Wait a second…
Doug Feng's brows furrowed slightly as he suddenly remembered something. That day at the hotel, hadn't he mentioned to Mayor Qin Qing that he was a senior student at Zhicheng No.1 High School? But—he was pretty sure he never actually told her his name.
Unless…
He rubbed his head with a bewildered expression. "Could it be… she already looked into me?"
Given her position, it wouldn't be difficult. With her authority, getting access to hotel surveillance footage was probably as easy as making a phone call. Maybe she'd already dug up everything about him—full name, address, grades, even what he had for breakfast.
But then a more outrageous thought popped into his mind.
"Wait… don't tell me Mayor Qin just stood up for me?"
That was a little too wild to accept at face value.
He was just a regular high school senior, not some prodigy or heir to a secret ancient sect. Why would the mayor—an actual city-level official—put her reputation on the line to scold his school's disciplinary director in front of the entire parent body?
Doug Feng felt like he was living in a fantasy novel. Next thing he knew, maybe he'd discover he was the long-lost prince of a magical realm or something.
Meanwhile, in the parents' section of the audience, Doug's father, Du Changsheng, was lost in thought as well.
He glanced toward the stage with a complicated expression. His son had always been a bit of a rascal—mischievous, headstrong, and more interested in computer games than calculus. His grades hadn't exactly been stellar since entering high school either.
But to say the kid liked to get into fights every day?
That was pure slander.
And now the mayor herself had shut down the disciplinary director's accusations without hesitation. That made Du Changsheng start to seriously reconsider the situation. Maybe—just maybe—his son wasn't the troublemaker the school painted him to be. Maybe there was more to this story.
He made up his mind to have a proper conversation with Doug after the assembly. It was time for some real father-son talk.
The rest of the parents in the bleachers were equally impressed by Mayor Qin's impassioned speech. Many of them had been silently dealing with the unspoken but very real pressure of "holiday offerings" to teachers and administrators—money in red envelopes, fancy gifts, you name it. It was an open secret that some staff members expected "gestures of appreciation" from parents just to ensure their children weren't unfairly targeted.
If the wind at the top was crooked, how could students focus on studying?
Mayor Qin's words weren't just criticism—they were a warning shot aimed squarely at the school's leadership. And that shot had landed.
On stage, Director Qiu Guohua was sweating buckets. His face was stiff and pale, as if someone had just slapped him with a frozen fish. He looked like he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
Principal Wang Yuanhua's face didn't look much better. He gave Qiu a glare sharp enough to cut paper and motioned for the host to move the ceremony forward.
"Alright, everyone, please settle down!" The host responded quickly, salvaging the situation with practiced ease. "I believe we've all gained valuable insights from Mayor Qin's remarks. Now, let's move on to the awards segment for the senior students. Principal Wang will now announce the top ten scorers from the third mock exam of the semester. The student ranked first will be invited to give an impromptu speech under the national flag."
The mention of rankings brought back the usual excitement.
Principal Wang stood up with a polite nod, holding a sealed envelope in his hands. However, he didn't move immediately to the center of the stage. Instead, he leaned slightly toward Mayor Qin and whispered discreetly.
"Mayor Qin, as always, your daughter Feng Linjie has ranked first in the senior year. Would you like to be the one to announce the results this time?"
Qin Qing waved her hand firmly. "Absolutely not. Do things the way they're supposed to be done. I'm here today as a student's parent, not as a mayor. Please don't treat this like an official inspection."
Her tone was final—no room for negotiation.
Vice Mayor Lin Yanzhong, who was seated nearby, nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Principal Wang, both the mayor and I are here in our roles as parents. Please don't make this more complicated than it needs to be."
Vice Mayor Lin was the father of Lin Yi, and more importantly, the one in charge of the city's education sector.
In fact, despite being the mayor, Qin Qing had never once attended a parent-teacher meeting in the three years her daughter had been studying at Zhicheng No.1 High. It was Linjie's own request—she didn't want her classmates to know her mother was the mayor. As a result, only the principal and a few vice principals were even aware of her identity. Not even Director Qiu knew.
"Alright, alright. I'll do it myself then."
Defeated, Principal Wang walked to the center of the stage, accepting the microphone from the host. He carefully opened the sealed envelope, fully expecting to see the familiar name of Feng Linjie at the top.
But what he saw instead made his eyes widen like saucers.
He froze.
"Director Qiu," he hissed, urgently waving the man over. "Come here! What the hell is going on with these rankings?! Are you sure this is correct?"
The audience began to murmur in confusion.
Qiu Guohua, already on edge from earlier, quickly stepped forward. His palms were clammy. "W-what's wrong now, Principal?"
Principal Wang shoved the printed list into his hands. "See for yourself."
Qiu glanced at the sheet—and immediately went pale.
"This… this can't be right!"
He gasped so loudly that several people in the front rows looked up, startled.
"It's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"Then explain it to me," Principal Wang snapped. "The mayor is sitting right there, and you're telling me we've got another screw-up today?"
Qiu stammered. "But… but the scoring process is automated! The answer sheets are graded manually, yes, but the scores are entered into the system, and the ranking is calculated and printed directly from the database. We even seal the results immediately afterward. There's no way this could be wrong!"
But the paper in his trembling hands was practically mocking him.
"Don't just stand there—go verify the results now!"
"Yes, yes, right away!"
Panicked, Qiu pulled out his phone and dialed furiously.
"Hello? This is Director Qiu. Xiao Liu, check the third mock exam scores for the senior year again. Cross-reference the digital records with the physical answer sheets. Especially the top ten. No—double-check the first place! Make sure there hasn't been a mistake. Call me back the moment you're done."
He hung up and swallowed hard, his heart thudding like a drum. Why did it feel like bad luck had been tailing him lately? Was he cursed or something?
From her seat on stage, Qin Qing raised an eyebrow. "What's the holdup, Principal Wang? Why haven't you announced the rankings?"
Principal Wang forced a tight smile. "Uh… Mayor Qin, there seems to be a discrepancy in the results. We've asked the faculty to verify the data. With your permission, we'd like to delay the announcement just a little longer."
"A discrepancy?" Qin Qing's interest was piqued. "Let me see that list."
Without hesitation, Principal Wang snatched the list back from Qiu and handed it over to her with both hands, as if offering a royal decree.