A storm ignited by a theoretical exam scandal may seem trivial among students, as they are powerless to act, but their families are another matter, with hands stretching out to investigate.
One hand reaches toward the Education Bureau, probing the "cheating" during the exam. This area is typically controlled by the bureaucrats of Jingyang City, many of whom also have children participating in the exam. These children are often high achievers because they have access to the best educational resources, with many coming from intellectual families where the influence of their surroundings, combined with good genetics, has produced top students.
However, this time, even they suffered a significant blow.
Among them, the Deputy Minister of Jingyang's Economic Department stands out. His son, once the pride of the family and consistently ranked first in the city for years, suddenly failed the exam and did not make the cut. No one can tolerate such a blow, especially not someone in his position. So, as soon as it was time to leave the office for lunch, he hurriedly grabbed his coat, ready to leave, only to run into a subordinate on his way to report work.
"Hey, are you heading out for lunch too? Got a moment?"
"Yes, what's up?"
Zhou Linlang glanced at the exam news playing on the office screen, already guessing the purpose of her superior's urgency. She replied casually, "Come with me. I need your help with something. Could you fly a spacecraft for me?"
"Well, I can, but I'm not very skilled. Are you in a rush?"
"Quite."
"Then let's go."
Recently, the Deputy Minister had been unwell and was not in the condition to operate the spacecraft. Given that it was lunchtime, he didn't want to use a government vehicle to go to the Education Bureau, fearing the bad optics, especially in these sensitive times. So he enlisted his subordinate, who seemed to have a solid background, to drive him there, even though the subordinate's piloting skills left much to be desired.
After the Deputy Minister stepped out of the vehicle, he staggered a few steps and vomited by the roadside.
Normally, such a situation would be terrifying for the subordinate, but Zhou Linlang wasn't intimidated. In fact, it was the Deputy Minister who seemed to fear her. The reason for the rushed speed was twofold: the Deputy was genuinely pressed for time, and...
"Deputy Minister, the exam issue... as parents, we might not have much say. I heard before the reforms in the Education Ministry, these two were among the few who hadn't been caught up in scandals."
Leaning against the spacecraft's door, Zhou Linlang casually unwrapped a candy, commenting as the Deputy Minister continued to vomit. He seemed to pick up on something and turned to look at her with a calm expression.
He had been furious earlier, but after the bout of motion sickness, he had regained his composure. He realized that this was an issue far beyond their control. The Education Bureau, under the backdrop of arcane politics, was as powerful as the core political departments. The ministry's teachers had strong ties with students, and it was not a department to be trifled with.
When he thought of the Education Minister's child also sitting for the exams and not reacting to the scandal, he quickly understood: there were bigger forces at play here.
Shaking off his earlier anger, he addressed Zhou Linlang, "We're passing by the Education Ministry anyway. I have a former teacher there. Let's stop by, shall we?"
Zhou Linlang nodded. "No rush. We're already here."
They entered the Education Center, where Deputy Director Zhang Ruolao was reading the newspaper, her sharp eyes scanning as the two approached. The elderly woman studied Zhou Linlang intently, her gaze piercing.
Though Zhou Linlang had been in charge of food prices in Jingyang, her presence had already caused waves in the official system due to her position in the Beiruk Economic Department, which oversaw internal administrative personnel. As such, if she ever returned to her original post or remained in her current one, she had the authority to investigate officials across Jingyang.
"Cheating results in score deductions, and once the comprehensive score is affected, the drop in points becomes severe," the elderly woman said before anyone could ask.
The Deputy Minister was taken aback. "But the score was only deducted once for the composite score. How could it lead to such a sharp drop? He should've at least ranked in the top ten. What happened?"
Zhou Linlang had expected the Deputy Minister to remain composed, but upon hearing about his son's results, he lost his cool, and demanded answers impatiently.
The elderly woman, however, appeared unfazed. "You're anxious, understandable. Many parents feel the same way. Take a look at this."
She opened a screen, revealing a conference room filled with senior officials from Jingyang and some wealthy families and nobles. They were discussing the issue, questioning the fairness of the exam.
The scene unfolded, and the Deputy Minister was struck dumb as he saw one of the exam invigilators confessing that they had caught students cheating using subtle methods before they could be detected.
Zhou Linlang, however, was less concerned with these bureaucratic discussions. She focused instead on a list of exam results displayed on a tablet, scrolling through. She had no interest in the names of the rich families or officials; she only hoped to spot someone particular. But her search proved futile.
She continued scrolling down through the list of top scorers—until her fingers grew tired. She abandoned the attempt when she realized there was no sign of the name she had hoped to find.
Curious, she suspected that the person in question might not even be that good at the exam. Even with the use of such elaborate methods to bring others down, the fact that they scored so low seemed to suggest a much deeper game.
And so, the question lingered: who was behind this?