Dauble update today for best wishes to Wang Yibo🎊🎉🎊🎉💚💚💚💚💚💚
Zhan lowered his head, feeling tears sting his eyes. He had never entered an exam hall feeling so empty-minded. After a few moments, he lifted his head, wiped his eyes, and accidentally met Dr. Kexing's gaze. Quickly, he turned away.
Shu, seated nearby, couldn't stop glancing at him, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she noticed he had only written his name and registration number on his booklet.
Normally, when Dr. Kexing was invigilating, he preferred to sit while other colleagues supervised, but today he personally walked around, handing out the attendance sheet.
When he reached Zhan's desk, Zhan refused to look up. Dr. Kexing placed the sheet on his desk and handed him a pen. Zhan stared at the pen for a moment, then reluctantly took it and signed. The fragrance of Dr. Kexing's cologne lingered, making Zhan's expression tighten. He placed the pen back on top of his booklet and avoided looking up.
Just then, one of the lecturers approached.
"Are you uncomfortable here?" he asked.
Zhan hesitated, then softly replied, "Yes, sir."
"Alright, let's move you," the lecturer said.
Zhan followed him to a seat closer to the podium, picked up his booklet and pen, and began writing again.
Fifty minutes later, he had answered what he could and closed the booklet. Students were already finishing and leaving the hall. Shu had also left earlier. Zhan looked up to see Dr. Kexing opposite him, collecting booklets from students.
He stood, walked over, and handed his paper to Dr. Kexing, head still bowed. Waiting for the attendance sheet to sign out, Zhan avoided eye contact until the sheet was handed back. He quickly signed, grabbed his pen, and walked out without a word.
Outside, Ji Li walked up to him. "How was the paper, Zhan?"
Zhan forced a faint smile. "It was okay."
"Good luck with the rest," Ji Li said encouragingly.
"Thanks," Zhan replied and went straight back to his hostel without stopping by the department.
That evening, Zhan lay alone in his room, lost in thought. These days thinking had become his habit... sometimes it made him smile, but other times, tears welled up uncontrollably. His phone vibrated. He slowly reached for it, hesitating when he saw Yibo's name flashing on the screen. At first, he considered ignoring it, but then he answered silently.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Yibo's voice came through warmly.
"I'm… fine. Just lying down," Zhan replied quietly.
"Okay. I sent someone to drop something off for you. Step outside and collect it."
Zhan didn't reply immediately. "Hello?" Yibo prompted.
"I'm coming," Zhan finally said and stepped outside.
To his surprise, Qiren was standing near the hostel gate. Zhan's heart leapt, and he hurried over, greeting him happily. Seeing how thin Zhan had become, Qiren frowned. "Are you even eating properly, Zhan?"
Nearby, Yibo stood by his car, watching silently, also concerned about Zhan's appearance.
"I'm eating, Baba," Zhan said with a weak smile.
Qiren didn't look convinced. He turned to Yibo. "I don't think he's comfortable here. He should just come home."
Zhan panicked slightly. "Baba, it's just exams… I really am eating fine. It's the studying that's tiring."
"How many papers have you done so far?" Qiren asked.
"We had one on Monday. We have another one tomorrow, Thursday," Zhan replied.
"And after tomorrow?"
"The next one is Monday."
Qiren looked at Yibo. "After tomorrow's paper, bring him home for the weekend."
Zhan's stomach knotted; he didn't want to think about going to that home. Quickly, he said, "But Baba, we have lab practicals for Monday's paper on Friday and Saturday. Gege can confirm it."
"How many courses in total?" Qiren asked.
"Six plus the project."
"Then you'll be done soon," Qiren said, easing slightly.
Zhan only smiled faintly and nodded. After shopping for him, Qiren left with Yibo, while Zhan returned to his room and stared blankly at the textbook on his bed. He hadn't opened it since yesterday because it was for Dr. Kexing's course...a course he used to love but now despised.
Eventually, he forced himself to flip through the pages aimlessly before tossing it aside and lying back down, frustration tightening in his chest.
- - - - -
The next day, Zhan sat quietly in the exam hall, holding his booklet while waiting for the question paper. Just like on Monday, Shu sat beside him, but he didn't even glance at her. Another lecturer handed out the question papers; Dr. Kexing hadn't come in.
Zhan studied the questions for a moment before starting to write, while Shu was already scribbling away confidently, smiling like someone who had prepared well.
