Chapter 59 Fang Qiu Is Not on the List?
“The above are all the comments left below the post. The number of people excluded is 17 in total, leaving 55 names on the list. The excluded names are already marked in red. Please keep monitoring the case. Looking forward to the reappearance of the mysterious man, as well as the final exposure of his true identity!”
Well, the update still did not pin down the mysterious man.
But it removed seventeen suspects, with fifty-five people remaining on the list.
They believed that as long as the mysterious man kept showing up in public, one day they would finally figure out who he was!
Therefore, the viewers all expressed their gratitude to the post writer “Other Fish in the Sea”.
“I support the post writer!”
“Thank you for updating this post. I am Ding Yi. I’ve been telling you guys that I’m not the mysterious man for a long time, but you just did not believe in me!”
“Thank you, post writer! But there is a guy who doesn’t want to be the mysterious man? If I were the mysterious man, I would shout out the truth!”
“I am the mysterious man! The mysterious man is me! Everybody, hurry up to worship me! Post writer, you too!”
...
Jiang Miaoyu had been browsing through the posts on the BBS in her dormitory for a while.
A moment ago, she finally got rid of her overexcited roommates who had been bugging her for more information about that incident.
Leaving her roommates engrossed in their fantasies of having a romantic encounter with the mysterious man someday.
She also noticed the post, Searching Range Narrowed Down, the Mysterious Man Is Among Those Guys, on the BBS.
One of her male classmates named Zhou Zhen was also on the list of the one hundred suspects.
He was among the remaining fifty-five.
And lately, Zhou Zhen had been pursuing her.
She had a vague feeling that he wanted her to reckon him as the mysterious man but would not expose his true identity on his own accord, which looked like he was misleading her on purpose.
At first, she had been unsettled over the matter of whether Zhou Zhen was the mysterious man.
However, after seeing the mysterious man today, she completely eliminated such a possibility.
In spite of their similar height and physique, that expression in the eyes of the mysterious man was something Zhou Zhen absolutely did not have!
Even no one she had ever seen had that kind of eyes.
They were as chill as a frozen pool but also rather sharp!
No one could ever forget that pair of eyes once they saw them.
“Who on earth is this mysterious man?”
She was quite curious.
In the meantime.
“Bravo, the mysterious man! You finally helped me vent my rage!“
Tang Heng was sitting in his dormitory while looking through the BBS. He suddenly clapped a hand against his lap with great force and shouted, laughing loudly.
“Seems that there is no need for dad to send bodyguards here.”
Said Tang Heng cheerfully.
He did not relate Fang Qiu to the mysterious man at all.
Numerous people in the University of Jingjiang Chinese Medicine were spellbound by the mysterious man. They also gave three companies a sleepless night.
Only Fang Qiu seemed unaffected—he went back to his dormitory and continued to read.
“As for the same clothes as the mysterious man’s, who wants to buy some?”
After browsing through the BBS, Sun Hao suddenly asked boomingly.
“I want!” “I want!”
Responded Zhu Benzheng and Zhou Xiaotian at once.
“The youngest, what about you?”
Sun Hao looked at Fang Qiu and said, “We can place an order for three sets, then, hit the gym together.”
“I don’t feel like getting one. Hit the gym with you guys together? You lazy bones, probably you won’t get a workout in this life and your next life!”
Fang Qiu jeered at the three and commented.
“The youngest, you dare to laugh at us? Well then, we will buy three sets and let you see how an eight-pack is made!”
Sun Hao snorted, turned around and started placing the order.
Fang Qiu did not share their shopping frenzy like the last time they bought the mask.
The reason was simple—he truly could not afford it.
Now he had to take care of his money issue.
If not, next week, he would have no money left to buy food.
“How can I make money?”
Fang Qiu was absorbed in thought again.
After racking his brain for quite a while, he still could not figure out anything.
Resigned, Fang Qiu turned back to read books.
A quiet night passed.
The next morning.
Fang Qiu and his roommates went for class together.
At the same time.
Qiao Mu arrived at his office, turned on his computer, and downloaded the list of the thirty candidates who passed the primary selection of the Chinese Medicine Knowledge Competition of Freshmen from the university website.
He was going to print the list and take it to Fang Qiu during a break, instructing him to go through knowledge on Chinese Medicine and strive to be in the top nine in two weeks.
