Principal Gu truly couldn't understand why, with just one phone call, that person was so certain that what the person in front of him was saying was the truth.
Thinking of this, Principal Gu broke out in a cold sweat.
This indicated that the person in front of him had the trust of that person.
It also indicated that that person had great faith in the academic performance of these children participating in the exam.
Principal Gu cast a difficult glance at Chi Yiyuan.
Suddenly, he felt that he had overlooked something from the very beginning.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Someone who could achieve first place among so many students taking the exam, the people around him, even if not as outstanding as him, would certainly not be ordinary people.
He was wrong, he had been wrong from the start.
Fortunately, it was not too late to rectify the situation.
"Please make the arrangements, Principal. To avoid suspicion, we will not interfere with this matter," Chen Zi'an said, his tone extremely cold.
What a joke, to be bullied and still greet them with a smile?
Regardless of whether the principal was involved in this matter, an inspection had certainly occurred.
Principal Gu sighed inwardly, understanding that he had to adopt a proactive attitude.
If he was not careful, the achievements he had painstakingly built over the years might turn to dust.
He wanted to say more, but Chen Zi'an no longer paid him any attention.
Without waiting for an invitation, Chen Zi'an pulled over a chair and sat down with a swagger.
Chen Zi'an's posture was that of a standard soldier, his back straight, his hands resting neatly on his lap.
Such a demeanor in this environment exerted immense pressure.
Principal Gu couldn't help but break out in a sweat again.
If he still couldn't see the background of the person in front of him, he would truly be an idiot.
This person was also no ordinary individual! Perhaps he was currently serving in a key position in some department.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread regarding his previous thoughts.
He had thought that these students were from a small place in the northwest, and therefore, he hadn't taken them seriously at all.
However, he had overlooked that children from small places in the northwest who could come to study in the capital must have had some backing.
However, it was too late to say anything now.
He could only try his best to resolve the matter and do so as quickly as possible to mitigate the impact.
With this in mind, Principal Gu dared not delay any further and hurried out to make arrangements.
Seeing Principal Gu rush out, the sternness around Chen Zi'an's lips softened slightly.
Su Xiaotian asked, "Uncle, can this matter be resolved?"
"Yes, with the intervention of the old leader, there is no matter that cannot be resolved."
Although he did not wish to abuse his power, it had to be said that abusing power was often the most concise and effective way to handle things.
If it were just him, the principal would certainly not have acted so quickly.
Su Xiaotian was relieved.
Uncle always kept his word. If he said it could be resolved, it would definitely be resolved.
"The old leader cares about you all very much. Especially after learning about your excellent academic performance, he repeatedly told you to study hard. He also said that after everything is sorted out on his end in a few days, he invites you to visit!"
Chen Zi'an spoke to the children with his usual kind and amiable tone.
He was the perfect picture of an elder.
Principal Gu returned to his office in a hurry about twenty minutes after he left.
The moment he entered, he felt the pressure. The sweat that had subsided began to appear again in an instant.
At this moment, Su Xiaotian and the others stood casually in a corner of the office, but if one looked closely, it could be seen that they were gathered around Chen Zi'an.
Chen Zi'an remained seated in the same posture. Principal Gu was unsure if this person had moved or had maintained this position all along.
However, the stance of the group made it clear that they were waiting for an answer.
This matter could not be resolved amicably.
When he went out to make arrangements for this matter, he had confirmed that five of the six children standing before him were not on the list.
Although he was angry that someone would do such a thing under his nose, thinking of the people in the office, he could only hastily arrange for an investigation into the scores.
As for a thorough investigation, it would certainly happen. He absolutely had to know who in No. 7 Middle School possessed such immense power.
Fortunately, it was only a matter of retrieving records, which wouldn't take much time. Thinking of this, Principal Gu felt a little more at ease.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and then remembered that he hadn't offered tea to his guests.
How impolite!
Principal Gu busied himself by taking out cups and tea from the cabinet, then fetched a thermos to prepare tea and pour water!
"Comrade, please have some water first. I have already arranged for someone to investigate this matter, and I will definitely give you and the children a satisfactory response."