A few minutes later, Zhan noticed Dr. Kexing sitting at the back of the hall. He quickly turned away, refusing to look in his direction again. He didn't stress too much over the exam; he simply wrote what he could because he hadn't studied properly anyway.
After an hour, he stood and walked to submit his paper.
Dr. Kexing watched him through his glasses. Zhan, refusing to make eye contact, stood stiffly as he handed over the booklet. Dr. Kexing flipped it open, closed it, then pushed it back toward him and said firmly, "Go back."
Zhan's face tightened as he took the booklet and returned to his seat. None of the other invigilators questioned Dr. Kexing's action because most of them were his close colleagues. Zhan rested his head on the table, not adding even a full stop to what he had already written. He ended up being one of the last students to leave the hall, submitting his booklet to another lecturer and signing out, all without looking at Dr. Kexing again... even though he could feel eyes on him.
The remaining exams went the same way for Zhan....nothing like his usual performance. That alone weighed heavily on him. At this point, he wasn't aiming for a first class anymore, just hoping to pass because he knew deep down he hadn't performed well. No matter how long he read, his mind wouldn't hold information the way it used to; everything seemed to slip away like air.
After five exams, they had only one paper left, scheduled for Friday. Because it was a difficult course and his test score wasn't strong, Zhan studied seriously this time.
The night before the final paper, he was lying on his bed replying to Yibo's WhatsApp messages when another text came in from an unknown number. It had two PDF files with his name on them. Opening them, he realized they were his full project work from Chapter 1 to the conclusion, and the second file was his defense slide presentation. A message followed:
"Print out 3 copies: 1 for your Supervisor and 2 for the Project Coordinator to submit to the external supervisor. Submit your Supervisor's copy on Monday, 5:30 p.m. prompt."
The specific time mentioned made Zhan pause. He re-read the message, frowned slightly, and set the phone aside before pulling his reading materials back into his lap.
The next morning, by 10:00 a.m., Zhan was already seated in the exam hall, waiting with everyone else for their question papers. The tension was palpable; everyone feared this last paper. The course lecturer was known to be strict...he had even scolded Zhan harshly a few days earlier when he'd visited the office.
Soon, question papers were distributed. Shu sat in her usual seat, wearing a long-sleeved gown....Zhan noticed she only wore that type of outfit when she intended to cheat. On days she didn't plan to cheat, she usually wore shorter dresses.
Forty minutes into the exam, Zhan noticed Shu fidgeting inside her gown. He ignored her, focusing on writing before the information in his head slipped away.
Suddenly, one of the female lecturers stormed toward Shu, her voice sharp and commanding, "Stand up immediately!"
All eyes turned as the male invigilators also rushed over. Shu, wide-eyed, reached under her gown, pulled out a piece of paper, and quickly tossed it near Zhan's feet.
Zhan's heart pounded as he stared at her in shock. The lecturers surrounded Shu's seat and pulled out neatly folded cheat sheets from her booklet. Panic-stricken, Shu burst into tears, pointing at Zhan with trembling hands.
"He was with me! We were passing answers to each other!" she cried.
The lecturers turned to Zhan, who stood frozen, eyes wide. One of them walked over, picked up the paper near Zhan's desk, and instructed him to stand as well. Tears stung Zhan's eyes...he couldn't even find words from the shock. The lecturer unfolded the paper and checked it, then another invigilator already had malpractice forms in hand, placing one in front of Shu and one in front of Zhan.
A student sitting behind Zhan quickly raised his hand. "Sir, I swear she just threw that paper at Zhan after she was caught. They were not together, sir!"
At that moment, Zhan broke down, tears streaming as he shook his head. "Sir, you can check my answer booklet and compare it to that paper. I had nothing to do with her."
A female security officer entered and spoke firmly, "Mr. Lecturer, I saw everything that happened. That woman was cheating and threw the paper at him after you caught her. I watched from outside because she had been fidgeting suspiciously, and I wanted to be sure. I saw it all...he's innocent."
The lecturer still didn't believe it at first. He opened Zhan's booklet and compared it with the cheat sheet, only to find there was no connection. Then he removed the malpractice form from Zhan's desk.
Shu, however, kept crying uncontrollably as the invigilators surrounded her. She refused to fill out her own malpractice form. Suddenly, she bolted for the door like a thief, leaving her handbag and even her ID card on the desk. One of the lecturers ended up filling the form on her behalf. The entire class was left in shock and discomfort over what had just happened.
