Su Xiaotian hit the nail on the head, directly voicing the hidden thoughts of the two men.
Her sharp words stunned everyone present. Even the principal hadn't expected Su Xiaotian to say such a thing. Though young, the child was remarkably perceptive.
Once Su Xiaotian spoke, the two men found their direction and immediately attacked her. Their target was the same, their eyes fixed on Su Xiaotian, filled with anger.
"You're spouting nonsense," Gao Jun said.
Yuan Yang, his eyes wide with fury, glared at Su Xiaotian. "It's all because of you that we've fallen into such misfortune. Why did you come here?"
"You're just a teenage girl. Instead of staying home to wash dishes, why do you insist on showing off everywhere?"
Yuan Yang's anger seemed even greater than Gao Jun's, as if Su Xiaotian's actions had personally harmed him.
Su Xiaotian almost laughed out loud. Were there really people like this? Incapable themselves, yet they couldn't stand others excelling?
"You think I'm showing off everywhere? Then I'd like to ask, who is stopping you from showing off everywhere? No one, right?"
"Just because you're incompetent, does that mean you can't allow others to be outstanding?"
Su Xiaotian's sidelong glance made the two men extremely uncomfortable.
"You..." Gao Jun was so enraged he couldn't speak.
"The abilities a person has in this life are earned through their own efforts. I can perform well because I've put in a lot of hard work and possess a great deal of knowledge. I'm not like you, always imagining you have innate talent while being utterly incapable in reality!"
Su Xiaotian's words were something the two could not accept. They had always considered themselves capable, intelligent, and talented students, aspiring to make great strides in seed cultivation. To be criticized so thoroughly by a young girl left them unwilling to concede.
"You're talking nonsense!"
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you know in your hearts."
"If you lack ability, you must admit it. Don't always beautify yourselves!"
"I challenge you!" Gao Jun, unable to take the provocation, pointed his finger directly at Su Xiaotian.
Su Sangong, without a word, stepped forward and slapped Gao Jun's raised right hand down. He then retreated, observing Su Xiaotian's next move.
"Alright, since you specialize in seed cultivation, I, an outsider, will discuss this matter with you. You ask me three questions, and I will ask you three questions. We'll decide the winner, how about it?"
Su Xiaotian intended to thoroughly suppress the unwarranted arrogance of these two.
Gao Jun readily agreed. Su Sangong thought helplessly, why are there always so many people in this world who don't know their own limitations? How many times has this happened? It's not advisable for Xiaotian to seek recognition through academic debates, martial arts contests, or her vast knowledge!
Almost everyone was watching the two of them. Shen Zizhen, on the other hand, watched with a calm demeanor. He was well acquainted with both of them and knew their capabilities intimately. Gao Jun's abilities were nothing compared to Su Xiaotian's. However, the principal felt a pang of unease, as Su Xiaotian appeared to be a frail young girl. The principal considered intervening to stop the contest, but seeing Shen Zizhen's composed expression, he abandoned the thought.
As expected, the outcome was not surprising. Su Xiaotian won all three rounds, perfectly answering Gao Jun's questions, even providing more comprehensive explanations than Gao Jun himself and offering new perspectives. However, Gao Jun was completely bewildered by Su Xiaotian's three questions. After much stammering, his face turned red as he had no answer.
"Actually, even if your professional skills are lacking, the most important thing is that your character is also flawed!"
"Don't talk nonsense. Why is our character flawed?" Gao Jun immediately retorted. Lacking ability could be remedied, but being labeled as having flawed character would ruin one's life.
"If someone has good character, would they go and report their mentor today? Did Teacher Shen's careful guidance do them wrong? Even if you don't trust me, would you report your teacher to the higher-ups just for this? If a person doesn't even remember basic gratitude, can they still be considered human?"
"We..." Yuan Yang mumbled a response, then suddenly pointed at Gao Jun. "I didn't want to go. It was Gao Jun who said we had to bravely step forward and expose the evil!"
Evil?
When everyone heard this word, their mouths twitched. This matter was being defined as evil?
Gao Jun hadn't expected Yuan Yang to suddenly point at him. Was he trying to shift all the blame onto him? But the words Yuan Yang had just spoken were clearly his own.
"Yuan Yang, you said that!" Gao Jun exclaimed in disbelief.
Yuan Yang put on a show of heartbroken anguish. "Gao Jun, making mistakes isn't scary. What's scary is making mistakes and not repenting!"
"You..." Gao Jun, less articulate than Yuan Yang, was completely bewildered and didn't know how to retort. But he had his hands, and he lunged forward, starting to fight with Yuan Yang. Yuan Yang naturally fought back, and the two became locked in a fierce brawl.
Shen Zizhen, seeing them fight without restraint, worried they might damage the seedlings in the experimental field. At the same time, he felt profound regret for the two students he had mentored for so long. Shen Zizhen was unsure what to say or how to say it. Were these the students he had chosen?
"Principal, these two students are no longer part of my research group. I will be selecting two new group members from across the entire school next week!"
The two who had been fighting instantly stopped. What did these words mean?
"Teacher, Gao Jun instigated this. It has nothing to do with me!"
Upon hearing this, Gao Jun became enraged. "Yuan Yang, you bastard, can't you take responsibility for your actions?"
Watching this dog-eat-dog drama unfold, Su Xiaotian suddenly felt it was rather uninteresting. How had Teacher Shen taken a liking to these... these things in the first place?
"Uncle Shen, how did you take a liking to these two... these things back then?" Su Xiaotian struggled to find a suitable word to describe them.
Hearing Su Xiaotian's words, Shen Zizhen could only offer a wry smile. Yes, how had he taken a liking to these things? He himself didn't know. Perhaps because he had been well cared for in the Hongxin Brigade, he had subconsciously shown some favoritism towards rural children! But these two were not worth it.
The principal almost laughed at Su Xiaotian's words. Only this girl dared to speak to Shen Zizhen like that and leave him speechless. As for Su Xiaomei and Su Sangong, a smile flickered across their lips. The school leaders accompanying the principal twitched their mouths; this little girl was truly merciless with her words!