Principal Gu very politely placed the brewed tea on the table in front of Chen Zi'an.
His tone and attitude carried a hint of flattery.
Chen Zi'an merely glanced at him coldly and said nothing more.
As for the tea, he didn't even touch it.
The weather was hot, but Chen Zi'an did not want to drink the tea here.
Since Chen Zi'an did not drink water, Principal Gu could only pour water for Su Xiaotian and the others, inviting them to drink.
He hoped that the children would be easier to deal with and soften their attitude.
However, to Principal Gu's disappointment, although Su Xiaotian and the others were thirsty, they remained silent and quiet at this moment.
Principal Gu once again felt that this matter was difficult to handle.
He wondered which careless person had made moves behind the scenes and offended such people.
Who was it better to offend than such a family?
What was wrong with coming from the northwest?
Who said there were no important figures in the northwest?
They were truly going to ruin him!
Just as Principal Gu was muttering to himself, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
The ringing of the phone startled Principal Gu from his thoughts, and he hurried over to answer it.
At this moment, Principal Gu felt relieved.
After all, when answering the phone, he didn't have to bear such immense pressure.
He didn't know what this man in front of him ate to grow up, but he exerted too much pressure.
Chen Zi'an sat steadily, his gaze fixed on his nose, his nose on his heart, seemingly unconcerned with anything around him.
Seeing that none of them intended to leave, Principal Gu directly picked up the receiver.
To his surprise, the person on the other end of the phone line was someone who had been kind to him.
Whether it was the protection he received during difficult times in previous years or the subsequent promotion, without the leader on the other end of the phone, he would not be where he was today.
His tone immediately became respectful.
But in his heart, he was somewhat suspicious. Although this leader had been kind to him, he never called him proactively.
He had to be extremely vigilant to deal with such a sudden phone call.
"Hello, Minister. How is your health? Why are you calling today?"
"This matter..." When Principal Gu uttered these three words, he subconsciously glanced at the people waiting for the result in his office.
He hadn't expected that the appearance of these people would cause so many high-ranking leaders to intervene.
One in front, one behind, both were big shots! Leaders who truly had the authority to make decisions.
"Minister, I have failed your trust. This matter has already happened, and I am conducting a thorough investigation."
"It was my oversight that led to this result. I apologize, Minister. I will thoroughly investigate this matter to the end and will absolutely not allow such lawless and power-abusing individuals to continue to cause trouble in No. 7 Middle School!"
"Minister, please rest assured about this youth class. It will be managed very well."
"Okay, Minister, goodbye!"
Chen Zi'an and Su Xiaotian and the others couldn't guess who the person Principal Gu was speaking to was.
But from Principal Gu's answers, they could tell that this phone call was also about their matter.
The few of them exchanged glances. Could it be that someone else had intervened?
However, in the capital, they truly didn't know anyone else influential enough to make the principal so respectful.
After hanging up the phone, Principal Gu let out a long sigh and then, with a heavy heart, spoke to them.
"Students, I am truly sorry to you. You have been wronged in this matter!"
Principal Gu's attitude became even more amiable and courteous.
However, this time he chose not to converse with Chen Zi'an but opted for the younger person, who was perceived as easier to approach.
"You are too kind, Principal. After all, the matter has not been clarified yet, don't you think? Perhaps our scores were genuinely poor, which is why our test papers were lost?" Su Xiaotian said with a faint smile.
However, her words were quite impolite, causing another layer of fine sweat to appear on Principal Gu's forehead.
Principal Gu, having reached his current position, was not foolish. This young girl in front of him was also not to be trifled with.
He quickly offered a fawning smile and said, "I did not investigate before and said some unpleasant words. I hope you will not mind. I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter!"
This time, Chen Zi'an replied.
"Then please be quick. Our time is also very valuable!"
Although Chen Zi'an also didn't know the identity of the person the principal addressed as Minister, he knew for sure that they were not ordinary people.
He guessed that the identity of the person above might be comparable to that of the old leader.
He actually wanted to know who else in the capital was concerned about these children.
Or rather, within such a short time after the results were released, the phone call had already been made.