Zhan felt as if his whole mind had evaporated from the stress, and his body still trembled even after she ran out.
The lecturers continued their invigilation as though nothing had happened, even after Shu's malpractice form was completed. Many students, not just Zhan, could barely focus after that incident...especially Shu's friends, who were visibly shaken. Everyone knew the consequences: once the sealed malpractice envelope was opened, her academic future was practically over.
Zhan finally stood up, unable to continue writing, and submitted his paper. He signed out and left the hall, tears rolling down his face all the way back to the hostel. He knew that without the classmate sitting behind him and the security woman as witnesses, none of the lecturers would have believed him...especially in a class already full of tension. When he reached his room, he lay down and exhaled deeply, still shaken.
Meanwhile, Shu reached Yibo's house and hurried inside without so much as glancing at Min and her cousin Rui, who were sitting in the living room. She ran straight to her room, still trembling. She hadn't even taken her handbag from the exam hall. For once, she had left her door unlocked because she had nothing left to hide...most of Min's gowns she had stolen were already with her tailor to resized.
Shu sat on her bed wiping sweat from her face, her chest pounding heavily. She curled under a blanket, shivering at the memory. She told herself that since she'd managed to run before filling out the form, she was safe. After all, the so-called "spiritual worker" she visited had assured her she would finish her exams safely and pass every course. But how could this have happened? He had sworn she wouldn't get caught, even if she carried a textbook into the hall.
Restless, Shu got up and went to the living room, thinking that maybe talking to Min would help ease her mind and possibly find a solution. Min fell silent when Shu appeared, and Rui only watched quietly.
Shu sat at the edge of a chair, her voice trembling. "Min… I got caught cheating today."
Min clutched her chest, eyes wide. "What? In your final exam? How could that happen, Shu? Didn't you tell me Dr. Kexing gave you the area of concentration?"
Shu burst into tears, her voice breaking. "They caught me, Min. I'm finished."
Min straightened her seat nervously. "And Dr. Kexing… was he in the hall?"
Still crying, Shu shook her head. "He wasn't one of our invigilators today. Min, please, help me. What should I do? This is five years of my life."
Min gasped, covering her face. "Five whole years, Shu! And you know this university...they love catching people in malpractice cases, just for the reward money they get for it. Did they pull out the official malpractice envelope and give it to you?"
Shu slid to the floor, sobbing. "Min, please help me. I feel like I'm dying. I've never been this scared in my life. Tell me what to do, I'm begging you."
Rui, who had been listening, shook her head in disbelief. "If this was at the university, Shu, then I'm sorry. Five years are gone...no one can fix that once you're caught red-handed."
Min sighed. "And she's almost Twenty-Seven now. She can't just start over. Shu's been suspended three times already, and we all thought she'd finally make it to graduation when she reached Level 500. Most of her mates are already doing their master's degrees."
Shu wiped her tears and said, "Maybe you should call your spiritual man… that person who helped me before. Maybe he can do something about this."
Min's eyes widened in shock. "What person? Shu, have I ever gotten involved with those kinds of people? I told you to stay away from him. A friend even warned me to tell you to cut ties with him... he's a fraud. He scammed people and ran away from Wuhan with their money!"
Shu frowned, defensive. "Fraud? He worked for me, and his work delivered results. Do you even know how I became close with Dr. Kexing? It's all because of what that man did for me. Last week, when I told you I was going to Yantai during our exam break, I actually went to Wuhan to see him. Yes, Min, Wuhan!"
Min felt her stomach drop. She went all the way there? Shu crossed her arms and smirked faintly. "And don't act innocent...he even showed me your photo and said you're one of his loyal customers for over seven years."
Min froze, her shock visible. Rui stared at her in disbelief. "So, Min, is that true?"
But Shu ignored them. "None of that matters now. I just need to call him before it's too late. If I get expelled, my whole life will collapse. Dr. Kexing already promised to help me get a job in a big hospital as a qualified nurse, even abroad. And I know if I follow his advice, we'll eventually get married. He said he could even get me work overseas."
She broke into tears again, ran back to her room, and slammed the door.
Min held her head in her hands and muttered to Rui, "This is a disaster, Rui. She knows about my connection with that man. What else has he told her? This could ruin me."
Rui scowled. "Well, maybe next time you'll learn to keep your mouth shut. You talk too much, Min...this is what you get."
Zhanxianyibo💚❤️💛