”

His tirade suffocated Hua Miaomiao, and she did not retort.

She had never heard such a diatribe since her childhood years. She knew that the headteacher would be incensed. No matter what she had said during her questioning, the principal had already decided on this matter. Although she could’ve feigned ignorance and said that she was incognizant of the matter, but if she had said that, the girl who reported this problem would be revealed. She would become a target; therefore, Miaomiao reminded herself of this. She also wanted to report this, but her efforts wouldn’t have been successful without the aid of the other party. Therefore, it was only correct that she bore the consequences by herself.

Poor families needed the poverty subsidies, but it was also equally important that corrupt school officials didn’t embezzle the money for themselves. However, the class next door hated her guts; therefore, it wouldn’t matter if she filed one more report about the school’s corruption to the higher-ups. These higher-ups were most likely also involved in the embezzlement of school funds anyways; after all, cronyism and nepotism were rampant in every society. And most schools were examples of such corruption since they claimed that the subsidy was for poor students, but they still fulfilled the applications of many students who weren’t poor. Many students, who lived opulent lifestyles, applied, and although they shouldn’t qualify, their applications were still fulfilled. Due to this, Miaomiao hoped that the review would be more strict. She spent a lot of time with her classmates, and she knew the difficulties of those who lived a destitute lifestyle.  

She also knew that the headteacher would lose his temper, but she didn’t expect him to harangue her with such acridity.

It was almost as if someone had sliced her heart open with a blade.

Hua Miaomiao responded, “Teacher. If you’re done, I’m going to return to class.”

Still angry, she turned around, “You know, launching into a tirade like that makes you look like the unreasonable one and not me.”

When Miaomiao returned to the classroom, she took out her large biology book. She stood the book upright in front of her and hid behind it. Finally, she couldn’t help but cry.

“Insouciant and unreasonable.”

“You’ll be beaten to death.”

“Only pretending.”

“No wonder why so many people hate you!“

Those words kept replaying in her mind, and her heart ached.

Did I do something wrong? I just…I just hoped that they would be more strict with the review of the poverty allowances.