"Yes, yes, yes, Comrade, please rest for a moment. I will go and urge them again." After speaking, Principal Gu hastily left the office.
This time, he went directly to the archives. This matter must be taken seriously, and he had to see the test papers himself to be at ease.
The test papers of all students participating in the exam were stored in the archive room.
When he had made arrangements earlier, he had also asked people to retrieve the test papers from the archive room.
However, to his surprise, upon arriving at the archive room, he discovered that the door to the archive room was still locked.
Had it already been reviewed?
"Principal, why are you here?" The teacher guarding the archive room, seeing the principal, walked out from the adjacent duty room and asked.
"Teacher Yu, I asked Director Wu to bring people to retrieve the test papers. Has Director Wu arrived?" Principal Gu asked.
The on-duty Teacher Yu quickly replied, "Director Wu came earlier, but just as Director Wu reached the entrance of the archive room, Principal Jin stopped him, and then Director Wu left with Principal Jin!"
He was just a teacher guarding the archive room, usually doing some logistical work. He didn't know what had happened, nor did he want to know.
"He didn't go in?" Principal Gu clearly hadn't expected to hear such an answer.
His work arrangements couldn't be implemented?
"Yes, Principal," Teacher Yu replied.
Seeing the tightly shut door of the archive room, Principal Gu couldn't help but frown.
It seemed that someone had indeed tampered with this matter.
However, was the person doing the tampering after his current position, or was it just to deal with a few children from a small place in the northwest?
As the principal, Principal Gu thought more broadly and naturally considered aspects that were disadvantageous to him, thinking about the power struggles within the school.
He clenched his fists.
"Teacher Yu, please open the door to the archive room first!"
Unexpectedly, Teacher Yu said, "Principal, when Principal Jin came earlier, he broke the key off inside the lock."
The implication was that the door could not be opened now!
Upon hearing this, Principal Gu's temper flared up.
What was all this?
If he were told that this matter was not premeditated, he wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.
"Damn it, this is too much. Teacher Yu, how were you guarding the archive room?"
Seeing the principal's almost contorted face, Teacher Yu understood that this matter was likely not simple.
He seemed to have inadvertently stumbled into a war.
"Principal, the key got stuck at that time, and this lock has always been a bit unresponsive. Principal Jin said he had great strength..."
This was the truth, but saying it now, he himself felt it lacked credibility.
He was a person over 1.8 meters tall. Did he not have as much strength as Principal Jin, who was only about 1.6 meters tall?
However, at that time, due to the other party's position as vice-principal, he hadn't suspected anything.
Now, he couldn't help but suspect that Principal Jin might have tampered with this matter.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Then what do you say we do now? What do we do?" Principal Gu's voice couldn't help but rise, and his temper was as fiery as the weather outside.
Thinking of the people waiting for the result in the office, and the minister waiting for his call, his head was spinning.
Teacher Yu didn't know about these things, but since the key had been taken by Principal Jin and broken, he couldn't defend himself.
"Principal, please wait a moment. I'll find someone to fix the lock, perhaps it can be repaired!"
This was the best solution Teacher Yu could think of.
"Someone to fix the lock? Even if you find someone quickly, by the time it's fixed, what time will it be? Time waits for no one, Teacher Yu!"
The principal's anxiety intensified when he thought of Chen Zi'an's words about precious time in the office.
He didn't doubt for a moment that Chen Zi'an saying his time was precious was a deliberate attempt to pressure him.
Which comrade could truly have precious time? After all, someone who could make a phone call and have it answered directly by a leader without going through a secretary was definitely not an ordinary person.
He believed he couldn't afford to incur the wrath of such a person.
"Principal, then what should we do?" Teacher Yu also noticed Principal Gu's anxiety.
"Go find someone to smash this door," Principal Gu said, looking at the door and waving his hand.
Smash the door? Had it escalated to this extent?
Teacher Yu clearly hadn't expected this.
[Author's Note]
Babies, good morning. For the first chapter today, if the must-read votes reach within the top seventy by tonight, there will be a ten-thousand-word update! Let's work hard together!