Of course, he had great confidence in Fang Qiu.
After teaching for so many years, it was the first time for him to meet such an outstanding student.
He opened the document and switched on the printer.
When Qiao Mu was about to print the list, he subconsciously glanced over the names on the list.
And he froze.
His expression instantly became appalled.
“Fang Qiu is not on this list?”
“What the heck?”
“Yesterday I did apply for him and get Director’s confirmation. But how come Fang Qiu is not on this list?”
He guessed it must be the negligence of some staff.
Which shall be corrected right away.
He rapidly printed one and held it dashing towards the Director’s office.
“Director! This list is incorrect!”
Qiao Mu burst through the door.
Only to find that Zhang Xinming, the vice-director, was sitting on the sofa. He hurried to compose himself and greeted, “Hello, Director Zhang.”
Zhang Xinming nodded at Qiao Mu. Then, he glanced at the list Qiao Mu was clenching and asked, “Which part of this list went wrong?”
Qi Kaiwen also flickered his eyes on Qiao Mu.
“Fang Qiu is not on this list, Director.”
Replied Qiao Mu, who hastily handed the list over to Qi Kaiwen.
“This is the list I just downloaded from our website. There is no Fang Qiu.”
He explained once again, in case the Director did not catch on.
“No Fang Qiu?”
The Director went through the list carefully and surely did not see Fang Qiu’s name. Then, he cast his eyes on Zhang Xinming, the vice-Director.
He remembered yesterday he assigned this task to Zhang Xinming.
It was Zhang Xinming who reviewed the list.
And it was also him who made the final submission.
If Fang Qiu was left out, Zhang Xinming must be the one to blame.
“Who is Fang Qiu?”
Asked Zhang Xinming with a smile.
“He is the student in Class Three of Chinese Medicine who got full marks in this test,” Qiao Mu answered in haste.
“Oh? I remember him.”
Zhang Xinming said with dawned enlightenment, “Yesterday I saw his score—100 marks, the full marks, which doesn’t seem right. How can a freshman get full marks? The second highest is only 83 marks.”
“I specifically inquired about this student’s family state. He is not from a well-known family in the Chinese Medicine industry, nor does any of his family members work in this field. Thus, his full marks look quite dubious to me.”
“Hence, I scratched out this name. This competition affects the reputation of our university. We have to prevent someone from taking advantage of this event to make unjustified earnings!”
He explained justly and severely.
He did not care whether this Fang Qiu was truly intelligent or not.
He just had to take him out of the picture.
If Fang Qiu was really intelligent, when he was eliminated, the School of Chinese Medicine would certainly become a laughing stock in this competition. When that time came, Qi Kaiwen could hardly absolve himself from the blame!
Perhaps then he could take over Qi Kaiwen’s post.
If Fang Qiu was not really talented, he should have been taken out of the picture as well!
Adding that he happened to learn that Fang Qiu had some conflicts with his own nephew, he certainly chose to take down Fang Qiu. After all, he was only a student.
“Vice-Director, how could you do this? The list was approved by Director, and the test paper was also verified by Director. How could you...”
At this point, Qiao Mu broke off.
He cast his eyes on the Director, then, shifted them to the vice-Director, and fell into silence.
It was a widely known fact in the School of Chinese Medicine that Director Qi Kaiwen was in conflict with vice-Director Zhang Xinming.
When the two were competing for Director, Zhang Xinming, who was more hopeful to win, was reported to be frequenting famous hotels and buying expensive dinners for senior officers in the end.
At that time, the combat against corruption was in full swing all over the country. Such a tip-off was quite deadly.
Regardless of the true color of Zhang Xinming, he definitely could not become the Director.
Up to now, the identity of the one who made this tip-off was still a mystery.
After that, Qi Kaiwen was elected as the Director. Ever since then, the two had been contradicting each other in public.
Although Qiao Mu was passionate to be a good teacher, he was not stupid. Being sandwiched between the two Directors, he would not have a decent ending if he did not act carefully.
He knew he just said the wrong things rashly.
He did say the wrong things, but Director Qi Kaiwen had to answer him. Otherwise, he would suffer a loss of prestige in the School of Chinese Medicine.
“Vice-Director Zhang, I’ve seen the paper of Fang Qiu. He did answer all the questions quite well. Just add him onto the list.”
