"What trouble has he gotten into now?"

Wang Shunquan's outburst surprised Lin Xianrong and made him even more curious about the student named Zhou Yi.

"Oh? Does he often cause trouble?" Lin Xianrong inquired.

"Well, how should I put it... about every so often, a teacher comes to me complaining about Zhou Yi's various mischievous deeds... He's quite well-known among the students..."

"Then why haven't I heard of him?" Lin Xianrong frowned.

"Well, his grades aren't that great, but they're not bad either. He's just kind of average, so it's normal that you haven't heard of him, Old Lin. The ones you remember must all be the high-achieving good students... He's famous, but for all the wrong reasons!"

"Wrong reasons?"

"Yes, if you attended the flag-raising ceremony every Monday, you'd definitely know about him. I've criticized him by name at the ceremony more than once."

"Wow!" Lin Xianrong was genuinely surprised. Even the worst students probably didn't receive this kind of treatment, right?

"Let me tell you about something recent. Last semester... that little rascal Zhou Yi printed a poster in the same format as the photos on our school's Hall of Fame, with his own picture and a bio listing his birthdate, achievements, and so on..."

The Hall of Fame was a traditional term used at Qingyang High School. It didn't refer to a specific wall, but to a series of photos hanging in the hallways of all the school buildings. The photos featured prominent alumni of Qingyang High who had achieved success and status in society, including scientists, politicians, and business elites.

Below each photo was the person's name and a brief bio, including their birthdate, graduating class, achievements, and social status.

It was essentially an exhibition showcasing Qingyang High's glorious achievements in nurturing talent, inspiring students to study hard and become successful in life. Qingyang High students had a secret slang term for these famous alumni: "Hall of Fame material."

Striving to have their photo displayed in the school hallway after graduation was a goal and dream for many students.

However, compared to these students who only dreamed about it, Zhou Yi was more proactive and imaginative...

"That kid stuck the printed photo right on our Hall of Fame, covering up one of the original alumni! It looked very convincing, but I saw through it on the same day!"

Wang Shunquan was very proud of himself at this point, feeling like a combination of Detective Conan, Kindaichi, and Sherlock Holmes. He could talk about this classic case for a year without getting tired of it!

"What did Zhou Yi write as his achievements? Captain of the Chinese National Men's Football Team! He even photoshopped a picture of himself wearing the Chinese team jersey. I immediately saw through it! Think about it, Old Lin. When have we ever had soccer stars on our school's Hall of Fame? Not to mention stars of Chinese soccer! So... as soon as I saw that national team jersey photo, I knew something was wrong!"

Wang Shunquan laughed triumphantly. As the Dean of Discipline, it was his responsibility to catch and punish disobedient students, and Zhou Yi was undoubtedly the most cunning prey. But even the most cunning prey couldn't escape the best hunter's gun!

Wang Shunquan was still laughing, but Lin Xianrong wasn't. He was lost in thought.

Wang Shunquan realized that Old Lin hadn't laughed, so he felt a little embarrassed. He changed the subject, asking why Old Lin was suddenly interested in an ordinary student.

"Oh, because the school's admissions office received a call from the media today, asking if Zhou Yi was a student at our school."

"The media?" Wang Shunquan immediately had a bad feeling. "Has this kid's trouble reached the point of alarming the news media? Wait... wasn't he going abroad to participate in some reality TV show? Could it be... foreign media? That would be... international trouble!"

Wang Shunquan's voice trembled with fear.

Lin Xianrong coughed and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild. They didn't say anything specific, just asked if he was a student and expressed interest in an interview."

Wang Shunquan breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt strange. He muttered to himself, "An interview for playing soccer? Chinese soccer is so terrible, who would watch that reality show..."

Lin Xianrong was also curious. He continued, "You said he went to participate in a reality TV show? What's that about?"

"Well, I heard it from Zhai Liying, Little Zhai. She's Zhou Yi's homeroom teacher. One day, we were chatting, and she complained that the students weren't focused on studying, and even their parents weren't cooperating, making it difficult for her. I asked her what was going on, and she told me about Zhou Yi. Apparently, Zhou Yi had signed up for a soccer reality TV show selection and won, earning a chance to film the show abroad. He asked her for two months of leave... Old Lin, you know it's senior year. What does two months of leave mean in senior year?"