Said Qi Kaiwen to Zhang Xinming beamingly.
“If you add him, there will be thirty-one candidates.”
Zhang Xinming looked steadily at Qi Kaiwen and said with a beam, “It will not conform to what we’ve agreed on—only thirty candidates. If you remove one of the other students, you’ll be at big fault because this list is already publicized. What will the one who got removed think then?”
The two were both smiling.
But Qiao Mu instantly felt the whole office was getting tense.
Qi Kaiwen nodded with a smile, then, turned to Qiao Mu and asked, “Professor Qiao, what do you say?”
At once, Qiao Mu realized that the Director just pushed him to the battlefront.
If he refused to answer, he shall wait for more hardships devised purposefully in the days to come.
If he answered, he might earn the favor of the Director, but he would be hated by the vice-Director.
If he refused, he would probably offend both of them.
If he answered, he would only offend one.
Qiao Mu almost wanted to kick himself for rushing in here. But with such being the case, he had to weigh his options and go ahead.
He swelled his chest and decided to take the risk. He told Zhang Xinming, “Vice-Director, I think you’re wrong. You only considered the feelings of the one who got replaced by Fang Qiu, but why don’t think about Fang Qiu’s feelings if you take him out of the picture?”
“They’re both students. You should not attend to one and neglect the other. They must be treated equally! And since Fang Qiu should have been on the list in the first place, it’s only reasonable to let Fang Qiu replace the one who has taken his place!”
“If not, you’ll be hurting Fang Qiu once more. That will be the greatest injustice for him!”
Qiao Mu’s speech was well-grounded, not too humble or too pushy.
Qi Kaiwen shouted “Well done!” to Qiao Mu inwardly. The smile on his face grew broader.
“Seems that Professor Jiao can really put himself together at critical moments.”
“He deserves to be given important assignments!”
Zhang Xinming gazed at Qiao Mu, still smiling. But his eyes grew frosty.
“It’s two versus one. This isn’t good!”
“Professor Qiao, your words don’t make sense. You might believe a student who has only learned the basic theories for a couple of days can get full marks, but I don’t. No one will buy it if you tell them. I’m afraid there is something...”
Before he finished the sentence, Qiao Mu cut him short, “Now that you don’t believe it, let’s ask Fang Qiu to take another paper test under the supervision of vice-Director, is it okay?”
It took Zhang Xinming by surprise that Qiao Mu could suddenly interrupt him.
And he just went on by himself.
Actually, Zhang Xinming was not going to say anything offensive.
He simply had been talking like a bureaucrat for too long and was used to beating around the bush. What he was really going to say at last was “Professor Qiao, do you have any ideas?”.
He intended to pass the hot potato to Qiao Mu.
There was no way to satisfy both sides. As long as Qiao Mu proposed one method, there had to be a loophole in it, which would allow him to deny it.
But out of his expectations, Qiao Mu cut in while he was speaking.
Zhang Xinming threw Qiao Mu a significant look and was about to retort with “It’s inappropriate to give the one person an extra chance”.
But Qi Kaiwen opened his mouth to speak. “Don’t bother. If there are thirty-one candidates, let it be thirty-one. Anyway, there is another selection in the third week.”
This remark seemed to give Zhang Xinming chance to avoid the embarrassment, but in fact, it concealed another motive.
If he agreed so, he would be admitting his defeat and putting Fang Qiu back to his original position.
But if he refused, he would have to let Fang Qiu take a second test!
This remark settled the deal, leaving no other way around for Zhang Xinming.
“Well, since we’ve decided to keep thirty-one candidates, it has to be thirty-one. I’m really eager to see whether the student named Fang Qiu is so awesome or not!”
Zhang Xinming said with a beam, “I happened to have a test paper on the basics of Chinese Medicine. We can let Fang Qiu do it.”
At this, Qiao Mu and Qi Kaiwen both shot Zhang Xinming a surprised look.
“Who knows he already got the test paper!”
“Good. Professor Qiao Mu, fetch Fang Qiu here. If he is having a class, ask him to come here at noon when the morning class is over.”
Seeing Zhang Xinming had agreed to this plan, Qi Kaiwen did not raise an objection but simply instructed Qiao Mu to do so.
Qiao Mu nodded, and then directly headed out.