Wang Shunquan started to recount the story with great enthusiasm.

Lin Xianrong nodded. Yes, he knew exactly what missing two months of classes in senior year meant.

"Little Zhai didn't want to approve it at first, but Zhou Yi brought his parents. Even his parents didn't object, so what could the teacher do? She approved it. So Little Zhai came to me to complain, feeling it was a pity. Indeed, Little Zhai had told me more than once that Zhou Yi was genuinely smart, but he didn't use it in the right way. He didn't study hard, and he didn't pay attention in class. Instead, he had one crazy idea after another. If he put half the effort he put into his wild ideas into studying, I wouldn't say Tsinghua or Peking University, but Fudan or Zhejiang University wouldn't be out of reach."

"Oh? Is this child so intelligent?" Lin Xianrong was surprised that the teacher rated Zhou Yi so highly.

"I don't think he's that smart, just cleverly foolish!" Wang Shunquan snorted. "Take the example I just gave. He knew to use a fake photo to impersonate a famous alumnus, which seems clever, but he used a fake photo full of mistakes. That's a case of being too clever for his own good. Besides, what's the use of just being smart when it comes to studying? You have to put in the hard work and be diligent. He has neither of those."

Wang Shunquan continued to complain, "Those parents of Zhou Yi's are also being ridiculous. If the child doesn't know any better, don't they? Can they just let the child make his own decisions in this matter? Go play soccer? What kind of soccer can he play! What future is there in playing soccer in our country?!"

Lin Xianrong had learned what kind of person Zhou Yi was. He stood up to say goodbye to Wang Shunquan, not wanting to disturb his work. Wang Shunquan quickly saw him out of his office, all the way to the stairwell, watching him go upstairs before turning to leave.

He mumbled to himself, "The media is interested in that kid? Could it be some kind of prank he pulled himself? Trying to pretend he's famous? Hmm... knowing his character, it's very possible!"

Wang Shunquan completely convinced himself. He quickly turned back, ran upstairs, and caught up with the old principal. "Old Lin, after analyzing it, I think there's a good chance this is a prank by Zhou Yi himself. The school must not fall for it!"

He quickly explained his analysis to Lin Xianrong.

Lin Xianrong didn't comment on Wang Shunquan's analysis, but he nodded. "Little Qian has already rejected those media outlets."

"Good, good!" Wang Shunquan repeatedly nodded in praise, then escorted Lin Xianrong to the entrance of the principal's office before leaving.

Lin Xianrong returned to his office and pondered Wang Shunquan's last words. Little Wang was becoming a nervous wreck because of Zhou Yi.

A student, a child, printing a photo and sticking it on the wall to satisfy his vanity was normal. But to find so many people to impersonate media outlets and harass the school? He didn't think that child would go that far.

***

Li Cuiyun was surprised when her husband came home from work with a bottle of Moutai in addition to his briefcase.

"Planning to give it to some leader?" Li Cuiyun asked, taking his bag.

"Give it to someone? This is for me to drink!" Zhou Jianliang said, glaring.

"You drink it?" Li Cuiyun's eyes widened. "You drink Moutai? Besides, don't you hate drinking?"

"I hate drinking at social gatherings, of course. But when there's something to be genuinely happy about, drinking is a celebration, the more you drink, the happier you get. Besides, Moutai comes in expensive and inexpensive varieties. This bottle... isn't too expensive. One bottle can last a long time." Zhou Jianliang held up the white porcelain bottle.

"Yes, yes, you're right. So, what's made you so happy today? Are you getting a promotion or a raise?"

"Vulgar! All you think about is money! Our son is doing well, can't I have a drink!"

"Did someone at your work praise your son's soccer skills?"

"Of course! Like father!" Zhou Jianliang thumped his chest forcefully and said with his head held high, "Like son!"

Li Cuiyun rolled her eyes. "Immature."

Zhou Jianliang then noticed that the table was full of dishes, fish, meat, four dishes and a soup, which was incredibly lavish compared to their usual meals.

He was a little surprised. "Why did you make so much delicious food today?"

"Wasn't it all for someone's drinking pleasure?" Li Cuiyun snorted.

Zhou Jianliang heard this and chuckled, reaching out to grab a piece of food, but his wife slapped his hand. "Go wash your hands!"

***

P.S. There are two more updates, at twelve o'clock and six o'clock in the afternoon!